Rare Beauty

For the owners of this bayside home in Sydney, luxury comes in many forms, writes motoring expert and WhichCar presenter Elise Elliott.

- Elise Elliott

Natural beauty surrounds the home of Sydneysiders Kylie Bates and Michael Powell. In addition to breathtaking water and bush views, their home sits on a sloping block that includes an exquisite sandstone rockface. In fact, when they came to build their home, their architect Cameron Jones recommended celebrating this natural piece of sculpture and designed the house around it. This extraordinary sandstone wall is now a much loved, and much talked about, feature of this gorgeous home.

The peaceful property sits on the point of the Burraneer peninsula, with spectacular views over Port Hacking to the Royal National Park beyond. Massive glass sliding doors make the most of the outlook while waves lap below, giving the occupants the sensation of being at one with nature.

Kylie and Michael, who live here with their 14-year-old daughter Billie, wanted their home to be warm and inviting, with the feel of a luxury resort. They engaged local interior designer Emma Buchan of EB Interiors to help create the desired look and feel. Emma used a palette of raw and natural materials such as timber and stone in a neutral tones, with pops of blue to reference the bay. Texture, always very important, is used here as a tool to soften the clean-lined architecture.