Ocean House is a vacation house designed by Robert Mills Architects & Interior Designer.
It’s a holiday house on the Great Ocean Road that once experienced, is never forgotten. Just 100m stroll from North Lorne’s secluded beach, Ocean House redefines the concept of a beachside retreat. Raw concrete and polished timber blend seamlessly with the forest to create a calming retreat. Ocean House was built by Rob Mills for himself, his family and friends as a place to gather by the beach in Victoria’s Lorne, and illustrates clearly how he practices what he preaches. The house, built on a prohibitively steep site combines the solidity of a cylindrical concrete form with the lightness and transparency of a glass and timber linear space. “The two personalities of the house work together as one. The concrete section, which houses the bedrooms is very purposeful, sheltering the house from the storms and deadening sound, in contrast to the connections with nature in the living section”, he says.
Keenly tuned into the sensory aspects of the site he is aware that the sound of the ocean and the parallel connection to the forest is central to the sense of calm in the house. ‘I really value a quiet space, a cool space, a warm space, the importance of fresh air cannot be underestimated – you need to be able to throw open doors and have cross ventilation”, says Mills.
Glass and timber pavilion blends wilderness with contemporary chic to create a truly unique entertaining area with panoramic views across the ocean. Enjoy circular bedrooms, wrap-around terraces, a rooftop deck with open air bath, velvet soft polished concrete and the most stylish, comfortable furniture from cutting edge designers including Pierre Lissoni and Patricia Urquiola.
Sculpted from concrete, timber and glass amid the eucalypts and decorated to the highest standards with objects and furniture from Rob Mills’ favourite artists and designers, it brings relaxed luxury to Victoria’s stunning west coast. The result is an immaculately handcrafted, five-bedroom, three living area beachside refuge, designed by Rob Mills in his unique style.
His natural default position on interiors is organic and tactile in neutral, tactile fabrics, stucco that feels like velvet and is coloured to match the bark of the trees in the rainforest, limed black butt ceilings and quality furnishings by the world’s best designers: internationally from Piero Lissoni and Patricia Urquiola and locally from Andrew Lowe.
The Ocean house has been designed to function as two apartments to open the experience up to those who want to share his aesthetic first hand and can be booked through the website.
