Building designer Ian Wilson admits he always works with his clients' ages in mind, especially if the house will one day serve them in retirement.

Fit, active couples, including friends for whom he recently designed a striking timber-clad house on a steep site near the Barwon Heads golf course, often don't contemplate possibilities such as a partner losing mobility or dying.

But for Wilson, a former chef who launched his interior and building design practice in 1993, planning for contingencies makes perfect sense and is easy enough with a well-considered, flexible floor plan.

The brief for this tri-level house was straightforward enough.

The clients had owned a townhouse nearby for 20 years and used it as a weekender.

Several years ago they bought a 1950s house in poor condition, attracted by the large, elevated block and views.

They asked Wilson to design a house to which they could retreat at weekends but eventually live in full-time.

It needed to accommodate visits from adult children and grandchildren and provide plenty of light, a backdrop for an extensive Aboriginal art collection and a sense of connection to the ample garden and surrounding landscape.

Wilson describes his response as "architecturally conservative" but the appealing, inscrutable rectilinear facade seems anything but.

Interconnected rendered boxes are softened by warm spotted gum cladding on the upper level and echoed in panels below and a sculptural part "fence", at the front of the property, made from 10 chunky, freestanding spotted gum posts.

Long horizontal and tall vertical glass window "boxes" pop out 300 millimetres to 400 millimetres from the facade, breaking up the potentially tough rectilinear form.

The house sits well back to protect its south-facing front from ocean winds.

A rendered garage, to the left and painted deep taupe, is positioned east-west to allow its side wall to function as a front fence of sorts.

Inside, the pop-out windows that add depth and texture to the exterior frame wonderful views through the clean, unfussy, neutral interior and out to the garden and bush beyond.

Renovating inner-city properties on tight blocks close to neighbours has taught Wilson the importance of adding a feeling of height, volume and spaciousness inside through bands of light.

He's used carefully placed elongated windows and a partially enclosed north-facing deck off the living-meal area that visually captures space for the interior without overlooking neighbours.

Schematically, the house can function in several ways.

The owners can live predominantly on the ground level, which comprises an expansive main bedroom with full-height doorways and windows linked to a small timber deck to the east; a large en suite with a timber seat built into the frameless glass shower; a separate toilet; a laundry; an open-plan kitchen and meals area with an island bench and panoramic views via a three-metre-long horizontal window above the stove top; and a living area with an open fireplace set into a feature wall finished in cement render with the variation of raw cement.

Wilson says bringing external elements indoors helps relax a space and make it less precious.

Lovely timber decks overlook garden areas to the west and north.

Upstairs is a spacious, L-shaped study with three tall panels of louvre windows and a full-width window box overlooking the street.

This could be used as a second living room or an additional bedroom. Downstairs are two more bedrooms (one could be a rumpus room), a bathroom with stunning views to the back garden, a separate toilet and a small concealed kitchen.

For now, it's ideal for family and other visitors but one day could accommodate a live-in carer or one or two single inhabitants.

Details

Designer: Ian Wilson, Wilson id Pty Ltd Phone: 9388 0420
Builder: Owner-builder
Land size: 864 square metres House size: 388 square metres
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2
Parking: Double garage
Special features: 12,500-litre underground tank
Awards: Building Designers Association of Victoria's 2009 Awards for Most Effective Use of Timber and Residential Design, New Houses ($500,000-$1,000,000 Construction Cost)