This magically-lit, modern tropical Balinese-style outdoor oasis uplifts the spirits, soothes the senses and delights the eye.
As night slowly descends, this luxuriant Balinese-style oasis comes to life, an expertly orchestrated symphony of lights stirring the senses and a handcrafted Angel Moon shrine drawing focus. At the centre of the shrine sits a green-stone statue with a Balinese water feature close by, large limestone urns and Balinese umbrellas with carved stone bases, all set amid lush tropical planting.
The landscaped pool surrounds and unique shrine, designed and painstakingly constructed by the founder of Bioscapes Gold Coast, Noel Brown, imbue the outdoor space with a feeling of peace that is in harmony with the existing landscape and strikes just the right chord with the owner, who works from home as a healer.
Noel based the design of the shrine on numerology. “All diameters, curves, heights and timber lengths were installed at dimensions that reduce down to significant numbers relating to health, healing and wellbeing,” he explains. “The design also makes use of the four elements of nature — wind/air, water, earth and fire — with a metal wind chime introduced to engage one of the five senses — hearing.”
The statue, which was imported from Bali, sits in front of a vibrant red backdrop and was so heavy it had to be craned over the fence into position. Directly behind the statue, a halo-like circular feature, hand-skutched from imported Balinese natural limestone, graces the back wall. The statue sits on a semi-circular plinth hand-finished with white quartz bullnose coping. The timber structure along the top of the shrine was crafted from recycled hardwood. “Bowed upwards in authentic Asian style, it incorporates seven ‘vertical towers’ — these are spiritually symbolic in numerology,” says Noel.
It’s the exquisite lighting, however, that really elevates the space once the sun sets; in particular, the remote-controlled Aqualux Neon Flex colour-change strip lighting behind the Angel Moon feature. “The feature was prefabricated off-site and then installed with a 75mm gap between it and the wall. Prior to installation, 33 clips were placed in the back of the feature, each 100mm from the edge, to allow for the attachment of the strip lighting. This allowed us to create an effect in which the glow was brighter around the perimeter of the feature, as if you were looking at the moon itself,” says Noel.
Recessed into the front of the plinth is a custom-ordered, solid-brass uplight with an amber lens. This asymmetric 30-degree offset light warms the intricately carved statue with washes of light, creating a beautiful shadowing effect. Noel also installed a series of Aqualux solid-brass 4W, 250 lumens, 3000K garden lights. These boast a mix of blue and green LED globes with a 38-degree beam to highlight the broadleaf tropical planting and create a wide-scale display of light and shade.
As there was no machine access Noel, who completed all of the work himself, except for a three-day period when he had the assistance of one labourer, had a massive job on his hands. He had to manually excavate the existing garden and bring in 12 tonnes of new materials.
Noel’s considerable effort paid off, with the new landscaping working in harmony with the beautifully styled hut. This is a now a divine space the owner calls her “Angel Garden” and a place where clients happily wait for their healing sessions.
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