AFTER putting their building plans in the “too hard basket” for almost eight months, Katherine and Stephen Gooderson turned to RiverStone to finally get their project up and running.

The couple had already paid to have plans drawn up for a new family home on their 900sq m block in East Fremantle. But drawn-out negotiations with the local council, a finite building budget and dwindling confidence that the design they’d been given was right for them, prompted them to put their plans on hold.

When they did eventually pull out the plans again and approach a number of builders, they were drawn to RiverStone’s no-nonsense approach to planning, designing and building a bespoke luxury home.

The plans Katherine and Stephen had originally paid for proved to be for an unfeasibly huge home. Working with RiverStone, they were able to scale back the design so that it fitted both their family and their budget.

“When we took the original plans to RiverStone we were told ‘This is just a massive, massive home’. And it was,” Katherine says.

The initial “upside down” design was going to work well though and RiverStone was able to reassure Katherine and Stephen that they would be able to capture views out to the ocean.

“The views were a bonus,” Katherine says. “When we bought the block we didn’t really know what we would have. It was the size of the block that we’d been drawn to.

“There’s a cost involved in doing an upside down design but RiverStone was able to reassure us that it was definitely worth doing.”

RiverStone’s revised blueprint has created a five-bedroom, three bathroom ocean-view residence of almost 500sq m that will happily accommodate the couple and their three teenage children through the school years to university and beyond.

RiverStone also looked after the planning application, which was a major plus for the time-strapped couple unused to dealing with the subtleties of local planning requirements.

“Diane Wainwright, our building and design consultant at RiverStone, said to us ‘You don’t have to deal with any of that any more’. She took it off our hands and it just became easy,” Katherine says.

“From the start to the end it has been a real pleasure. If we were to ever to build again, I wouldn’t even consider going to another builder.”

From the final floor plan to the design detail, the family’s new home fits them to a tee.

Dubbed ‘The Panorama’, the luxury home boasts an upstairs kitchen and living area and a large elevated terrace that stretches along one side of the house. Banks of glazing bring in the views to Rottnest.

The ground floor has been designated as a teenagers’ wing for Ashleigh (16), Nathan (15) and Emma (13).

Working with Emily LeCras, RiverStone’s interior designer, Katherine was able to fine-tune her ideas for a timeless decorating scheme.

“I didn’t want to get caught up in fads that would date in a few years,” Katherine says.

RiverStone started another design and build project in City Beach last week. Having completed the design and documentation, received the building licence and demolished the old house; It was time to start excavation and footings. A 3 metre excavation was required on the site boundary, complicating the excavation was a 2m brick screen wall located on the boundary. Chemical shoring was required to hold the existing wall while the exacvation and new construction takes place. All was completed succesfully ready for the constrcution of the 300 square metre under croft.

Excavation on boundary

RiverStone dug a hole

Huge boundary footing

Setting up steel for footings

ATTENTION to detail has delivered the gorgeous Hamptons-style home that Amanda and Charlie Perkins dreamed of.

Working with luxury Perth home builder RiverStone, the couple pieced together the iconic look that they loved, from the traditional mouldings to the timber panelling.

“RiverStone was very good at taking the vision that we had and turning it into something quite beautiful,” Amanda says.

Stained jarrah floor boards and stair treads a deep ebony

The couple approached RiverStone armed with a portfolio of ideas and the knowledge that they definitely didn’t want anything “ultra modern” for their Claremont block.

“We were mindful that we were building in a heritage precinct and felt we had an obligation to build a home that would blend in,” Amanda says.

The result is a stunning family-friendly residence that has slipped easily into the local streetscape.

Dove-grey rendered walls highlight the white joinery, the pretty timber balustrade and the traditional mouldings, while the light-filled interiors have an easy flow and elegance.

“We felt very confident that we could tell RiverStone what we were after and they would use their expertise to create that,” Amanda says.

“We explained to the RiverStone designer what we wanted and he pretty well instantly delivered something that met our brief.

“We fell in love with what he created. He really nailed it.”Creating all the right shapes and ceiling heights was critical, as was the staircase that is such an important element of the look.

Arched windows, French doors, skirting boards, architraves, timber panelling, carefully selected mouldings, a bespoke kitchen and timber shutters all contribute to the home’s casual elegance.

When it came to sourcing materials and finishes, Amanda worked closely with the luxury builder’s in-house interior designer Emily Marshall.

“I knew for example that I wanted the look of the dark stained floors but didn’t know how to go about achieving that look,” Amanda says.

Emily’s solution was to stain jarrah floor boards and stair treads a deep ebony.

“I like the white trim and I like the contrast of the white cabinetry against the dark floors,” Amanda says.

When it came to the all-important mouldings that capture so much of the Hamptons style, Emily put Amanda and Charlie in touch with a specialist contractor who could guide them through their choices.

“I think for a couple like Charlie and I who are quite time poor – we have three kids and we both work – it was great having RiverStone project manage everything to that point for us,” Amanda says.

“Charlie and I had never even renovated before, let alone built from scratch. It was a whole knew experience for us and we were thrilled with the service RiverStone gave us.”

Meticulous attention to detail at the beginning of the project meant the couple’s planning application went smoothly through council.

“It all happened smoothly and quickly and we had good access to trades and there were never any major delays,” Amanda says.

“We’re absolutely loving living in our new home.

Kitchen

Ensuite