Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Homes

Dec 13

Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Why Less Made This Architect’s Home Truly Better

Can a “less but better” approach create a richer home? In Separation Creek, along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, MGAO designed a 90m² retreat for his family where restraint and the essentials are not limitations, but the source of its richness.

Set on a steep hillside above Separation Creek along the Great Ocean Road, Olive Street Cabin is an architect’s own coastal retreat that reinterprets the classic Australian beach shack through a small-footprint, bushfire-resilient design. Elevated on stilts and oriented to expansive ocean views, the cabin works closely with the slope and surrounding landscape. Corrugated cladding and a muted, coastal palette settle the home into its environment, while large openings create a seamless indoor–outdoor connection. Inside, a compact and efficient plan is anchored by an integrated timber table for cooking, dining and gathering. With its minimalist coastal architecture and crafted detailing, the cabin offers a calm, essential retreat shaped by outlook, material honesty and the philosophy of ‘less but better’.

‘The idea is aligned with the notion of ‘less, but better’, It's a 90 square metre, two bedroom house. You might build less, and then you've got more money to put into the areas that actually are going to bring joy to your life. The less is more about the essential. Where the house is everything. Our family needs.’

— Matt Ross Goodman, Director, MGAO

Architecture by MGAO, built by Basebuild Constructions, structural engineering by Simon Anderson Consultants, timber joinery by FTHRBY, landscape design by JALA Studio.

Stay at Olive Street Cabin

Produced by Simple Dwelling, filmed, edited and photographed by Anthony Richardson, words by Anthony Richardson.

Exterior – small simple home – coastal landscape – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Interior– simple kitchen design – architect at home – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Interior– simple kitchen design – architects at home – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Interior– minimalist design – architect at home – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Interior– minimalist cabin design – architect's own home – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Interior– minimalist design – architects at home – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Interior– minimalism in architecture – architects own home – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Interior– less but better – architect at home – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Interior– Australian simplicity – architect at home – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Interior– small home design – architects own home – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Interior– small footprint home – architects house – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Interior– small footprint home – architects at home – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Exterior – coastal home – architects own home – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Exterior – minimalist home – architects own home – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Exterior – minimalist architecture – architects home – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Exterior –modern beach shack – coastal landscape – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

Floor Plan –small footprint home – architects own home – Olive Street Cabin by MGAO

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