Set in bushland on the Victorian coast, this holiday home has a real sense of place.
By Karen Booth
Photography by Tim Turner
Snuggled very cosily indeed within its bushland surrounds on the Victorian coast, this pool is the perfect complement to the contemporary-style holiday home. This is what designers talk about when they say an outdoor space has a real sense of place. The landscaping makes it seem almost as if the pool has been set into a sand dune and when you look from the house across the negative edge pool, your eye skims over the bushland to the water beyond.
The colour palette emphasises the natural atmosphere and has an appealing sun-bleached look in keeping with its seaside setting. The timber decking has been allowed to weather to a pale grey, reminding onlookers of a jetty or pontoon. In a tough coastal location where surfaces are constantly scoured by salty winds, choosing materials that weather well is always a good idea.
At the far end of the pool there is a random stone feature wall. This contributes to the rustic charm and is mirrored in the use of feature rocks in the sloping garden bed that hugs one side of the steps leading up to the house.
A Lifestyle Pools & Spas creation, the 16-metre-long pool, complete with negative edges and a trough, has a fully tiled interior, square internal corners for a clean look and two underwater benches, one either side of the steps leading into the pool.
Adjacent to the steps is an intimate spa which offers an up close view of a conga line of sculpted metal ants, each carrying a giant sugar cube aloft. Not, perhaps, a coastal motif, but it makes for a delightfully whimsical touch.
The pool safety fencing is of glass so as to ensure unobstructed views and make it feel like the property is ‘at one’ with the bushland that nudges its borders on either side. The plants were all selected for their ability to thrive in a coastal environment — and to survive with minimal care. After all, this is a holiday home. This means that the plants are tough, resistant to salt-laden winds and can largely survive on rainfall alone.