Claire and Josh Griffiths possess their dream family home just a kilometer away from the sandy shores of Scarborough Beach in Perth, Western Australia. Josh, a building surveyor, and Claire, a hair stylist, are attracted to clean lines and uncluttered spaces. They teamed together with the Tascone Design Team to make their contemporary space. “We had that ‘first night in a new house’ bizarre feeling,” Josh says. “It felt like home straight away since we knew every nook and cranny like the backs of our hands”

at a Glance
Who lives here: Claire and JoshGriffiths, 18-month-old daughter Jade and dog Bonnie
Location: Scarborough, Perth, WesternAustralia
Size: 400 square meters (about 4,300 square feet); 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms

Jennie Hunt

A mixture of painted leave, tiled walls, steel awnings and wood on the outside provide a modern, streamlined look to the house. Most people would rather have a street-facing home, but Claire and Josh chose the rear block once they subdivided because of its view of a nearby park. The front road can be fairly active, but the rear is sheltered by the sound.

Jennie Hunt: When did your house feel like your own?

Josh Griffiths: The house always felt like our very own because I had been owner-builder and residing in the house at the front of the block while it was being built. I tell friends I was born to live in a house in this way. Additionally, being owner-builder and having had the house designed by an architect uniquely for us means that each and every part of the house has our stamp on it. It’s really nice when someone comments in your inner doorways or your taps or fan or some other small detail that you went to great lengths to source or choose. It’s nice to find that it has been noticed.

Jennie Hunt

Claire and Josh implanted edible gardens across the property. Apple fruit trees grow along the driveway and blueberries near the entry. Additional plantings include cherry, nectarine, fig, orange, pawpaw and passion fruit. “On a small lot of 500 square meters, there was no space for a vegetable patch, so I’ve had to be creative with my plantings and fit things in where they wouldn’t normally go,” Josh says. The long driveway leading to the home will also prove beneficial to your own daughter, Jade, when she is old enough to ride a bike.

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Vibrant white painted walls, wood hardwood flooring and blue accents give the house a beach feel, which is appropriate, as the beach is just a kilometer away.

JH: How did you select your color palette?

Claire Griffiths: I like the straightforward appearance, with clean neutral colors. Josh gave me the freedom to choose the decor. There were never clashes over the choices, because they were mine. I wanted to maintain the simple color scheme easy. We will live in this house for a long time and don’t need anything I would get sick of quickly.

The entire inspiration for the blue motif throughout the house came in the pool. The highlighted colours of this blue ties the inside and out together. It’s my favorite color, so it makes me happy to be surrounded by it every day.

JH: What advice would you offer additional homeowners?

CG: My advice to other homeowners is to start looking for the things you love about your house and build from that point. Don’t think that only designer, pricey things appear great. One of those things that virtually each and every individual who comes to the house opinions on is that my Ikea wall lighting.

Jennie Hunt

Full-height windows to the rear of the house let natural light and the manifestation of this sparkling pool to satisfy the main living area. The swimming pool is a prominent feature of the house, and the floor-to-ceiling windows provide a very clear view out of any place downstairs.

The custom Corian dining table and chairs are from Dash Furniture.

JH: If you can host a meal for any four famous guests, who would they be?

CG: I would love to invite Dave Grohl, Billy Connolly, Kate Moss and either one of those men from Little Britain over for dinner.

Jennie Hunt

The clean lines of this kitchen signify the orderly lifestyle Claire and Josh like to live. All the cabinets in the house contain spring-operated soft-close drawers, along with the sleek cabinetry avoids the need for obtrusive handles. Actually, Claire and Josh chosen to not have one cabinet handle in the whole house. “I think that it keeps things unfussy and contemporary,” says Claire.

Bench shirt: Corian; cabinetry: Cabinet Network

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The glass backsplash matches the cool color of this pool. The kitchen includes Fagor appliances along with an induction cooktop.

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This backyard kitchen proves beneficial in the summertime, when most of the fun is accomplished by the pool. Claire says, “We made our al fresco to get the sea breeze and still be protected. I love the outdoor table. It’s made from concrete fiberglass compound, and I’ve never seen anything else like it.”

Table: Dash Design Furniture

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The outside sunning deck is made from large recycled jarrah wood. “I needed to make something different, and I like the chunky look,” says Josh. The backyard faces north, so it is always warm and really is a wonderful place to relax in.

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The cooling colours are reflected throughout the house, and the corner frangipani tree, out of Ellenby Tree Farm, offers pink flowers when in bloom.

JH: Tell me about this inviting, sparkling pool.

CG: The designer originally thought a pool wouldn’t fit on the block. Not owning a pool was nonnegotiable. We had to have one. Because of the restricted space, we forfeited the backyard space, and the pool was built right to the edge of the house. It’s a chemical-free pool also operates without salt or chlorine, employing an ionizer system.

JG: With a rear gate leading straight to a playground, we didn’t see not having a normal backyard for a sacrifice.

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Jade’s crib is a family heirloom that’s been passed in Claire’s family. The Paddington Bear atop the dresser belonged to Claire as a kid.

JH: What do you love most about your neighborhood?

CG: We adore Scarborough for its eclectic mix of people that live in the area. There are always people around and some thing happening. People today get out and take walks. It’s not the neighborhood where you never find anyone on the road. All types live here, and we have a great deal of unique local identities.

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Claire found it tough to discover a quilt cover that was suitable for a one-year-old’s space to fit a queen-size mattress. “I hailed the cover, and the remainder of the color scheme followed from there,” Claire says.

Bookshelf: Ikea

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Jade’s minimalist and clean bathroom includes Caesarstone tops using a square undermount sink. All plumbing fittings are from Swish Bathrooms, located in Queensland. “I chose everything online and had it freighted over, and it was still cheaper than what I could get it for in Perth. They’re fantastic to manage,” says Claire.

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The master bath boasts a spa bathtub with views across the park to the rear of the house. The playground behind the home is the playing area of Jade’s prospective school. The couple enjoys having the ability to access the park by means of a gate in their backyard wall and spends hours kicking the ball around using Jade along with their dog, Bonnie.

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The master bath is Claire’s favorite place in the house, alongside her walk-in cupboard. “The en suite was superbly, better than I envisioned,” Claire says. The decor was kept easy and clutter free: “I didn’t want it to detract from the treetop view.”

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A metallic damask background functions as an accent wall supporting a tufted leather headboard out of Snooze. The side tables are additionally from Snooze, along with the wall lighting are out of Mica.

JH: If your walls could speak, what could they say?

CG: They’d say, “It required a great deal of sweat and blood and tears to get here, but boy, I look great!”

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The mirrored dresser can also be from Snooze, and Claire attached an Ikea mirror as a finishing touch. “I would like to get a full size freestanding mirror to our bedroom,” she states.

JH: What prompted your interior design?

CG: The designer really amuses us toward the cubist design. At first I was not too sure if I liked it, but in the end I really embraced the whole idea and used it as my inspiration for our contemporary decor. I sourced a great deal of products from online, as our daughter was only six months old when we started building. This was far more suitable than carting her around shops.

Jennie Hunt

Only off the master bedroom is Claire and Josh’s private balcony, in which they often enjoy breakfast and perspectives of the playground.

Jennie Hunt

Josh often works from home and enjoys views of the playground out of his home office. “I didn’t need to face the neighbor’s property with highlight windows,” he states. The office is really a large, enjoyable space to operate in and may be converted to a fourth bedroom in the future.

The desk was built by Cabinet Network using leftover floorboards.

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The bright and light entry to the house provides the perfect backdrop for the artwork Claire sourced from Studio Red Dust.

Pendant mild: Mica

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