Set within bushland in Mount Eliza on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Retreat House delivers privacy and escape in equal measure. Designed and built by Latitude 37, the home leverages Aych Architects’ vision to create a sanctuary with luxury as its cornerstone.
The Local Project feature of Retreat House
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Showcasing one of Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula’s best luxury home builders, Retreat House is a seamless integration of form, function and flow. Named for its private, sanctuary-like location – a site with an abundance of native trees and vegetation – the residence offers an escape from everyday life, a sophisticated, welcoming cocoon for its occupants. “Retreat House was specifically designed to be understated and hidden from view, exuding luxury in a private, treed setting at the bottom of a long driveway,” says Doug Macleod, Founding Director of Latitude 37.
Every aspect of Retreat House reflects Latitude 37’s design ethos: that a home should, first and foremost, prioritise and elevate the wellbeing of its residents. Here, that’s achieved through a coherent integration between indoors and out, and a strong connection to the natural environment. For the project’s architect, Hugh Feggans of Aych Architects, that sense of connection is crucial. “Critical to designing a home is creating an environment that evokes a personal connection or emotional response – it’s the ultimate measure of its success,” he says. “How a building can transform your experience of living with it and in it is a key part of the design process … to ensure that even the most mundane of living rituals is an elevated and enjoyable experience.”
That approach grounds the home in its location, establishing a strong connect with the site and its natural surroundings. “The building is carefully arranged to offer unobstructed view lines, promoting a seamless visual connection with the external environment,” says Doug. “It was designed to sit naturally into the hillside, overlooking the creek valley and taking in the tranquillity of the treed surrounds.” Hugh adds: “The fall of the site is quite dramatic … it really adds to the overall composure of the building and how it sits within the site and landscape.”
“The building is carefully arranged to offer unobstructed view lines, promoting a seamless visual connection with the external environment.”
Outdoor living is encouraged at every opportunity. Exterior elements include an infinity pool that unobtrusively blends into the landscape and extensive established vegetation ideally suited to the Mornington Peninsula locale. “This emphasis on the outdoor experience further underscores the health benefits of residing in a space that enriches, rather than diminishes, one’s connection to nature,” Doug says. Inside, a small indoor garden tucked under the stairs brings a swathe of green to the living spaces.
The home’s interiors are a carefully considered blend: the lighter elements reflect Mount Eliza’s coastal setting, but contrast with a bolder, darker, moodier palette that draws inspiration from the architecture of the home and boosts the sense of subdued sophistication. Nowhere is that more evident than in the dramatic kitchen, where the natural texture of CDK Stone’s New Elegant Grey limestone provides the perfect counterpoint to black elements like the rangehood.
The bolder, darker, moodier palette draws inspiration from the architecture of the home and boosts the sense of subdued sophistication.
Retreat House is also an object lesson in sustainable living, with a 6-star energy rating. “Sustainable design principles have been meticulously crafted with key elements to achieve a passive approach to heating and cooling,” says Doug. A ducted Mitsubishi Electric air-conditioning system, for example, is strategically zoned for optimal efficiency by heating or cooling only the spaces in use. “The consideration of orientation and ventilation also plays a crucial role, allowing the house to harness solar energy and leverage prevailing sea breezes,” he adds.
Aptly named, Retreat House reveals a holistic design approach centred on the ideals of privacy and escape. Latitude 37 leveraged the foundations provided by Aych Architects with acute thoughtfulness and inspired innovation to create a beautiful, rejuvenating home.
“The consideration of orientation and ventilation plays a crucial role, allowing the house to harness solar energy and leverage prevailing sea breezes.”
