A relaxing retreat can take many forms. This Bali-inspired backyard connects with its surrounds, recreating tropical bliss. Taking advantage of the scenic riverside location, an acrylic viewing window invites in the water view. Above, the fire pit provides the ideal space for entertaining with a view.

Stone walls surround the pool holding feature plants; the lush plant profile softening the stone and wooden textures.

A Balinese tropical paradise would never be complete without a cabana and shimmering blue water. For these key elements, Beau Corp knew the perfect solution. A standout feature, the bespoke cabana with shingled roof offers an excellent place to unwind with a cocktail. The centrepiece of the backyard, the pool’s shimmering crystal mosaic tiles in aqua and emerald give the pool an eternal blue finish.

The creation of this luxury escape is testament to the high-quality workmanship of Beau Corp Aquatics. A builder of bespoke concrete pools with over fifty years experience, the team at Beau Corp have developed a reputation for excellence. They are passionate about constructing lifestyles and creating backyard memories.

Relax… Let Beau Corp make your dream pool a reality…

For more information

Beau Corp Aquatics

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Says Noel, “The homeowners wanted to showcase their amazing products and recreate a piece of Bali, right in their own backyard. Given they are experts in all things Balinese, we knew they would have exacting standards but we were up for the challenge.

“I draw my inspiration for this style of garden from two decades of travelling to Bali and studying the Zen-like simplicity and not-so-perfect finishes which make a Balinese garden so quintessentially Balinese. This is something we have endeavoured to replicate in this garden, to give the look and feel that you are actually in Bali.”

The garden design process began with several lengthy site visits, a series of client consultations and many hours spent looking through Tropical Living’s treasure trove of stock. “Shortly after being commissioned, they informed me they were off to Bali on a work trip. Basically, they said ‘We trust you — you know what we’re after’ and they left me to get on with it,” says Noel.

Noel’s is a design of many carefully considered parts. One of the most compelling is the authentic, hand-dressed and -crafted hardwood Balinese pagoda/shrine, which is the main focal point of the design. “You just need one glimpse of this feature and the lovely Buddha statue and suddenly you feel like you’re in Bali,” says Noel.

“The bright red backing is for impact and contrast; it also references the owners’ use of red in other parts of their garden, such as the pool area,” he continues. “Leaf-patterned laser-cut panels with no backing reveal the greenery behind them and help to make the pattern pop. To either side there are eye-catching plantings, such as Aechmea blanchetiana, a brightly coloured bromeliad, and Buddha’s Belly bamboo.”

Staggered handcarved Lava stone steps that widen to the width of the shrine lead you from the home to this near-sacred place in the garden. Adds Noel, “These beautifully textured step treads perfectly set off the look I was trying to achieve and the fact that they will age gracefully and collect moss over time means they will give that lived-in look you see in older Balinese gardens.”

Once at the shrine, if you turn around and look back towards the house you spy a ‘secret garden’. This is a space blanketed in green lawn and featuring a beautiful embossed glazed pot. Rising up from the pot is a palm not often seen in Australian gardens — the Hawaiian fan palm. This is complemented by a mix of broad-leaf plants, crucial for creating that authentic Balinese look.

“Bodies of water are an essential part of a Balinese garden,” says Noel. “Here I chose to create two ponds and raise them 800mm above the ground. This made it possible for them to be viewed and enjoyed from several vantage points around the property. Raising them also gave us greater water depth which keeps the water cooler for the fish in the warmer months and allowed us to install structures and aquatic plants to enhance aesthetics and help protect the fish from birds.

“Crowning each pond is a ‘Mountain rock’ pot from Indonesia. I spent hours hand-scratching out mini channels through the top of the pots to allow the water to flow evenly out and around their perimeter. In time, the pots will develop an aged patina and grow moss, giving that traditional Balinese look.

“The two water features are also self-levelling and joined together underground with a 150mm PVC pipe. This comes out at the bottom of each feature and is now known as the ‘Nemo highway’ because, on some days, the owners will notice a lack of fish in one water feature, only to find them all congregating in the other one!”

As this is a garden that is used at night, extensive lighting was installed. “Both the lights and the water features have been put on timers,” adds Noel. “Each day, around dinner time, they switch on so the owners can enjoy the ambience of the lights and the subtle sound of the water trickling — this is the icing on the cake in this relaxing garden.”

The judges of the 2019 Landscape Queensland Construction Excellence Awards were also impressed by the end result. The custom water features won the Best Landscape Feature Residential 2 category and the garden received a Highly Commended in the Contractor Design & Construct 1 category.

For more information

Bioscapes Gold Coast

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Kevin and Genevieve, a couple in their 50s who live in Alphington in Melbourne, love the outdoors and are both active cyclists and swimmers. The purpose of their plunge pool with hydrotherapy jets, which they share with Genevieve’s teenage daughter Charlotte, was to allow them to chill out after a hot day on the bikes or after the commute home.

Their concept was for a quiet and relaxing outdoor space that includes the sights and sounds of water, that’s visible from the family room and can be used for most of the year. As Genevieve is an interior designer, it was only fitting that she designed the space.

Their site is a 450sqm, gently sloping rectangular block. A plunge pool with waterfall feature is integrated into a large deck area, which incorporates a louvred roofing system. The addition of the louvred roof above the deck allows the deck alongside the pool to remain dry in winter and shaded on hot summer days. The decking outside the family room was added before the pool, as was the louvred roof system.

The Balinese-style pool is very enticing, thanks to the glass mosaic waterline tiles and waterfall with bluestone coping around the edges. The dark colour of the tiles was inspired by trips to Bali and the addition of bamboo as a backdrop adds to the overall Balinese feel.

Due to the site’s narrow side access and difficult access from neighbouring properties, the rectangular-shaped pool was manually manoeuvred onto its side, down a narrow side access point and eventually lifted onto the concrete base. The site access was achieved with just millimetres to spare. “The installation was through Leading Edge Developments, who dealt with the restricted access and delivered the installation in a timely manner,” says Genevieve and Kevin.

The pool pumps are largely powered by solar panels on the roof of the house. The addition of the louvred roof system, which now shields the rear of the house from the direct afternoon sun, has almost eliminated the need for air conditioning on all but the hottest of days.

“We are really happy with the Endless plunge pool and with the heating, filtration and automated balancing of the water, we spend more time in the pool than cleaning and chlorinating,” say Genevieve and Kevin.

At a glance

Pool: Endless Spas and Pools

Pool installed by: Leading Edge Developments

Heating: HiNRG by Astral Pool

Coping: Bluestone Pavers

Tiles: Glass mosaic tiles to waterline

Decking: Merbau

Plants: Bamboo, Cascade palms, strelitzia

Company profile

Endless Spas and Pools

A: 15 Chapel Street, Lynbrook Vic 3975

P: 03 8769 7300

E: info@endless.com.au

W: endlessspa.com.au

Endless Spas and Pools is an Australian family-owned business with more than 30 years of experience in the pool and spa industry. Led by co-founders and childhood sweethearts Warren and Jennifer Anderson, Endless Spas and Pools proudly employs a team of experts passionate about the relaxing and therapeutic benefits of spas and pools. The company builds 80 pools and more than 100 swim spa/plunge pools a year, also specialising in dual zones — combination spas and pools that operate autonomously from each other. Endless Spas and Pools is a member of SPASA and Family Business Australia and has won numerous awards. Setting an unprecedented winning streak, the company has been crowned winner of the SPASA Best Spa Retailer for 15 consecutive years.

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