Creative couple Loni Parker – Founder & Editor of Adore Magazine, and her partner Mark Zeidler – Photographer & Videographer at Coastal Park Creative, are no strangers when it comes to designing and creating beautiful backyard spaces. Inspiring us with beautiful homes, latest trends, products and interior news in each edition of Adore Magazine and with many home styling and renovation projects under their belts.
You might remember this couple from Mark’s Black Barn featured on SheShed - one of our favourite Star Cabin builds for Mark’s backyard detached studio in their modern coastal Brisbane home. After successfully completing this beautiful design inspired renovation and selling the property, Mark & Loni have now dived into a new reno project, with one of our latest SheShed kitset cabin models, the Coastal Cabin that will be featuring in their backyard!
We caught up with Loni to see how it was all going, get a sneak peek at the landscape plans and an insight into the latest Summer edition of Adore Magazine.
We are excited to follow along with your latest home renovation, Higlett House, what is the inspiration behind this build?
Our house was built in 1960 and has amazing high ceilings and clerestory windows at the front of the house which is very mid-century modern in style. Because of that, we were inspired by Palm Springs (the holy land of mid-century modern architecture), and wanted to bring a small slice of that style, back to Australia!
Tell us a bit about your backyard plans, what you have done so far with landscaping and what is still to go?
Our backyard has had a complete overhaul already. We have removed all the existing grass (which was over-run with weeds), along with removing all of the existing plants and trees. We kept the mature lemon tree though - that was one of the things that drew us to the house. There was an old tin shed pushed right up against the lemon tree, so we decided to remove the shed, and use the existing concrete slab underneath it as a fire pit area. We have had a rendered brick bench seat built on top of it, and plan to crazy pave the concrete slab soon. We have put in some garden beds around the perimeter of the backyard, including a variety of plants. There’s a mix of cacti, succulents, palms and trees that we will hedge for privacy. We also brought in a mature olive tree that’s 22 years old. The Coastal Cabin will sit within the landscaping, towards the back of the yard, and it really will be the hero of the outdoor space.
After the beautiful job you and Mark did with the “Black Barn” Star Cabin, we are excited to hear you are building another SheShed Cabin. What did you love the most about putting together this kitset in the previous house?
We liked that the kit was easy enough for a handyman or carpenter to build over a weekend. Also, that particular one we put in the last backyard, didn’t need any council approvals due to its compact size.
Why did you decide on the Coastal Kitset this time around?
My partner Mark will be using it as his home office and needed a slightly bigger space. We also loved the aesthetic of it. Our home is a bit of a coastal shack (about a 10 minute walk to the beach), so the design of it felt like it complemented our home and the area.
Did you need council consent for this? And what was the process like getting this?
Yes, for this size you do. You need to hire a private certifier to take care of the approval process. If you consult them prior, they can also give feedback on where the shed should sit in the backyard to avoid any relaxations. And can also give any advice on what type of application you need regarding what the usage of the shed is.
Would you have any recommendations for future clients looking at going through the consent process in Queensland?
Have a chat to your certifier first about any rules around where the shed should sit etc, and be prepared to make changes accordingly. For us we were lucky because our backyard was essentially a blank canvas so it wasn’t an issue to place the shed further away from the fence line. Also check if there’s any sewer mains located in your backyard as that can also have some impact on approval (or applying for relaxations with council if the shed sits on top of the sewer line for example).
We are excited to read the new Summer edition of ADORE. Which upcoming house trends can our followers look forward to seeing in your new issue?
Thanks! Our new issue focusses on Modern Mediterranean style. Arches and terracotta are back in a big way. I think the rise in its popularity is due to the fact people couldn’t travel over the past couple of years. Everyone has been craving for that holiday feel at home, so that’s also informing people's decorating and design decisions.
Adore Magazine is available in newsagents and boutique stores across Australia or online via www.adoremagazine.com
We can't wait to share more of this build, if you would like to follow Loni & Mark's reno progress with Higlett House, You can follow over on Instagram @higletthouse or @adoremagazine
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