The Jacaranda house is designed by architect and owner Scott Petherick, who has transformed a 1920s house into a ‘family haven.’ Scott explains that his intention was to design for flexibility, to accommodate the changing needs of his family over the next 20 years. The home is separated into two zones – of family living spaces, and a separate architectural studio.

Scott highlights the design was informed by an intention to retain the ‘inherent elegance of the Queenslander’. He expands ‘this meant picking up on the traditional Queenslander language of expressing the construction method, and featuring beautiful timber work.’

The key challenge in the design was a steep site, which Scott viewed as an opportunity to play with the vertical space available. The sloping block provided a natural method for separating the architectural studio and workshop, below a breezy open family home. The upper level sees the addition of the family kitchen, with large sliding doors that open out to a kitchen garden pavilion.

The home dances between old, new, indoor and outdoor – but remains cohesive through the repetition of horizontal plans, and use of brick, timber and concrete.

The tree that gives this house its name also informed the design of the home. A giant Jacaranda encases the garden, and views to its purple limbs are framed through multiple windows. Scott cleverly shifts the traditional downward sloping eves of the typical Queenslander to an up-ward sloping battoned eve. He explains ‘in partnership with the giant Jacaranda, the eve achieves a beautiful filter of sunlight in the kitchen, creating a gentle ever-changing pattern of light and shade.’