THE STORY:
This contemporary family home has been designed with expert craftmanship and an array of high-end materials. The incorporation of a natural colour palette which focusses on utilising earthy tones and textures throughout the exterior and interior spaces as well as on surfaces within the rendered home, sets the stage for a skillfully designed ‘desert garden.’ The homeowners love for recycled timbers, natural stone, meticulous attention to detail, and an openness for us as designers to have creative freedom, allowed for a truly unique and breathtaking concept design for an outdoor living space. We gained inspiration from dry arid deserts we have travelled through such as Arizona and Australia, collecting an assortment of imagery of these landscapes, from colours, textures, shapes, and plants, in order to successfully execute this design.
Clever thinking along with creative ideas were able to address drainage issues by constructing a dry creek riverbed which not only rectified the problem but became a spectacular feature to this design. The addition of retaining walls allowed for useable and expansive levelled areas for dining and lounging. Stepping down onto gravel paths with organic shaped stone steppers allowed for a cohesive and connected flow to other interactive spaces throughout the ‘desert garden.’
‘Desert Garden’ is the ultimate entertainer’s home, to dine with family and friends. The pergola installation, constructed out of recycled timbers, dates back from a 1940’s bridge in outback Queensland. The impressive outdoor kitchen filled with aromatic ember wood fire oven surrounded by beautifully hand-crafted coldstream stone walling invites for an exciting place to cook and entertain, as well as enjoy a cold beverage at the wine barrel bar. As you make your way through the ‘desert garden,’ the gravel paths lead you to admire the captivating architectural accents from the Dracaena draco (Dragon Tree), native and succulent plants, and custom designed rusted metal art installations, all the way through to the relaxing and incredibly private spa area. It was imperative to capture the exterior space at night and watch as the garden is brought to life by the illumination of quality outdoor lighting to accentuate a new perspective of how the ‘desert garden’ can be presented in a different light.
THE DESIGN WORK:
Residential Property Landscape & Art Installation Concept & Design, Photography – Intermix Design
Credits:
Landscape Construction – KMS Services
Stonemasonry – Somerlea Park Landscapes
Steel & Fabrication – Metfab
Lighting – Master Electrics Pty Ltd