case studies
Home Resort
Terrigal
Bordered by native forest, this large vacant rear yard becomes a luxury pool and sauna resort for family and friends
The Brief
This family needed to landscape the rear yard of their newly constructed house.
Their dream was to build a pool, a covered entertaining and cooking area for their many gatherings of friends and family, along with a sauna, a firepit, a toilet and to cover the area with gardens for their son and their dogs to roam.
Integral to the design was the “Green Egg’ outdoor cooker which required a position to enable the owner to cook and entertain whilst allowing the smoke from the cooker to dissipate.
The garden needed to be accessible across a large sloping area whilst providing some flat lawn for kicking a ball or for the dogs to sit in the sun. The plant selection was to be relatively low maintenance and all boundaries needed to be fenced for dog security.
The Solution
Locating the 10x4m pool required some dexterity due to the slope of the property.
The pool pavilion provided covered entertaining and was set above and parallel to the pool aligned with the property contours. The pavilion included an outdoor kitchen, dining area, bar and a bespoke table for the Green Egg BBQ. Sandstone blocks provided both retaining walls and a weathered rear façade for the covered dining and entertaining sections.
The sauna was set alongside the dining area with an outdoor shower providing open space between. The toilet completed the built components of the entertaining area and all were accessed via a Spotted Gum timber deck and series of timber landings.
Recycled brick paths wind their way up to the pavilion and are used as a series of steps back down to a crushed granite circle for the firepit. Turf was laid on a filled section of the garden providing a level lawn area located outside the ground floor of the house. Ovals of honed sandstone were set into the garden providing access to the pool deck. A low wall of recycled brick allowed a raised garden bed to sit below the pavilion and soften the constructed elements around the pool.
Their new landscape now includes a pool pavilion for cooking and entertaining, sauna, outdoor shower, a toilet and a firepit. Winding recycled brick paths link levels and precincts
Plant selection included hardy species to cope with the east-north-east aspect. Drip irrigation was installed to ensure the plants thrived on this exposed slope.