Architecture

A Simple 1950s Shack Turned Family Home (With Direct Access To The Beach!)

About two hours from Melbourne, on the Mornington Peninsula, this humble surf shack stands out among a sea of Portsea’s cliffside holiday homes and modern mansions.

The refurbished shack is one of eight single-level dwellings in a complex known as Harbour Gate, where houses are made from a series of prefabricated reinforced plaster units with domed ceilings. It’s one of the few remaining examples of the experimental prefabrication system, developed by architect Bernard Evans in 1948.

In a recent renovation of one home, the owners and Blair Smith Architecture embraced the build’s quirks and size, bringing lime walls, timber, and terrazzo into the beachy family home — located right by the water!

Written
by
Christina Karras
|
Photography
by
|
Styling
by

Inside Portsea Surf Shack by Blair Smith Architecture. Ang Sofa by Norm Architects from Apato. HAY Slit Table in Yellow from Open Room. Offset coffee table by Resident from District. Alfie Terracotta Vessel from Coastal Living Sorrento. Nudo Rug in White Beige Caramel from Halcyon Lake. Timber floor from Made by Storey in ‘California’. FDB Møbler J52b Chair by Børge Mogensen from Open Room. Resident Bloom Floor Lamp from District. Archive Handles from Linear Standard. Lucciola light by Vistosi from Lights Lights Lights. Custom Victorian Ash frames by LUBU Building Group.

Ang Sofa by Norm Architects from Apato. HAY Slit Table in Yellow from Open Room. Offset coffee table by Resident from District. Alfie Terracotta Vessel from Coastal Living Sorrento. Nudo Rug in White Beige Caramel from Halcyon Lake. Timber floor from Made by Storey in ‘California’. FDB Møbler J52b Chair by Børge Mogensen from Open Room. Resident Bloom Floor Lamp from District. Archive Handles from Linear Standard. Lucciola light by Vistosi from Lights Lights Lights. Custom Victorian Ash frames by LUBU Building Group.

‘Form No.190’ painting by Clare Dubina from Coastal Living Sorrento. Sculptures by Kelly Larkin. Bit Stool Cone in Blue by Normann Copenhagen from District. Halo Dining Chairs by Something Beginning With SBW. Baso Dining Table by SBW Australia. Custom stained Victorian Ash banquet seat by Matt Clarke Kitchen and Design. Timber floor from Made by Storey in ‘California’. Lucciola light by Vistosi from Lights Lights Lights. Custom Victorian Ash frames by LUBU Building Group – @lububuilding. Doughboy robe hook by In-teria in Tasmanian Oak.

The built-in banquette seat help makes the most of the space in the living and dining area in the compact home.

‘Form No.190’ painting by Clare Dubina from Coastal Living Sorrento. Bit Stool Cone in Blue by Normann Copenhagen from District. Halo Dining Chairs by Something Beginning With SBW. Baso Dining Table by SBW Australia.

A closer look at the domed ceilings of the prefabricated house made from plaster, which have been retained and coated in a lime-based paint.

Circa Counter Stool Normann Copenhagen from District. Custom Victorian Ash island bench by Matt Clarke Kitchen and Design. Arko Turko Argento Limestone from Signorino. Laminex ‘Alpine Mist’ Cabinetry by Matt Clarke Kitchen and Design. Archive Handles from Linear Standard. Clementine Bow from Coastal Living.

Eden bed linen in ‘Butter’ cotton from Sheet Society. Nelly Wall Light in Oat from Jardan. Doughboy robe hook by In-teria in Tasmanian Oak.

Eden bed linen in ‘Butter’ cotton from Sheet Society. Nelly Wall Light in Oat from Jardan. Doughboy robe hook by In-teria in Tasmanian Oak.

Milani shower mixers in Brushed Nickel from ABI Interiors. Sola handheld shower in Brushed Nickel from ABI Interiors. Sola shower rose and arm in Brushed Nickel from ABI Interiors. Clay Basin in ‘Coast’ from Robert Gordon Pottery. Custom Teknika Zandobbio benchtop from Perini Tiles. Laminex ‘Alpine Mist’ drawers by Matt Clarke Kitchen and Design. Custom Round Victorian Ash benchtop legs by Matt Clarke Kitchen and Design.

