This landscape expertly blends Japanese and modern Australian design elements
With its minimalist, Japanese-inspired planting scheme, inviting entertaining areas and elegant, clean-lined swimming pool, this outdoor sanctuary in the suburbs of Melbourne is a serene space in which
to relax.
Both the landscape and pool — which is the centrepiece of the design — were designed and built by DJ Landscapes & Pools and are the perfect complement to the home designed and built by Stonehaven Homes. While the homeowners wanted the pool to be a feature, they didn’t want it to take up the entire garden, so DJ Landscapes & Pools designed a pool and spa that, together, measure 9m x 3.5m — a functional size that meets the family’s needs.
The fully tiled, self-cleaning pool, which also incorporates swim jets at the deep end, features drop-face laminated tile coping and the surrounds are paved in 600mm x 600mm Italian porcelain tiles,
all supplied by Earp Bros. As the owners often work late and return home after dark, they wanted the pool area and the surrounding gardens to be well lit at night. Moreover, they wanted to be able to control everything with ease, so DJ Landscapes & Pools recommended AstralPool’s Viron Connect 10. This controls the pool and garden lighting, the pool cleaning system and the spa. The owners can operate the system, which AstralPool helped set up, via a smart device, remote or an LED screen inside the home.
AstralPool also supplied the multi-coloured pool lighting, which works in harmony with the landscape lighting from Smart Water. This includes Havit spotlights in the gardens and the LED strip lighting that transforms the Corten feature panels into light boxes.The laser-cut Corten screens, created by Associated Metalworks, feature a pattern called Descending Circles and add interest to the fence line behind the pool. Bamboo was planted between the illuminated screens to soften the overall look and reinforce the Japanese-influenced planting palette.
Teddy Bear magnolias were planted around the remaining boundary line, which will soon grow to provide a leafy privacy screen. Feature planting includes Japanese conifer bonsai trees rising up from mounds of dwarf mondo grass and large pots. DJ Landscapes & Pools installed a water-wise drip irrigation system, supplied by Smart Water. This is operated, via any one of a number of smart devices, by a Hydrawise irrigation controller, also supplied by Smart Water. There are two entertaining spaces. At one end of the garden there is a tiled alfresco area equipped with heat lamps, a Smeg barbecue built into a granite benchtop, and bifold doors that open
up to the pool. At the other end is a deck built using spotted gum timber, providing a casual space for relaxed dining.
Could you ask for more?
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