Kelly Martin Architecture

20/03/2026

20/03/2026

update

29/08/2025

I’m always in awe of form workers and how they can work inside out and not upside down!

This is a small reno project creating a link between existing house and cottage.

17/03/2025

Why are master plans are a good idea?

Because they lead to good design outcomes.
This is the build process of the addition of ensuite to the Doonan House.
There was a master plan of an ensuite in the original design, but the final ensuite ended up slightly different which is pretty normal and part of any design process picked up again a few years later.
Having a master plan is essential to not having to undo work and it also means you can control how the extension I’ll tie in with the original house. The key to this project was that the new ensuite didn’t look like an add on. This was achieved quite simply as the master plan process meant that the hard work had been done - we had the space allocated and idea of how it would work with the current house. The build was then an easy and seamless addition.
Externally you can’t tell where the old ends and the new starts. We even reused the end swing door and stairs to maintain access to the much loved outdoor shower.
Internally we kept the same finishes and fixtures as the other bathrooms, to keep that continuity of the original design which included the skylight over shower, and solid blackbutt vanity.

27/05/2024

Starting the week elated that received a Regional Commendation in the new home category at the Sunshine Coast Architecture Awards on Friday night.

Big thank you to the original clients who commissioned me to design their home – with baby in tow, the new owners for allowing me to enter their home, Rob, the builder including all his trades that translated our drawings into this understated piece of architecture, Oskar for encouraging me to enter, and last but not least Ken my husband and business partner with whom I could not have started or finished this project without.

Builder | Responsive Building
Traditional Land Owners | Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi Country ,

17/05/2024

Doonan House 2/6
Stage 2: Sketch Design (April-May 2018)

North = looking into the neighbours. This was not ideal, nobody wants to live in a bush setting with trees on three sides and focus their outlook on their only visible neighbours, so we rotated the house about 45 degrees off north. Although not a classic text book solution of a north facing rectangle, we were fortunate that the established gum trees to the west provided shading from the late summer sun whilst allowing winter sun to pe*****te the home. We were also able to evenly maintain the connection to the ground along the length of the house by running with the contours.

Client “must haves” were; a linear house with rammed earth, colorbond cladding, drycreek bed & open communal zone for the family to gather & engage with their surroundings. The house had a modest brief with only one dedicated living space to encourage the family to spend time together. Our clients were keen to simplify life so an ensuite wasn’t required, but an outdoor shower was. To future proof, we showed how you could add this.

Initial ideas revolved around a semi-permeable kitchen/living/dining (KLD) space that connected bedroom wings allowing us to open up to the southeast/northwest while maintaining shading from the late summer sun by the trees on site. Sight lines through the building were important to maintain a visual connection to the landscape as was direct access for as many rooms as possible.

The design started with a slightly elevated casual & open KLD space flanked by a sleeping wing and utility wing. Formal spaces and a formal entry didn’t suit the home or our client's lifestyle. The living space fully opens on each side to expand as required.

Direct access from the carport through the laundry/mud room was essential for family life and provided a dedicated drop zone. This utilitarian space is on the ground level and from there you step up onto the home platform. The wings each side were separated via use. To one side the family sleeping zone with a bathroom and direct access to the outdoor shower at the far end. The other contained the carport, mud room, guest/office & 2-way bathroom.

Images notes in comments

17/05/2024

2024 SUNSHINE COAST REGIONAL AWARDS

Love local architecture and don’t have plans for Friday night? Or maybe you just want to have the opportunity to speed-interview a bunch of talented architects for your next project?
Well have I got the perfect night for you! The annual Sunshine Coast Regional Architecture awards organised by Is happening next Friday at Maroochydore.

Jump on the website to register. Link in bio.

Gather together for an evening of great presentations and even better company to celebrate the announcement of the winners and commended projects of the 2024 Sunshine Coast Region Architecture Awards. One of Queensland’s fastest growing regions, the Sunshine Coast showcases a distinct architectural flavour from hinterland to beach front. Located next to the glistening waters of Maroochydore, our regional awards promises an evening of celebration and community.

When: 24 May 2024
Time: 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Where: Altitude Nine
Address: Corner First Ave And South Sea Islander Way
Maroochydore, QLD, 4558
Cost: $79.00

02/05/2024

Doonan House 1/6
Stage 1: Pre-Design (April 2018)

After initial discussions and meetings with a potential client, fee proposals are presented and contracts signed. This is the start of the process and we enter Pre-design. It's where we gather more information about the clients, the brief and the site. We visit the site at different times of day with and without the clients. A survey is organised and we review the Noosa Plan documents. These exercises identify the constraints of the site and how we can use them to our advantage in a considered way.

This site was part of a subdivision of a larger lot and had a designated building envelope. This is a designated portion of the site that is the only place you have permission to build. For this property, the building envelope was right up near the road and in view of the neighbour to the north. There were a few Council mapping overlays on the site that we'd need to consider and address when starting the design.

Most of the 52 Hectares was zoned as protected with a relatively small build zone so the main challenge was getting a sense of privacy from the neighbours to the north whilst still accessing light. Entering the site, the path forked around a clump of vegetation which we were keen to keep.

Our clients had been using the site for campfires and I always find it interesting the space people gravitate to and why. The distance from trees, neighbours, openness and elevation are just right in this location. The trees are koala habitat and there had been sightings. Along with the natural fall of the land, it made sense to orientate the building towards the southeast along the contours and focus on this outlook rather than due north straight into the neighbours.

1 - Early site visit taking it all in
2 - The building envelope area
3 - Site survey
4 - Munchkin investigating the local flora. One of my personal faves as it is so soft and whimsical, with a great name too (Caustis blakei, also known as the koala fern)
5 - Council Mapping biodiversity overlay
6 - Council Mapping bushfire overlay
7 - Initial sketches on site
8 - More rough idea thinking
9 – More Koala fern, it really is a beautiful plant

24/04/2024

After years of being bombarded with photos of beautiful spaces, you’re probably bored to death scrolling through curated photo after curated photo of architectural spaces that don’t give you any insight into how they got to that point. There’s usually no story, just a beautiful photo and if you’re lucky, a few words.

I hear you and I’m guilty myself of just falling for the “I should really post something on insta as it’s been (6+) months!” Then grab a pretty pic from my file of pretty professional pics, post and get back to work.

In my defence you’re probably surprised to hear that most new homes take a good 2, 3 or even 4+ years from start to finish to materalise. So by the time I have finished photos to share it’s probably been at least another 6-12 months after the clients moved in. By then my brain is full to the brim of current projects… homes that will be completed in the coming years… that you probably won’t see for another 2 years. It’s a long process.

But I’m sure you’d love to see the condensed version of this process so I’ll be sharing a series of posts about how we got from the first pic to the second. Breaking it down into pre-design, design, construction documentation and construction.

I’ll start with the Doonan House first – in the meantime here’s some pretty pics from my file of professional pics, plus some of my amateur ones, that hopefully you don’t just scroll past.

Professional pics
Builder

26/10/2023

Big thanks to for hosting the Ask an Architect event last Saturday.

Anyone that knows me, knows I’m always keen to help out with design, building or renovation questions, so this was a great opportunity to share some knowledge with home owners about to embark on reno projects with a bit more clarity, direction and inspiration.

01/09/2023

Gotta love a student free day!!