How two architects reimagined their own homes

An inner-city terrace wrapped in living greenery and an understated beach cottage hiding a luxury interior are two properties transformed by the architects who live in them.

In 2021, Sydney architect Nick Bell, of his eponymous agency, bought a Surry Hills terrace for $1.71 million.

“The house itself was really unpleasant, ” Bell said. “It was very dark. Even though it faced north … basically the bathrooms were blocking the north aspect.”

It also had a strange floor plan. His two daughters would have to go through one bedroom to get to the other.

However, Bell decided that the property had the bones he was looking for because it was north-facing at the rear, and unusually for the suburb, had enough room for parking and a garden for entertaining.

As the terrace was the fourth house he would design for himself, the initial process was about working out what was necessary.

“It’s very easy to try and cram in ideas because you’ve got a stack of them,” he said. “I was much more disciplined this time in treating myself like a client. ”

The most striking feature is the exterior, which has become a popular selfie background for tourists passing by the inner-city property. The rear facade and the rooftop are made of living plants.

Bell wanted to create a “green, lush garden feel” and instead of being limited to the horizontal confines of the garden, made the house itself green.

“It was very much about trying to ‘greenify’ the inner city, I suppose, in a tight space,” he said of the plant system.

Working with a 51-square-metre footprint, Bell’s main goal was to create space, light and warmth, but he also wanted to streamline the small space so it didn’t feel cluttered.

There are no visible handles, the joinery is concealed and sliding doors cover a coffee nook and the television. The home has been reconfigured to have three good-sized bedrooms, this time separate from each other. It also has eight solar panels and fresh filtered air.

The house produces about 70 per cent of the electricity used, and bills are under $100 a month, which includes electrical vehicle charging. Bell had the property valued this year and was pleasantly surprised to be told upwards of $3.5 million.

While Bell focused on greening the inner city, architect Chris Howe took a different approach for his coastal home in Palm Beach.

Howe and his wife, international tax lawyer Betsy Howe, bought the five-bedroom home at 95 Pacific Road in 2021.

The architect, who has won an award for best use of glass in a residential project for a home in Vaucluse, said the Palm Beach property had u