The good life

Indoor-outdoor living reaches new heights in this vibrant abode a stone's throw from Bondi Beach

- PHOTOGRAPHY Anson Smart WORDS Leanne Amodeo

If you close your eyes and imagine a dream summer home, what would it be? This new-build, sun-drenched, contemporary Australian abode is a strong contender. It doesn’t hurt that it’s smack-bang in the heart of Bondi either, with the beach at one end of the street and all the contradiction, character and crazy bustle that makes the Sydney suburb so infuriatingly alluring on its doorstep. Owner Kirsten Zaki, along with her husband and three teenage daughters, lived in it for three years soon after it was built, but the family of five are currently based in Hong Kong and so now split their time between both places. Their Bondi home is very much a retreat, though, so when Kirsten initially engaged Madeleine Blanchfield Architects to design it, she simply asked for an ‘urban oasis’. As Madeleine recalls, ‘In response to the brief, we embraced the energy of the Bondi Beach lifestyle and connected the home’s experience to the street. It resulted in a series of uplift