Displaying posts labeled "Outdoors"

Is this the ultimate home cinema? Pass the popcorn and roll the film, I’m moving in. Perched on a ridge line in the Hollywood Hills, the Skyline Residence by Belzberg Architects may incorporate sustainable design practices, may have clean modern lines, expansive rooms with outrageous views through vast walls of glass but what we all will be pinning and filing away for another day will be the outdoor theatre. Genius.

With the warm weather my garden is shooting away. I swear I can almost see the plants growing. Up until now my backyard has been a little hit and miss. A cutting stuck in here. An overgrown houseplant liberated into a garden bed there. It’s time to get serious. It’s time to channel my inner gardener. My husband and I don’t want to be weekend slaves to the lawn mower. We are lucky to have old brick pavers but as they were once a driveway they cut through the space with surgical precision. It all needs a little softening. We would love rambling groundcovers or meandering paths of crushed granite. Perhaps vines and stands of bamboo. Definitely overgrown. Somewhere shady to sit. Maybe we’ll break up the paving into a checkerboard of plants and bricks and gravel. Something graphic but still casual with space for a veggie bed. I’ve started collecting inspiration. Here are a few ideas from two of my favourite Australian landscape designers… Eckersley Garden Architecture and Brendan Moar. I can see a trip to my garden centre very soon.

Eckersley Garden Architecture

Brendan Moar

 With over 200 years of horticultural heritage, Hayes Garden World attracts over a million visitors a year. Set in picturesque Ambleside in the UK, the centre stocks an extensive variety of interior design, and garden features.

You’ll find me here with a bowl of popcorn or maybe a pizza slice and definitely a dip in the pool if the on screen action gets a little too hot. Love this house by Koning Eizenberg.

Come with me. Take my hand and runaway to a holiday home just metres from the  beach in Comporta, Portugal. Casa Do Pego sits lightly on the sand, its face turned to nearby agricultural land. Sliding shuttersprovide shelter from the setting sun while a roof top terrace and pool let you chill out in privacy. Clean, minimal lines are perfect for a beachside retreat while the suspended fireplace provides the wow factor. Go on. I know you want to come with me. It’s the perfect cure for Mondayitis.

Thankfully it’s Friday and I thought since I’m sure many of us could use a little decompressing right about now, that featuring a retreat would be quite fitting. This is the Yingst Retreat, 4000 sq ft on a peaceful 16 acres in Michigan, designed by Salmela Architects. What a dream! It’s heaven in the middle of a forest. Modern yet fairly simple construction that is not at all harsh, and quite organic with the help of lots basic materials like wood, ceramic tile and brick. Complete with sauna and bocce court, it’s the perfect place to relax and enjoy life.