Beach Houses

Explore our collection of Beach Houses
featured on Lunchbox Architect.

Who doesn’t love to escape to the beach? Whether they’re for holidays or full-time living, architecturally designed beach houses have a laid-back, beachy quality that’s hard not to love.

Instead of getting sand in your pants, check out the stunning beach houses we've featured on Lunchbox Architect from the comfort of your study:

Beachfront Bliss: A Trio of Modular Masterpieces

Prefab magic! These houses arrived by barge and were installed in two days.

Resilient and Refined: Meet Blairgowrie’s Sustainable Beachside Beauty

Get a peek inside Blairgowrie’s chic retirement retreat that defies coastal elements and inspires with timeless style.

From Garage to Gourmet: A Culinary Transformation

Discover how a forgotten garage became the heart of family gatherings in this stunning renovation!

The Secret to Coastal Living: No Fences and Flexible Spaces

Two separate boxes, open-air flow, and room for 14 guests – see the smart layout behind this coastal crib.

Coastal Elegance Meets Family Living: A 1970s Transformation

From 1970s blond brick ugly duckling, this home has been spectacularly transformed into an elegant swan...

Coastal Elegance Meets Family Living in Avalon Beach

A modern beach house that blends timeless elegance with the dynamic needs of a young family…

Sustainable renovation: From dark bungalow to light-filled haven

This renovation isn't just an update—it's a tribute to the original design, reimagined for today.

From Factory to Dunes: The Story of a Prefab Beach House

Built in Brisbane, assembled by the beach. This unique prefab design is where precision meets coastal charm…

You'd Never Know How Close the Neighbours Are in This Bush Hideaway

A clever design captures bush views and sunlight and turns away from the neighbours so you feel like you're in a world of your own...

A Multi-generational Beach House for Relaxed Beachside Living

This beach house is all about creating informal living spaces, decks and shelter from the sun and wind for optimum beachside living.

This Home Stands Out in Its Housing Estate for All the Right Reasons

Even a block in a typical housing estate can benefit from an architect's touch, creating a home that's a joy to live in year-round...

Location, Location, Location. And, Now, the Other Three Ls...

This 1980s-era home already had a stellar location. Thanks to an internal reno, it has everything else you'd want in a home, too...

A Beach House That Feels Private Without Missing the Views

A beach house doesn't need to feel like a glass box on stilts, this home feels intimate while still celebrating the views.

Six Prefabricated Modules Create a Forever Home With an Ocean View

Designed to make the most of the view, even from the backyard, this prefab modular home is like a viewing scope towards the ocean.

Beach House Maximises the Views Despite a Narrow Frontage

Some clever solutions mean even a home on a long, narrow block can capture scenic, wraparound views of the ocean.

A Beach House Designed for Everyone From Singles up to Groups of 20

This flexible beach house is the perfect surf trips big and small because it's focussed on the outdoors to create extra living space.

Mid-century Modern House Senstively Updated for 21st Century Living

An addition to this mid-century gem keeps the essence of the original while ensuring it's fit for family life in this century.

Beach House Uses Its Steeply Sloping Site to Focus and Frame Views

Using the slope to its advantage, this beach house cascades down the hill and focuses your attention on the stunning coastline views.

Rather Than Open Plan, Why Not Go for Connected Plan Instead?

This retired couple wanted an intimate home for themselves, but what happens when extended family visit? Enter the 'connected plan'...

Real-life Seachange Gives Retirees a Chance to Create a New Lifestyle

These retirees packed up their life in Western Victoria to move to Barwon Heads. What lifestyle would you want out of a seachange?

Beach House Renovation Has a Minimalist Touch But Maximalist Results

Can you have too many beds at a family beach house? A reno retains the character of this beloved beach house but maximises flexibility.

This Modern Australian Beach House Feels Like It's Floating on Water

This stunning modern Australian beach house has a whole wall of glass, taking in spectacular views of the beach and headland beyond.

