NEXT LEVEL

Just a stone's throw from the beach, this contemporary home for a young family is all about laidback living, sandy feet and all.

- Georgia Madden

DINING & TERRACE The owners spend most of their time in the treetop level open-plan living space and adjoining terrace, which has views of the pool area below. Dining table and chairs, The Wood Room. Bowl, Mud Australia. Throw, Saardé. Outdoor furniture, Cosh Living. Bodega Freeform sandstone walling, Eco Outdoor.

The poky 1950s cottage that once stood on this site may have been underwhelming, but its location - just a minute's walk from Sydney's Balmoral Beach - was not. One smart couple swiftly snapped up the dated brick dwelling and made plans to replace it with a forever home to share with their three young children.

“We had a pretty clear idea of how we wanted the house to look," says the owner. “We wanted it to be relaxed and casual, with natural colours and tones. It needed to reflect its coastal location and be robust enough to cope with young children.” But the sloping wedge-shaped site presented a few challenges.

The couple sought to create a five-bedroom, 3.5 bathroom home with free-flowing, indoor-outdoor connection. They had seen a simple sketch of a proposed redesign that architect Andrew Vingilis, associate director at Corben Architects, had drawn up 12 years before for one of the home's previous owners, and liked what they saw. The fact that the firm had already designed no fewer than six other houses on the same street bolstered their confidence further.