Ela Ela House, South Coast
Renovation
Architect Aterre / Lead builder Chris Hayward / Project completion Dec 2025 / Images Somethings Wild
Named after a Greek saying meaning ‘come’, the Ela Ela house underwent a major renovation to heal thirty years of coastal exposure, returning this beloved family home to a South Coast sanctuary worthy of its name.
Perched above a cove with sweeping southerly views across the beach and bluff, the home had weathered three decades in one of the most demanding marine environments on the NSW South Coast.
Our brief was to give it the care it needed to stand for thirty more.
The team methodically peeled back layers of corrosion and wear accumulated over three decades of salt air and coastal exposure.
What emerged was a house with exceptional bones: a highly functional layout, an elevated aspect with breathtaking coastal vistas and original materials full of character.
Every material selection, every fixing, every detail was subject to a level of scrutiny that sharpened the whole team's thinking and raised the standard of the finished result.
Throughout the project, the guiding principle was restraint: keep what works, improve what doesn't and ensure everything specified can withstand what the coast will throw at it.