The ultimate beachy barn, this family home is all about expanding on its original weatherboard cottage and seamlessly integrating the indoors and outdoors in the coastal suburb of Swanbourne.

Arklen Managing Director Mark Diedricks said the Swansea Street build was an extension to the original cottage, with the owners wanting to create an inside to outside, shoes off kind of feel.

“Originally, our client brought home a set of French doors from France, which they picked up on the roadside verge,” he said.

“We repaired and remade those, but we then copied them to create a second set.

“The whole theme was to keep those really tall, narrow doors and the home’s cottage feel with a bit of history to open the space right up.”

Mr Diedricks said the design was made to incorporate the style of the original cottage, reusing the original floorboards and other parts of the demolition for the new design.

“We wanted to definitely respect the original structure and the original cottage, which was a bit of a barn-style cottage, and just tried to put a modern twist on it.”

Mr Diedricks said the 70sqm cottage at the front of the home was left untouched in the build, while a two-storey 220sqm extension was added.

He said the owner had a lot of influence on the final product, incorporating some French influences through different details around the home.

“The owner had a massive influence – a lot of time onsite and a lot of one-on-one interaction with me just trying to make sure we nailed it,” Mr Diedricks said.

“While we’re trying to keep it somewhat simple in a way, like the colour scheme for example, she was actually quite specific about the theme and a lot of it had a French influence.

“We were definitely trying to give it that Western Australian coastal influence at the same time, so I think she nailed it.”

Mr Diedricks said the owner wanted to repurpose much of the old cottage to keep a classic style throughout.

“The owner was very big on repurposing and not wasting. The doors are a classic example – we reused a lot of the floorboards and we reused whatever cladding we got off the demolition from the back of the old cottage,” he said.

The rustic and artistic bathroom is one of many standouts of the home, with a freestanding bathtub and a DIY-style vanity.

“The owner ended up using my scaffold planks to create a vanity and, same again, we just wanted to combine sustainability and luxury, so we’ve actually got a set of marble over the top,” Mr Diedricks said.

“We still have a stone surface in there, as you would with a raw and recycled approach, and it is still in that beachy theme.”

The open living and dining zone bleeds out to the outdoor decking area thanks to the French bi-fold doors.

“The landscaping sort of connects to the house with that decking,” Mr Diedricks said. “The deck surrounds the pool as well, so there’s a seamless transition to the house at the same time.”