Renovate: Blurring inside and out key to this dramatic renovation

Blurring inside and out was key to this dramatic reimagining, writes Chelsea Clark

Landscape architect Dean Herald at his newly renovated home in Dural.

AS a landscape designer, Dean Herald is used to realising the full potential of any outdoor space.

Gardens, alfresco living and dining areas, pools, spas and even outdoor kitchens are just some of the environments Dean immerses himself in every day.

But for the renovation of his own home in the semi-rural Sydney suburb of Dural, Dean found himself on unfamiliar turf.

The cool greens and dappled light of the beautiful, but somewhat overlooked Japanese-style garden can now be enjoyed from inside the new living area, thanks to the installation of bi-fold doors.

Instead of transforming the outdoors, he tasked himself with completely reimagining the main living, dining and kitchen areas of the home with a thorough renovation of the existing space.

Some might say the two spaces require a completely different set of skills but Dean found many elements he was used to working with outside translated perfectly to what he wanted to achieve inside.

Landscape architect Dean Herald at his newly renovated home in Dural.

The home has a resort feel with high ceilings and a garden outlook.

Different surfaces divide the kitchen bench into two designated work areas.

In fact, he says, the whole renovation — even the kitchen — was inspired by a connection with the outdoors.

“Everything in the renovation is garden related,” he says. “Even down to the new walk-in pantry we created with a window. We didn’t want the pantry to be the dark and dingy space they can tend to be sometimes, it needed to have light and life so we put a window in that looks out to the garden.”

Landscape architect Dean Herald at his newly renovated home in Dural.

It’s a small touch but one that speaks of Dean’s complete commitment to blurring the lines between inside and out.

Bringing the outdoors in

One of the main elements of the renovation was the addition of giant bi-fold doors which connect a family living space with a Japanese-style garden that Dean says wasn’t getting the recognition it deserved.

Owner and designer

Dean Herald Rolling Stone Landscapes, rollingstonelandscapes.com

The source

Calacatta Marble splashback Arciuli, arciuli.com.au

Concrete panels and bench top Concrete by Design, concretebydesign.com.au

Floor tiles Cocullo limestone by

Eco Outdoors, ecooutdoor.com.au

Kitchen Kastell Kitchens, kastell.com.au

Kobi dining chairs Cosh Living, coshliving.com.au

Lounges Jardan, jardan.com.au

Timber flooring Anton’s Flooring, antonsfloors.com.au

“The part of the garden in question is on the eastern side of the house so it gets this incredible morning sun,” he says.

“It’s always been one of my favourite gardens on the property and, of course, I always knew it was there but it was kind of tucked away. I always had to walk right up to the two windows that used to look out on to it, to enjoy the space.”

New bi-folds however, have brought new life to the garden and it’s now been ‘dragged’ into a newly created living space which features two oversized leather couches which Dean says ‘talk’ to the garden so well.

The stunning pool area.

“It’s like all of the elements were meant to be put together,” he says.

The couches form what Dean calls a “conversation pit” — the perfect place for
he and wife Bernie to debrief at the end of a long day.

“Bernie works in the business with me, our office is also on our property and we employ a staff of more than 20 so it’s nice to have a place where it’s just the two of us and we can download at the end of the day,” he says.

“I deliberately didn’t put a TV in this space, I just want it to be somewhere that promotes communication. In between cooking dinner, we can just sit here with a glass of wine and talk.”

The divided island bench has two separate finishes — timber and concrete.

Concrete kitchen

Extending from the newly created ‘conversation pit’, the home’s kitchen encourages just as much interaction with three separate bench spaces including an existing island bench that was given a facelift and divided in two to promote a natural flow.

“I always felt the old island bench really divided the space in two,” says Dean. “You were either on this side or that side and, because it was so large, getting to the other side wasn’t easy.”

The divided island bench now features two separate finishes — one side has a timber benchtop and functions as a ‘butcher’s block’ prep space while the other section features a concrete bench and is used primarily as a breakfast bar.

The spacious dining area off the kitchen.

A third bench space is stainless steel and features a cooktop and marble splashback.

But undoubtedly the star of the kitchen is the overhead concrete panelling which, Dean says, required some “out of the box” thinking.

“I really worked hard with the contractor to figure out a way we could hang the concrete safely,” he says. “Neither of us had done something like this before so it did require a lot of discussions and we ended up re-engineering the ceiling because the panels are just so heavy.

“One great idea always presents another problem but problems are there to be solved and, to be honest, I always knew there would be an issue when we designed it. But we found a way to make it work and the end result is exactly how I imagined it.”

And that touch of the outdoors?

For the flooring in the kitchen, Dean chose a limestone tile that is usually used in outdoor living spaces.

“I feel like it’s helped bring some those external experiences inside,” he says.

Pictures John Fotiadis

Originally published as Renovate: Blurring inside and out key to this dramatic renovation