Designed by the late Kerry Hill and built by Hutchinson Builders, The Residence at Hayman Island blends tropical modernism with absolute waterfront luxury.
2 minIs this Whitsunday’s best home?
Hayman Island may have been ravaged by Cyclone Debbie in 2017, which saw the island, one of the smallest of the major Whitsunday islands, all but shut down, but the 390-hectare paradise has made an extraordinary comeback.
The InterContinental brand took over the island’s only resort, which was completely devastated by the Category 4 cyclone. The same year the cyclone hit, The Residence at Hayman was built, one of just two private residences on the island.
Constructed by Hutchinson Builders, a Tier 1 builder better known for delivering some of South East Queensland’s finest multi-residential developments, the lavish home is made from reinforced concrete with a blend of glass and timber battening.
It was designed by the late, internationally renowned architect Kerry Hill, widely regarded as a key figure in refining tropical modernist architecture. Hill was an island specialist, having designed several major resorts in Bali.
The Residence at Hayman spans three levels and offers over 1,400 sqm of living space, including around 580 sqm of internal living areas. The remainder comprises breezeways, terraces, and balconies designed to embrace the island’s subtropical climate.
Entry to the home is via the upper level, as the property tiers down the site with direct access to the beach. The top and lower levels accommodate most of the home’s eight bedrooms, as well as a study and a double garage with buggy parking, the preferred mode of transport throughout the Whitsundays.
The middle level is home to the main kitchen, living, and dining areas, complete with a full butler’s pantry. It opens to a large, L-shaped terrace featuring an outdoor kitchen, alfresco dining and lounge zones, and a sundeck. The terrace flows to the basalt-clad infinity swimming pool, deck, and cabana with integrated seating, as well as a pool house.
Owners or guests of The Residence also have access to the InterContinental Hayman Island Resort facilities, including 24-hour room service, butler assistance, private chefs, and the resort’s wellness centre.
Whitefox agents Cheyne Fox and Nic Whitehead are marketing The Residence as “a rare and extraordinary find.”
“This is more than just a home, it’s an opportunity to own a piece of paradise, a legacy to share with family and friends for generations to come,” Fox said.
The only other private residence on Hayman Island, Hayman House, is also on the market. Commissioned by Terry Peabody, former billionaire and Transpacific Industries founder, Hayman House was first listed last year with hopes of $27 million, later reportedly reduced to $20 million in early 2025.
Designed by Kerry Hill and also built by Hutchies (in 2010), Hayman House shares a similar design ethos to The Residence, albeit on a smaller scale. Its 18-week construction endured three cyclones, with all site access via the beach, which had to be reinforced to prevent heavy vehicles from sinking into the sand.
The Australian leather house has opened an immersive four-day pop-up in Manhattan, unveiling its Bloom Collection and redefining what a product launch can look like.
Following the successful launch of its Palais Collection, MAISON de SABRÉ has unveiled a new modular handbag system offering more than 720 styling combinations.
A five-bedroom Palo Alto home designed by Steven Ehrlich is listed for $44 million, making it the city’s most expensive listing. Built around a dramatic concrete spine, the home features four courtyards and a pool.
3 min
For years, tech entrepreneur Asher Waldfogel and his wife, Helyn MacLean, dreamed of building a modern house in Palo Alto, Calif.
The couple, however, worried about clashing with the Mediterranean-style architecture typically associated with their neighborhood of Old Palo Alto.
So they tapped architect Steven Ehrlich to create a design that paid homage to its surroundings with stucco, mahogany and titanium zinc cladding. They spent $20 million over several years building the house, completed in 2005.
Now looking to be closer to their adult daughter on the East Coast, they are putting the five-bedroom home on the market for $44 million—the most expensive listing in Palo Alto.
Waldfogel is an angel investor who co-founded Redback Networks, a telecommunications-equipment company. MacLean previously had a career in fundraising.
The couple purchased the roughly 0.4-acre site for $7.1 million in 2000 and demolished a circa-1930s Spanish Colonial home. The house they built pinwheels around a central staircase. It has 7,900 square feet of livable space, with four distinct courtyards and a pool.
A key feature of the home is a cast-in-place concrete wall, or spine, that is two stories high and about 80 feet long. “There’s a little bit of controlled chaos in what comes out of the form,” unlike a perfectly uniform surface, Waldfogel said. “If you want that, you do it in plastic.”
Waldfogel said he and his wife are thinking about the next phase of life now that their daughter is grown, although they have not decided where they will move. They also have a home in Sun Valley, Idaho.
“Right now we’re just trying to emotionally let go and decide what to do next,” he said.
Palo Alto, an epicenter of venture capital and tech startups in Silicon Valley, is home to some of the country’s biggest tech titans. Sales volume and prices are rising, with a median sale price of $3.5 million for the three months ending in August, up 5.8% year-over-year, according to real-estate brokerage Redfin.
Arthur Sharif of Sotheby’s International Realty—San Francisco Brokerage has the listing.
