eco outdoor
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The Beauty in Imperfection
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“Forget your perfect offering. There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” Leonard Cohen
We live in an era obsessed with the artisan. The white block has been well and truly bumped by the artisan sourdough. The instant coffee with the single origin. The department store furniture has been replaced by the treasured relic or the coveted antique and the mass has been replaced with the micro everything. We rip up our monotone carpet and frantically polish the boards beneath to bring back the old timber. We talk about exposed beams and saving those original tessellated tiles.
We want products with stories, with a sense of history and character. We want textures and surfaces that bring light and movement, and are suggestive of a life lived not a perfect polish. Think dusty paint shades and rubbed back timber. Aged copper and crinkled book pages that suggest a favourite novel or a treasured story. It isn’t that we just accept imperfection. The imperfection is the point.
We don’t want perfect. We want character. We want the irregular, offbeat version, and it’s all the more desirable for its flaws. We shy away from perfect, and when we do come across it, we subconsciously look for the flaw.
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Opposite page: Eckersley Garden Architecture VIC
http://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/weekender
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eco outdoor
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eco outdoor
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Opposite page: Space Landscape Design NSW. Below: Out from the Blue VIC.
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We ask the experts – what are the key things to think about when you’re considering putting in a pool?
Greg Fell Aloha Pools VIC When planning a pool it’s important to do your homework. The general life of a pool is 20+ years so make sure your final finishes and products will perform well for that time. Sometimes it may mean spending a little more upfront, but it’s worth it, and cheaper, in the long run. The old adage that you get what you pay for is still true today and getting it right takes some planning.
John Storch A Total Concept Landscape Architects and Pool Designers NSW Get inspired. Pool design is so diverse, take some time to look through books and magazines to find examples that work with both your lifestyle and design aesthetic. Keep copies of all the styles you like as well as clever ideas you would like to incorporate to discuss with your designer.
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Will Marcus ARGO Architects + Master Planners QLD Make sure the pool is visible from a key point in the house, such as the kitchen. This allows for easy supervision and peace of mind without disrupting your day as well. Also, a shelter that projects shade onto the pool underwater ledges around midday in summer is of great benefit for small children who love to be in the water cooling off for hours.
Sarah Martin Urban Oasis SA If building your house and landscape from scratch, wrap your home around the pool. It creates a soothing yet spectacular centrepiece for your home and perfectly integrates the exterior landscape with the building’s architecture.
Jamie Gough J&S Creative Pools and Landscapes WA Think beyond the pool. When planning, make sure you consider your lifestyle and how you like to use your outside space and design a pool that complements these requirements.
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eco outdoor
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Photographer: Richard Birch Floral artist: Tessa Blaiklock Bloomsforrooms.com.au
Say it with flowers is a common enough phrase and we hear it often. But what is it that you’re actually saying when you’re totally in love with someone and you send them a bunch of traditional roses or tulips? We asked one floral artist to help us put together 4 bunches for spring that really say it with flowers.
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Eco Outdoor furniture: Macleay dining table $1499 Turon dining chair $349
Images courtesy of Apples and Jam, for kids parties and more www.applesandjam.com.au
eco outdoor
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Photographer: Richard Birch Stylist: Louise Owens Landscape Design: Michael Cooke Garden Design
creating an outdoor party for small people The best starting point for a party theme is your very own garden. Use the season as inspiration – autumn leaves make gorgeous garlands while displays of twigs wrapped in twine make perfect winter posies. A few potted daffodils add a decidedly spring touch while sunflower bunting is perfect for summer soirees. Keep the food simple with popcorn in brown paper bags, iced cupcakes, jars of toffee pops and don’t forget a big basket of fruit for later on. Fill jam jars with juice and fruit peel and stack them in an ice bucket for sophisticated little pages 12/13
refreshments. Hang some fabric from the trees to create a party tent and stuff party bags with homemade playdough and stickers for little guests to take home. Don’t forget old school party games like apple bobbing and treasure hunts. Use children’s old paintings as wrapping for pass the parcel and put handfuls of petals inside each layer instead of sweets. For the smaller people, outdoor parties are always a hit and great for those highly energetic toddlers. Think vintage garden parties, butterflies and blooms, backyard
adventures, farm yard fun, art play and every boy’s favourite: dinosaur discoveries. Most of all, make sure the display is interactive and small people friendly.
