A Burleigh Heads home framed by concrete and greenery makes the case that coastal living is best experienced from the inside out.
In partnership with ABI Interiors.
There is a moment, somewhere between the terracotta breeze blocks at the entry and the six-metre ceilings beyond, when the home earns its name. Aura—Greek for “gentle breeze”—is an apt description of what Gold Coast-based practice Reece Keil Design and construction and design firm Kamber have built here. Burleigh Heads is not short of homes with water views, but what’s harder to find is one where the view is ever-present without the home being reliant on it, and privacy and openness feel more like a natural state.
“The planning was very much driven by the site’s elongated water outlook,” director Reece Keil says. “We wanted to establish a direct visual relationship that would offer the feeling of a waterfront living experience, despite the home not being located directly on it.” The solution was a series of interconnected volumes, each oriented toward the view while maintaining its own sense of enclosure.
What holds Aura together is its material discipline. Rather than relying on colour to create differentiation, texture does the heavy lifting—rough against smooth, warm against cool—with brick, stone, timber and concrete carrying through from inside out, including Italian designer Patricia Urquiola’s Celosia breeze blocks. “We wanted the materials to feel natural and timeless rather than overly decorative,” Keil says. That consistency allows the home to read as a single unified form, leaving the landscape—and the light—to do the visual work.
In the kitchen, the ABI Interiors Elysian kitchen mixer in tumbled aged brass sits above an island countertop in Sicilian Franca Design Verde stone, its warm brass tone picking up the subtle green of the stone and the planting beyond.
Six-metre ceilings and a sunken lounge anchor the central living space, its material palette softened by cascading planting and a tonal palette that draws from the surrounding landscape.
Raised internal planters offer vertical greenery through the home’s double-height volume, blurring the boundary between architecture and landscape.
Raised internal planters and cascading greenery trail vertically through the home’s double-height volume; elsewhere, an olive tree becomes a point of orientation throughout. The wellness area, which Keil considers one of the home’s most carefully considered sequences, sits tucked off the main living spaces with a heated plunge pool, ice bath and sauna—handmade Japanese tiles carry the earthy warmth found throughout. “Rather than relying on heavy partitions or visual barriers, privacy was achieved through minimal structural gestures, orientation changes and clean, flowing lines,” Keil says.
There are moments in Aura where the architecture becomes its most precise. An unsupported corner of the central volume makes the structure appear to float above the site. A sunken lounge within that same space creates a vertical connection that gives the home a sense of lightness within an otherwise substantial form. Stair rods echo the pool fencing; a timber floating staircase draws natural light from the wellness garden below. “As you move through the home, you continually discover glimpses into other spaces, landscape and different parts of the structure,” Keil says. “That interplay creates a sense of connection through disconnection.”
Upstairs, voids and skylights maintain the relationship between levels. The primary en suite looks out over the canal; its Bernice Light marble vanity—warm with reds, soft pinks and rust tones—is one of the few moments the palette loosens in an otherwise composed interior. Aura is a home that makes its presence felt more than seen. Which is, Keil suggests, the whole point. “Nothing is intended to dominate; instead, the home, landscape, light, texture and outlook work together to create a calm and cohesive environment.”
Japanese handmade tiles provide an earthy backdrop for the ABI Interiors Thin bench-mounted spout and Elysian bench-mounted minimal mixer, both in tumbled aged brass. The finish’s naturally aged quality sits comfortably within the space without competing with the surrounding materiality.
“The ABI Interiors antique product range was a natural fit for this home, and we want to credit the owners for directly choosing them. The range is minimal, simple and beautifully restrained, with a muted, naturally aged quality that complements the earthy material palette. The fixtures don’t compete—they sit quietly and reinforce the overall sense of warmth, simplicity and calm.”
– Reece Keil
The ABI Interiors shower dropper and shower head in tumbled aged brass are paired with a Milani robe hook in the same finish, continuing the home’s warm, considered material palette.
The ABI Interiors Sola garden outdoor shower set in tumbled aged brass sits snug against the side entry—a considered detail that signals the same attention to the new finish carried throughout the home.
Italian designer Patricia Urquiola’s Celosia breeze blocks on the façade give way to the handmade Japanese tiles of the wellness retreat below, with a circular plunge pool, ice bath and sauna. The olive tree, visible from multiple levels within the home, anchors the courtyard as both a design element and a living one.
The ABI Interiors Sola kitchen mixer in stainless steel sits within an outdoor kitchen designed for extended use—integrated beer taps and a built-in barbecue making the case that the garden is as much a living space as anything found inside.
