GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

When a sweet but tired 1950s beach shack with absolute water frontage came up for sale, architect Harry Poulos just knew he could turn it into a dreamy family holiday home...

- Elizabeth Wilson

Breakfast on the deck is served with fresh sea air and the sound of waves lapping on the shore. The all-new decking is made from blackbutt. Aluminum louvers, Bradnam’s Windows & Doors. Dining setting and deckchairs, The Bach Living. Pink tableware, Country Road.

Brisbane architect Harry Poulos and his wife Georgia adore the beach. Queensland born and raised, they both grew up holidaying by the ocean and share a love of salty air, sand between the toes, and horizons of blue-on-blue.

They’ve always enjoyed family getaways on the Gold Coast and had often fantasized about owning a holiday home on that famous stretch of golden sand. A couple of years ago they began casually casting around for a place where they could create an escape for themselves, their daughters Lauren, 21, and Demi, 18, and the family pooch Winston (Winnie), a tan-colored groodle.

Property sales are rare along the waterfront strip, so when a 1950s cottage came on the market last year, they snapped it up. “Everyone else who saw it, wanted to knock it down,” says Harry. “It was a classic beach shack and it needed work, but it was in a wonderful location elevated off the street with direct access to the beach.”

One of the original dwellings in the area, the three-bedroom fibro home had seen better days, but it had many endearing qualities Harry knew could be reimagined. The sweetest of these was a 1990s extension by former Brisbane architectural firm Donovan Hill. This included an upper-floor main bedroom opening onto a timber viewing platform – like a crow’s nest on a ship – offering stunning views up and down the beach. The steel frames underneath were corroded and the timber decking was rotten, but again these were not an impediment to Harry’s vision.