It's an emotional journey to build and generally to gain trust from anyone is a privilege but to
gain trust from a client in the context of design and the emotion of building a home is more than
a privilege. Joel and Stacey were hunting for a block in the area and were very patient. I kept
saying to Joel, "The only block of land I'm going to buy is that block of land", so I had my heart
set on it. We came to McKimm and said, you know what are your ideas if this was a blank canvas,
and every time we saw a drawing you go, "oh how good does that look." The block here where we've
been given this great opportunity is so unique, at the end of a cul-de-sac. The way it opens up,
particularly to the north. gave our design team such a good opportunity to express what they
love to do. When you walk through the front door and you're met with a double-height void and you
look out through that picture frame window with this amazing view across a pool and a wet edge,
I don't know, just that instant impact that the home has is pretty amazing and
as your flow for the spaces, through the living area, the dining, even the kids retreat area,
they're all sharing the same view, the same space, which it's such a unique sight. The philosophy
that we engage for design is contemporary lines, open voids, cantilevered spaces. Essentially a
biophilic design strategy where we use natural materials, the natural light and using space and
zones in a way where you have interaction with an external area. This property actually presented a
heritage tree a 30 meter high oak tree. The idea is to embrace the tree through all the
seasons of change, through shadowplay night and day. The previous house that was here actually
almost face to the sort of southeast, whereas we've had the opportunity to start again with
a blank canvas and open up right across that whole panoramic side of the building. John and Stacey's
brief was very simple but very complex in its execution. Their brief was to create a holiday
resort feel to the property. A place where the family could celebrate becoming of the teenager
and young adult years of the children and also to entertain. Every angle and every cantilever
is captured. What the eyeline is to the shadows and the terracing from house onto pool deck and
infinity edge to lower Garden Court gave the Grand Stand effect of being able to oversee an entire
garden. It becomes very personal. I think that's what makes every McKimm home unique - it'll have
a detail in it or it'll have a certain aspect to it that truly reflects that client, either
how they want to live or what they're passionate about. They have a lot of family dinners so the
unique sliding wall with a piece of specially commissioned art is pretty amazing because not
only is it acting as a feature but it has a real practical side that they can open up and and have
a huge dinner party as well. It's a very calming beautiful house to be in. In the late afternoon
upstairs when you're looking out through the big window and you go through the tree and you get a
glimpse of the sunset in the background, it's just absolutely magical. The neighbours, everyone walks
past they love the tree and I say. "thank God you kept the tree". We would have been in big
trouble if we hadn't kept the tree. It's a small community where Jewish and a lot of Jewish people
live around the area, a lot of the kids friends, and there's no secret so when we were building
the our Foreman Adam from McKimm always used to say, "you know for a dead-end street, there seems
to be a lot of traffic up and down the street", so I think a lot of people watch the progress of
our house being built over time. I feel so proud when I drive up this street because this building
almost draws you into it, yet in some respects it's almost understated for what you actually
walk in and find. When you actually walk through it and you feel the space, you know you don't feel
how wide a corridor is on a plan, and you don't bring that garden in on a plan, but when you
actually walk through it live and when you show people through the house, it's such a great and
a proud feeling. Stacey and Joel had requested in their brief to design a forever home and I think
the use of materials and the design orientation and sustainable elements we've incorporated will
see this home continue for generations through the family and it's a place we're very proud of.