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Paul Bangay Garden Design VIC
Creating a stylish liveable outdoor space can be a big task. Often gardens evolve naturally and develop their look as a result of years of experience and activity. When you decide it’s time for an overhaul, it can sometimes be hard to know where to start. It’s easy to understand the tendency to feel like much of the garden design can be done yourself but if you’re doing more than just paving the patio, it’s often a good idea to seek professional advice. Even the smallest simplest spaces can work beautifully if they’re
If you’re serious about creating a stylish liveable outdoor space, it pays to talk to a professional designer first. pages 14/15
well designed. What’s more, a well thought out garden may actually save you money by preventing you from making costly mistakes or more commonly, discouraging you from continually buying ‘just one more pot’ to try and make an area work. Like many aspects of building and renovation, when people engage a landscape designer for the first time, they can be surprised at what things cost. But like all investments, it pays to spend a little money up front during the planning phase so you
know where you’re headed and what you’re aiming for. When you engage the services of a professional landscape designer or architect, you can see the difference. They’re thinking about how the overall space will work and how to create a space that feels good to be in. They’ll also consider functional issues like what planting works best in each area, how the drainage works and any potential problems with the site. And remember, a well designed outdoor space adds value to your property not to mention your lifestyle. You can always talk to your designer further down the track about staging costs or doing some of the planting yourself.
eco outdoor
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Opposite page: Eckersley Garden Architecture VIC
Top tips to help 1. Choose a designer whose work you’ve seen. The easiest way to tell if you’ll like the you get the most style of the designer is to look at a few projects they’ve done before. out of your designer 2. Come prepared. Spend some time By Peter Fudge before you meet with the designer collecting images and pictures that appeal to you. Design can be a subjective thing so the more images you have to talk through, the better.
3.
When you meet the designer, think about whether you can communicate well with them and whether they listen to you. If you’re uncertain at the first meeting, don’t proceed.
4. Peter Fudge has been designing gardens for over 20 years and has established one of Australia’s leading garden design teams. www.peterfudgegardens.com.au
Be realistic about landscape design costs. How much are you spending on the overall garden? If it’s a significant investment, think about what is a reasonable amount to invest in the planning of that space. Be sure to tell your designer how long you intend to stay in the house. A short-term property holding requires a design with broad appeal whereas a home kept for the longer term can be a lot more individual in design.
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Ask to see a preliminary concept – which will be a series of sketches or an outline of an overall scheme before the designer completes their plan. That way, you’ll know if you’re in agreement before you get too far down the track.
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Talk budget at the brief stage. It’s important to get the design at the installation price you want; otherwise it wastes everyone’s time. The cost of a garden can vary dramatically depending on the size of land and type of planting.
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Once you’ve done the preparation, be firm with your brief. Don’t let a designer bulldoze you into the latest fad, make sure they understand what you want.
