A custom-built dream home on prestigious Brisbane acreage displays the eye-catching design skills and meticulous attention to excellent workmanship for which Garth Chapman Queenslanders are renowned.
This large, double-storey Queenslander home is a unique blend of timeless colonial styling and the most contemporary kitchen and bathroom finishes. This highly desirable residence demonstrates a remarkable ability to cleverly transform a client’s wishes into a tangible and valuable asset and a place where the family can enjoy a comfortable retreat. Attractive butterfly stairs, a full-length wide timber verandah, post collars and brackets, cedar-framed French doors, colonial railings and a decorative high portico make the front entrance a charming introduction to the luxury that awaits inside. A colonial arch separates the entrance hall and formal lounge room to the right. This room contains a real timber fireplace with sandstone surround and mantle.
The kitchen is a chef’s delight. An extensive range of premium Gaggenau appliances, including coffee machine, combi-steam oven, warming drawers, Teppanyaki grill, wok burner, in-bench steamer, microwave, fully integrated dishwasher, integrated fridge, freezer and wine fridge, provides a wide variety of cooking and entertaining options. A seamless stone bench top with waterfall edges and a central island bench opens out to the rear verandah via a cedar bi-fold window. A walk-in pantry with cabinetry fit-out ensures everything is efficiently at hand. A vacuum aide system internally and externally makes home cleaning a breeze.
The house contains a home automation (HA) system that allows the home owner to control almost every facet of the home from the armchair of any place in the world! Over five kilometres of cabling and months of installation and programming works link a sophisticated system that is at the cutting edge. The concealed television in the main bedroom drops from the ceiling, most rooms including the ensuite have a wall mounted television, the engineer designed home theatre, and the speakers that are hidden in the plasterboard are just a couple from an extensive range of highlights.
The rear entertaining verandah area, accessed via large sliding cedar doors in the main family room, is finished with modern Queenslander features. These include stainless steel wire balustrade to allow views of the pool, surrounding acreage and mountains: a flat kwila handrail to support your favourite beverage and matching chunky kwila posts. Sensor controlled external blinds provide additional protection from inclement weather.
Throughout the living areas of the house select-grade 130mm wide mixed ‘Forest Red’ hardwood flooring, dado rails, three metre high ceilings, and extra high passageway doors provides quality design features and a positive point of difference on the main upper level. The lower level retains the standard 2.7m high ceilings provided in a Garth Chapman home. An abundant supply of modern light fittings, all controlled by the HA, creates any mood the owner desires.
A Durian timber internal staircase, bathed in light through a large northern facing picture window, leads down to the ‘boys’ bar and billiard room, study with integrated cabinetry, another large bedroom, gym, laundry, bathroom with external access to the pool, and the previously mentioned super home theatre. A dedicated electronics room contains all the HA equipment with external ducting to transfer any heat – automatically activated by sensor of course. A double garage with workshop area is a handyman’s delight.
All three bathrooms are finished with very contemporary high quality fittings: fully frameless Stegbar shower screens, Liscio bathroom tapware and fittings, polished porcelain tiles tiled up to the decorative cornice, and heated towel rails. The cabinetry features soft-close drawers and stone benchtops with mirror cabinets above. The ensuite includes a top of the range Decina Spa Bath with adjacent television and speakers. The toilets are sleek in-wall Pozzi Ginori with chrome wall plates. Servicing the home is two Rinnai instantaneous gas hot water systems with ‘Smart Start’ ensuring water temperature is as set and no water is wasted as the temperature reaches its desired level. Temperature controllers throughout provide flexibility for different water users and uses. Water tanks holding over 100,000 litres of water are buried in the grounds of the property and are grassed over with special lids they can even be driven over by vehicles. Sensors advise the owners of their capacity at all times.
Cabinetry throughout the home has been designed and specified to a commensurate level to match the home and the owners’ appreciation of detail. A smart design incorporating soft closing drawers, Caesar stone bench tops, 2pac drawers and doors, linen and wardrobe cabinetry, bulkheads, a stunning fit-out of the office, and beautiful fittings have been installed.
Sound insulation was an important factor: all the plasterboard is extra thick and dense soundcheck. Double layers were applied in the ceiling of the garage, which also has extra quiet garage door controllers. The professional sound containment of the home theatre was painstakingly constructed to a very sophisticated level that was designed and overseen by a sound engineer specialist. Acoustic insulation is installed in all the internal walls on the lower level, to all upper level bedroom walls, and between the floor joists that separate the upper and lower floors.
Epoxy resin coating to the garage floor is stain and slip resistant. The colour chips inserted integrate well with the specially selected pebblecrete driveway.
Energy efficiency was a primary focus throughout the design and specification process. The result is a seven (7) star energy efficiency rating—not an easy achievement for such a large house. Some of the variables considered included taking into account the home’s orientation to the winter and summer sun, prevailing breezes, topography, and surrounding vegetation. The specification detailed insulation above the ceiling, under the roof sheets, and to all the external walls. Window hoods are an important device as they shade windows not under the verandah and enable them to be open to enjoy summer afternoon rain events.
In addition to the family home an extra two storey studio and garage, aptly named the “Toy Shed”, was designed and built in a complementary style to the home. On the upper level, visible from the front of the main home, is a kitchenette, large living area, bathroom, large rear entertaining deck, and double garage. A similar fit-out to the main home pervades through this level and provides a 5 star luxury stay for any guests lucky enough to visit. The lower level is separated by a suspended concrete slab and provides a massive storage and workshop area that contains all the boys’ toys and acreage accompaniments. One double and two single garage doors provide ample access.
This luxury family home was fastidiously designed and specified by Stephen Havas, a Director of the Garth Chapman Queenslanders Brisbane team. Stephen also managed the construction of the home. This provided the clients with a high level of certainty that the design, specification, and the extensive detail in their project would be carried throughout by one person. This was especially important as the owners lived overseas for the entire duration of construction. This actually added significant complexity to such a project but thankfully a high level of trust exists between Stephen and the owners and this facilitated a smooth process and excellent final result.
A very dedicated and close knit team of professional tradespeople crafted their individual trades to an industry-high standard. Substantial credit is due to all the trades for their fastidious attention to detail throughout construction and the long after-hours work completed by many to bring the project in almost four months ahead of schedule – to suit the owners’ return from overseas. The interior design service is an integral link in bringing together the colours, finishes, cabinetry, and general fit–out. This service is included for all Garth Chapman clients.
Garth Chapman Queenslanders craft homes that suit every desire and budget. The award-winning building group capture sought-after elements for clients in a series of traditional home designs, as well as value-adding with exciting contemporary features. Key principles of the company’s new homes are cost-saving energy efficiency and eco-awareness. Garth Chapman Queenslanders help make dream homes come true. In-house designers and skilful tradespeople have given home buyers an opportunity to live more in harmony with their natural environment. Renowned for constructing stylish homes that echo all that is splendid about Queensland’s built heritage, Garth Chapman and his team are equally adept at constructing distinctive up-to-the-minute contemporary home designs that are perfect for the Australian climate and that create a sense of wellbeing in their owners.
