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Palm Springs in the burbs

The Challenges

As soon as homeowner Nikki Mann walked into the 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom home at Robina on Queensland’s Gold Coast, and saw the arches, the curves, the open spaces, she had a vision to create a feminine, safe, and happy place for herself and her young daughter. 

“Nobody else saw it except for myself,” Nikki said, “So, seeing it come to life has been rewarding. And I’ve done this renovation with my dad and my brother-in-law and sister.” 

“My family have turned a house into a home with love, which has been really special.” 

Working with the existing footprint of the house, Nikki’s renovation focussed on changing the internal spaces, refreshing cabinetry and doors, and opening and repurposing spaces, rather than knocking down walls.  

Her biggest change came to transforming the backyard, entertainment and pool area, and sought the help of Graeme O’Malley from outdoor renovation and home improvement specialists, Platinum Property Improvements. 

As well as redesigning the backyard with new landscaping, Nikki wanted to replace the old patio with a new, visually appealing outdoor area that was not only aesthetic, but offered superior comfort during Queensland’s hot summer months. 

Graeme specified Bondor’s SolarSpan® all-in-one insulated roofing panel, consisting of the roof, insulation, and ceiling in a single panel, to provide Nikki with a cost-effective and thermally superior solution. 

The Solution

“There was a roof that sat really low at the back of the home with big brick pillars,” Nikki said. 

“I wanted to open it up with a new roof to expand the space in the backyard and create some cover. I also wanted to create some light into the home with a finish that was bright and cool.” 

The game changer was adding a fly over patio using SolarSpan® insulated panels. Designed to sit above her home’s existing roof, the fly over patio was attached to ‘float’ above the home’s roof line and overlap it, allowing for more ventilation and light.  

This was especially important for her given the existing home’s particularly low roof line, with the new fly over patio offering greater height to introduce more light into Nikki’s home as well as an open space for her entertaining area.  

Graeme said the Platinum Property Improvements team put a huge effort into creating this transformation for Nikki. 

“There is nothing more refreshing than being engaged by a client with an open mind to designs and solutions that also has an eye for detail like myself, Nikki and I worked really well together,” he said. 

“A project of this size without a set of Landscape plans can be difficult, but we looked over some of my previous projects and came up with an amazing end result that I am certainly proud of, and I am sure Nikki is as well.’ 

“We spend a lot of time out here,” Nikki added. “We bring our laptops out in the summer but also in the winter because we added the fairy lights and the firepit out the back. So, we can really utilise this space in all year round. 

SolarSpan® is Australia’s leading insulated roofing panel offering long-spans, low pitch, and high thermal efficiency. CodeMark-approved and conforming to Australia’s Building Standards, SolarSpan® features a COLORBOND® steel exterior roof, and EPS-FR rigid insulation core with a pre-finished COLORBOND® ceiling underside in a variety of profiles and colours to maximise creative expression. 

Photos: Stay Low Visual

Images supplied by: Platinum Property Improvements

Open Homes Australia, Season 7

OUTCOME