Growing Rooms

Archives: Projects

  • Maroubra – Secluded Gem: Modern Garden Design in the Eastern Suburbs

    Maroubra – Secluded Gem: Modern Garden Design in the Eastern Suburbs

    Our long-term maintenance clients approached us to transform their immaculate but underused lawn into a private Maroubra pool retreat. We designed the garden around a floating pool and spa, framed by lush greenery to create a strong sense of seclusion, with an alfresco space made for relaxed everyday entertaining.

    The result is “Secluded Gem”: an award-winning garden design centred around a floating pool and spa, lush greenery, and a stylish outdoor entertainment area.

    Our Vision

    From the outset, our goal was to deliver a space that felt sophisticated yet welcoming. We created multiple “zones” for swimming, dining, and relaxing, while ensuring every angle showcased greenery and detail.

    Floating Pool & Integrated Spa

    • A floating pool and spa form the centrepiece of the garden.
    • Concrete floating steps and stone cladding soften transitions into the surrounding plants.
    • The pool is framed by lush planting to ensure privacy and tranquillity.

    Materials, Light & Texture

    • Vertical timber walls and natural stone finishes create warmth and depth.
    • Durable porcelain tiles mimic timber, offering a sleek, modern look.
    • A pergola with downlights enhances the atmosphere for evening swims and late-night gatherings.

    Planting & Privacy

    We retained much of the existing Lilly Pilly hedge to provide privacy, and layered in a mix of native and exotic plant species. This planting palette was selected to thrive in Maroubra’s coastal climate and sandy-loam soil, adding texture, seasonal colour, and low-maintenance beauty.

    Outdoor Entertaining

    The alfresco dining zone is designed for effortless entertaining. With custom bench seating, a pergola for shade and light, and seamless indoor-outdoor flow, it’s a space that works all year round.

    GOLD AWARD: 2021 The Landscape Excellence Awards – Residential Design over 200sqm

    GOLD AWARD: 2021 The Landscape Excellence Awards – Residential Construction $150K-$300K

    GOLD AWARD: 2022 LDI Design Awards – Residential Landscape Design (Mid Size)

    BEST IN CATEGORY AWARD: 2021 The Landscape Excellence Awards – Residential Construction $150K-$300K

  • Tropical Tranquillity – A Luxurious Sanctuary in Dover Heights

    Tropical Tranquillity – A Luxurious Sanctuary in Dover Heights

    • Landscape & Pool Design and Construction by Growing Rooms Landscapes

    Rear Garden – Resort-Style Pool & Cabana in Dover Heights

    At the heart of this Dover Heights landscape design, the rear garden features a resort-style in-ground pool and a pool cabana—perfect for entertaining family and friends. Designed with teenagers in mind, the cabana includes convenient bathroom and kitchen facilities, a BBQ area, and generous lounging zones for relaxation, sunbathing, and social gatherings. Steps leading from the house have been reimagined to merge functionality with refined aesthetics.
    Carefully selected plantings thrive in Sydney’s coastal climate, ensuring privacy, minimal maintenance, and year-round greenery. Premium Technifirma paving, supplied by Eco Outdoor, was chosen for its durability and timeless beauty, tying the pool and garden spaces together. Natural and ethically sourced materials complete the design, blending seamlessly with the home and its surroundings in Dover Heights, Vaucluse, Rose Bay, and beyond.

    Front Garden – Elevated Street Appeal in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs

    In Dover Heights, one of Sydney’s most prestigious Eastern Suburbs, street appeal is essential. Our design elevates the property’s frontage with a translucent fence, modern gates, a glass-covered gatehouse, and an electrically operated sectional lift garage door. The lush front garden complements the home’s architecture while enhancing security and creating a welcoming entrance. To complete the look, we used matching premium paving, ensuring a cohesive finish between the front and rear garden spaces. The result is an entrance that balances sophistication, privacy, and coastal charm.

