Photography: Dave Wheeler | Styling: Jack Milenkovic
With its wave-shaped roof and whale-watching platform, Avalon’s best-known house enters a fresh phase while maintaining its architectural integrity.
Call it a skate ramp, a ski slope or even a surfer’s delight – the roof of Avalon’s famous ‘Wave House’ defies traditional construction with its fluid form. The house has been much buzzed about since the late 1980s when it was built, the dramatic design elevating it to icon status.
“All the Northern Beaches locals know it,” says Morgan Reid of Alexandra Kidd Interior Design (AK.ID), who had driven past many times and was lucky enough to be the lead designer on its recent renovation, alongside design principal Alexandra Kidd. “When I told people I was working on it, everyone said, ‘Oh, that house!’
The owners recognised the building’s design significance from the outset and wanted to honour its legacy while converting it into a home that was sophisticated but not out of reach. Given its age and unusual shape, the renovation process wasn’t all smooth sailing. There were waterproofing issues and the windows had to be replaced due to their age and long-term exposure to the elements. A heavy maritime theme lent the house to lots of beach-shack blue, sandstone and window portholes, which needed to be reconsidered, though Morgan was conscious of not expunging its character.
“The architecture makes a big statement and it was important to keep the integrity of the building intact,” she says. “We didn’t want to come in and change everything, but at the same time it was a bit overwhelming. So, rather than compete with it, we adopted a simple materials palette that hinted back to the nautical narrative but in a quieter way. Our philosophy was refinement over reinvention.”
This involved gently pulling apart and recrafting the interiors to “echo the coastal setting”. New elements included creamy microcement walls and stone slabs, fresh oat colours for the furniture, and grasscloth wallpaper and jute rugs. The result is a home with “warmth, resilience and longevity”, says Morgan.
The seaside palette weaves through the house, and has been especially amped up in the powder room with blue-grey tones: a slab of Fusion quartzite with a smudged, painterly effect; walls in Bauwerk Colour ‘Fjord’; and a shelf basin from Nood Co. “We knew when to intervene and when to let the form breathe,” says Morgan of finding the right balance.
“Even the structural challenges were resolved with care so the house’s poetic rhythm was never disrupted. Every adjustment was intentional and each element considered to support the next chapter of family life without disrupting the home’s soul.”
A central fireplace hub and joinery unit is at the heart of the ground floor, with the kitchen, dining and living areas tucked into their own respective corners. From the communal area, there’s a panorama out to the water, which glitters all the way to Avalon Beach and its headland. Accessed by a spiral staircase unfurling to the garden, the whale-watching platform provides regular sightings at migration time.
Inside, daylight seeps through a wall of glass bricks, illuminating the staircase reaching down to the lower ground floor. At night, brass-domed sconces light the way to a renovated bedroom and main bedroom wing, the latter with white Calacatta Vagli Oro marble in the ensuite. Alexandra’s team worked alongside building designer Peter Downes to demolish the pool along the side of the house and replace it with a bedroom and ensuite, extending the house in order to satisfy the owners’ needs.
While the rest of the house is exposed to light from its sweeping sheets of glass, the open mezzanine is the cosy counterpoint. Solid timber battens form the underside of the hull-like ceiling, which has been patched and stained, cultivating a warm, moody atmosphere. Known as the reading room, it’s decked out with a Ligne Roset ‘Prado’ settee and chairs by Douglas Snelling and from Tacchini.
“The end result is a living sculpture: immersive, grounded and emotionally resonant,” says Morgan. “We’ve created a place where the architecture becomes art and design elevates the everyday, a timeless retreat where the line between structure and setting dissolves into a calm, expressive whole.”
The Design Team
Alexandra Kidd Interior Design: alexandrakidd.com
Bradstreet Building: bradstreet.com
Peter Downes: peterdownes.com
