The link between indoors and outdoors is almost seamless at this Coogee home. The Colonial-style home was extended last year with a modern living area at the back along with a new pool and glass walls creating a feeling of endless connection.
“We needed the extension to accommodate a full-size billiard table left to me by my father,” said owner Michael Grabau, explaining the motive for the big living room.
Pamela Grabau is from an original Spearwood family called Goodchild and there are still relatives close by. The couple moved from Queensland a few years ago to be with family and her son, Ashley Peverett, designed and managed the project.
A stunning black-and-white theme links the two areas with black lacquered indoor furniture, a white limestone open fireplace with black tiling surrounds and many black and white features outside.
A 4m-wide terraced waterfall alongside the pool creates a defining element visible from the living area and it is framed by floor-to-ceiling glass doors and walls.
Mr Peverett designed and built the water feature with an eye for his love of Art Deco styling using alternating black and white porcelain tiles cut to shape. A remote-controlled pump, separate to the pool pump, allows the water flow to be varied at will.
The pool itself is a fibreglass 12m x 3.5m lap pool installed by Barrier Reef Pools and it has a deep blue interior finish with a wide entry stairway so the swimming lap is not compromised.
“We find many visitors who may not want to swim enjoy sitting at the edge of the pool with their feet in the water,” Mrs Grabau said.
A recess created by the living area extension shelters a new spa heated by gas and set under an open sky within the patio.
A glass wall return from the living area frames an internal view of the spa as well as a tiled wall feature also designed and installed by Mr Peverett in black and white patterns.
Halogen lights are recessed into a black tiled ground border to light up the feature at night.
Poured limestone covers the surrounds of the pool area with a 80mm-thick bullnose paver as a coping edge to the pool.
All the pool equipment is concealed behind the water feature and includes a Hurlcon filter and pump and Zodiac chlorinator. The pool has solar heating and a Daisy pool blanket. A flat-roof patio in aluminium covers a 15m x 3m space off the living room and is fitted with speakers and stainless-steel downlights. The latte-coloured outdoor furniture is from Australian Outdoor and Leisure, in Port Kennedy, and matches the render of the boundary walls. Security for the pool was artfully designed with small sections of frameless glass, with matching gates closing off the living room and laundry entry points. Landscaping was kept to a minimum with black and white pots for magnolias, roses, succulents and colourful annuals, all from John Cole Nursery.
We use the spa all year and the pool every day from November to May. The pool and spa won a gold award for excellence at the 2011 Swimming Pool and Spa Association annual awards. The cost was $40,000.