Inside a Home with Sydney’s Best Views (House Tour)

Set in New South Wales, Lavender Bay House enjoys a coveted form of visual luxury. With access to some of the finest views in Sydney, Tobias Partners establishes a peaceful home that enables deep reflective thought.

Providing ample accommodation for residents and guests, the lofty volumes of Lavender Bay House balance a sense of space with experiential comfort. The design brief for the family home required maximising the benefits of its site, including strong visual connections to the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge, Luna Park and Sydney Opera House. As one of the clients works from home full-time, Tobias Partners dedicates the top of the building to an office space. Accompanied by a terrace lounge, the tranquil office overlooks the bustling harbour on one side and a private courtyard garden on the other. In many ways, the two contrasting views capture the essence of the project.

In terms of layout, the home begins with a single-storey entrance on Bayview Street. Having caught sight of the first framed view, residents descend a level to reach a primary bedroom and three children’s bedrooms. Continuing down, the next level supports a main family living space in addition to a dining area and kitchen. The final level below sees a rumpus room spill out to a lawn and pool, beyond which lies the harbour. Reinforcing the relaxed character of the ground floor, there is also a wellness area with a steam room tucked towards the rear of the building. A staircase on the southern side of the house joins together the individual levels while drawing natural light from above – presented in this way, the home is reminiscent of the calming outdoors.

While the context of Lavender Bay House is largely advantageous, it also entails challenges, which are addressed throughout the project. The liveliness of the harbour setting has the potential to overwhelm residents and is therefore balanced by a soothing, restrained material palette in which finishes inside the home are led by form. Tobias Partners also recognises the difficulty in providing privacy to a house visible from both the water and an adjacent apartment block. Using a band of off-form concrete upturns, the design firm presents a privacy device as a refined architectural detail.

From the boundary of Lavender Bay House to its interiors, the need for both privacy and connection is thoroughly considered. Tobias Partners uses a Vitrocsa glazing system – known to have the thinnest profile on the Australian market – to blend the thresholds of the home and immediate surrounds. Equally, a combination of external louvers and awnings blocks undesirable views so that, inside the dwelling, focus remains on the most attractive vistas. Private and communal spaces are expertly woven together to create a composition that echoes the rhythm of family life.

Taking cues from public buildings, Lavender Bay House welcomes occupants with triple-height spaces and a field of skylights. Such generous expressions, thoughtfully employed by Tobias Partners, allow the family home to match the extraordinary nature of its context.

00:00 - Introduction to the Home with Sydney’s Best Views
00:43 - A Family Centred Brief
01:25 - The Layout and Walkthrough of the Home
03:46 - Responding to the Surroundings
04:26 - Challenging Aspects of the Design
05:11 - The Indoor Outdoor Connection

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Photography by Justin Alexander.
Architecture by Tobias Partners.
Build by Pacific Plus Constructions.
Landscape design by Myles Baldwin Design.
Engineering by Partridge.
Windows by Vitrocsa.
Filmed and edited by The Local Production.
Production by The Local Production.

Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

The Local Project acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land in Australia. We recognise the importance of Indigenous peoples in the identity of our country and continuing connections to Country and community. We pay our respect to Elders, past and present and extend that respect to all Indigenous people of these lands.

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