This family home in Dover Heights is balanced on a steep, rock-formed site with grand city views to the west. The home’s monolithic, playful forms and thick walls offer a buffer to the busy road below. Terraced native gardens lend personality to the streetscape, while a private rear garden and pool frame a place for retreat, complete with a generous covered BBQ and entertaining terrace that flows through from the kitchen and internal living areas. The design caters to a creative family with growing children and frequent guests, balancing communal areas with places for privacy. Inspired by a nostalgia for Greek holidays, the home features white-washed, textured walls playing with light and shadow. Inside, natural Endicott stone floors bring warmth through their imperfect shapes, while timber linings and joinery offer tactility – sometimes hand-painted white, sometimes raw oak. The bathrooms and ensuites were finished with Ceppo and Elba stones, and sandy Venetian render to follow through on the theme of natural tactility.