Freshwater

Freshwater, Sydney

Freshwater is a new house on Sydney's Northern Beaches, named after its suburb, designed largely through Sydney's Covid lockdown and three years in the making from concept to completion; a big tree at the front made the architects flip the whole plan to protect its roots. Without a grand outlook to borrow, the house makes its own views, into an internal courtyard and out to tropical gardens set against the concrete, a palette that takes its cue from Brazilian modernism.

The ceiling is the concrete soffit left exposed and shaped on purpose, and the pale brick columns and screens come from the same instinct, the architects' way of playing with simple materials. The floor is terrazzo made with pink flecks, the window frames are rose gum hardwood, and the tall sliding glass to the courtyard runs frameless, its tracks set straight into the concrete floor and ceiling. In the architects' words: "The house was exciting for us because it offered such generosity of space: we could relax the focus away from cramming the maximum footprint onto the block."

Madeleine Blanchfield Architects

Madeleine Blanchfield Architects is a Sydney practice for architecture and interiors, founded in 2009 and based in Paddington, working on private houses and multi-residential projects. Madeleine Blanchfield and Nick Channon were the team on this house, and Jack Milenkovic of Atelier Lab styled it.

madeleineblanchfield.com · Instagram

Architecture and interior design Madeleine Blanchfield Architects (@madeleineblanchfieldarchitects). Photography @_pabloveiga. Styling @atelier_lab_. Seen via @studioblackinteriors.

The picture comes from this post on Instagram.

Researched September 2026. I credit each piece as carefully as I can; if you know more about this one, message me on Instagram.