$30,000 poorer in 5 months: Brisbane officially hits downturn<\/a><\/p>\nRather than simply extending the original cottage towards the backyard, Mr Ellway used the property\u2019s sloping block to stack the outdoor spaces, raising the deck above the pool so it provides shade while allowing both areas to be used independently.<\/p>\n
Mr Jackson said the property\u2019s name of \u2018Half Light House\u2019 originated from the way it reflected light and shade at different angles throughout the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got different shades coming in at different times during the day and you can just sort of see the light and the dark dancing in different ways, and likewise, the lighting at night is very similar. It\u2019s a bit understated and moody.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg)
<\/p>\n
From the front, you wouldn\u2019t guess what was inside. Image: Toby Scott.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Light and shadows are cast on the kitchen in the Clayfield home. Image: Toby Scott.<\/p>\n
Kitchen, dining, bedroom and studio spaces are connected through views across a central void and between levels, allowing family members to occupy separate parts of the house while remaining visually connected.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy favourite spot at the moment is the secret reading room,\u201d Mr Jackson said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good place to hide, and it\u2019s very quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n
The judges praised the project for achieving a \u201cspatially rich and atmospheric house\u201d without resorting to a sprawling footprint, while retaining and restoring the character of the original cottage.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The master bedroom in the John Ellway designed home. Image: Toby Scott.<\/p>\n
The win makes Mr Ellway the only designer to have twice claimed the Houses Awards\u2019 top honour, after his Three House project was named Australian House of the Year in 2021.<\/p>\n
Mr Ellway said he was particularly proud of making the home\u2019s western orientation at the back work in its favour.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people get scared of building to the west with the psycho afternoon sun, but we made it work here simply with the five blinds,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means you can enjoy the beautiful sunsets late in the day, every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Annie O\u2019Rourke and Jim Jackson\u2019s Clayfield home has won Australia\u2019s House of the Year at the Houses 2026 Awards. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The pool is the hero feature of the home. Image: Toby Scott.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, an extraordinary sculptural home perched on a rocky escarpment in the NSW Southern Highlands won New House Under 200 Square Metres, while Hislop Hill House in Victoria took out the over-200-square-metre new home category.<\/p>\n
Other winners included a playful renovation of a 1930s Art Deco apartment in Sydney\u2019s Elizabeth Bay and a vibrant standalone bathhouse in the NSW hinterland.<\/p>\n
Houses magazine editor and jury chair Alexa Kempton said this year\u2019s winners reflected a broader shift away from oversized homes towards properties designed as places of sanctuary.<\/p>\n
\u201cEconomic and environmental uncertainty is undoubtedly shaping briefs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Rather than building to the extremities of blocks, Ms Kempton said architects were increasingly embracing gardens and surrounding landscapes and designing homes with \u201crestraint and longevity in mind\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Houses Awards recognise Australia\u2019s leading residential architecture across new homes, renovations, apartments, sustainability, heritage and small projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Annie O\u2019Rourke and Jim Jackson love their Clayfield home. Photo: Lyndon Mechielsen. A Brisbane family home that turns…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615003,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-615002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}