    Side Passageway – Seamless Garden Flow & Design

    The side passageway seamlessly links the front and rear gardens. Framed by striking metal arbours and enhanced with subtle lighting, this space creates a sense of transition and flow. The pathway design balances functionality with elegance, reflecting the refined landscaping styles seen across Sydney’s Eastern suburbs. Here we continued the same premium stone paving used in the rear and front gardens, introducing darker accents for contrast and definition, for a consistent, high-quality finish throughout the property.

    Lighting – Night-Time Elegance for Coastal Living

    Outdoor lighting is thoughtfully integrated to enrich the ambience and safety of this Dover Heights garden. LED pathway lights, spotlights, and ambient fixtures, supplied by our friends at Gardens at Night, highlight architectural features and plantings, ensuring the property can be enjoyed day and night. The lighting design responds to the clifftop location, adding warmth and atmosphere to the outdoor living experience.

    Award-Winning Dover Heights Landscape Project

    Our Dover Heights project has won multiple awards for landscape design and construction, including:

    GOLD AWARD: 2023 The Landscape Excellence Awards – Residential Design over 200sqm

    GOLD AWARD: 2023 The Landscape Excellence Awards – Residential Construction over $600K

    SILVER AWARD: 2023 LDI Design Awards – Plantscape: Small, Mid or Large Residential Garden

    SILVER AWARD: 2023 LDI Design Awards – Residential Design: Mid/Large Garden

    Create Your Own Outdoor Sanctuary

    Thinking of transforming your own outdoor space in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs? We’d love to talk through what’s possible for your home.

    Get in touch today to start designing your Sydney Eastern Suburbs sanctuary.

  • Newtown Garden Design: A Layered Urban Escape

    Newtown Garden Design: A Layered Urban Escape

    In Newtown, we reimagined an underused townhouse courtyard as a richly layered outdoor living space. The existing garden offered little more than lawn and sparse planting, with limited privacy, amenity and connection to the home. Our aim was to create a garden that made every square metre work harder while still feeling calm, generous and effortless.

    A new Galloway limestone terrace extends the internal living area outdoors, creating a welcoming setting for relaxed entertaining. At its edge, a bespoke outdoor kitchen pairs Blackbutt cabinetry and a cast concrete benchtop with a matching timber screen, bringing warmth and fine detail to the contemporary setting. Carefully resolved steps link the courtyard to the garden studio, while integrated lighting allows the space to be enjoyed well into the evening.

    Behind the finished garden is a considered upgrade to the site’s drainage. Heavy clay soils were removed and replaced with quality landscape soil, while a new stormwater pit, strip drain and below-ground drainage network help direct water safely away from the home. These unseen works provide a stable, well-drained foundation for the garden to thrive.

    Layered subtropical planting brings softness, privacy and year-round texture to the compact site. Advanced trees and sculptural foliage frame the terrace, screen neighbouring properties and give the courtyard an immediate sense of enclosure. The result is a private urban sanctuary: a functional, beautifully crafted garden that expands the way this home can be lived in.

    Thinking about transforming your own outdoor space? Get in touch with us to start the conversation.

  • Cronulla Garden Design – Eclectic mix of colour and contrast

    Cronulla Garden Design – Eclectic mix of colour and contrast

    A Front Garden Designed to Impress

    First impressions matter, and this front garden transformation sets the tone beautifully.

    • Organically shaped stepping stones by Eco Outdoor weave through the garden, guiding visitors with a natural flow.
    • Graceful olive trees add silvery texture, perfectly suited to Cronulla’s coastal charm.
    • Sculptural buxus balls anchor the design with timeless formality.
    • Purple salvia bursts with seasonal colour, while a striking Pyrus feature tree creates a strong focal point.

    The crisp white entryway frames the home with elegance, while cycads and tailored hedging add a dramatic yet inviting feel. A custom-made Hamptons-style letterbox, surrounded by buxus and cycas, ties the design seamlessly into the home’s architecture.

    As golden afternoon light washes across the front garden, the interplay of form, texture, and colour creates a serene, timeless welcome.

    Rear Garden – Colour, Contrast & Lifestyle

    Step through to the rear garden, and the design continues to surprise and delight. Here, we combined vibrant planting with considered hardscaping to create separate zones for relaxation, play and entertaining. The garden balances tropical greenery with structured plantings, creating a space that feels alive year-round.

