Courtyard House
The Bowden family’s home is a tonal and textural dream, filled with meaningful elements that reflect their active yet grounded lifestyle.
Words Nichola Davies / Photography Coastpark Creative
Build Coakers Building / Architect Studio Workshop
Interior design + styling Sun House Studio
Ten years ago, Marissa Bowden and her husband Rick purchased a rundown shack – its purple paint peeling with age – on their dream street at Palm Beach on the Gold Coast. For seven years, they raised their two daughters (now aged 13 and 11) in the purple house, running down to the beach for morning swims and surfs, and spending many afternoons with family, friends and neighbours.
Marissa, who owns multipurpose creative space Sun House Studio, explains that there came a time when the shack needed work, but it wasn’t in any state to renovate. Marissa and Rick engaged local firm Studio Workshop Architects to design a new home in its place.
Because the family had already lived there for years, they had a thorough understanding of how they liked to use the space and the lifestyle that they wanted to create for themselves. It included plentiful natural sunlight, high ceilings, green space and a sense of calm.
“I really love a calming colour palette, and one of my briefs to the architects when designing the home was ‘no white please’,” says Marissa. “I wanted earthy tones, walnut timbers, concrete, natural stone, thoughtfully selected furnishings and concrete – for the ease of seaside living with a family.”
“I also love a home to feel like a home, not a showroom, so I didn’t want any stark white, and I wanted to personally select furniture that felt meaningful, supported local businesses where possible, or had a story to tell. I love that our concrete is imperfect; I also love the contrast of the concrete with the softness of the render, curtains and warm timbers.”
The Bowdens created a custom colour with their renderer for the interior and exterior of the home, making it a standout feature that pairs wonderfully with the raw natural selections chosen, including travertine, Venetian render, walnut cabinetry, and brushed concrete flooring.
The imperfectly perfect character of the home made crazy paving a natural choice for its external areas. A 40-year-old olive tree and an outdoor pizza oven also play beautifully into the home’s Mediterranean feel.
While Courtyard House has many special elements, of particular significance are the living-room shelving and the arbours outside, created from salvaged and restored timber from the much-loved original beach house. “We wanted to keep the legacy of the old shack,” observes Marissa, whose girlfriends also gifted the family a painting of their former home by Gabrielle Diamntis.
While the old shack has a nostalgic pull for the family, their new house affords them their dream lifestyle – where they can watch the sunrise from upstairs in the morning, walk straight off the beach into an outdoor shower, swap surfboards for bikes and go for an afternoon cruise, stroll down the lane to local restaurants, or entertain family and friends by the pool.
