As one of the first homes built on the canals of Pelican Waters, Gordon and Elizabeth Davies’ home was – at the time – a veritable showpiece of style and design. Seven years down the track however, their two-storey brick and tile home was looking a little tired, and the Davies wanted to make much better use of the space they had – particularly the outdoor areas where the home spills down onto the waterfront.
“We have an architect friend in Auckland who stayed here with us for a few days last year and after dinner one night he started sketching out some ideas on how we could make better use of the entertaining area. We encouraged him to keep going, and as we plied him with chardonnay, he came up with some absolutely wonderful concepts. We were so excited with his ideas we asked him to draw those sketches up into workable plans so that we could take those to a builder for some quotes” tells Elizabeth.
After an exhaustive interviewing process with no less than 6 building companies on the Sunshine Coast, the Davies’ decision to entrust
David Reid Homes with the work was ultimately an easy one, explains Gordon. “We were immediately impressed when the Director himself (Sunshine Coast Southern franchise owner Steve Booth) came to the door, along with his Project Manager, Graham Molineux. Instead of trying to tell us what they could do, Steve and Graham spent most of the time listening to us and finding out precisely what we wanted to achieve”.
“They certainly weren’t the cheapest, but they weren’t the most expensive either. This is a fairly significant
renovation project, and Lizzie and I both agreed that our relationship with whoever we took on to do the work was going to be just as important as their credentials. We just hit it off straight away with the whole team from DRH – they were easy to talk to, they understood exactly what we wanted to do and the professionalism with which they went about things – even at the earliest stages - was enough for us to decide that they were the ones we wanted to do the work” tells Gordon.
DRH Director Steve Booth takes up the story: “Gordon and Elizabeth had some very specific ideas about what they wanted to do. They’d lived in the house long enough to know exactly what they wanted to retain and what they wanted to change. There were certain cosmetic things that just had to go. We started by rendering the brick to create clean, modern lines and the old front door with glass panels on either side has been replaced by a wide-access solid timber door that really makes an impressive entry statement. And that was just the start.”
The focal point of the project is the expansive outdoor area at the rear of the home. Gordon explains: “Until we saw the plans, we had no idea how much space we actually had to work with out here.” An immaculately manicured but uninspiring sloping lawn that ran down to the water has now made way for what will be a stunning waterfront swimming pool and deck area that links up with the existing deep-water pontoon. An alfresco entertaining area is under construction to include a spacious dining area, complete with an outdoor open fireplace and BBQ. Adding to the very special ambience of this area is a distinctive water feature that will see water gently cascading down handmade glass tiles, imported from the island of Murano in Italy.
The dramatic changes to both the front and rear areas of the home meant a complete re-working of all garden and landscaping aspects, so Project Manager Graham Molineux called in his expert team of designers to develop a comprehensive landscape plan that brought out the best in the renovations planned for the home itself. Elizabeth tells that this was just another area where David Reid Homes’ professionalism made all the difference: “We had talked to lots of landscapers who just wanted to tell us what we should do, and who recommended very basic, stock standard plants that didn’t do a lot to excite us. After talking to the team at DRH, we’ve got a beautiful evergreen frangipani which is a new variety, plus some cordylines from the South Island of New Zealand, a Spanish lavender and a lot of Australian natives that will be well suited to the conditions here on the Coast.”
A row of David Austin standard roses that will fringe the alfresco area will make this an absolutely stunning area for entertaining. “It’s just another example of how DRH saw the whole project as a complete picture, not just bits here and there” adds Gordon. “We couldn’t be happier with what they’ve done - nothing has been a problem for these guys. They take a very professional approach to everything they do and their attention to detail has been very impressive. It’s funny how even with a big project like this it’s the little things that make the difference - things like courtesy and keeping the site neat, tidy and safe at all times. They really do go the extra mile and we can’t speak highly enough of the whole team at David Reid Homes.”
3-Dec-2007