A Total Concept Landscape Architects was commissioned to work on the entirety of this project including street frontage areas and the extensive external entertaining areas incorporating an outdoor room, swimming pool and garden areas.
The location of the outdoor entertaining room runs the full width of the property and is designed as a broad sunken area adjacent to the home’s indoor lounge and kitchen.
This Outdoor Room has been developed for a large family that entertains large numbers and includes a large fireplace, dining and lounge area. By relocating the furniture from the everyday position, the space can easily accommodate over one hundred people and does so many times a year for corporate entertaining.
The Outdoor Room also incorporates a wall mounted LCD television, fans and kitchenette, several louvered roofs that can be automatically opened and retracted when desired. The gas fireplace is a strong visual statement with sandstone cladding and wide steps leading from the lawn area provide overflow seating for children and visually replicate the floating timber daybeds within the outdoor room.
The contemporary kitchenette is positioned out of the way opposite the fireplace with a detailed timber screen behind that is designed to swivel on a hinge to provide access to a side garden area. The kitchenette incorporates intricate built-in timber cabinetry, off-form concrete splashback and benchtop with waterfall edges, under-mounted sink, stainless steel fridge, dishwasher, barbecue and wok burner.
An existing granny flat at the rear of the property was renovated as rumpus room for children and is far enough away so that when the new steel framed doors are closed, loud music and electronic games are not heard in the main home.
The central space between the residence and Cabana incorporates the swimming pool and lawn areas that together with similar materials utilised throughout the project tie back to the home to ensure that new and old is well integrated, and although built at different times all appears as one.
At nighttime LED down lighting in the cabana ceiling and eaves of the home provide for functionality, which, together with step lights, lights in the swimming pool and energy efficient LED lighting throughout the paving, lawn and garden areas, create mood effects with washes of light and dancing shadows.
Electrical items of the project such as lights, irrigation, swimming pool heater, pool lights and spa are all linked to a two-way electrical switching system.
The sparkling water of the royal blue glass tile used in the geometrically shaped swimming pool and spa contrast beautifully with the sandstone patterned porcelain tile that has been used in the external paved areas, the recycled timber posts, pergolas and decking and with the natural rock faced sandstone walling itself. All have been designed to blend with the rich greens of the lawns and plants.
The surrounding gardens contain an eclectic contemporary selection of plant species including bromeliads, string of pearls, silver falls, cupressus, ficus topiaries, Walking Iris, Senecio ‘Chalk Sticks’, Phormium and Pig Face. There is also an edible wall garden feature full of herbs to be plucked for use with the barbecue.
