Formerly a 1980s concrete-block kit home, the family retreat has been reworked into a distinctly bright and modern property that makes the most of its natural surroundings, no matter the weather or the time of year.

"It does respond to the seasons well, it can be a beautiful place all year round. I think that's important for a beach house," Dutton says.

In fact, enduring appeal whatever the climate is something she believes characterises the beach homes that architects are designing these days, an evolution from an era when they sat empty until summertime.

To adapt the Bellarine beach house into a space that would suit the cooler months too, Dutton turned her attention to connecting the house with its under-used, north-facing back yard.

As it stood, the dwelling "didn't seem to match the site at all, it looked like something that was bought off -the-plan and just popped on the site," Dutton explains.

Its north wall was completely blank, and didn't take advantage of the expansive garden beside it.

To rectify this, Dutton added floor-to-ceiling black-framed glazing and glass doors, creating a northern living pavilion with plenty of light and easy access outside.

She also added an inner courtyard in the house's centre, resulting in two distinctive outdoor spaces.

This way, the sun streams through the living pavilion on chilly winter days and in summer, there's the option of avoiding the northerly wind in the shaded living pavilion or the protected courtyard.

"It really works quite hard in that sense, and you have areas for living indoors and outdoors all year around," Dutton says.

She opted to keep the entire footprint of the original dwelling, with an emphasis on reusing rather than rebuilding. Like any good modern design, this decision had much to do with sustainability.

"We really embraced the existing exterior of the house," she says. "It was of an era that had its own architectural merit, it's a very robust concrete block.

"By making some little interventions we were able to keep the entire structure of the existing house."

All the timber used in the renovations was sustainably sourced, and the Bower

Architecture team also sought to use building materials that would last and see the house still standing strong decades from now.

The layout of the home was reimagined, with a C-shaped plan to create flexible zoning that allows the living area to be sealed off from the bedrooms, and a parents' retreat that can be separated from the children's area.

"Zoning in a beach house is often quite important, because often it's a place where families gather," Dutton points out.

"And it might not be just the immediate family, it might be extended family and friends, and making those zones come together and also be places to retreat to is really important."

The home's interiors reflect the natural surroundings, favouring pale timbers, vanilla-coloured walls and light, fresh spaces.

"Where this house is located there's a lot of tea tree and those lovely grey trunks, so the timber that can grey off naturally will really work in harmony with that," Dutton says.

"Then the sandy tones of the soil are reflected in the colour of the block work used."

A slightly lower timber ceiling in the dining area creates a sense of intimacy in contrast to the loftier living pavilion - an architectural trick the fi rm employs to create the desired contrast and save resources.

Overall, Dutton stresses that it was important to work collaboratively with the home's owners, to fi nd out how they intended to use the site and ensure that the renovations fitted the family's needs.

They specified that the residence should be low-maintenance and calm. It was a brief Bower had no problem meeting, describing the transformed place as "an elegant beachside retreat that avoids clutter and cutesiness".