We’re delighted to see our award-winning Dover Heights garden featured by Trends Ideas in Cool and connected.
The story explores how the front garden, side passage and resort-style pool and cabana come together as one considered coastal retreat, with thoughtful planting, lighting and materials connecting every part of the landscape.
We were delighted to see Growing Rooms founder Oliver Sizeland profiled across pages 8 and 9 of Cafe Reporter’s Spring 2026 issue.
The feature traces Oliver’s path through landscape construction and horticulture to founding Growing Rooms, and explores the combination of collaboration, technical understanding and thoughtful design that shapes our work. It also reflects something central to every Growing Rooms garden: responding to the site, the architecture and the people who will live with it, rather than imposing a single signature style.
From compact Sydney courtyards and balconies to larger gardens and pools, we aim to create outdoor spaces that feel personal, work beautifully and bring genuine joy when they come to life.
We were delighted to see our Clovelly garden featured across six pages of the 2026 edition of Designer Gardens.
The story follows a complete front and rear garden transformation, centred on a floating pool, a considered alfresco dining space, and a palette of limestone, timber and lush layered planting. Lighting, privacy planting and a refreshed entry bring the spaces together from day through to evening.
This garden has also been recognised with a Gold award in the 2022 LDI Design Awards for Residential Landscape Design (Mid Size), alongside Silver and Bronze awards in the 2021 Landscape Excellence Awards.
Dover Heights Project Featured in Inside Out Magazine March 2024 Issue
We are thrilled to announce that our award-winning Dover Heights project has been featured in the March 2024 issue of Inside Out Magazine. This prestigious feature showcases the innovative design and impeccable execution that went into creating this stunning residential space. The project aimed to address the family’s needs, including creating outdoor entertaining spaces and a pool.
The Growing Rooms design team reconfigured the rear garden by creating levels with broad steps leading to a new pool and a new cabana. Timber-look porcelain tiles were used for durability, and freeform limestone walls added texture and interest. Plant selection was crucial, with hardy and visually striking varieties chosen for their foliage contrasts.
Growing Rooms transformed the entrance of a house in Sydney’s east into a welcoming and impressive space. Previously, the entrance was bland and uninviting, but now it features a sculptural arbour surrounded by lush foliage, creating a sense of arrival. The front garden was made more welcoming with a slatted fence and a glass-covered gatehouse. An arbour leading to the entrance was added to create a sense of transition. Massive pavers, surrounded by lush plants, enhance the entrance’s appeal, especially at night when strategically placed lighting creates a magical ambiance. The redesigned garden has become a beloved and frequently used space for the family, fulfilling their desire for a beautiful and functional outdoor area.
“The backyard now gets an enormous amount of use, the pool in summer, the spa in winter, and the cabana is an outside room that we use year-round,” says Jason, the owner of this outstanding garden. “It was a stroke of genius reconfiguring those stairs to the back garden, making them oversized and leading directly off the terrace. We couldn’t even see the garden from the house before. Now the steps draw us outside and we can’t keep away.”
Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was successfully completed, providing the family with a beautiful and functional outdoor space that has become a beloved and frequently used area for relaxation and entertainment.
The judges at the 2023 Landscape Excellence Awards agreed: GOLD AWARD in the category “Residential Design over 200sqm” and GOLD AWARD in the category “Residential Construction over $600K”.
The whole team at Growing Rooms is very happy with how this challenging project turned into an absolute show-stopper.
Trends Ideas featured our Gold Award Winner in Maroubra.
In detail, the article talks about the design brief which was to accentuate the family’s love of swimming and spending time together in their garden.
The central feature is a spacious swimming pool designed for both laps and family recreation, complemented by an integrated spa. Glass fencing maintains the sense of space in the garden, while floating polished concrete landings with LED strip lights provide access to the pool. A natural stone upturn wall adds a touch of elegance, and a timber-look porcelain tile platform at the deep end offers a low-maintenance deck-like space. This area is partially covered by an aluminum pergola, perfect for evening swims.
