Family Viewing

Elegant yet robust enough for a clan of six, this new cliffside home in Sydney’s north revels in its generous spaces and glorious ocean outlooks.

- Chris Pearson

For the first time, Rachel Defina has a coffee table in her living room. “Before, with three young sons and Lego everywhere, there just wasn’t room,” she says, a sweep of her arm taking in the new open-plan dwelling on Sydney’s northern beaches. With several sitting areas, including a rumpus room for the kids, plus five bedrooms across three levels, space is clearly in abundance here.

When Rachel and her husband Andrew chanced upon the property in 2011, they’d just renovated and settled into what they imagined would be their home for many years, in a nearby suburb. But they had a special affection for this particular area, where they’d both grown up, and loved the aspect of this block. “We were blown away,” says Rachel. “We’d always dreamt of a view like that.”

Sitting on the site was a weatherboard bungalow, which the Definas rented out until 2015 – right around the time they approached architect Mark Korgul of Watershed Design and interior designer Sarah Marriott of Sarah Jayne Studios to create a new home. “We wanted a laidback family home with rugged surfaces for our active children, and spaces where they could relax with friends as they grew older,” says Rachel.