Union Street
A traditional Victorian facade with a modern resort home behind. A real juxtaposition of architectural styles and messages.
While the completely renovated body of the house allows every creature comfort, it came with the removal of every square centimeter of deep soil. Only the front garden retains a normal ‘garden’.
The project goal was to add garden where there is no soil, and as much garden as possible.
We started with redesigning the front garden, to add street appeal and a more contemporary feel.
Then we turned our attention behind the facade. The footprint is not without outdoor spaces; there are five separate areas open to the sky. So through potted plants and troughs, the outdoor spaces were transformed from man-made surfaces to backdrops of nature.
We called the main courtyard ‘the lungs’ of the house and added dozens of pots of lush, verdant plants with sculpturally interesting foliage and added wall-covering vines to ensure all rooms breathed in the green.
The master bedroom courtyard replaced small sad plants with masses of soft plantings layered on the new dark-painted backdrop.
The lower of the rooftop terraces repurposed the raised vegetable planters with ornamental heat- & drought-tolerant ornamental plants, and were painted in a skin-pink for a Mediterranean theme.
Sleek furniture and pots, in earthy tones of terracotta and fawn, set the scene on the top rooftop terrace, surrounded by knock-out Sydney Harbour views.
