<\/p>\n
Architect Joe Snell and wife Laura at their Southport home. Picture: Glenn Hampson<\/p>\n
If the classic Aussie ute was a house, this would be it.<\/p>\n
Though missing the signature tray and in a pastel green shade that\u2019s more Kombi van than work horse white, the home embodies the versatile ethos behind the vehicle\u2019s creation, according to its creator, celebrity architect Joe Snell.<\/p>\n
The House Rules judge and host of Dream Homes Revealed and Australia\u2019s Best House, whose high-profile clients include Guy and Jules Sebastian, put the realities of modern family life first when designing his own Queensland residence.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The family are throwing open the doors to their UTE House as part of Gold Coast Open House<\/p>\n
Conceived after Snell moved from Sydney to the Gold Coast with wife, Laura, and their three children, the home answers a common pain point \u2014 combining living and working environments for busy families.<\/p>\n
Located in the Gold Coast suburb of Southport, this four-bedroom family home with a pool is also Snell\u2019s architectural studio. It features a fully functional, multi-person home office, seamlessly integrating professional and personal life.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The home\u2019s distinctive mint green facade<\/p>\n
The ute was born in 1934 after a Victorian farmer\u2019s wife asked Ford for a vehicle that could take her family to church on Sunday and haul pigs to market on Monday.<\/p>\n
Ford designer Lew Bandt delivered the solution, creating the first \u201ccoupe utility\u201d by combining the cabin comfort of a sedan with the practicality of a truck\u2019s tray.<\/p>\n
The design quickly took off, becoming a staple on farms across the country and an enduring symbol of Aussie practicality.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, that is the great coming together of home and work in a vehicle and I decided to do that in a home,\u201d Snell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe house has a modern cube look which is quite commercial, then I used weatherboards as a way of making it more domestic.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Ford ute is an enduring symbol of Aussie practicality<\/p>\n
Combined with whites and timbers, the home\u2019s distinctive mint hue feels fresh and inviting by day, deepening in the twilight to add another dimension of duality.<\/p>\n
Sitting between a residential area and a business zone, the 2023-built UTE House<\/p>\n
represents a new kind of dwelling: one that not only houses a family but also sustains it financially.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really believe the Gold Coast could lead in new ways of working where we should be encouraging people to come to the city, bring their knowledge and work in whichever way enables them to be successful.<\/p>\n
\u201cEntrepreneurial people tend to never switch off \u2014 my work is my life and my life is my work, I do way more than 9 to 5 but I do odd hours too, depending on when I am available or when an idea strikes, and a home office can be very helpful for that and not as invasive for the family,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The house borders a green reserve and sits between industrial and residential areas in the Gold Coast CBD suburb<\/p>\n
MORE NEWS<\/p>\n
\u2018Paint it white\u2019: Why builders rejected Aus\u2019 favourite home<\/a><\/p>\n