Australian_House_&_Garden_2017_01

H G advice

160 | AUSTRALIAN HOUSE & GARDEN

‘ Keep your outdoor room as open to the

elements as possible. You don’t want to

lose the sense of being outside.’ Matt Cantwell

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Room to grow

To truly blur the boundary between

indoors and out, build in your greenery

• as the team at Matt Gibson
  Architecture+Design did when they
  drew up the central courtyard of this
  Melbourne home (above). “The owners
  invested in a mature Japanese maple that
  gives dappled shade and should rise up
  higher than the roof in 10 years or so,”
  says architect Phil Burns. A generous
  banquette built into the courtyard wall
  (clad in silvertop ash) provides extra
  seating for outdoor diners. >
  Matt Gibson Architecture+Design; (03)
  9419 6677 or http://www.mattgibson.com.au.

Photography by Maree Homer (3) & Shannon McGrath(4).

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Surface details

Make no mistake, mixing textures is as

important outdoors as it is inside. In this

dining area in a coastal Sydney home

(left) the following materials are in play:

grey Scyon Stria cladding is paired with

Granite Torino pavers and a fire surround

in Berrimah Sandstone, both from Eco

Outdoor. “Tonally, the materials all just

work together,” says the owner, Cameron

Habler. “This space gets a lot of use

in the afternoon, when the sun’s too

strong on the other side of the house.”

See more of this home on page 78.

Walter Barda Design; (02) 9360 2340

or http://www.walterbardadesign.com.au.