    At the heart of the design is a sparkling pool, perfect for cooling off on hot Cronulla afternoons and adding a serene, reflective quality to the garden. Nearby, a bespoke cubby house offers a playful retreat for the kids — a space that feels whimsical yet seamlessly integrated into the design. Together, these features make the garden as functional as it is beautiful, catering to the whole family.

    Some standout plantings include:

    • Frangipanis for sculptural form and fragrance.
    • Bird of Paradise and Cordylines for bold splashes of colour.
    • Bougainvillea spilling with vibrant blooms.
    • Agaves and succulents for structure and contrast.
    • Lomandras and grasses for movement and softness.

    This layering of planting and features creates a lush, textural backdrop that evolves beautifully with the seasons while supporting the family’s lifestyle.

    From Day to Night – A Magical Transformation

    The Cronulla garden truly shines after sunset. Thoughtful feature lighting highlights sculptural plants, textured stonework, and key pathways, creating a soft, welcoming glow. The garden transforms into a magical outdoor escape — one that’s just as enjoyable at night as it is in the day.

    Featured in Inside Out Magazine

    We’re proud that this Cronulla project was featured in Inside Out magazine. The article recognises how bold design, collaboration, and thoughtful planting can create a truly inspiring outdoor space. Read more about our Inside Out feature here.

  • Clovelly – Elegant Alfresco

    Clovelly – Elegant Alfresco

    When the clients bought their new forever home in Clovelly, they came to us for a complete redesign of the front and rear gardens.

    The approach to the front design was to re-configure the front entry to improve the sense of arrival at the property. To soften the formality of the new white picket fence, we introduced crazy-paved stepping stones with low groundcover planting, including Viola and Dichondra repens, to ease the lines and create a more relaxed garden entry. Mixed mass planting with accent plants creates textural variation and interest. The bench provides a quiet spot away from the hustle and bustle.

    In the rear garden we designed a new ‘floating’ pool with a deck area and custom-built bench seating to relax and unwind.

    To maximise the usability of the entertainment space all year round the design incorporates a fixed roof complete with fan, heating and subtle downlights. The custom-built storage unit with a built-in barbecue is topped with a polished ‘Basalt’ benchtop to match the interior in the adjoining kitchen.
    The clients asked for the new design to blur the transition between inside and outside spaces. We complemented the white and grey themes present in the kitchen whilst considering hard materials for the front and rear gardens. In addition, the timber choices outside complement the interior flooring. By using this neutral palette, the design emphasises the blues of the pool and greens of the planting and creates a vibrant contemporary space.

    The plants selected for the rear garden achieve a balance between function and aesthetics, ensuring sufficient privacy and screening without sacrificing valuable space. The design leans towards a more formal planting style, with some tropical/sculptural elements – using primarily green tones with a focus on varying textures and forms.

    Our clients are very pleased with their new garden and the whole family enjoys the different spaces.

    GOLD AWARD: 2022 LDI Design Awards – Residential Landscape Design – Mid Size

    SILVER AWARD: 2021 The Landscape Excellence Awards – Residential Construction $150K-$300K

    BRONZE AWARD: 2021 The Landscape Excellence Awards – Residential Design 80sqm-200sqm

  • Bellevue Hill – Hilltop Retreat

    Bellevue Hill – Hilltop Retreat

    At Growing Rooms, we love designing outdoor spaces that feel like an escape – and this Bellevue Hill hilltop retreat is the perfect example. Elevated above Rose Bay and Double Bay, this garden was designed to take full advantage of the spectacular views while creating a private sanctuary for everyday living.

    We worked closely with our clients to craft a landscape that blends seamlessly with the home’s architecture by Luigi Rosselli Architects. The result is a series of functional outdoor zones – from a resort-style pool area to lush green terraces – all designed to flow naturally with the hillside setting.

    Designing for Bellevue Hill’s Unique Landscape

    Bellevue Hill is known for its sweeping harbour views and steep terrain, which require thoughtful planning. Our design balances structure and softness – integrating natural stone, architectural planting, and carefully designed retaining walls that bring stability without compromising style.

