Burraneer, Sydney NSW
MEDITATION
As you entered the front gate you found yourself walking through the pathways watching more your footing than the garden abound. This was a beautiful home with beautiful distant views of the waters of Port Hacking but not such a beautiful garden setting. You could say the disharmony between the picture frame and the picture it supported.
Hover over the image to see the before and after photos
The Back Story
This home that sat aloft the falling away land and was constructed with little thought to using the pockets of garden as rooms of rest and relaxation.
Natural Sydney sandstone outcrops where commanding the flow of the gardens and the difficulty of doing anything different and so the garden was what it was – disjointed.
The client over the years had collected a range of statues, art work of personal importance that simply had to be displayed in a known way and not a plonked way. There was a strong undercurrent to meditation and spiritual being the minute you entered the home and the homes ambiance was soft and gentle carrying clean lines.
The Challenge
The challenges included:
- Very poor access and challenging gradient changes.
- Removal of materials from site and the introduction of new.
- Structural integrity of the proposed design.
- Making every corner carry its own character and making sure the art work was balanced with its surroundings.
- Respect the natural rock outcrops but not letting it dictate terms.
- Making the garden balance with the home.
OUR SOLUTION
The client quickly started to get to know myself as a person, my thoughts to life and my family. She had a collection of eclectic pieces that where abound before we even started to talk gardens and wants etc. It was clear that whatever the design and its physical constraints, my client Elayne, needed to have peace of mind that I respected her wishes and was not here to just DO A DESIGN. It was a beautiful and complementing approach.
Once Elayne was comfortable we started to discuss the pieces abound, their history and even Sherman a strong sandstone carving of a person overseeing the place he resided in. Not only was the wish to see and touch the art pieces, they also needed to be placed outside in a safe manner given the gradient drop.
To the rear of the home was a sun lounge on the good side that was bounded by a boundary line, but was not managed by fencing. Immediately connected to this boundary was a drive way to lower properties. So, using the sun lounge was quite intrusive and not private. It was Elayne’s wish to bring privacy, rest and connectivity to the piece of garden that wrapped around it.
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Above it all
The Entertainer
