The second project for the same clients.
Our clients return to us again and again. This property is the second home we have developed for these clients. They have since sold this property, purchased within the same street, have designed the third property which is currently under construction and we are now designing the sisters’ property.
Both the home and external areas of this project required major redesign and renovation work. The external areas were totally overgrown and had no structural fabric which effectively gave us free reign to design grand entry stairs through terraced gardens and a large lawn area with perimeter plantings to the front garden. An upper terrace area, together with a rear garden with entertaining area, a fire pit, swimming pool and spa that both viewed across Sydney Harbour towards Rose Bay, Double Bay and beyond to the city skyline.
The entry stairs fall over 3.5 metres and to integrate street level with lawn level have been constructed over are over 2.2 metres wide with generous landings through sandstone terraced gardens with colourful avenue plantings of Japanese Maple and Japanese Coral Bark Maple underplanted with Acanthus mollis (Oyster plant), Plectranthus argentatus (Silver shield), Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snowflake’ (hydrangea), Mandevilla sanderi (Mandavillea), Camellia japonica 'Black Magic' (deep red camellia), Buxus japonica ‘Topiary Balls’, Parthenocissus tricuspidate (Boston Ivy), Cymbidium Sweet devon 'Honey Bunny' (sweety orchid), Pieris japonica 'Mountain Fire (Pieris), Dietes iridioides (flag), Viola odorata (English violets) and Beaumontia grandiflora (Heralds trumpet). These terraced gardens lead to a large lawn area with perimeter screen plantings of Magnolia x alba (White magnolia) underplanted with Trachelospermum asiaticum (Asian jasmine).
To the rear of the property, the existing topography dropped from the two adjoining properties over 5 metres to create a ravine through the centre of our property. This required us to raise the swimming pool and spa out of ground by over 5 metres to achieve the same level to the paved entertaining area adjacent to the home itself. A challenge to gain an approval because council planning codes stipulated a maximum 1.5 metres above natural ground.
Our brief for the rear area was for a plunge pool and a large firepit with seating around to take advantage of the nighttime lights of the city skyline and the views from the pool across Sydney Harbour. Both the pool and firepit area were designed around semi circles to reflect the large circular bay in the home and the circular shape of Mosman Bay. From the pool we stepped down to the rear boundary in one metre increments with terraced gardens to hide the undercroft of the pool.
Traditional garden plants were used in this area to develop a theme suitable for the home and trees including Plumeria rubra (frangipanni) and Buckinghamia celsissima (Ivory Curl Tree) were kept to a minimum to ensure views were not compromised from the home nor neighbours’ properties.
