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Design Inspiration
Australian home design trends explained with James Hardie
Week 10: Sonny and Alicia
The room: Alfresco terrace and shed
Cash spent: $38,215 (Budget: $20,000)
Score: 29/30 (second place)
“They’ve really done the exterior of this house proud,” said Darren Palmer. “It works with the palette, but it still feels soft, inviting and functional.”
Sonny and Alicia created a cohesive outdoor entertaining area with their alfresco space that combined style with practicality
Sonny and Alicia kept their alfresco and shed spaces simple and practical, with a well-equipped workshop (with all the tools a D.I.Yer will ever need), work bench and lawn mower. Portable benches inside the shed made the space flexible, allowing future buyers to rework the area into a larger work area or add in specialised tools.
They did include a pool table down one end for a little light relief, but the majority of the space was a workshop with tools, with the couple saying that with the land surrounding the house, it was important to make sure there was enough space for all the garden tools needed for maintenance.
The alfresco area combined elegance with practicality, with Sonny and Alicia the only couple to include a sink in their outdoor kitchen. The kitchen featured an inbuilt barbecue, dining table and lounge seating. In a clever move, the Gold Coast couple decided to use leftover bricks to build their barbecue, complementing the brick exterior.
The inclusion of outdoor heating made the space suitable for all-year-round entertaining, another point of praise from the judges, while the outdoor rugs helped to soften the spaces and separate the lounge from the dining area.
Design tip
If you are building in a bushfire-prone location, you need to ensure that your design, all exterior materials and construction methods are BAL rated for your area. A BAL rating (Bushfire Attack Level rating) is an Australian standard that measures a building's potential exposure to a bushfire.
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Health & Safety
Asbestos, lead-based paints and copper chromium arsenic (CCA) treated timber are health hazards you need to look out for when renovating older homes. These substances can easily be disturbed when renovating and exposure to them can cause a range of life-threatening diseases and conditions including cancer. For information on the dangers of asbestos, lead-based paint and CCA treated timber and tips for dealing with these materials contact your local council's Environmental Health Officer or visit our Health & Safety page.
When following our advice in our D.I.Y. videos, make sure you use all equipment, including PPE, safely by following the manufacturer’s instructions. Check that the equipment is suitable for the task and that PPE fits properly. If you are unsure, hire an expert to do the job or talk to a Bunnings Team Member.