    By layering greenery with elegant paving, we created a modern yet timeless look that complements the coastal lifestyle of nearby Rose Bay and Double Bay.

    Rear Garden – Screening, Layers & a Cosy Fireplace

    This hilltop retreat is all about creating a space to unwind. In the pool zone, the Growing Rooms Landscapes & Pools team installed ‘Slender Weaver’ bamboo along the boundary to provide both privacy and softness. In front of the bamboo, diverse layered planting introduces shades of blue, green, and grey that connect each garden bed and level change, ensuring a seamless visual flow across the property.

    The outdoor dining and entertaining spaces are positioned to capture cooling breezes and breathtaking views.

    Sandstone steps guide you down to a sunken fireplace area – a secluded, cosy spot perfect for family gatherings or relaxed evenings with friends. Framed by lush greenery and overlooking harbour views, this retreat feels like a private sanctuary high above the bustle of the Eastern Suburbs.

    Front Garden – A Tropical Welcome

    The front garden tells a different story. With lower light levels, we embraced shade-loving tropicals to create a striking entrance experience. Acer palmatum brings fine texture and seasonal colour, contrasting beautifully with the bold leaves of Spathiphyllum ‘Sensation’ and Philodendron ‘Rojo Congo’. As you open the front door, this layered composition provides an immediate focal point – setting the tone for the home beyond.

    A Retreat Brought to Life

    From initial concept through to construction and final planting, we handled every detail of this transformation — the layered gardens, sandstone steps, tropical entrances, and private entertaining zones — to create a cohesive, liveable retreat that reflects both the home and its spectacular Bellevue Hill location, built to the highest standard so it will flourish for years to come.

  • Hunters Hill – Outdoors Reimagined

    Hunters Hill – Outdoors Reimagined

    When the owners of this Hunters Hill home came to us, they wanted another room added to the house for entertaining. The space between the kitchen and the carport gave us the perfect backbone to build it. We built a pause space for the family to relax and unwind all year round.

    The Growing Rooms team used a collection of natural finishes, curves and garden beds filled with a lush planting palette all covered with an operable louvre system to allow for the change of seasons and establish a peaceful atmosphere. Custom-built seating and timber decking flush with the interior floors really add to the usable space of the home.

    Lush lawns provide the comfortable barefoot access to the pool area. The lawns connect all zones whilst providing an area for the children to kick a ball and thoroughly enjoy the outdoors.

    To increase the privacy from the street we wrapped the carport in Cedar panelling which provides the perfect backdrop from the new outdoor lounge area, extending the amazing aesthetics.

    Last but not least, to maximise the visual impact from the streetscape, we constructed heritage style sandstone walling and formal gardens which capture the beauty of a bygone era that is Hunters Hill.

  • Paddington – Bringing Outside In

    Paddington – Bringing Outside In

    Paddington – Complete Property Transformation

    After downsizing from a rural property to be closer to family, the owners wanted their new home to feel just as connected to the outdoors.

    The Growing Rooms team was engaged to install a range of features inside and out of the house including multiple stone-clad feature walls and a large vertical garden. Each section of the house is linked through the repeated use of stone and recycled hardwood creating continuity throughout.

    Planting has been carefully chosen to complement these materials, with bold tropical foliage offering textural contrast without demanding too much attention.

    The stone walling adds depth and texture and is a beautiful addition to any space. The use of natural stone really allows us to blur the lines between interior and exterior.

    A plunge pool complete with waterfall within the internal courtyard provides an escape from the summer heat and creates movement and sound that resonate through the space.

    Now, the garden has become part of their daily rhythm — morning coffee among the lush front planting, and relaxed gatherings with family and friends in the newly created alfresco area.

  • Surry Hills – From Classic to Contemporary: Inner-City Garden Transformation

    Surry Hills – From Classic to Contemporary: Inner-City Garden Transformation

    What we created is a harmonious courtyard space where old meets new: textured stone, clean concrete, warm hardwood timber and lush planting, all illuminated beautifully at night for maximum ambience.

