Designing a Bronte home with somewhere sheltered to sit

The dining table beside an open garden door is an appealing picture. On a day when that opening is uncomfortable, the same room still needs to work. For a Bronte home, we would explore both experiences from the beginning: how the house feels when it opens up, and where you can settle when you want more protection.

Bronte’s relationship to its beach, gully and higher ground makes that a useful architectural conversation. The coastal character area studied by Waverley includes layered buildings, terraced streets and private outdoor spaces competing with the desire for views. The opportunity is to give the home a choice of settings within the land it actually has.

Give shelter a place in the first plan

We would put a table and chairs on the outdoor plan before choosing the largest opening. Draw the space needed to sit down, move behind a chair and carry a meal from the kitchen. Then consider the edges that make this small room comfortable: a wall, a return in the building, an overhang or planting with enough space to grow.

A courtyard beside the living room can offer a different experience from an outward-facing terrace. The courtyard might be the place for everyday meals, while a smaller exposed edge holds the longer outlook. This gives both spaces a purpose and lets the house respond to changing weather without asking one terrace to do everything.

Let the outlook belong to the right part of the room

An opening is experienced from a position: sitting on the sofa, standing at the sink or walking towards the garden. We would test those positions separately. A view that is clear only from the middle of an empty room may add little to the way the house is used.

Fixed glass, an opening panel and a sheltered doorway can perform different jobs within the same wall. Their proportions should make sense together. We would compare a broad opening with a more measured arrangement that frames the outlook, allows useful air movement and leaves a comfortable solid edge for furniture. The existing surroundings and actual exposure determine which is worthwhile.

Keep the house connected when the ground changes

Waverley’s coastal character research describes upper and lower properties around the Bronte–Tamarama headland. A falling or rising block needs a drawing through the ground as well as a floor plan. That drawing should show where the kitchen, outdoor table and garden meet, and how often a normal day would send someone up and down stairs.

We might keep the main living functions together and let a smaller outdoor space step away from them. Another property may benefit from rooms following the slope more closely. Compare the retaining, structure and walking routes before deciding. A spectacular edge can be enjoyable, while a level place to eat or watch children play may deserve the more direct connection.

Make a calm place inside the open house

The best coastal brief also describes the hours spent indoors. Someone may want to read while another person cooks, or take a call while the garden doors are open. A useful retreat can sit close to shared life and still have a door, its own light and a place for the things used there.

This may be a retained front room, a small study beside a courtyard or a quieter end of the living space. We would draw the furniture and the route past it, then ask what the proposed addition changes for the rooms already in the house. A new outdoor connection should improve the whole plan rather than leave the older rooms waiting for a use.

Spend on the edges you will live with

Large openings bring a series of connected decisions: roof support, thresholds, water management, shading and access for cleaning. In a coastal setting, the suitability of exposed finishes and fixings also belongs in early specification discussions. A restrained palette is easier to maintain when the important junctions have been thought through.

For a renovation, we would compare retaining sound fabric with the work needed to make the new connection. For a new home, we would begin by placing the sheltered room, the outlook and the everyday arrival on the site. Both approaches benefit from checking the current property controls and obtaining cost advice while there are still useful alternatives to compare.

Describe the day you want the house to support

Bring photographs of the outdoor areas at different times, a plan if you have one, and a few examples of when you close the doors or move to another room. Tell us which outlook you value and where you already feel comfortable. Those observations give a Bronte design discussion a practical starting point: a home with places you choose to use through more of the year.

Further reading

• Waverley coastal character research — draft2020, local context
• YourHome — passive cooling and openings
• Waverley — current development control plan

The character study describes a defined coastal area and provides background rather than current property controls.