A miner’s cottage in Pymble required an understated design and soft touch for its upgrade to incorporate clean traditional lines and detailing.
The main pedestrian entrance doubled as the driveway so to keep it visually soft and yet functional it was decided to pave using an organic material – sandstone flagging and to embrace the informality afforded by its use. Immediately adjacent to the home dressed sandstone was used to create shallow steps formalised by period pots set either side of the path.
Gardens we installed featuring simple planting of white azaleas and white gardenias with an alyssum border and azalea ‘White Bouquet’ topiaries.
The home had both an east facing rear garden with elevated timber deck and a north facing side garden where the pool was located to take advantage of the day long sun available. An elevated side veranda can be utilised for adult supervision of children and for shade and glass fencing green steel fencing to ensure a minimal visual barrier.
A simple geometric pool was renovated to include a simple black border tile (to match highlights on the home) and a white glass and pebble interior to soften its overall appearance rather than use a strong colour that would make the pool a bold statement. A dated ladder was removed and steps and a long bench installed internally.
Privacy to the pool was created from the neighbouring property using a simple vertical screen covered in Trachelospermum jasminiodes (star jasmine). This in turn provided a ‘soft’ screen with a backdrop of viburnum, large native trees and a blue flowering Jacaranda.
To the eastern end of the pool, and adjacent to the existing rear garden’s timber deck, a smaller matching timber deck was designed incorporating a large day bed (with pool toy storage under) for use with the swimming pool. The decision was made to use timber and utilise sandstone around the pool as paving better integrates the old and new components of the property.
Poolside gardens include Buxus japonica (Japanese Box) low pruned hedges to frame the garden with Gardenia florida (florists gardenia), Ophiopogan japonicum ‘miniata’ (miniature mondo grass), Agapanthus orientalis ‘alba’ (White Nile Lily) and Trachelospermum jasminiodes (star jasmine) - all white flowering plants to create an understated space!
The simplicity of design and colours of this project and discrete use of the quality materials visually unifies and creates and understated garden in harmony with the simple clean lines of the traditional home.