Maroubra Project Featured in Inside Out Magazine January 2023 Issue
In Sydney’s eastern suburbs, a stunning swimming pool floats above lush greenery, defying gravity and adding a touch of magic to its tranquil surroundings. Growing Rooms designed the floating pool, which was part of a significant transformation of the Maroubra property.
Originally, the backyard was adorned with a wonderful lawn, but the owners desired a more modern space. They asked for a sizable pool that wouldn’t overpower the garden. The design team cleverly raised and cantilevered the pool, creating the illusion that it blends into the landscape.
The pool, 8.4m by 3.6m, features an adjoining spa and is surrounded by a variety of greenery. Cantilevered concrete landings provide access to the pool, while a stacked-stone granite wall and grey paving slabs offer subtle contrast.
The pool area includes a shaded lounging area that is tiled with timber-look tiles, all designed for relaxation. LED lighting ensures the pool remains spectacular day and night, with lights strategically placed to enhance its floating effect in the evening.
The result is a peaceful oasis that seamlessly integrates with the lush greenery, providing a serene and visually stunning retreat for the homeowners and their guests.
When she’s not swimming laps, the owner soaks up Growing Rooms’ handiwork. “I love the way the pool adds a feeling of peace and calm to the garden, especially with the different shades of green and grey around it,” she says.
Multiple Gold and Best in Category Awards for the Design and Construction of this outstanding project underscore the exceptional skill, innovation, and dedication of the team involved.
It’s always a proud moment when one of our projects gets featured in a magazine. So when Inside Out approached us to get our Clovelly project into their August 2020 issue, we naturally said yes.
This garden really touched all of our departments, from the designers to the construction team and now the maintenance team. Everyone is or was involved at one point or the other and we are all invested in keeping it in the best shape possible.
The front garden provides a warm welcome to the family and their visitors. But the floating pool and elegant alfresco area in the rear garden are the center of the space.
We are looking forward to maintaining this wonderful space in the future and hope the owners get lots of joy out of it.
The owners already knew our work, as we had looked after the garden at their previous home, so they came to us for the same again: a welcoming front garden and an elegant alfresco with a pool out the back. We kept everything level with the house, with no steps to negotiate, and chose a soft, natural materials palette of Miramar limestone paving teamed with dry-stone walling and spotted gum that will gently grey off over time.
The pool was designed to “hover” and sit lightly in the landscape, with outdoor-rated LED strip lighting giving it a floating look at night. Overhead, the alfresco has a fixed roof with a fan, heating and built-in joinery, including a drinks fridge and integrated barbecue, so it is set up for year-round use. And because we believe light is as important as planting, the whole garden is lit to be enjoyed after dark, not just the seating area.
HOUZZ Australia contributor Carrol Baker approached us to write a feature about our wonderful Bellevue Hill project.
Read the full article on the Houzz website and click through to our portfolio page for more pictures
Are you dreaming of long chats with friends by a crackling fire while your kids roast marshmallows? A firepit and seating area bring people together and provide extra entertaining space in your garden. But how to start with to design a fire pit area in your back garden?
We’ve put together an expert piece for Outdoor Living on fire pit areas, covering the most important questions you should ask yourself before starting your project.
For more pictures of our wonderful projects where we’ve installed fire pits, please check out our portfolio page and our Instagram profile.
Think about getting a fire pit in your back garden? We are here to help! Please get in touch on our contact page
The Daily Telegraph’s Saturday Home section ran ‘Garden protection program’ in July 2019, Robyn Willis’s guide to keeping a garden alive through the chaos of a build or renovation, and came to Growing Rooms for advice.
Our advice was practical. We have turned up to plant behind a retaining wall on a new build and found nothing but rubbish, so we push clients to settle the boundaries and no-go zones at the planning stage. With so many subcontractors on site, it is often the painter tipping something onto the grass, or someone backing machinery over a bush. The lawn usually cops it first: because it is flat, it becomes the natural spot to store materials or cut things up, but at least it is cheap to replace. Established trees are worth protecting harder than council’s barriers require. We like a penalty clause written into the building contract, so the builder pays if a protected tree does not survive. Hedges need the same discipline: they can take years to grow, and caring for one through the build saves you in the long run. Getting all this right before the builders arrive is far cheaper than repairing the damage once they have gone.