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Designed for a creative couple from Los Angeles seeking a quiet retreat, this 380-square-foot sanctuary was conceived as something between a tent structure and a viewfinder: Openings draw focus to specific views across Great Oyster Bay and the Freycinet Peninsula while providing immediacy to the vegetated dunes of Dolphin Sands. From burying the utilities to paving access around the undulating terrain, Matt Williams Architects made every effort possible to minimize their encroachment on the site and blend the structure into the landscape.

The architects also restored many of the original windows. "We rehabbed the wood sashes and added insulated glazing with a low-E coating to increase the energy efficiency," explains Dale. "We rebuilt the weights and updated the hardware. They look appropriate for the age of the home, but perform so much better."

The architect streamlined the exterior by replacing the shingles with tongue-and-groove Eastern white cedar boards, grown and milled in Maine.

"Nathanial Hawthorne's observation, 'Sunlight is painting,' comes to mind when touring the sunlit interior,

Marble tiles spread across the floors and up the shower wall in the upper-level bathroom.

A look at one of the property's two log cabins. The charred exterior contrasts with a lighter, wood-clad interior.

In Esperance, Australia, Fiona and Matt Shillington turned an outdated holiday resort into a cozy compound with restored A-frames, log cabins, and cottages.

Fiona Shillington inside one of the A-framed cabins. Simple furnishings of built-ins line much of the living space inside while large windows and doors open onto a patio at one end.

The main living space enjoys unfettered ocean views thanks to the beachfront location and the open glass door. Materials used in the home are decidedly weatherproof, like the travertine floors, the concrete thermal mass wall that runs the length of the home, and even the hardware on most of the furniture. Starfire glass railings along the patio cut down on blowing sand and provide a measure of safety.

The raked red cedar ceiling is one of the couple’s favorite aspects of the home. They are particularly enamored with “the small shadow lines we created in the junction between the raked ceiling and the plaster bulk heads…it’s such a tiny detail that tightens everything up.”

The Byron Bay House lies within 100 meters of the beach. Archiblox designed a transportable structure that’s able to relocate in case of flooding or erosion.

Parota wood continues in the spacious kitchen. Marisa and Christopher found the blue tile that runs throughout the home on a trip to León, Mexico. "It called out to us," says Christopher. Festooned with small stars, its tone matches the color of the ocean perfectly.