From Perth to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and other places, these Australian residences demonstrate the meaning of optimizing indoor/outdoor living residences.

Melbourne architecture studio WALA has revived a federal-era bungalow with a two-story extension, including a back garden, and solving the problem of the house's vulnerability to flooding. At the back of the structure, full-height sliding glass doors lead to a raised deck that connects to a separate pavilion with a study and a second living room. The large backyard is fixed by a Japanese maple tree to coordinate the old and new buildings.

On the edge of the Royal National Park in the small seaside village of Bundeena, architect Hannah Tribe used prefabrication technology to design her 540-square-foot holiday home. The minimalist wood-covered exterior pays homage to the local vernacular and is in keeping with the popular fishing houses in the area, which stand in a straight line in the large garden. Passive heating and cooling are achieved by the thermal mass of the concrete slabs supporting the modular frame-and by positioning the house to let the breeze flow through its floor-to-ceiling sliders.

A Melbourne family with three young children called on local practice Mitsuori Architects to expand their old Victorian house by adding two floors to the rear. On the first floor, the spacious living room, dining room, and kitchen area lead to the courtyard and backyard through large sliding glass doors with a retractable design, which means they can cooperate with each other, so the outdoor space can be maximized.

Brisbane studio Hogg & Lamb has refurbished this Queensland cottage called B&B Residence, with its geometric indoor/outdoor extension connected to the subtropical environment. The interior space is designed to create an interesting geometrically shaped interconnected plane that contains and joins the raised grass courtyard on the northern edge of the family house.  

Micka Etheridge, director of SPACEbuilt, expanded a 1980s residence in Byron Bay for her new owners Cheryl and James Kitchener. Today, this 2,422-square-foot house resembles a lowercase "h" with one side extending to the end of the house. The central living space is equipped with sliding glass doors, allowing the owner to pay close attention to young children no matter where they are.

The Melbourne company Megowan Architectural has refurbished this single-story clapboard house called the Pleated House. The architects said: "The brief description is to effectively and economically transform the under-lighted windshield into an open modern house, which has a good connection with the back garden and gives a relaxed and refined feeling." Bold roof The line pays homage to the classic medieval architectural form and makes space for the skylight to fill the interior with light. 

For the Bungalow 8 renovation project in Melbourne, the main goal of the architecture and interior design studio Splinter Society was to create “a more modern, free-flowing series of connected living spaces” while “preserving as much of the existing layout as possible”. The sloping roof line serves as a guide for the layout of the new space. It also contributes to passive heating and creates a unique junction between the inside and the outside.

In order to refurbish the East Fremantle residence in the suburbs of Perth, architect Nic Brunsdon added a rear extension, cleverly mixing white stucco and warm wood. In the 3,229-square-foot family home, there is an airy public space, which Brunsden calls the "garden room", with a huge sliding door that connects the interior with a sunny green courtyard. 

Modscape, a local prefabricated building expert, designed an energy-efficient extension for a Melbourne family house, wrapped in black stained wood and black vertical cladding. On the first floor of the addition, the well-lit living space overlooks the backyard through floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass doors. Applying the passive principle of solar energy and optimizing cross ventilation, so that natural light pours out from the double-glazed windows and thermal insulation frame. 

Taking inspiration from the popular Japanese movie "My Neighbor Totoro", Sydney company CplusC Architectural Workshop has refurbished a four-bedroom family home to celebrate the importance of interpersonal relationships and connection with the natural world. The rear extension with a spacious open-plan living area seamlessly integrates with the outdoor deck and landscaped garden. 

Albert Mo, the co-founder of Australian architect EAT, designed a low-rise bellows house using concrete blocks throughout the exterior and interior spaces. The south-facing U-shaped end of the residence surrounds a private courtyard. At the northern end of the house, the public living space leads to a garden for family gatherings and entertainment.

When Zuzana Kovar and Nicholas Skepper began to renovate an old Queensland cottage for a young family in Brisbane, the first challenge was the orientation of the house. "We want to connect the interior of the house with its garden-this is a space that is vital to the family and their children, and the cottage previously refused to use this space," Kowal said. Now, the updated layout points the kitchen, dining room and living room towards the verdant garden, connecting indoor and outdoor areas through the sight of the house.

Rob Kennon Architects took inspiration from the Hill House of the famous Australian architect Sir Roy Grounds and redesigned a California-style bungalow for a family in the suburb of Elwood in Melbourne. The villa has a circle in a square of solid brick walls. Shaped glass wall courtyard. The single-story extension of Elwood Bungalow also surrounds a circular courtyard and a carefully planted garden. Inside, the cost-effective material palette includes recycled masonry walls and concrete ceilings and floors, complementing the original house.

Architect Polly Harbison expanded the home where her sister Margot lived with her family in the 1940s, including a new kitchen, a bedroom with an outdoor shower, and expansive garden views. In the additional main public area, floor-to-ceiling glass doors and wooden screens completely slid open, allowing Margot, Evan and their three daughters to breathe fresh air.

Studio Prineas expanded a historic federal residence in Sydney, which is completely different in style from the original residence, but it cleverly reflects the characteristics of the original residence. A new bedroom and a study corner on the upper level have been added to the stylish rear. On the first floor, a sliding glass wall connects the open-plan living room, kitchen and dining area with the garden and swimming pool. 

Edition Office architect Kim Bridgland designed a single-story house for the couple in the gold rush town of Kyneton in Australia. The garden can be accessed through the sliding wooden frame glass window wall in the public area, occupying a central position. The thermal mass of the recycled bricks used for the walls combined with cross ventilation allows the house to be passively cooled. In the colder months, the air exchange heat pump can heat the floor.

In order to redesign this pre-war workers' cabin in Brisbane, Cavill Architects chose a Mediterranean-like atmosphere. The interior uses white plaster walls and large sliding glass doors to completely integrate the separated living space into the lush garden environment.   

Architect Christopher Polly designed this two-story building for a simple single-story house in Sydney. The polished concrete floor on the ground extends into the garden, while the sliding doors and windows of the cedar frame provide an open view of the site’s precious jacaranda trees. 

This Melbourne expansion project was designed by Ben Callery Architects and incorporates renewable features, including high levels of insulation, double glazing, and recycled and locally sourced materials. The corrugated metal roof is designed to slide over a 1,650 square foot indoor/outdoor residence.

Melbourne practice studio Bright reincarnates a declining Edwardian era into a modern family home with playful design details and rear extensions. The western periphery contains a walled garden and a secondary entrance. The cream-colored LOHAS Nilo Rustic bricks are coated with additives to maintain the "sympathetic but differentiating" structure of the existing red bricks.

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