The Design
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Colour, Texture, Coastline: The Design Story Behind South House
The Design of South House: Merimbula, Rendered in Colour and Texture
Some hotels are decorated. South House was designed — from the outside in, starting with the place itself.
Merimbula sits at the point where a tidal lake meets the open Pacific, framed by eucalypt forest, weathered timber jetties and long stretches of sand that shift colour with the tide. That landscape isn't a mood board for South House — it's the brief. Every material, colour and finish in the building was chosen to hold a conversation with what's just outside the window.
A palette pulled from the lake and the sea
Walk through South House and you're moving through the tonal range of Merimbula itself: the deep sapphire-green of the lake at low tide, the bleached driftwood grey of the boardwalk, the warm ochre of the sand dunes at Short Point, the soft eucalyptus tones of the surrounding bushland. [Designer Olivia Naim describes the approach as "
Rather than a single feature colour, the palette shifts room to room and level to level — cooler, more aquatic tones toward the water-facing rooms, warmer earth and timber tones as you move back through the building toward the bush-facing side. It's a quiet piece of wayfinding: you can almost tell which way you're facing by the colour of the wall.
Texture over ornament
South House leans on texture rather than decoration to do the work. Expect to feel, as much as see:
- Reclaimed and reworked timber in flooring, joinery and furniture, referencing the jetties and boat sheds that line the lake
- Hand-finished plaster and lime-washed walls, so surfaces catch light the way sandstone and sea cliffs do at different times of day
- Natural stone and rope detailing, nodding to the working harbour history of the Sapphire Coast
- Woven and loose-weave textiles, echoing dune grass and coastal scrub
Designed to be lived in, not just photographed
The brief for Olivia Naim wasn't a showpiece — it was a place that felt inevitable, like it had grown out of the site rather than been placed on it. Furniture is generous rather than precious. Light is treated as a material in its own right, with the building oriented and glazed to track the sun across the lake through the day. Public spaces — the fireside bar, the poolside lounge — are built for long, unhurried stays, not fast turnover.
That's the real design story of South House: not a set of finishes, but a decision to let Merimbula design the hotel, and for the hotel to get out of the way and let it.
"Fun Sapphire Coast
Facts"
This is whale country. Between August and November, sightings from the shoreline are simply part of the season.
About South House Hotel
South House is your contemporary hotel in the heart of Merimbula.
20 newly renovated rooms, lush native gardens, pool and outdoor fire plus our House Bars welcoming both guests and locals.
Our event space is available for your next big gathering.
Speak to us today about availability and booking.
www.southhoushotel.com.au
stay@southhousehotel.com.au
