Not every block is blessed with panoramic views but with the right design, stunning vistas can be conjured within any plot of land.
This was the brief for Bacic Group’s latest custom build in Stirling, on an otherwise unassuming, flat block.
The site was chosen by the owners for its close proximity to the ocean, city and family.
“Their desire was for a bold, inward-looking home that offered privacy and resort living and included a contemporary nod to the Art Deco styling they loved,” builder Drago Bacic says.
Their dream home was designed by Bacic Group with the living areas wrapped around an internal courtyard, the centrepiece of the property.
The spectacular central courtyard is accessed from the kitchen, living and dining rooms. Striking chessboard tiles provide a beautiful contrast to lush green hedging that frames the space, setting the stage for a peaceful oasis right in the heart of the bustling family home.
“We were focused on making the home sustainable and energy efficient and the courtyard allowed us to create a private outdoor space that enjoyed the north aspect, to capture maximum natural light and allow the winter sun to warm the home,” Drago says.
A motorised Vergola allows the courtyard to be closed off and enjoyed year round.
In winter, the home is also kept warm with a wood fireplace from Fireplace Corner. It has been set in an off-form concrete wall, featuring Holcim decorative white concrete, which extends to form a concrete shelf with in-built cabinetry which is as practical as it is aesthetically pleasing.
The builder’s love affair with concrete is evident throughout the home. According to Drago, Bacic Group is the only high-end home builder in Perth to use concrete as its primary building material.
The whole build, including the elegantly curved walls of the facade, an underground cellar and the swimming pool, features the builder’s own insulated concrete walling system, bWall.
The system uses BGC fibre cement sheeting as a permanent form-work system and is proving to be a practical and fast option for new home builders.
Such types of alternative building methods are becoming more popular in the Perth market which has traditionally been dominated by bricks and mortar.
“The walls were formed and the concrete poured on site, allowing us to achieve a stronger, superior finish in a fraction of the time it would have taken using traditional building methods,” Drago says.
The home opens up to a resort-style entertaining space landscaped with mature citrus trees, fragrant Frangipanis and a Poinciana tree, a species which is highly coveted for its spectacular red-orange summer-time display and pretty leaves.
The minimal colour palette continues outdoors with travertine flooring flowing out to the pool deck, where the need for pool balustrading was minimised with a clever moat-style pool design.
The black BGC decorative concrete driveway provides a stunning contrast to the crisp white home which was rendered with Dulux AcraTex.
“The home features a number of custom details from the Italian-designed cabinetry and 3m tile sheets to each bathroom, to the finer details like the Marcel Wanders-designed Olivari hardware and the dramatic floral wallpaper in the powder room, inspired by the still life paintings of the Dutch Golden Age,” Drago says.
