Both Barrie and Jan Smith grew up on Sydney's Northern Beaches. When they made a "tree change" to Murrumbateman in 1982, it was for both lifestyle and business reasons, but they both missed being able to duck down to the beach for a swim.

"When you work and live in the same location, the only real holiday is when you go away," Barrie said.

For 10 years they holidayed over Christmas in rented houses in Mollymook or Burrill Lake with their children, their partners and increasing numbers of grandchildren and some time was always spent looking at potential holiday houses, something they managed to resist for only so long.

On one such expedition, Jan found a waterfront block at Kings Point containing one of the original Kings Point buildings, a one-bedroom fibro cottage that had seen better days. Everything about it was perfect, the lake, the aspect and the climate. Within the week, she had bought it.

The client's vision for the block was a house where they could sneak away from the pressures of their business and enjoy the extensive views and peace and quietness of Burrill Lake, but also to have a house where the extended family could come at Christmas, enjoy each other's company and the surrounding beaches and lake.

When they decided to build their accountant recommended TT Architecture.  They instantly related well to Tony Trobe and liked many features of the houses he was able to show them from his extensive portfolio of completed projects.

"We wanted an open plan where one room melded into the other and one which took maximum advantage of the spectacular lake views and Tony was able to produce a design which maximised the use of the block to deliver exactly what we had hoped for," Barrie said.

"Given its semi-rural/village context we hoped for a design that would fit into the street, that it would not make a loud architectural statement. In a quote from our brief, we said, 'We are not sure of the construction type; we will see what you come up with. It must be as you said … polite'."

Barrie and Jan got quotes from a number of south coast builders. Accord Building, of Milton, were building a house in Mollymook, designed by TT Architecture, and an inspection of that house confirmed the quality.

As the house progressed, it was referred to by some of the locals as "the two sheds" because, Barrie and Jan assumed, of the use of corrugated sheeting for both the walls and ceiling and the two-pavilion design. They liked this description so much they nearly had a "Two Sheds" name plate made for it

The Escea gas fire was a piece of inspired design on the client's part. The wall was in the original design, but they struggled with how to best use it. The builder spoke to Escea in New Zealand and came up with an installation with a concealed flue and which provided ducted warm air into the living area and main bedroom.