Designed and constructed by Franklin Landscape & Design, this remarkable resort-style landscape claims a prized waterfront location on the Gold Coast. When designing this impressive project, David Franklin, known for his classic contemporary designs, decided to express himself a little differently through the integration of curves and terraces.

“These elements aid in creating a dynamic space with many rooms, a space that provides different vantage points from which to enjoy the Gold Coast skyline vista,” he explains. “Celebrating the view of the city skyline was an integral component of the brief and the use of organic curves assists in opening up the landscape to its surroundings. The curved swimming pool, which is a feature in its own right, provides the landscape with a point of convergence,” adds David. “There are a number of different rooms within this space and although they seem separate, and each has its own individual view of the city skyline, they flow into each other with the assistance of the pool.”

Starting from the top, a formal outdoor dining area sits above the pool, commanding a view of the garden and the areas beyond its boundaries. Next, you move down into the casual seating area, with its large fire pit. From there you descend to the pool, the private jetty and an uninterrupted view of the city skyline. A stroll to the other side of the pool takes you to a raised sun lounge and deck area.

“The paved spaces around the pool and in the outdoor room are of pale travertine. This brings light to the landscape, softens the overall look and makes the garden seem more spacious,” says David. “The water feature connected to the pool adds another texture to the landscape by using stone cladding over which the water can trickle before falling into the pool.”

Palms were vital in creating the desired resort-style ambience, framing views and providing some privacy. These were complemented by rheo, for a colour accent, agaves, for an architectural flourish, and gardenias, to soften the landscape and give it a lush vibrant look.

The outdoor room and house-level patio are fenced with frameless glass. It was decided it would be better to fence the upper outdoor entertaining areas rather than have a fence at pool level, thereby allowing the pool area to seamlessly integrate with the waterfront.

Landscape lighting formed the final component of the design. “The lighting scheme is minimal but sets just the right mood. There is soft uplighting to feature plants and garden beds and this is complemented by exterior wall lighting on the different terraces and in the outdoor room,” says David. The result is a luxurious resort-style landscape that provides the full holiday-at-home experience, day or night.