H U N T E R
H O M E S
BlueView Story Marilyn Collins Images Flashback Photography
This lakeside house takes a distinctive, three-dimensional form, complementing the drama of the lakeside setting and maximising the opportunities for lakeside living with a unique and exciting design.
As seen in
/<5;,9 30-,:;@3,
MAGAZINE
A
/<5;,9 30-,:;@3,
ndrew and Maxine Poole and their family have just spent their first Christmas in their new, sparkling home at Valentine, which is set in one of the prestigious waterfront locations on Lake Macquarie. One family member who is especially enjoying the newly acquired lakeside lifestyle is their pet King Charles spaniel, “Princess Gabbie”, who spends her hours wading along the water’s edge in search of fish. The family formerly lived over the hill at Eleebana and had been searching for the ideal location for their waterfront dream home for five years. The discovered “dream site” had a quite substantial family home built on the site, which was well positioned in a popular area and ticked off all the set criteria. For the next twelve months after purchasing the property, the family treated the home as their away-from-
home weekend and party retreat, enjoying the taste of what life would be when they lived on the lake permanently. “One of the home’s former owners, we have been told, was actor Pat McDonald, who played the role of Dorrie Evans and became one of the show’s most beloved characters in the soap series “No 96”, screened in the seventies,” said Maxine Poole. “The master bedroom was quite glamorous, fitting a television star with a massive robe area. “We always had intentions of adapting the original home, however when all things were considered it was more practical design-wise to knock down and start with a clean slate, as we really wanted direct access onto the lake frontage.” In January 2008, after a great New Year’s Party at the weekend retreat, the demolishing commenced and
/<5;,9 30-,:;@3,
rebuilding was under way. The picture-perfect views extend right into Toronto Bay across to Speers Point and flow seamlessly through the glass doors of the living room. The dream of having the outside flow inside certainly has been created. Mark Lawler Architects was engaged to design a home for the Pooles and their three teenage children, and to provide the very best of lakeside lifestyle. The house has been built to the highest standards by Bruce Keevers Building, incorporating quality materials and finishes, a high level of technological service systems including C-Bus wiring, ducted air conditioning, underfloor heating to the downstairs living area, home entertainment and sound system, electronically controlled blinds, security system and quality lighting.
/<5;,9 30-,:;@3,
Being an absolute waterfront site, the house has been designed to capture the beauty of the lake in all its different moods. There are views from all principal living spaces and bedrooms over the lake, each room giving a unique and different perspective capturing different aspects of light, wind and sounds as the time of the day and seasons change throughout the year. The house opens onto the waterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edge with a generous lawn and terrace perfect for social gatherings. The boat house provides accommodation for a Jet Ski and aluminium runabout, with ramp access directly into the lake. The existing jetty was lengthened for the possible mooring of a larger boat and upgraded to meet with the latest council requirements, complete with a tap with running water.
The house has generous living spaces for entertaining and relaxation, with all the living space on the ground floor. The main living-dining space includes a self-contained bar which becomes the central meeting place when entertaining guests poolside. A terrace along the north-east side of the living room features a large lap pool. When not in use, the pool is an additional water feature reflecting light onto the ceiling of the living-dining spaces. The house is close to the busy shopping centre in Dilkera Avenue and where the fishermen store their aluminium dinghies on the foreshore. To counter this, the courtyard walls, aluminium privacy screens and the design of balcony balustrades have been incorporated to provide privacy and shelter from sunlight, and to minimise obstruction to the views.
/<5;,9 30-,:;@3,
/<5;,9 30-,:;@3,
The architects said this project presented a number of design issues that required resolution, such as maximising lake views from most rooms in the home and being able to achieve all the requirements on a long, narrow site without compromising privacy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Positioning a house of this scale on a relatively narrow and small site was difficult, as was providing parking for four cars (in two double garages), being awkward due to the corner lot, narrow site and the desire for the garages not to dominate the street presentation.â&#x20AC;? The ground-floor level provides a large entry space, the main open-plan living-dining room with kitchen and bar area. There is also a stunning home theatre featuring red velvet drapes, study/home office, laundry, bathroom, and boatshed, and across the courtyard terrace the gymnasium and garages are located. The upper level accommodates four bedrooms including the master bedroom with dressing room, en-suite bathroom and spacious deck. The other three bedrooms each have their own dressing room and a small deck.
A large upper living area was designed as a multipurpose space for home entertainment, table tennis, and informal living. There are two bathrooms to service the bedrooms on this level. From the Lake frontage the house has a two-storey façade in keeping with the scale of the existing houses to the north and south of this site. The angled skillion roof profile of the building forms an interesting contrast to the curved and conventional roof forms of the other buildings immediately adjacent. The residence is set back within the ten-metre foreshore building line, which also assists in ensuring that it does not dominate the lakefront. Chosen colours range from light grey through to a deep charcoal and Maxine has chosen aqua decorative pieces to accentuate the coastal feel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These colours are so adaptable, as over Christmas I used lots of red throughout, which worked well with the tones of grey,â&#x20AC;? she said. The living room terrace and the upper master bedroom deck, both facing the lake, have adjustable, sliding aluminium screens. These screens enable the hot summer
/<5;,9 30-,:;@3,
A decision to have Automated Innovation create a sophisticated smart home system was a smart move. The company had the task of engineering the electronic features that control the home from the sound heard throughout the insulated home theatre to the complete with a sophisticated audio-visual system. Family members can now enjoy controlling the electronic workings of the entire home, from switching on and off the lights at appropriate times, allowing music or television to play in selected rooms, opening the garage doors, dimming bedroom lights or hallways to the luxury
of opening the curtains early in the morning to gaze at the lake view â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all with the press of a button on a remote control. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It all sounds complicated, however the system is very user friendly and so convenient,â&#x20AC;? said Maxine. With ample space for all the family to relax with their peers, and entertainment at their fingertips from watching a movie to enjoying a Foxtel programme whilst working out in the gym, or simply enjoying the great-out-of-doors, the Poole family is now looking forward to many enjoyable years living the life at their lakeside retreat.
/<5;,9 30-,:;@3,
sun to be excluded and provide protection from harsh, westerly winds. The dwelling has been designed to take advantage of its favourable north-east orientation and cross ventilation, and the significant lake views to the north-west. The kitchen, which has perfect lake views, is appointed with stainless appliances and a zip tap for instant hot water. Blum self-closing drawers were chosen and “Nougat” CaesarStone benchtops are accentuated by white cupboards above and grey below as a contrast. The deep walk-in pantry, which is to be much envied, has been fitted with a sensor light which lights up the moment you walk in and turns off automatically when you exit. Similarly, the walk-in robes upstairs have the same feature. “At this stage, I have refrained from curtaining the downstairs living space, enjoying the aspect too much,” said Maxine. “However, we found that in winter, with the underfloor heating which automatically was timed to come on early, the room was very warm and comfortable - it was quite surprising.”