New Spaces Draped Around an Original Cedar-lined Shack Like a Tent

A new asymmetrical frame encloses the original shack, wrapping new living areas all around to take advantage of the views.

Clever Siting of Two Beach Houses Allows Both Homes the Best View

Running the two homes perpendicular to the street allows this dual occupancy design to maximise views and maintain privacy.

Home Robust Enough for the Kids With Luxurious Touches For the Adults

This laid back holiday home is tough enough to cope with the kids yet luxurious: the perfect escape to create lifetime memories.

Hidden House: This Home Gives Little Away From the Street

A private, yet light-filled coastal home is the perfect fit for a retired couple, with plenty of room for visitors.

How Much House Do You Need? How About the Least House Necessary?

This environmentally-considerate home is carefully planned to ensure it's compact yet spacious: the least house necessary.

Lock and Leave Tropical Hideaway Is a Perfect Escape for This Family

This tropical home locks down when it's not being used, but when it's open, it embraces the natural landscape in every direction...

A Home in a Bushfire-prone Area That Doesn't Feel Like a Bunker

The clever design for this challenging site allows the home to deal with the threat of bushfire, while still taking in the views.

Two New Townhouses for an Adventurous Architectural Photographer

A creative design for two new townhouses defies many of the qualities of these types of developments to create bright and breezy homes.

A Light-filled Beach House Just Two Kilometres from the City?

With an incredible site just one street from the beach and close to the city, these architects built their ideal family home.

This Modern Beach House Design Celebrates its Spectacular Location

A modern beach house design replaces the ageing cottage on a property that has been in the family for over 50 years.

This Beachside Home Goes From Daggy and Confused to Surfmist Cool

Friends said they were brave to buy their home. But who's laughing now after a breezy makeover transforms this 1970s hot mess.

Getting the Basics Right Helps Architect Nail His First Solo Project

The careful siting of this new home helps it take full advantage of the sun and embrace a beautiful, bushy site.

This Beach House Wraps Around Itself to Protect from the Elements

Living near the beach has its pros and cons. A great beach house needs to embrace the sunshine while protecting from cold ocean winds.

A Breezy Beach House Designed for Byron Bay's Sub-tropical Climate

Sub-tropical climates require a special approach to design to ensure they are comfortable in the sticky summers and the cool winters.

A Dour Old Post Office Finds Its Mojo As a Sunny Summer Beach House

A house that was once a post office felt frustratingly disconnected from the outdoors has been transformed into a breezy beach house.

This Classic Fibro Beach Shack is Updated for a Young Family

This home holds special memories for the architect, Pat Jost, making it important to retain the elements that fill it with character.

A Courtyard Deck's the Perfect Way to Combine Old and New at This Home

A decked courtyard connects this existing home and extension, providing light, breezes and an indoor-outdoor connection to old and new.

 (via Lunchbox Architect)
Fibre Cement Houses: 5 Homes That Celebrate that Old Beach Shack Vibe

We take a step back in time to find five homes which celebrate the beach shacks of the past by cladding themselves in fibre cement.

A Modern Take on the Traditional Fibro Beach Shack

Beachside towns were once dotted with simple fibro beach shacks. This modern home reinterprets that classic style.

A Small Addition Creates a Home Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

Light and dark, east and west, new and old, Dark Light House's new living pavilion contrasts without simply doing the opposite.

Shipping Container House Floats Among the Trees with Ocean Views

We're all a little bit obsessed with shipping container houses. You'll understand why once you take a look at this home...

A New Breed of Bushfire Resistant Homes are Sprouting in Wye River

After the bushfire of 2015, Wye River slowly rebuilds. Let's hope all the new homes are as beautiful and sympathetic as this one...

Modern Timber Beach House Still Achieves Bushfire and Energy Ratings

Clever thinking achieves a simple timber beach house the client desired while still meeting bushfire and energy efficiency regulations.

