Merivale

The brief

After downsizing from a large property, the clients purchased a new townhouse which had some landscaping completed by the builder – however this landscaping didn’t set their world on fire. We were asked to undertake a design for the complete property which would create a space that would mimic the interior and create useable outdoor spaces for most of the year.

The design was to include decking, built-in seating, utilise the existing paving, gas fireplace and infrared heaters, louver roof, outdoor kitchen, spa pool, multi-zone entertaining, improved visibility and pedestrian foot traffic flows to the front door and man cave.

Whilst this list of wants was extensive, the size of the property created a fantastic design challenge to fit it all in and create a space that was inviting. We also needed to try and soften the architecture of the property as it was a two-storey townhouse on a small site.

The outcome

The front entrance and driveway were opened up to create better flows to the front door. We had to work with the existing driveway which we had a decorative cut and grout pattern put into, that mimicked large timber fins on the exterior of the house. Portions of the existing driveway were also removed so a feature garden could be created opposite the front door and lounge windows.

This feature garden was planted with a large bamboo which provides fantastic vertical form softening the height of the house and providing sound and movement to the entrance area. This bamboo was also mirrored through to the main outdoor entertaining space.

Steppingstones were added to link the driveway through to the entertaining space where we removed half of the existing paving and replaced it with hardwood decking. The decking provides fantastic definition to the two outdoor rooms plus provides an amazing warmth to the area. Over the deck an automatic louver roof was installed including two infrared heaters along with a custom designed gas fire and inbuilt seat. The addition of the louver roof to this space and its proximity to the house meant that this area is now an extension to the living room and can be used just about all year.

We step from the deck to granite paving which forms the cooking and dining space. The pavers were reused from the original landscape and linked to the outdoor kitchen, which was custom designed to incorporate seating, a dining bench, fridge and inbuilt BBQ. The end of the table is supported by steel fins which replicate the large timber fins used on the exterior of the house. This idea is also carried through to the seat and the divider to the spa space. The outdoor areas feature custom designed Corten steel planters which provide fantastic colour contrast to the rest of the property and add another dimension to the planting.

The spa area is situated beside the outdoor kitchen but is cleverly separated with feature bamboo planting and the addition of 2.5m high steel fins which also act as towel or robe holders when in the spa space.

The planting on this landscape is minimal due to the client’s request – but what is there provides exceptional lush greens, fragrance, texture and seasonal interest, as well as adding vertical elements to soften the house construction.