"Retreat offers a touch of luxury"

The West Australian, New Homes, 28th March

Retreats have come a long way from earlier monkish times of austere, cell-like rooms when inmates retired easily, spoke little and coveted austerity.

Hedonism rules today, whether corporate hideaway or luxury island resort, and in Dale Alcock's Retreat at Ellenbrook can be found many of their up-market features.

An almost unbroken stretch of recreational space, from the sunken home theatre at the front to the dining and living areas and through to the alfresco area at the back, fills the promise in a floor plan that neatly sections off the sleeping zones.

The home theatre is a welcome departure from the more staid designs that assume media activities are better off enclosed, with minimal windows for darkened viewing. Here, windows along one wall, and highlight windows above the eye-catching carved limestone feature wall next to a dominant rendered portico, ensure the theatre can be used at all times of the day, and for multiple purposes.

The rough-hewn limestone look is repeated in a low dividing wall separating the theatre from the living zones. It includes an unusual, clean-burning 'eco fire', which runs on methylated spirits.

Style predominates in the kitchen and detaching the walk-in pantry and fridge recess from it main core allows more focus on the extra design details, such as the disguised canopy range hood within a rectangular laminated casing, hidden shelving downlights and 30mm CaesarStone benches that also enclose stainless-steel wine storage unit. It has a 900mm underbench oven and matching gas cooktop, double sink and a soft-closing drawer system throughout.

Entrances on both sides of the kitchen pass to the secondary wing of three bedrooms and the bathroom, and to the rear main suite, which epitomises the ultra-private retreat concept.

The display's landscaping team has created an Eastern-style courtyard, complete with stone water feature bordered by palms, to show how a quiet refuge can add value to a bedroom.

Extensive glazing enables those in the open ensuite also to look out to the garden setting.