A small City Beach block was no barrier for living large

There is a common myth in our sprawl-loving state that to have a sizeable home with all the bells and whistles, you need a big block to accommodate it. But this impressively spacious City Beach property, built on a block of just 220sqm, not only blows this theory out of the water, it also proves that with well-considered design, size really doesn’t matter. There is a double garage that comfortably fits two cars and a motorcycle, a big kitchen with a walk-in pantry, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, walk-in robes, two spacious living areas and an outdoor entertaining area. There is even an outdoor shower. Remarkably, the Bacic Group-built home doesn’t feel boxed in. Rather, there is an overwhelming sense of space the moment you walk through the wide entry, thanks to high ceilings, an abundance of natural light and a functional layout that has made the most of every last square inch of land available. When owners Karen and Jamie Byrde purchased their prime parcel of real estate within walking distance of the beach, they were understandably met with scepticism from loved ones. “They would say ‘What are you going to get on a 200sqm block?’. I think most people were surprised and probably thought we were going to build something that was probably going to be quite small, so I guess once they’ve come and seen what we’ve built, they’ve been pretty surprised by the size of the house,” Karen says. The Byrdes weren’t apprehensive though — they had seen what the builder achieved on blocks even smaller than theirs and knew they had plenty of space-saving tricks up their sleeves. Bacic Group interior design director Elvira Nuic says having previously built on blocks as small as 180sqm, 220sqm was almost a luxury. “One of our secret weapons for small blocks is bWall, which is an insulated, reinforced concrete walling system we developed, that happens to be very thin,” she says. “This one design decision allows us to reclaim 12sqm of usable living space that would otherwise have been taken up by clunky brickwork,” she adds. The group developed bWall a decade ago and at the time were very much outliers in a sea of double-brick homes. “But now, we’re seeing a surge in clients keen to explore non-traditional building methods. That’s a trend that will continue to grow as we catch up with the rest of the world, and particularly in a climate of soaring brick and timber rates,” Nuic says. \When it came to meticulously planning the design of the City Beach residence, a lot of time was spent on the details you can’t see. “For example, there are no columns in the oversized corner windows. All the downpipes are hidden and cast into the concrete walls. And in the courtyard, there are the giant, column-free, corner sliding doors. When these are open, it creates a completely seamless indoor-outdoor transition,” she says. Karen believes the high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows are what really open up the home. “I think it also came down to the design — the layout is what makes it feel big as well, and not having boxed-in rooms,” she says. The Byrdes wanted the home to reflect their appreciation of the industrial look while still paying homage to its coastal location. To achieve this, concrete was used extensively throughout the design. “The custom concrete work is evident throughout, from the polished concrete floors and striking curves of the kitchen island, to the floating courtyard bench seat and concrete pergola,” Nuic says. “Not forgetting that hidden behind the striking black panelling and render of the exterior, the walls are concrete too,” she adds. It’s a home that is as functional as it is stylish, and the Byrdes love that they are able to comfortably host 10 friends plus their children. But above all, it’s the storage space the couple is most impressed with, including a small cupboard door within the walk-in pantry that leads to a full-sized storage room beneath the staircase. “Being able to utilise those awkward spaces has provided a lot more storage than we would have expected,” Karen says.