A dream home in Harrington Park, NSW

By Byron Clima, Sydney Drafting Concepts & Design

Meeting with the client for the first time at their existing home in Harrington Park was a great experience. Being familiar with the area, the owners wanted to remain in Harrington Park and had bought a block of land in a newer part of the suburb to build their forever home. The brief was to design and build a home to fill most of the block and to the maximum size that council would permit for approval.

The design was to include a triple garage with drive through and internal access, a family room, guest bedroom with walk in robe and ensuite, a home office, walk in linen closet, a wide staircase, theatre room, laundry, powder room, open plan dining and living area to the kitchen with a butler and walk in pantry.

To take advantage of the outdoor spaces, the owners wanted a sauna, steam room and gym that were all located close to the covered alfresco and BBQ area. Proposed to the rear, an in-ground pool was to be located in front of the dining room with a picture window (fixed) overlooking the pool area.

The first floor has four large bedrooms, the main bedroom with walk in robe and ensuite and the other bedrooms also have access to walk in robes. For ease of enjoyment the main bathroom has access from the hallway, walk in linen closet and sitting area to the rear and a covered balcony to the front for internal access and to add to the façade.

The clients left the façade design to us which resulted in becoming a feature of the home that not only complemented the area but complied with the developer’s guidelines.

The design brief resulted in a perfect layout of the home on the site as well as successfully meeting all requirements of the council and those of the developer.

A retaining wall easement to the rear of the property is used for a private open space for the residents, providing ample space (without disrupting the easement) for an inground swimming pool.

The finishes, internal layout and function of each space work well to successfully meet the client brief and although room sizes are large, they do not look out of place.

The home is filled with a lot of natural light due to the placement of windows and the large hallway creating a more spacious feel for the residents.

The clients were happy with the overall design incuding the selection of colours, varied materials and finishes to create a beautifully featured home.

Landscaping and external lighting to the front, rear and letterbox added to the aesthetic of the exterior and complements the overall design of the residence.

Right: Designers, builders and homeowners all have competing desires for the house that may make it much harder to achieve compliance.