Floreat Project

The owners of this residence were keen to preserve an established almond tree and address a privacy issue with the neighbours.

Taking into account the family’s four children, an emphasis was placed on maximising the play space as well as the pool and outdoor entertaining space. The existing cubby and its incorporated chook pen were preserved, as was as much of citrus grove as possible. The garden was already quite established and the owners wanted to be certain they would still have a garden that looked lush and full.

The project included adding a large family sized pool and a generous outdoor alfresco area, which required an outdoor extension to the home. A small deck comes off the family room, extending it and highlighting the almond tree. A sandpit has been incorporated into the deck and once it is no longer required it can be turned into a herb garden.

The alfresco was pulled right out to the boundary to make the most of the kitchen/dining area, defined by decking and bluestone.

With the 830sqm block sloping considerably to the back and sideways across the block, site difficulties were addresses by using the pool to help retain the level along the rear and side. This created a flat area between pool and house for a lawn area, as did walls to the south side of the pool shell, which help to disguise the shed and allow levels to the southern side to be retained for the existing trees and cubby area.

Trees help maintain an established look and offer vertical scale, including narrower planter boxes, planted with tall narrow trees to open up the space. The wisteria arbour to the alfresco creates a beautiful alternate entrance to the rear garden/alfresco. The mature wisteria will create privacy from the neighbour’s windows, which overlook the space.

The result is a homely, relaxed classic family garden. In a year or two, when the planting has established, it will be very lush, green and private.