 (via Lunchbox Architect)
#CabinPorn: 7 of Australia's Best Huts, Shacks, Cabins and Retreats

Sometimes people are dicks. Escape and Thoreau yourself into this collection of Australia's best huts, shacks, cabins and retreats...

A Home Designed to Get Better With Age, Just Like Its Retiree Owners

Precast concrete and timber combine to create a low-maintenance home that will get better with age.

An Urban Take on the Traditional Aussie Beach House in Torquay

As Torquay becomes increasingly cosmopolitan with more permanent residents architects are rethinking the traditional Aussie beach house.

A Courtyard Connects Living and Sleeping Areas at this Beach House

Just a short walk from the beach and surrounded by Moona trees, a central courtyard is the link between this home and the landscape.

A Beautiful Old Beach Shack Retains Its Classic Charms

"There are too many beautiful old shacks being demolished, and Austin Maynard Architects won’t be part of it."

Beachside Homes Inspired by a Nearby Pier's Proportions and Detailing

These two homes are built on a pier structure that highlights their unique creek-side location near the Mornington foreshore.

Holiday Shack Blends Mid Century Modern with Australian Rural Shed

Inspired by Mid-century design with a touch of Aussie shed, this stylish shack is the perfect combination of cool and practical.

This Home Is Grounded Into Its Site by Walls of Gabion Baskets

A home set in an expansive garden is divided and sheltered into quadrants by cross-shaped Gabion baskets, creating a variety of spaces.

Clever Renovation Creates New Building Over Bones of the Original

Renovation uses half of the original roof structure to create a new raked roof and wraps the original fibro shack in new cladding.

A Smaller Home Allows for Immaculate Details and Rich Materials

If you want the look and feel of luxury at your home, it pays to think a bit smaller and pay attention to the details.

Choose Flexibility Over Footprint to Save Money and Energy

With sliding doors and a fold down bed, a rumpus room/third bedroom provides built in flexibility while reducing the overall footprint.

Australian Retreat Designed to Encourage a Laid-back Lifestyle

Waitpinga Retreat designed as a casual getaway immersed in the natural beauty of nature looks and feels very Australian.

Downsizing From Heritage Farmhouse to This Contemporary Humble House

When this couple retired the farm they wanted a more manageable and contemporary home that incorporated memories of their past life.

A Maritime Inspired Beach House Will Only Get Better With Time

This robust home for a family of six will be knocked about by the young family and accumulate character through the passage of time.

Coastal Holiday House Gets an Upgrade Fit for a Permanent Sea-change

A 1970s-era weatherboard holiday house gets a serious revamp to make it perfect for Grandparents' retired living.

House Built on Top of a Sand Dune to Take in the Best View

This two storey house near the beach was designed like an arrangement of stacked boxes to create protected balconies and decks.

This Green Roofed Beach House Arrived on the Back of a Truck

With a green roof and other sustainable elements this beach-side residence touches the earth lightly physically and metaphorically.

This Prefab House Solves the Age-Old Problem of Open Plan Living

The curse of the modern open-plan home? Noise. With flexible social spaces, parents in this house can entertain separately to the kids.

Fun Red Box Floats Daringly Over Original Home to Provide Extra Space

This extension continues a tradition of relaxed, colourful and small-scaled modifications which have been occurring for generations.

Warm NZ House Designed to Embrace the Sun and View of Tasman Bay

A warm new home for a young family wraps around a courtyard space to create a protected area for the kids to play and the family to enjoy the stunning ocean views.

Beach House Designed and Built by a Group of Architecture Students

Small in both budget and footprint, but clever thinking and innovative solutions have produced a home which ticks all the boxes...

Heritage Listed Chicory Kiln on Phillip Island is Infinitely Flexible

A heritage-listed chicory kiln on Phillip Island is transformed into a delightfully playful residence for a couple.

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