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Perched right on the headland of Deadman’s Beach on North Stradbroke Island, you’ll find the luxurious Straddie Green House.
The five-bedroom house is a new accomodation after being a beloved private holiday home for owners Carla and Steven Cerutti. The Gold Coast couple have been visiting the island for more than 30 years and purchased the house as a green fibro beach shack in 1999. It’s been a getaway for them and their five children, who all have a ‘deep-seated attachment to Straddie’ after a lifetime of visiting the beautiful island.
But fast-forward to 2022, with their kids now adults, the family had outgrown the simplicity of the two-bedroom shack. ‘They could no longer sleep in the makeshift bunkroom in the downstairs garage,’ says Carla.
So, she and Steven engaged architect, Barrie Reuter (who is also a ‘long-time Straddie lover, visitor, and fisherman’) and Sydney designer Briellyn Turton for the renovation and extension.
The redesign retained a portion of the property and built at the rear of the elevated plot, capturing the best ocean views from the modern living spaces and an expansive new deck.
‘The new house has three bedrooms on the upper level, and three downstairs with a bunkroom to accommodate future grandchildren,’ Carla says. ‘The driving vision was to preserve the feeling of our much-loved fibro shack with its green colour inspired by the native vegetation.’
Briellyn also made several site visits to the block before working on the home. Capturing the way the light changes during the day was a priority for the project. Briellyn took advantage of the ‘beautiful soft morning sun’ to bring the relaxed, coastal interiors to life, in addition to the serene golden hour at sunset.
White walls and a green stone bench in the kitchen make the space feel beachy and bright, enhanced by linen textures and reclaimed hardwoods that match the existing parts of the house. Each of the bathrooms have their own playful personality, thanks to patterned tiles or soft pink walls. There’s also an outdoor bath on the back verandah, which offers a serene outlook over a ‘native micro-forest’!
‘Aesthetically, we wanted a nod to the traditional beach shack but with an elevated, playful edge. I think the charm of the Straddie Green House is that it is a luxury home that doesn’t take itself too seriously,’ Briellyn says.
It took about a year to complete the renovations, but the property can now sleep up to 10 guests, and is open for bookings.
‘Straddie is a mecca for wild life, with native forest walks, beaches, surfing, diving, boating, fishing, and you can watch the annual whale migration,’ says Carla. ‘The Green House provides the perfect location to indulge in all of these activities or simply to do nothing at all in a tranquil, comfortable space.’
