Luxury unearthed: The architect who finds the perfect land for you

What makes a home liveable? Rob Mills, award-winning founder of Rob Mills Architecture & Interiors, specialises in designing residences of sublime beauty from Byron Bay to the Bahamas. He says the secret to exceptional living lies in the land.

It is hard not to feel spellbound by Rob Mills’ architecture. He creates calm, elegant living spaces with expansive views. There are curved walls tucked under long, cantilevered roof lines. Staircases spiral upwards like sea snails, and circular ceiling windows bathe rooms in natural light. 

With over three decades of applied craftsmanship, the founder of Rob Mills Architecture & Interiors has built a solid reputation. Mills was chosen to restore one of Australia’s most historic and significant homes, Kirribilli Residence, a smaller version of the prime minister’s residence. Even when he puts his pen to a humble fishing hut in an isolated valley of the Victorian Alps, it becomes a showcase for building design that reconnects humans with nature. 

“We desire wilderness,” says Mills.  

“We want to feel free.” 

The architect speaks for himself but also for the people who are drawn to work with him. “I’m a person who can’t be framed within suburban fences and needs to be able to see the world beyond,” he says. 

“That’s also what characterises our clients. Their inner need is to live on land that allows them to look out into the world well beyond their boundaries.” 

The land. That’s where his design journey begins. Real estate agents focus on location – a concept steeped in transactional value. The architect focuses on land as the foundation for well-being. 

“We put land in the foreground, and we let our clients imagine themselves living on the land looking out,” says Mills, who designs residences on the best land in the world. 

“Wherever that land is, we belong. With great land come imaginative clients with the resources to collaborate with an exceptional team to deliver a truly exceptional living experience for them, their family and friends.” 

Size does not dictate greatness. Instead, Mills and his crew of residential design specialists in Australia and the US look for land that offers light, fresh air and a unique vantage point. 

Their search takes them around the globe, from Los Angeles to Milan, from the Bahamas to Byron Bay. 

Over the years, Mills has developed a strong sixth sense of knowing what kind of place will resonate with a client. It helps him not only to find the right land but also to tailor a building to a client’s personality and dreams. 

Some people approach him with little more than a desire for change. 

Mills recalls a series of enigmatic meetings with one of Germany’s wealthiest women. She was living in Monaco, the glitzy millionaire’s city-state. Yet, deep inside, she longed for a simpler, purer lifestyle in Australia. What exactly that would look like, she left to the architect’s imagination. 

Months passed, and Mills relied on his almost alchemical ability to understand a client’s needs. He noticed her willpower.  

He also noted her preference for walking barefoot at home. Her dream was to choose between Monaco’s glamour and a more carefree life. A dense bushland site with ocean views near the surfer town of Byron Bay seemed suitable. Mills remembers standing on the land with his clients, the sea breeze brushing their faces and the sound of rolling waves in their ears. It was a far cry from Monaco’s casinos, racing cars and high fashion. 

“You can imagine, as an architect, I was thinking, how am I going to draw this? How is she going to feel like she belongs here?” 

Less than two hours later, Mills had sketched a geometric ensemble of roundhouses and pools, inspired by Camille Pissarro’s famous haystacks painting.  

He drew a modern oasis under a pitched roof clad in French terracotta tiles, merging contemporary architecture and European tradition. Walls and floors would be coated in Moroccan tadelakt, a luxurious finish that feels soft and earthy under bare feet. 

“It is a sensory experience that we’re creating,” says Mills, whose interior team selects all materials for their naturalness, down to handcrafted dinner plates. 

His client from Monaco was pleased. “For her to imagine living in this house on the Australian coast gave her real freedom.” 

Mills says great land does not always have sweeping views. He designs alongside talented landscape designers who use their expertise to turn inconspicuous urban lots into enchanted spaces. 

Take Kenley Court, a residence in the Melbourne suburb of Toorak. Its owners wanted a house to reflect their Italian heritage, which is about family, friends and food. Collaborating with acclaimed landscape designer Paul Bangay, Mills responded with a Mediterranean palazzo that looks like it’s been there for centuries. 

Lemon trees line a gravelled path leading up to a large wooden portal. In summer, the family has alfresco meals in the loggia. Its stone columns are overgrown with Wisteria flowers, and the mosaic-tiled fountain pool shimmers turquoise at night. 

“A really strong landscape always surrounds our houses because if you don’t have access to lush green spaces, you’re missing a fatal ingredient,” says Mills. 

Another key ingredient is his willingness to take time out and listen to his clients. 

“I learned years ago to listen to our clients’ ideas and then find a way of making them come true,” he says, adding he just scrambled an entire floor plan to move a pool from the rooftop to the basement. 

He flies to Milan with clients to find bespoke pieces at the world’s largest furniture fair. Others meet him at the island bar of Staniel Cay’s Yacht Club to discuss their new Bahamas beach home – a spectacular piece of architecture yet to be built. 

The clients had spent many holidays on their super yacht in the Caribbean but were looking for a more anchored life. Their future residence seems to drift along the coastline like a cloud in the sky. 

“It’s quite a nautical building, but it has a practical shape,” says Mills. 

“When the wind blows from one direction, you can sit in the lee of the building and capture views up and down the coast, which you wouldn’t enjoy if it were a rectangle.” 

Tall glass windows fully slide back, and super yacht couches seamlessly flow from the inside to the outside. Yet Mills uses materials and colours – a warm timber ceiling and sand-coloured travertine stone – to give the home the feel of a cocoon. 

“That’s what luxury living is today,” the architect says. “It’s not about gold taps. It’s about creating environments that stimulate you and make you feel alive.” 

For more information, visit robmills.com.au