CHANGINGROOMS
Lily’sdad,Geoff,is a nationallyrenowned
architectwitha passionforcreatingliving
spacesthatbringpeoplejoy.Hehadplansfor
LilyandMat’shome,andstarted putting those
plansintoeffectin2011.
Thefirstbigchangehemadewasto
incorporateanadjoininggarageintotheunit
andturnit intoa secondlivingspace.A step
downfromtheoriginallivinganddining
area,thenewroomwaslinedwithcedarand
plywood,makingit feellikea littleannexeor
cabin.Bifolddoorswereinstalledtoopenout
ontothesmallbuttranquilbackgarden.
ThebeautifulnewspacedelightedLily,but
it tookherseveralmonthstoworkouthow best
tousehernewlydoubledlivingarea.
“Forlike,a year,wewerereallystupid!”Lily
laughs.“Weusedit asa secondlivingroom
whileMatandI werecrammedintothistiny
bedroom.ButwhileI waspregnantwithWinter,
I realisedit wasthenicestroominthehouse
andweshouldbewakingupthere.”
Thecouplemovedtheirbedintothenew
spaceandit’sbeenanopen-plan master
bedroom ever since.
“Asit oftendoeswithmydad,it startedwith
a tiny problem that spiralled into a total renovation!”
WATERWAYS
Newwindowsandanupdatedbathroomwere
thenextsteps.“Asit oftendoeswithmydad,it
startedwitha tinyproblem[aleak]thatspiralled
intoa totalrenovation,”Lilysays.Astherewas
nobath,it madesenseforthepetitebathroom
tobecomea wetroomwithfloor-to-ceilingwhite
tiles.ButthebitthatexcitedLily the most was
phasethree:thegarden.
“Thegardenwasbeautifulbutit didn’tdrain
properlyandgotsoggyafterrain.Thatwas
anotherexampleofa problemleadingtoan
overalldesignsolution– that’showit worksin
ourfamily,”Lilysays.“Thebriefwastoensure
wehadanediblegardenwhilekeepingthetrees
andhavinga smallgrassyspace.Wealsowanted
a diningareaforentertaining,”Lilysays.Local
landscaperGardensofEvanexecutedtheproject,
whichsomehowfitsa kitchengarden,raised
grassyplatform,diningareaandanoutdoorbath
intoa gardenmeasuring 80 squaremetres.
“Ourbathroomis toosmallfora bathsowegot
anoldbathandburiedit outside– wefillit with
a hose,”Lilysays.“It’ssurroundedbyself-seeded
bananapalmswhichshouldn’tgrowso well there,
but they do! It feels like a resort.”yhg| 61H