For the owners of this new Point Lonsdale home, retirement marked a time of renewal.

As Jill and Peter Heinz approached this next phase of life, leaving behind their respective careers as a nurse and a lawyer, the couple also decided it was time to move on from their large, dark Victorian in favour of a house by the beach.

‘The couple came to Bower to design their forever home — a place to live full-time in retirement, and to gather children, partners, grandkids, grand-dogs and friends for long summer holidays and celebrations,’ Bower Architecture co-director Anna Dutton Lourie says.

‘Active members of the community and enthusiastic entertainers, they sought a home that would feel generous and joyful when full, yet intimate and restorative when it was just the two of them.’

What the architects came up with is now known as Chestnut House, which was lovingly constructed by Jill and Peter’s son, Tim, and his team at Heinz Builders.

The 275-square-metre residence embodies the fun-loving energy of a holiday home, balanced with the practicality the downsizers required: from being able to age in place with the main bedroom on the ground floor, to accommodating sleepovers from their family.

Inside, a sequenced journey of spaces expands and contracts, comprising intimate timber-lined hallways and sunny gardens leading through to a central living hub with a double-height spine overhead — dubbed the ‘connection gallery’.

Operable openings between the two levels and an elevated walkway (which they call ‘the bridge to nowhere’) allow family members to interact throughout the space. The grandchildren often sit on the ledge and play upstairs, calling down to their grandparents below.

‘Sliding doors and screens can work their magic to create more intimacy and privacy,’ Anna says.

‘The study [on the ground floor] adapts when there is a crowd to stay with a Murphy bed. The upstairs zone is for guests and family and can be reached via a concealed stair and lift.’

With the future in mind, the home is all-electric and designed for ease of movement with ample circulation and space for future handrails or walking frames when required.

Robust materials feature both inside and out, with the palette taking direct inspiration from nearby sandstone caves, cliffs, and timber village cottages in the coastal surrounds.

Soft white plantation timber is used to create shiplap cladding, while the couple hand-selected the sand-coloured Krause Bricks at their factory in Stawell. Speckled concrete flooring is paired with the luxurious Taj Mahal quartzite bench in the kitchen, as green roofs on the first floor will soon be covered with lush greenery draping over the exterior.

Colourful art on the walls and a selection of quirky sculptures also injects plenty of personality into the calming backdrop.

‘My favourite moment is when I move through the house from our bedroom towards the living spaces every morning: the opening up of views, light, high ceilings and textures of the brick and timberwork is magic,’ Peter says.

‘The sliding screens create a lovely shadow play that varies how the house feels if they are open, part open or fully across the windows.’

Everyone who visits the home is delighted with the outcome, adults and kids alike. It’s their happy place, where every day feels like a holiday.

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