Interrupting the procession of terrace house façades, 8 Yard House is eye-catching while staying true to its own time and purpose. This new house for a large family on a double-fronted site in North Fitzroy reflects a desire to prioritise outdoor spaces as much as indoor. 8 Yard House intersperses indoor with the outdoor; rather than having a singular backyard and the bulk of the house as one mass. The various indoor spaces are distributed along the length of the site, punctuated with a series of different outdoor courtyards.

Further back into the site, principal living spaces are displaced along the boundary in sequence, becoming progressively more private in nature. The pool pushes forward in the sequence, with its play of water-reflected light making a calming overture on arrival. The distribution of outdoor spaces relieves the rear garden, allowing the lounge room an expansive outlook and a spacious backyard retreat for kids to run amok.

The name of the home comes from the fact that there are 8 distinct yards, each hanging off the rooms. Their functions complement the indoor spaces they adjoin and offer a diversity of outdoor enjoyments – cooking, eating, swimming, sunny repose, leafy outlook and city views. Clues of visual continuity are found in careful detailing, such as wall height datums and surface finishes, all of which work to further break down distinctions between inside and out.

8 Yard House is distinct in its ability to balance its own intentions and character with those of the surrounding context. The house is sympathetic to the culture, materials and styles of its neighbours, while remaining distinctly of its own time and function.

Furniture: Pelle Leathers, Instyle, Cult, Mark Tuckey, Space Furniture, Grazia and Co, Zuster, Schiavello. Lighting: Douglas and Bec, Hub Furniture, Living Edge, Artemide, Luke, Volker Haug, Cult, Masson For Light, Sphera. Finishes: Academy Tiles, Fibonacci Stone, Johnson Tiles, Porter’s Paints, Dulux, Edwards Slate and Stone, Artedomus, Made by Storey, Windsor Wool, Jotun, Locker Group, Signorino, Woven image. Fittings & Fixtures: Brodware tapware, Rogerseller Veitch.

Photography: Rory Gardiner