NEW WAVE: THE EVOLUTION OF AUSTRALIA’S COASTAL LUXURY

In the land down under, the beach is in our DNA. So is it any wonder that Australian architecture is leading the world in luxury coastal design?

With about 85 per cent of our population living within 50 kilometres of the coastline, we’ve perfected the art of the beach house. Yet over the past two decades, there’s been a sophisticated shift in the traditional coastal cottage.

The residential revolution that has washed over our most valuable waterfront locations has replaced the original weatherboard “shacks” by the sea with a contemporary design movement shaped by admiration and respect for the natural environment.

No longer simply about the view, today’s coastal architecture is about creating beautiful homes that perform seamlessly in an increasingly volatile climate while meeting the rising tide of high-net-worth buyers who want it all.

From infinity pools to wellbeing spaces that connect with nature, one-time weekenders have been transformed into permanent escapes, providing year-round indulgence.

An island home

Belgian-born, Tasmania-based architect Lara Maeseele believes the quintessential coastal home has become a finely tuned instrument. With more vacant land to experiment with, and lower entry prices, she says the Apple Isle is perfectly placed for architects and homeowners to explore the new-age beach house.

“A highlight in Tassie is you can find these amazing vacant blocks on the coastline, and still be blown away by the unexpected views,” she says.

Having studied in Belgium and worked in London, Maeseele brings a northern European minimalist sensibility to the Australian beach house.

“Our way of life is so complex. When we get home, it’s nice to slow down, to declutter and find some peace and quiet.”

Nebraska House on Bruny Island took home the 2025 HIA Tasmanian Home of the Year and earned a commendation at the Houses Awards, but Maeseele still affectionately refers to her design overlooking the D’Entrecasteaux Channel as a “shack.”

“What we tried to do was make sure that from the foreshore, it was kept small and consistent with the neighbouring properties, and that’s the luxury element that I see in the shack. It sits quietly in its setting.”

With a water backdrop from most rooms, she says the ocean was a primary player when designing the house, but light was just as important for the clients.

“Both the western and eastern elevations slide wide open so it feels like a bit of an umbrella,” she says. “Then in winter, it’s fully insulated and glazed. When the sun sets, you have the most beautiful evenings, feeling cosy and sheltered while watching the wind and water outside.”

True to her European roots, Maeseele believes that when it comes to aesthetically pleasing and functional coastal design, the less-is-more approach should drive every project.

“We’re on an island, so we’re very aware any build leaves an impact,” she says. “We chose lightweight materials so, in the end, the house could be dismantled and the timber reused.”

Light pours into the Wamberal Beach house dining room.

Thriving by the sea

Sydney architect Jon King, who has designed both beach houses and boutique hotels, says the new generation of coastal design is a balancing act between luxury and environment.

Even in today’s dazzling designs, he believes comfort should still overshadow spectacle.

“If you’re going to make an exceptional beach house, it has to adapt. It needs to be beautiful when the sun is shining and the whales are jumping out of the water, but the next day it needs to withstand horrendous southerlies and wild storms,” he says.

“The material choices are vital because they need to look great, but last in that salty environment and in extreme winds and rain.”

What was once the domain of fibro cottages has developed into a sea of enviable, state-of-the-art designs.

“For a long time, we lived simply in beach environments because the land was cheap and our buildings were unsophisticated. But now, living on the coast has become coveted, even fetishised. People are making statements through architecture, and that changes everything.”

He says that in an effort to connect with nature, the temptation can be to build with vast walls of glass to capture the ultimate panorama, but subtle design can be more successful when it gives the dramatic backdrop a curated cameo.

“Most coastal locations are suburban in nature with small blocks and neighbours either side, so you can’t always get the view you want,” he says.

“But you can frame it beautifully rather than opening everything up to the elements.”

Cheyne Fox of White Fox Gold Coast, who has recently listed one of only two houses on Hayman Island in the Whitsundays, agrees that Australia’s coastal homes are unparalleled.

“Gone are the days when people wanted their properties to stand out and look at odds with the surrounds. Today’s luxury designs are very much about fitting in,” Fox says.

The Residence at Hayman spans three levels and offers more than 1,400 square metres of internal and external living space.

Designed by the late, internationally renowned architect Kerry Hill, it also features breezeways, terraces and an infinity pool designed to embrace the subtropical environment.

“When you get to Hayman Island, you get calico bags. There are no plastic bottles or even cars. There is a true respect for the environment, being so close to the Great Barrier Reef. And as such, the architecture reflects that ethos.”

She says high-net-worth buyers will pay top dollar for such indulgent and considered coastal designs.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime proposition for a purchaser, but also a once-in-a-lifetime proposition for an agent.”

**Read the full story here.**

For Jack Freeman, a compelling interior should not look as though it was completed in a single shopping trip.

The founder and designer behind FREEMAN & CO prefers rooms that develop through art, travel, commissioned furniture and objects collected over time. It is an approach that treats the home less as a decorative project and more as an evolving portrait of its owner.

“I am a true believer in collecting versus decorating,” Freeman says.

That distinction underpins the international practice he has built across private residences, hotels, property developments, yachts and private aviation. Its projects stretch from Point Piper, Vaucluse, Circular Quay and Toorak to Mayfair, Bel Air and the Caribbean.

