A new house with a series of intimate garden courtyards, viewable and accessible from inside, reflective of the owners’ passions for both Japanese and 1950s design. Repeated use of paving materials (honed bluestone and terrazzo tiling) as well as a limited plant palette, brings harmony. A landscape in miniature at the front (layered ‘hills’ of sawn bluestone boulders), plays with the proportions of the narrow street frontage. The first courtyard between bathrooms is simple in intent, a cloud pruned tree its focal point. The second, between bedroom and study, includes a magnificent weeping Japanese maple on a raised mound, with a backdrop of Buxus hedging suggesting distant hills beyond. A decked courtyard brings greenery and fragrance close in. The rear garden features staggered terrazzo pavers and a semi-circular exposed aggregate seat, its retro feel enhanced by organically shaped 1950s pots set against the original redbrick boundary.
