Behind the front door of 82 Degrees

There’s a dreamy location that’s tucked between Geographe Bay and the calm, tranquil waters of Toby Inlet, and it’s home to a number of equally dreamy homes, including one of our favourite Private Properties – 82 Degrees.

We sit down with owners Paul and Wendy, to chat about how they first fell in love with this beautiful part of the world, and how the environment was considered during the design and build of their unique homestay.

“We didn’t even know Quindalup existed”,” Paul says. “Well, I didn’t, until a friend actually brought us down here. We ended up coming down so many times, we started to really like the place.”

So much so, they began looking for a property to call their own.

“We kept driving past the block (now 82 Degrees),” Wendy says. “We liked the fact that it was quiet; not as busy as Dunsborough town. And the water is shallower and not as wavy; that suited me and our daughter, who at the time was yet to love the beach.”

The couple bought the block in 2014, then enlisted West Australian architect Meaghan White to turn it into a family holiday home.

Paul and Wendy’s brief: to save as many of the property’s old peppies as possible, and work with its existing topography to create a home that exudes “holiday”.

“We didn’t want just another suburban house,” Paul explains. “We wanted a place that was different, that melted into the environment.”

Melt it does, thanks to a unique design that zigzags through a peppy tree-dotted landscape and cantilevers above the dune in which it was built atop.

Inside, ply ceilings and ply walls connect two separate bedroom wings to the heart of the home – a central living pod comprising an open-plan living and dining space.

Toby Inlet and those old, gnarled peppies are perfectly framed by prominent 82-degree angles and well-placed windows and glass doors, affording guests the very best of views.

Pops of colour throughout the home – think coloured chairs and towel racks – add a sense of beachside fun to a minimalist design.

Every detail of the home has been carefully considered with multi-generational families and friends in mind, including a built-in table tennis table that’s located at the front of the home, which is great for a game but also doubles really nicely as a dining table; and the undercover, decked alfresco area, which connects to the main living spaces via glass doors and a kitchen passthrough window.

“The separate bedroom areas are great if you have another family coming to stay with you,” Wendy says. “You can have family privacy but also the opportunity to meet in the middle for communal living – it just works beautifully.”And if you’re travelling in a small party, you have the ability to section off the house for a cosier experience.

“The home doesn’t feel too big because we just close off that other section,” Wendy explains. “It feels small and intimate. But when we’ve got friends there, it’s big enough for everything.

“It has so many multi-functions for just the three of us or a group of people.”

Including big and little kids.

“There’s a number of different places the kids can go to be away from the parents,” Paul says. “They can be over at the beach, they can be over on Toby. They can be on the land, or they can actually be in that bunk room…”

An impressive set of ply wood bunk beds, crafted especially for the bunk room, is just one of the special, handmade touches that make 82 Degrees more than just a house for the couple.

“Paul built the dining table and the bookshelves,” Wendy says. “And the bed and side tables.”

Admittedly, Paul hasn’t built much else for the home since it was completed back in 2017, replacing his down time with long days spent on or near the beach.

“If it’s a weekend, we bike ride and we scooter and we go to the beach and we paddle board and we chill out,” Wendy says. “We watch family movies and we spend more time as a family together.”

“The car doesn’t get a lot of use because it’s just a cycle into town along a beautiful bike track,” Paul says. “It’s pretty special.”

When Paul, Wendy, their daughter and/or friends aren’t on holiday, 82 Degrees is available for short-term stays with us. Book 82 Degrees today.

This blog post is part of our Behind the Front Door series, which give you an insight into the design and build of some of our favourite Private Properties holiday homes. Meet the owners of these stunning properties, and find out why they fell in love with their little slices of paradise and the breathtaking destinations they’re located in.