Although the locations and architecture vary considerably, the work is connected by a restrained design language. Natural stone, warm timbers and sculptural furniture establish the foundation, while art, bespoke lighting and individual objects give each interior its identity.

The objective is not to overwhelm a room with obvious symbols of expense. It is to create an environment that feels calm, layered and particular to the people living within it.

“The greatest luxury isn’t about excess,” Freeman says. “It’s about creating an oasis where you come home and feel immediately grounded — effortlessly chic and deeply personal.”

Collecting instead of decorating

Decorating can imply the completion of a room: selecting the required furniture, filling the available walls and producing a coherent finished image.

Collecting is less conclusive.

A collected interior has room to change as its owners travel, discover artists, inherit pieces or reassess how they use their home. Its character comes from the relationship between objects rather than adherence to a single brand or season.

That does not mean placing unrelated pieces together without discipline. The designer must understand scale, proportion, material and provenance well enough to create a dialogue between them.

A contemporary artwork might sit beside a historic piece of furniture. A precisely detailed new interior may be interrupted by an irregular object made by hand. Smooth stone can be balanced by timber, textiles or a patinated metal surface that becomes richer with age.

The tension between those elements is part of the appeal.

For Freeman, art is not an accessory to be added once the furniture plan is complete. It forms part of the architecture and atmosphere of the room from the beginning.

Lighting is considered in the same way. Beyond its practical purpose, a bespoke fitting can operate as a suspended sculpture, changing both the room’s composition and the way its materials are experienced after dark.

A design perspective shaped by travel

International travel plays a significant role in Freeman’s creative process.

Design fairs such as PAD Paris and Salone del Mobile in Milan provide opportunities to encounter emerging designers, established galleries, new materials and collectible furniture away from the filter of social media.

More spontaneous discoveries can prove equally important.

“Sometimes it’s the simple things,” Freeman says. “That piece found on a shopping trip with a client in Paris, stumbling across an artisan’s workshop, or a special memory that forms the narrative of the story.”

Objects selected during travel bring more than visual interest into a home. They carry an association with a place, maker or experience, giving the client a connection that cannot be reproduced by ordering an entire interior from a catalogue.

Freeman’s influences are international, but his projects are not conceived as replicas of Parisian, Milanese or Californian style. Each commission responds to its architecture, setting, natural light and the daily lives of its occupants.

A waterfront Sydney residence demands a different treatment from a Mayfair townhouse. A Caribbean estate shaped by brutalist architecture and reflecting pools calls for another response again.

The designer’s role is to absorb those references without allowing them to overwhelm the individual qualities of the property.

Designing the complete experience

FREEMAN & CO extends beyond conventional interior decoration.

The practice’s stated services include interior design and architecture, project management, property acquisition, development advice, concept design, documentation, furniture and lighting design, procurement and art curation.

That breadth allows the team to become involved before a room’s dimensions and finishes are fixed.

Early participation can be important at the top end of the residential market, where architecture, landscape, interiors, technology and art must operate as one environment. Decisions about ceiling heights, wall dimensions, sightlines and lighting can directly affect where art is installed or how custom furniture is proportioned.

The practice can then carry those decisions through to procurement and final installation, maintaining the design narrative as a project moves between architects, builders, specialist craftspeople, dealers and suppliers.

Its residential portfolio includes a South Coast retreat conceived as an escape from urban life, a Caribbean estate with reflecting pools, an East Coast-inspired Palm Beach residence and a Mayfair townhouse organised around an expressive drawing room.

The studio also says it has worked on highly tailored Sydney residences with values exceeding $100 million, although the private nature of such commissions means individual addresses and clients are not always disclosed.

A home that can keep changing

The risk in creating a perfectly resolved interior is that it can become too static — a composition that looks exceptional in photographs but leaves little room for life.

Freeman sees the home as something that should evolve with its owners.

“I love the evolution of design,” he says. “We are talking about people’s lives, and as they evolve, so too should their private sanctuaries.”

That evolution might involve adding art, reupholstering a significant piece, adapting rooms as a family changes or making space for objects gathered through future travels.

The original design needs to be strong enough to accommodate those layers.

This may be the clearest expression of Freeman’s approach to luxury. It is not simply access to rare stone, collectible furniture or commissioned craftsmanship. It is the creation of a personal environment whose meaning deepens rather than diminishes with time.

Fact box

Designer: Jack Freeman

Role: Founder and managing director

Practice: FREEMAN & CO

Base: Australia, with international projects

Project locations named by the practice: Point Piper, Vaucluse, Circular Quay, Toorak, Palm Beach, the NSW South Coast, Mayfair, Bel Air and the Caribbean

Sectors: Private residences, hotels, residential developments, private aviation and superyachts

Services: Interior design and architecture, property development, project management, property acquisition, documentation, furniture and lighting design, FF&E procurement, interior dressing and art curation

Design philosophy: Collected, personal interiors shaped by art, craftsmanship, travel and enduring materials

Website: free-man.co

NEW WAVE: THE EVOLUTION OF AUSTRALIA’S COASTAL LUXURY

From the shacks of yesterday to the sculptural sanctuaries of today, Australia’s coastal architecture has matured into a global benchmark for design.

**Read the full story here.**

Jack Freeman believes the most compelling interiors are not decorated, but collected. The FREEMAN & CO founder creates layered, personal spaces shaped by art, travel and craftsmanship.