Stepney Display Home
We spent several years renovating this home and although it was a long road, from the beginning we had a vision of what we wanted long term. As the house took shape, we enclosed the front yard and kept things simple at the back until the final phase of the house re-construction. We involved members of our team in the project and once completed, we used it as our landscaping business office and display for three years until we shifted the business to our final office and depot location in Kent Town.
Mission
The home was sold as a Spanish Mission style characterized by the high parapet walls on the side and the combined gable frontage with arched porch entrance.
Exposure
The front yard was directly opposite a very busy and noisy car park. There was no privacy or security in the front yard, car headlights would penetrate the lounge room and we had noise coming through the master bedroom window.
Practicality
It was wonderful to have a rear lane for access, but with the configuration of the fence and the small garage as it was, there was space only for one car. Some of the land was lost due to the necessary set-back to be able to swing a car in.
Vision
To maximise the utility of all the land on our title, I decided we could relocate and rotate the garage, and re-purpose it to become a shed. This would give us a lot more space - enough to park two cars.
Action Stations!
The benefits of having a great team of landscapers on hand cannot be understated. We bolted three rows of steel tubing horizontally to the garage posts to serve as temporary handles. Then the nine strong lads were able to lift it together, and I assisted them spinning the garage around and then placing it at the new location in the other corner of the yard!
Saving Resources
This re-purposing instantly gave us a 5x3 metre shed. The steel frame was sound and strong so once we had cut the posts from the concrete slab, I bolted on longer posts to raise the height, then re-clad the side and door to suit. I didn't need to demolish and remove the old concrete slab because I was raising the levels so paving would eventually be installed 150-200mm above the slab height.
Back Yard Version #1
We could not afford to do the whole renovation at once so, for the years between this stage and when we would do the final reno on the back of the house, we opted for a low cost garden with two gravel car spaces and walkways, a small outdoor paved sitting area and the remainder vegetable gardens with bantams. It was great!
Construction
Council agreed to a 2 metre high L-shaped brick fence so we could block out the headlights, noise and view both ways. We made an alcove in the wall for the gate to be perpendicular, so when you opened it, people could still not see inside.
Vision
Throughout the 15 years of running the landscaping business, I engaged numerous contractors including machine operators, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, concreters, brick layers, renderers, painters, etc. Here you can see our brickie using bessa blocks for the main wall then he used bricks for the curved wall to create the gate alcove.
Open For Business
Once the house and garden was complete, we opened our doors to our current clients and those who had discovered us via the various marketing channels we had in place,.
Separation
Particularly in the evenings when the traffic had died down, we could spend time in our front yard with peace and quiet. Who would know what was on either side of the fence?
Connection
We built a pergola over a new deck at the front door, then connected that to the front fence using Ironbark hardwood beams and rafters. I attached stainless cable to the posts so climbing plants could soften the structure and provide shade for the entrance path. We used more Ironbark for fence screening and the 'hovering' seat. The water feature brought further tranquility.
Back Yard
The rear end of the house was designed with a seamless transition between dining and kitchen, then kitchen and alfresco decking. The remainder of the yard I landscaped with clean lines and low maintenance, complemented by screening shrubs and deciduous shade trees to maximise heat and light in Winter, and shade in Summer.