    Our Vision: Heritage Meets Contemporary in the Inner City

    From the start, we set out to honour the character of the existing sandstone wall and rusted iron window bars, while introducing sleek contemporary elements that lift the space. We aimed for a garden that’s restful, expressive, and suited to compact city lots.

    Materials & Texture: Bridging Old and New

    • We retained the original sandstone boundary wall as a focal heritage feature.
    • Filetti cobblestones by Eco Outdoor complement the rustic texture; polished concrete offers a clean, modern contrast.
    • Spotted gum hardwood adds warmth and beautiful natural tones against dark painted walls.
    • A dark rear wall, painted with high-quality Porter’s Paints, intentionally lets the timber and foliage “pop.”

    Planting Strategy & Spatial Illusion

    • We selected mostly lower-growing plants to maintain openness in a compact courtyard, with one Japanese maple feature tree as a focal point.
    • Foliage was chosen for textural and colour contrast, helping the eye move through the space and giving depth.

    Light & Ambience: After Dark Magic

    • Outdoor lighting was pivotal. We used up-lighting to highlight the carved texture of the sandstone wall and create dramatic shadows.
    • Mood lighting throughout the space allows the garden to be used day or night, turning the outdoors into an extension of the home.

    Why This Works in Surry Hills & Paddington and Inner City Suburbs

    Urban living in the Inner City comes with constraints: smaller courtyards, less room to experiment, heritage features to respect, and the desire to bring nature into tight spaces. In this project:

    • We retained and celebrated heritage fabric (sandstone wall) — a nod to Paddington’s terraces and Surry Hills’ textures.
    • Our material choices (timber, stone, painted walls) are durable for inner-city conditions (shade, limited soil, neighbouring walls).
    • The planting scheme keeps the space feeling soft and alive without overwhelming the limited square metres.

    It’s a small courtyard doing a lot of work: heritage charm by day, a lit, moody retreat by night. If your own courtyard could use the same treatment, we’d love to talk.

  • Bondi Multilevel Garden – Private Sanctuary in an Energetic Suburb

    Bondi Multilevel Garden – Private Sanctuary in an Energetic Suburb

    A Seamless Blend of Levels, Planting, and Water

    This project was all about making the most of a small garden footprint. By introducing layered levels, we created zones for lounging, entertaining, and quiet reflection. From the upper deck with ocean breezes drifting through, down to the intimate lower garden, every corner invites relaxation.

    The jewel of the rear garden is the sleek pool, designed for long, lazy afternoons and warm Sydney nights. Lush, layered planting wraps the space in privacy, while a custom timber pergola provides the perfect shaded retreat. A timber-clad outdoor shower and built-in seating turn this poolside zone into a calm, considered space for post-swim lounging—or cocktails at dusk.

    Coastal Planting with a Relaxed Feel

    The planting palette reflects the coastal charm of Bondi, Tamarama, and Bronte—resilient greenery that thrives in sea air and sandy soils. We used sculptural Agave for a bold feature, Liriope for soft ground cover, and swaying Miscanthus grasses to bring movement. Pops of lush tropical foliage—like Bird of Paradise and Philodendron—add a resort-like feel, enhancing the poolside atmosphere.

    To elevate the garden’s layered planting, we painted the timber boundary fence in a deep charcoal tone with Porter’s Paints. This backdrop allows the vibrant greens and striking forms of the plants to pop, giving the garden a bold, contemporary edge while maintaining a sense of calm.

    Natural Materials and Timeless Style

    We selected natural stone and warm timber finishes to anchor the design, echoing the tones of nearby Bondi and Bronte cliffs. The clean lines of modern paving sit harmoniously with organic textures, ensuring the space feels timeless while still being low-maintenance. Around the pool, these finishes create a resort-quality backdrop that elevates the whole garden.

    Designed for Coastal Living

    Our Bondi clients wanted a space that could be enjoyed from morning yoga through to evening drinks with friends. The layered terraces and rear garden pool now provide exactly that—whether it’s coffee under the dappled light of greenery, a refreshing swim, or a relaxed BBQ gathering.

    And while this project was in Bondi, the same design principles are perfect for Tamarama courtyards, Bronte gardens, or any home where outdoor living is a way of life.