Hidden Gem

This architect-designed home beside Sydney Harbour is a prime example of less is more, and enjoyed daily by its happy new owners.

- Natalie Walton

After living in an 1890s terrace on a busy corner of the inner west for some time, Sydney couple Amanda and Damien Blair were looking for something completely different. It took two years of searching to find it: a much newer architect-designed home in a quiet cul-de-sac on the Balmain peninsula. “Nothing captivated us like this,” says Amanda, who co-owns local stationery and decor company Corban & Blair. “We walked in with our son Harry and knew straight away that this was the house for us.”

Part of this fuzzy feeling came from already being a fan of the architect’s work. Like Amanda, Richard Leplastrier is highly regarded for his commitment to the environment and sustainability and he designed the high-ceilinged house with those principles firmly in mind. Constructed by master builder John Simpson in 1988, it was the much-loved home of Labor party politician Tom Uren and his wife and daughter. Four years after moving in, they added a separate two-storey structure with a guest room and open-sided Japanese-style bathroom.

Richard’s design was inspired by what he had learnt from a stint working in Japan, and the no-nonsense solidity of the industrial buildings in the area. So keen was he to do the site justice, he camped there for a week to experience the block’s aspect and changing light. “The northerly location and its wide views were well considered,” says Amanda.