Tierra Nieve wall tiles from Tiles of Ezra. Apato Step Stool by Ishinomaki Laboratory from Apato. Teknika Zandobbio floor tiles from Perini Tiles. Johanna Bath towels from Baina. Cali Towel Rail in Brushed Nickel from ABI Interiors. Doughboy robe hook by In-teria in Tasmanian Oak. Milani shower mixers in Brushed Nickel from ABI Interiors. Sola handheld shower in Brushed Nickel from ABI Interiors. Sola shower rose and arm in Brushed Nickel from ABI Interiors. Clay Basin in ‘Coast’ from Robert Gordon Pottery. Custom Teknika Zandobbio benchtop from Perini Tiles. Laminex ‘Alpine Mist’ drawers by Matt Clarke Kitchen and Design. Custom Round Victorian Ash benchtop legs by Matt Clarke Kitchen and Design.

The humble exterior now hides a warm and cosy home inside.

Prior to the new works, the house had split timber flooring, chipped skirting and a rundown bathroom.

The house is a very short walk to Portsea pier and beach!

Writer
Christina Karras
Photography
Styling
4th of July 2023
Location

Portsea, VIC/Bunurong Country

A visit to one of Portsea’s iconic beach boxes helped influence the renovation of this compact family home.

The owners — a family of three who had grown up surfing and fishing on the Mornington Peninsula — engaged Blair Smith Architecture to refurbish their 65-square-metre, two-bedroom unit located in an experimental retro development of prefabricated homes built in the 1950s called Harbour Gate.

The house was simple, small, and rundown, but in a truly unbeatable location. It also had direct access to Portsea beach and pier, and was close to a green strip of public land between Port Phillip Bay and ‘Millionaire’s Walk’  — home to some of the Mornington Peninsula’s most sought after (and expensive) real estate.

‘While appearing somewhat unassuming from the outside, each unit [in Harbour Gate] is comprised of eight reinforced plaster domes, craned into place and then covered with conventional construction techniques,’ director Blair Smith says.

‘When we first visited the site, the clients took us down to the bathing boxes on the Portsea front beach — one of which was owned by a friend of theirs,’ adds design lead Jack Heatley. ‘We discussed how — with a little bit of ingenuity — you can really get a lot out of compact space. The beach box demonstrated an “essential” kind of living which I think, comes across in both a functional and aesthetic way.’

The existing house looked like it hadn’t been touched since the ’70s, complete with mustard-coloured bench tops, an old electric stove and oven, and vertical blinds ‘you would normally find in an old solicitor’s office,’ says Jack.

Despite this, the architects managed to turn the shack into their family’s primary place of residence through internal refurbishment alone.

‘A breathable lime-based paint with a subtle texture was selected to celebrate the domed surfaces,’ Blair says. ‘Much like sand on the shores is the backdrop to a beach, the sandy-coloured paint finish forms the backdrop of the house, allowing the individual objects of the design to come through. Another important choice was the limestone kitchen bench evoking imagery of fossilised shells, but also a nod to Portsea’s history of limestone quarrying and construction.

‘The cabinetry colour is a muted response to local coastal scrub. These tones are carried through to the bathroom with handmade tiles and terrazzo, creating an idyllic place for a post-swim rinse.’

The renovations also drew on the home’s quirks from the prefabricated build, which lead to ‘segmented’ rooms or zones each topped by a slightly domed ceiling. The architects continued this sense of separation with a series of individual furniture-like elements; a limestone-topped kitchen island curved at its corners and detached from the wall; a timer banquette seat that defines the edge of the dining ‘zone’; and the threshold of each room is trimmed timber reveals for additional character.

Now, the family and their two dogs dogs feel perfectly at home in their understated shack, where they step out their rear gate and right onto the beach.

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