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There’s something about outdoor entertaining that adds another whole dimension to feasting with friends. Garden flowers and fragrant herbs make perfect aromatic table decorations. Stuff bunches of rosemary and sage into old soup cans and line them up along the table. Keep the atmosphere casual with a stack of plates at one end, piled high with cutlery and napkins. Serve your food on big generous communal platters and let people pass them along and serve themselves. Use seasonal produce as inspiration. Serve an oversized grilled fish for the table to share; roasted beet salads with tangy goats cheese and toasted almonds. Leave crusty breads whole so guests can use their hands alongside a pot of handmade butter or extra virgin olive oil. Make homemade spritzers with fresh mint and stack them in an ice bucket along with a bottle of your favourite wine. Fruit can be the perfect accompaniment; fill shallow dishes to bursting with blueberries and raspberries to brighten up the table and simply bring out small jars of clotted cream and fresh cinnamon when you’re ready for sweets. Place your table under a tree for dappled sunlight or host at dusk and string up fairy lights and eat under the quiet glow of the fireflies. Add a touch of luxury with a couple of big beeswax candles that drip all over the table and put on your favourite record or just listen to nature’s soundtrack. Now that the warmer weather is here and we’re eating outside, think about stimulating all senses for a truly sumptuous feast. by Louise Owens
New releases
Rivoli An old school shape with a galvanised frame which has been rubbed back to present a true to form industrial finish. RRP $399
Barwon A relaxed modern outdoor chair with natural sanded teak and a Rehau weave finish. RRP $499
Dean Herald’s 21st Century Residential Landscape Design takes the reader on a journey through outstanding gardens created by Rolling Stone Landscapes. The book pays homage to the emergence of the indoor-outdoor living space of the family home and has great ideas for entertaining areas, alfresco areas and swimming pool design. 21st Century Residential Landscape Design Published by The Images Publishing Group, 2012 Available at all good bookstores and online at www.rollingstonelandscapes.com RRP $59.99
Urban Sanctuary is an exciting showcase of contemporary urban landscapes. Award-winning Australian landscape designer Janine Mendel takes us through 14 original designs for small gardens. A number of design elements including geometry, colour and texture, lighting, detail, water and planting combine to create a fabulous garden, big or small. Urban Sanctuary ‘designing small gardens’ Published by Hardie Grant 2012 Available in all good book stores or online at www.cultivart.com.au RRP $59.95
eco outdoor
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Balfour This chair features organic style open rope weave and fine sanded timber perfect for the outdoors. RRP $399
Opposite page: Photographer: Richard Birch Stylist: Louise Owens Landscape Design: Michael Cooke Garden Design
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Landscape Design: Michael Cooke Garden Design
undesigning the outdoor bath
Oversized and hammock-inspired, the Tilba camp style daybed is the perfect daybed. The heavy duty canvas covers are completely removable and made especially for the outdoors, and the lightweight portable frame means you can set up camp wherever you like.
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One of the great luxuries in outdoor living has to be the outdoor bath. Water brings tranquility and a sense of calm to any space but the outdoor bath, that’s a whole different story. Bathing is such an intimate experience. It’s about cleansing and relaxing but even the idea of a ‘tub’ suggests something small and confined and comforting. You escape from the frenetic high rise energy of life and submerse yourself into the warm depths of the steaming bath. The bath is a profoundly humble experience and something I’ve always wanted to be able to incorporate into an outdoor space. It would be small and modest and sit quietly somewhere in a nook or a corner. Maybe under an old tree; and it would just wait, to embrace us and comfort us from time to time. by Sally Parker
Lorne House Architect: Robert Mills Photographer: Richard Powers
If you’ve ever seen a really good looking fan, chances are it’s a Boffi. Designed by Giulio Gianturco for Boffi and propeller inspired, this stunning sleek timber ceiling fan has a stainless steel engine and contoured timber blades with a beautiful natural wax finish. The blades circulate at 5 speeds and are controlled by an infrared remote control. Finally, a ceiling fan that actually enhances the space. Now available at Eco Outdoor eco outdoor
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Jacqueline Evans hand soap $34
Vario Pinte enamel dinnerware for inside and out from $15
Belgian linen sailing tote $149
Belgian linen gardening apron $149 available in two colours
Natural hand rolled honeycomb beeswax candles from $22.50
Armadillo hemp placemats, table runners and rugs from $14.50
A creative collaboration sheds new light on indigenous art Tili Wiru [beautiful light] and Yuta Badayala [in a new light] represent a creative collaboration between Koskela and both the Tjanpi Desert Weavers and Elcho Island Art Weavers. These beautiful and individual lampshades are the result of three years’ collaboration. Woven from natural grasses called Tjanpi and also the leaves from the Pandanus tree each shade is hand woven with a personal design. To find out more visit www.koskela.com.au or drop into one of our NSW or VIC showrooms.
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I like nice things
www.ecooutdoor.com.au T. 1300 13 14 13 NSW VIC QLD WA SA