Courland House

Rear garden with pool, glass fencing, concrete steps and eclectic cactus planting beside a contemporary glazed home
Courland House sits on a uniquely proportioned 700-square-metre site, with a long, narrow footprint just 9 metres wide. Designed for a family of five, including three young adults, the garden was conceived as an extension of the home — blurring boundaries between indoor and outdoor living at every opportunity.
The initial design integrated key lifestyle elements such as entertaining areas and a swimming pool, while carefully addressing the need for privacy and summer shade. Seasonal light was also a key consideration, with the garden orientated to harness the gentle warmth of the northern sun during winter.
Twelve years after our original involvement, a major renovation to both house and garden prompted a bold reimagining of the outdoor space. Lawns were removed entirely in favour of a more sustainable, low-maintenance design. An eclectic mix of native species, succulents, and cacti brings year-round structure, colour, and interest.

Location

Randwick

Completion

2022

Service

Landscape Architecture, Construction, Horticultural Services

Architect

Spicer Architecture

Interiors

Form Follows Function

Builder

Pride and Passion

Gravel garden path with stepping stones, yucca, agave and columnar cacti leading up to a pool with glass fencing
Outdoor dining table and wire chairs on a terrace opening to a cactus garden and pool with glass balustrade
Street frontage of the rendered brick home with large white circular planters of ornamental grasses on gravel
Interior window seat view framing ornamental grass planters and gravel front garden with a gum tree canopy beyond
A glass-framed internal courtyard planted with a dramatic collection of columnar, barrel and silver cacti on gravel
“Designing our garden was about connection with family, friends and ourselves. A place to entertain, retreat and relax.”
Matthew
Owner & Creative Director
A square sandstone fire pit with timber seating chairs set in a shaded garden of bamboo and tropical foliage
“Every room in the house connects to a garden, with private courtyards off each bedroom providing a green outlook, connection to the outdoors, and an abundance of natural light.”
Rochelle
Owner
Gravel garden path with stepping stones winding through cacti, yucca, pink salvia and silver-leafed succulents
Gravel path with stepping stones through a dry garden of cacti, yucca, pink salvia, agave and boulders
Dense cactus and succulent garden with gravel path, pink flowering salvia and the pool edge visible on the right
Front entry with a sculptural yucca, white fluted planter, bamboo and tropical foliage against a white brick façade
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