House 13 - The Three Birds - Making your Home Beautiful

The concept of The Three Birds has been hugely successful. It's how many of us would like to live, working with close friends and renovating properties together – what a fabulous job! It's always interesting to see the next house and The Birds are now up to house number 13. This will be a treat for those of you who love all white houses. I have some images and the story behind it here.

Three Birds House 13

Anchored by the Australian bush, House 13 is the most recent renovation from the Three Birds where relaxed coastal vibes and luxe resort touches combine to achieve a result that could be defined as the ultimate Australian staycation.

In their signature, coastal aesthetic, the new build from best friends and business partners Bonnie, Lana and Erin was constructed for good friend and Three Birds’ in-house designer Louisa Shield, her husband and their two growing boys. The couple bought the 2.1-hectare bush block in Annangrove on the rural outskirts of Sydney’s North West in 2018, with an idea to nurture more of a nature connected lifestyle. The result, inspired by their favourite holiday destinations and luxury resorts, is the owners’ dream holiday brought to life.

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The luxury single storey residence accommodates formal and private living settings, a kids’ wing, guest rooms, a kitchen, multiple bathrooms and a pool house. The front entrance moment is something special, and sets the tone and experience throughout home. Grand and palatial, two huge brick pillars greet you as you make your way past a Jaipur inspired front patio.

The hallway is framed by a huge, raked ceiling, adding further to the luxurious impression of the build, while dramatic arched windows flood the property with natural light, connecting it at every opportunity to its natural Australian bush surrounds. “It’s definitely the most beautiful entrance we’ve ever done,” says Lana, Marketing Director of Three Birds.

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Over 1700 square metres of plasterboard line the walls and ceilings of this palatial home and it’s not hard to see where it’s all gone. Beyond the raked ceiling entryway, multiple ceiling heights are a feature, which perfectly complement the open plan yet segregated living configuration. “The beauty of this house is you’ve got so many ceiling heights,” says Bonnie, creative director of the Three Birds, “You’ve got the main entrance that is really high, then the ceiling height drops down lower as you enter the house, then into the kitchen and its raised.”

To achieve this show-stopping effect, the Three Birds chose Gyprock Supaceil™, a plasterboard with optimised core technology which means longer spans and less joins, resulting in a sense of fluidity. Combining the desired level of finish with ease of installation, Supaceil allowed the Three Birds to achieve the ‘wow’ factor they are used to delivering from the entrance and throughout the home.

Despite such a grand opening and luxury feel, the home was designed with family living in mind, therefore relaxed and practical features were also an important consideration of the build. Warm tones and natural lighting add to the aesthetic appeal of the indoor living space, while ample storage and the consideration of building materials were key to the practical success of the project. Defining the purpose of each room was vital to ensuring the right products were selected for the job, where aspects such as noise and durability were important considerations.

Gyprock Superchek™ plasterboard, was chosen to line the walls. “Throughout this home, we used Gyprock Superchek , and it comes in particularly handy for rooms where more noise control is desired,” says Lana. Walls lined with Superchek provide a 15% reduction in perceived loudness compared to standard plasterboard for a quieter, more comfortable home, which is essential for homes where family life incorporates work and play. Additionally, with its reinforced core, Superchek reduces the impact of day-to-day activities, like rough play, moving furniture and even bringing in the shopping. The heavy-duty paper liner increases density and board strength to improve the level of durability of walls against knocks and scrapes or more serious damage.

It was the perfect choice for Louisa’s home and most particularly for the boys’ wing. The striking space, which encompasses a double bedroom, walk in robe, ensuite and upstairs media/play room, needed to be durable and able to contain the noise that goes with growing, playful boys. “Kid’s bedrooms and entertainment rooms are typical areas that need to be considered for noise transfer,” says Renee McGinty, General Manager of Marketing for Gyprock. “With some basic understanding of building acoustics and careful consideration of the room use and layout, you can create quiet zones where you need them and keep noise contained.”

For more information visit Gyprock Living

What I love about House 13

The ceiling in the attic room is fabulous. I really like the plaster detail that brings interest to the room without overwhelming it.
The attic room is also a great cosy space with some welcome tonal variation in the scheme.
I really like the different heights or the ceilings and the use of fabulous sheers and curtains to complete the windows.
Painting a ceiling and cornice in a darker tone is a good way to manipulate a space with colour and tone. I love the introduction of this in the boys' area which makes it cosy and adds more great tonal variation.
The flooring is a great neutral tone which is easy to complement.

If you are building or renovating your dream home, You should check out my Free Resource Library where I have comprehensive e-books and checklists to help you with your project. You can download it all FREE here.