outdoor design special
love entertaining “We
the space - we do a lot of outside now” ~ vanessa, homeowner
SIMPLE, BEAUTIFUL AND TIMELESS are the core
DESIGN HERO
pool zone
A well-designed pool can make for a fun-filled summer, especially if you have children. Devised by garden designers Sophie and Mick of Think Outside Gardens, this 7m x 4m version was constructed by Splish Splash Pools. It’s heated with both gas and solar energy and features an in-floor cleaning system. “Last year we were swimming in August!” says owner Vanessa.
design principles of this family-friendly garden in Sydney. The work of Mick Drower and Sophie Grieve of Think Outside Gardens, the gently sloping yard has three distinct zones – each designed with entertaining and enjoyment in mind, and each boasting clever details that will help the space grow and change with the family. Owners Vanessa and Grant hoped for a garden that would suit the family for a long time. “We wanted a pool and a grassy area – something really functional for our two little girls,” explains Vanessa. Daughters Molly, six, and Ruby, three, were significantly younger when the project commenced in October 2011, when the garden was essentially a no-go area. “It was a rolling backyard that changed levels quite a lot,” recalls Mick. “It had very little privacy and strelitzia had grown wild across the back.” Mick and Sophie removed most of the existing garden and created one major level change. Now, a lush, flat lawn leads to a decked pool and cabana, which sits at the lowest point of the garden and is accessed by spotted gum timber steps. An irrigation system was also worked into the design, making
watering the garden a thing of the past and everything very low-maintenance and user-friendly. The makeover extended to the house itself, too, with a new balcony featuring a louvered roof by Vergola – automated with a sensor to close at the first sign of wind or rain – added upstairs (see page 204). This space opens out from the living and dining rooms; “Previously, we hardly ever used the area because it was so open to the elements,” says Vanessa. “Now, we use it like it’s just another room in the house.” The creation of the new balcony upstairs – complete with an external staircase that allows direct access from the first floor to the garden – had the added benefit of creating an undercover outdoor zone downstairs. “What we wanted was somewhere we could spend quality time together as a family, and that’s exactly what it’s become,” says Vanessa. “One of my favourite things is sitting in the cabana and watching Grant play with the kids in the pool. It’s just beautiful.” Think Outside Gardens, (02) 9380 7957, thinkoutsidegardens.com.au. Sanctuary Design, sanctuarydesign.com.au.
green scene
{above left & right} Underneath the external staircase is an eye-catching patch of the shade-tolerant perennial New Zealand rock lily, which bursts into a mass of white blooms each spring. With daughters Molly and Ruby still too young to use the pool unattended, family life often revolves around the verdant lawn at the top of the garden, which is turfed in low-maintenance Sir Walter buffalo grass. >
homebeautiful.com.au {OCTOBER 2014} 201