Trends New Zealand Trends Volume 31 No 1 New Zealand | Page 127

Outdoor living areas facing the street
can be challenging – there may well be
privacy and security concerns.
For the new owners of this extensively renovated 100-year-old house,
however, the garden was full of possibilities. It helped that owners Matt Cantwell
and Rochelle Abood run their own landscape design company, Secret Gardens of
Sydney.
“We loved the property at first sight,”
says Cantwell. “The house had been partially renovated in a Mid-Century Modern

style that we liked, and there were several
large shade trees at the front. There was an
existing garden, but it wasn’t the look we
wanted, so we gutted the entire yard, leaving just three mature trees – two eucalypts
and one banksia.”
Because the couple wanted to include
a swimming pool and a flat area of lawn,
they terraced the narrow site, adding wide
steps between the two main levels.
“We went to great lengths to preserve
the trees and protect their roots,” Cantwell
says. “Their shade makes it possible to

Preceding pages and left: A sparkling blue pool
and spa enliven one side of this newly landscaped
front garden designed by owners Matt Cantwell
and Rochelle Abood of Secret Gardens of Sydney.
The site was terraced to provide a flat lawn where
children could play. The couple also extended
the eaves to create a covered alfresco area, and
opened up a corner of the living room to improve
the indoor-outdoor connection.
Above: The house also has an internal courtyard
between the master suite and children’s media
room. This has been landscaped with a Mondrianstyle screen, outdoor furniture and trees in tubs.

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