If Vass and John want to relax on a handcrafted day bed or enjoy an outdoor fire in a stone loggia, they need look no further than their own backyard. With backgrounds in styling and building, they drew on their creative skills to make their own resort-style oasis.
The couple worked together on the layout of the formal garden at the front of the house, formulating a plan that would include box hedges and weeping cherries for a change of colour with the seasons, with John creating it using an intricate mix of pavers and bricks. As a focal point for the design they used an urn made of concrete – an inexpensive alternative to bronze – which they found at a pottery factory. Their creative input carried through to the patio room – a unique indoor/outdoor area with a Moroccan mood. “It’s our spot for chilling out,” Vass says.
A vibrant orange wall gives a rustic feel to the room. The unique tone was achieved by covering the wall with a yellow basecoat that was sponged with orange and sanded back, then brown was added to orange and yellow paint left over from another job and applied on top. “Creating that particular shade was an absolute fluke,” Vass laughs. “It basically came from a mix of colours we threw on the wall. It was a real killer as I wasn’t happy with it at first.”
Double doors opening off the patio room were made by John from plywood and pine off cuts then left to weather, and heavy pieces of wrought iron – found at a trash-and-treasure market – were painted black to be given a new lease of life as doorhandles. An oversize clock, which was made by John to Vass’s specifications, dominates the space. “I saw one in a magazine, but it was a one-off costing $20,000!” Vass exclaims. John’s replica was put together using wood and a clock mechanism.
The floor tiles were another complicated project. “I wanted original Moroccan tiles but they were beyond our budget, so we laid ordinary tiles and spray-painted a black design on them with a stencil,” Vass explains. Heavy wooden beams and a skylight add to the indoor/outdoor feel, as does an ornate wrought-iron door that John designed.
Economy is no barrier to style for this resourceful couple, who not only sourced furniture from wreckers and markets, they designed their own pieces as well. John created an outdoor table from two wrought-iron benches and used leftover tiles from the laundry to make a benchtop. Not happy with the seats of the outdoor chairs, the pair replaced them with ones they made from decking off cuts.
The home opens to an internal courtyard at the centre of the house, which acts as a light well for the lounge, study and hallway. It’s centred around a statue from Bunnings Warehouse that’s positioned in a pond. “I love the fact she’s slightly dirty now,” Vass says. “She looks more like an antique.”
The black pebbles in the grout between the sandstone pavers were carefully hand-placed by John – who recalls it being backbreaking work! – to create a decorative pattern.
The couple sourced stainless-steel doors from a factory to create an outdoor barbecue area along one end of the courtyard. Green splashback tiles refl ect the colour of the pond, while overhead fans, a practical addition, lend a tropical ambience to the scene.
For ultimate relaxation, Vass and John need go no further than their own poolside day bed – an idea born during a trip they made to Queensland. “Our resort had day beds and we spent most of our time on them!” Vass laughs. “When we got home, John made me one almost the same weekend!” Fashioned from surplus recycled pine floorboards, used in the interior of their home, with a mattress from IKEA and curtains sewn by Vass’s mother-in law, it has stylish good looks.
The pool area is dominated by a stone loggia, the couple’s favourite outdoor spot year round. “When I was 16 I came across a picture of a loggia in Vogue, and I cut it out and kept it in my diary,” Vass relates. “After we bought the house, I found the picture and showed it to John.” It was built by a stonemason over four days using irregular bluestone from a quarry.
Unable to find a suitable stone boulder to rest over the fireplace, John created one from moulded concrete. “Now it’s burnt it has a rustic look,” Vass says. “Th e bluestone fireplace was built around a cast-iron grate we discovered at a wreckers.” Built-in seating, furry throws for chilly nights and log storage complete the picture.
For more information on this project, phone John Arvanitis at RENOV8 on 0410 693 510.
Story by Kate Williams
Photography by Murray Case
Styling by Jayne Reid