Beating the heat - and rising energy prices

The owners of this property in Sydney’s outer west never set out to be environmentalists. And, at first glance, the sprawling luxury home they built at Twin Creeks at Luddenham does not appear to be eco friendly. But appearances can be deceiving.

When they approached building designer Luke Van Jour at Distinct Innovations, they wanted a resort-style home befitting the spacious greenfield location at the golf course estate. A large, wraparound pool would be at the centre of the design for the single level home, along with three entertaining areas, an outdoor cabana and home theatre. This would be in addition to four bedrooms, a guest room and a study.

With about 4,000sqm to work with, there was plenty of room to move so the owner decided to include a spacious home gym. He also wanted a half size tennis and basketball court to round out the leisure options – and to fulfil a childhood dream.

“The client had a tough upbringing,” Van Jour says. “When his parents were not around he used to go to the local basketball court to shoot hoops, so including a basketball court was about bringing back some of those positive childhood memories.”

With a healthy budget to work with, Van Jour was tasked with creating a resort-style experience, with a wet bar and water wall next to the outdoor kitchen, all in a single level design so that every day would feel like a holiday for the family.

“The client had spent a lot of time travelling the world,” he says. “When he came home, he wanted that same feeling that he experienced when he was staying in hotels and resorts overseas. Everything had to be wrapped around this pool.”

In keeping with the luxury theme, Van Jour specified several home automation options.

“It’s a key part of this house,” he says. “You can turn on the aircon, warm up the coffee machine, open the garage doors. It also has security and biometric systems.”

With all the hi tech, it might be easy to miss the lengths Van Jour has gone to in order to design a house which is a little easier on the environment – and the owners’ bank balance – than you might expect of a building this size.

“I designed the house to block as much sun in summer as I could and bring as much winter sun into the

house as possible,” he said. “The whole house was double glazed and full passive design. It is brick veneer on concrete slab-on-ground with stone floors to allow for optimum thermal mass.”

There’s also a 8kw system of photovoltaic cells to cut down on energy bills, and rainwater tanks that hold up to 100,000L for washing clothes, topping up the pool and watering the garden.

“Without the solar panels, if this house had to run on standard electricity, it would easily be $7000 to $8000 a quarter but now it is about $2000 to $3000 a quarter,” Van Jour said.

However, it took a little while for the owners to get into the swing.

“When the clients first moved in, the bill for the first quarter was close to $10,000,” he said. “The owner asked me what was going on.

“In Luddenham, it gets down to -2C in winter and up to 48C or 49C in summer but when I went over, he greeted me in shorts and a t-shirt in the middle of winter.”

As it transpired, all the thermostats had been set to 28C and both the reverse cycle air conditioning and the underfloor heating had been turned on. There were also four large screen TVs running 24/7 and the pool pump had malfunctioned so that it was running day and night when it should only operate four hours a day. After turning off the aircon completely (it was installed mainly for cooling the house in summer), resetting the temperature of the underfloor heating, fixing the pool pump and only using the TVs when there was someone in the room, the bill dropped almost 80 percent the next quarter.

The house took 18 months to build, which is relatively speedy for its size. Now, the family enjoys a resort lifestyle while reducing their bills – and their impact on the environment. When it runs well.

“We did all the right things but if the house is not operated properly, it’s a waste of time.”

Rumah means “home” in Indonesian and Malay, and it’s clear this designer property in Melbourne’s coveted beachside enclave of Brighton is a dream house in any language.

The uber-contemporary residence is a collaboration between builders Belot Property, Seidler Group architects, and the interiors team at Golden.

The result is a modern marvel that combines a brutalist concrete exterior ready to weather its coastal setting with inviting interiors using a mix of textures, from French oak to metal and brick finishes.

Just listed with Kay & Burton Bayside agents, Rae Mano, Matthew Pillios and Jamie Mi, the prestige property is on the market via a private treaty campaign with price expectations of between $10.5 million and $11.5 million.

Created to be a great entertainer while maintaining a level of discreet privacy, Rumah is, at its heart, a warm, family-friendly home that ticks all the boxes for detail-oriented design connoisseurs.

A palette of contradictions, Rumah blends angular and rounded forms, features hard steel and glass, and effortlessly incorporates the earthy finishes of brick and timber for a holistic sensory experience.

Beyond the oversized pivot door sits a large structural column wrapped in gold leaf, setting the tone for the rest of the residence. The three-storey layout offers a choice of multigenerational spaces, from the ground-floor everyday living level to the accommodation wing on the top floor and the large basement “clubhouse.”

At the heart of the home, a gourmet kitchen features a dramatic island bench, high-end appliances, and a full butler’s pantry. Multiple spaces feed off the kitchen, including a vast dining area and a large living room, which both spill out through full-height glazed doors to either a side barbecue terrace or the poolside deck to the rear.

Even the downstairs entertainer’s room – also known as the club – is effectively poolside thanks to an innovative glass viewing window framing swimmers and cleverly connecting the subterranean level to the rest of the home. This games room also houses a sophisticated bar, a wine cellar, integrated night club style lounge seating and a full bathroom.

Additionally, the lower floor features a hidden laundry room, two store rooms, direct access to a huge five-car garage with a convenient turning circle, and an extra bedroom or home office.

Via the private elevator, the top floor is dedicated to after-hours living. It has four spacious bedrooms, each with its own ensuite and walk-in wardrobes. In the luxurious primary suite, there is a hotel-inspired ensuite with a unique kidney-shaped freestanding bath and a dressing room.

Rumah’s added extras include warming indoor and outdoor fireplaces, automatic blinds, feature lighting, marble accents, bespoke wallpaper, built-in bedheads, an external spa and low-maintenance landscaped gardens.

Positioned on the corner of William and Halifax Sts, the 21st-century beach house is opposite William St Reserve, close to Brighton Primary School.

Rumah at 91 William St, Brighton is on the market via private sale with Kay & Burton Bayside and has a sales guide of $10.5 million and $11.5 million.

Beating the heat – and rising energy prices – in a luxury property

Temperatures can exceed 40C in Sydney’s west but everyone keeps their cool in this resort-style home

Blending brutalist strength with warm, refined interiors, Rumah is a bold architectural statement in Brighton’s coastal enclave — a designer family home where luxury meets liveability.