Delightful day in, day out

After having two children, Dr Mara and her husband, Greg decided their home was too small for their growing family. The professional couple employed architect, Andrew Gildea to convert their two-bedroom house into a five-bedroom, open-plan home with multiple living areas. “Our dream was for our main living space to flow into the outdoors and bring the outdoors into our living space,” says Mara.

The new floorplan includes two Integrated Folding Doorsets as part of an extension that opens to a second-storey balcony. The doors have both screens and blinds to give the west-facing, bushland home protection from insects as well as control over light and privacy. “We use the blinds during the afternoon to control the light. The mosquito screens are fabulous because we just leave them open at night and we get these wonderful cross breezes,” says Mara. “It feels tailor-made for us. It has really been fabulous in that way.”

Mara says the Integrated Doors enable her family to now enjoy their home in every season. “We’ve found the air conditioning is far more efficient with the double-glazing of the doors, and the blind provides another layer; it’s just amazing,” says Mara. “On a cooler day, it can be used as a cosy living area where we can get a nice view through the doors. And in summer, we just open the doors and it flows seamlessly and increases our living area... The doors have allowed us to create a year-round, indoor-outdoor living space. And they look stunning,” says Mara.

Project architect, Andrew Gildea agrees, saying the door system’s aesthetics have exceeded his expectation. “It’s beautiful. It’s simple. It’s uncluttered.” He says he can appreciate the consideration invested into the Integrated Doors’ design. “It’s not a door, it’s a belief system. You can see somebody with a belief system, a mantra, has followed that through with the design,” says Andrew. 

It was Mara and Greg who introduced the new concept of Integrated Doors to Andrew, who says he will be specifying the doorset again. “I’m sold on it. I will definitely be recommending that people use it,” he says.

Now the renovations are complete, the couple have been entertaining at the house and Mara says the Integrated Doors are a big talking point amongst guests. “They can’t believe how beautiful the doors are, and how well they function, and just wish there had been a product around a decade ago, when they renovated which, could have been as fabulous as this one,” says Mara.

After almost two years of planning, Mara says she now has the sanctuary she always wanted with a living area that connects to the outdoors. “You walk into the room and I just feel this sense of calm. It’s quite delightful.”