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Indoor plants are a simple yet effective way to bring more warmth to your home. Not only do indoor plants add great aesthetic value, but they are also proven to improve your physical health, lower stress and reduce fatigue. 

Our guide to the best indoor plants for your home helps you take advantage of all the benefits plants have to offer.  For G.J. Gardner Homes, plants are always the finishing touch to our styling, making a space feel bright and beautiful.

Indoor plants in Australia homes

There are certain indoor plants best suited for Australian climates. With our states weathering more sunlight, hotter days and harsher heat than ever before, G.J. Gardner Homes recommends finding plants compatible with the environment you live in. 

Australian homes are uniquely orientated to the sun as a way to make the most of our climate and bright blue skies. When finding plants for your home, remember how the sun affects different spaces. With most Australian homes facing north to benefit from the weather of winter and summer, use indoor plants that are suited for the light and heat of each location. 

Best indoor plants for low light 

Low-light plants can survive without contact to direct sunlight – perfect for our indoor spaces. These plant varieties still need some access to at least indirect light, but overall, they require less energy and less food. 

Low-light plants are the right choice for rooms that don’t receive direct sunlight, as is often the case in bathrooms and laundries.

1. Dumb Canes

This plant can be recognised for its uniquely patterned and long leaves. They are a deep green shade with speckles of white, providing colour and brightness to neutral spaces. Be careful: they can be toxic when eaten by pets. 

2. Christmas Cactus

Loved for their vibrant pink flowers, these cacti are perfect for tropical climates. Their unique stem shape and bright flowers are a great way to enliven spaces and are perfect for coastal kitchen spaces. 

3. Spider Plants

Spider plants gain their name from their long and linear-shaped leaves that cascade from the plant. Outlined with a dark green, their leaves are mostly a pale green to white, making them a great plant choice if you’re looking to add a muted green to a space. 

4. Bird’s Nest Fern 

These plants are known for their leafy look with long shiny green leaves. Only needing indirect light, they are a great addition to kitchens or living spaces. Bird’s Nest dense leaves provide great texture and contrast to homes. 

5. Devil’s Ivy

This plant is an indoor favourite, loved for its sprawling stems and heart-shaped leaves. Devil’s Ivy are a dark green tone with shiny leaves that are known to grow quickly and excessively. These are a great way to add a vibrant touch of green that will take over your indoor spaces, like the kitchen or bathroom, with minimal effort.

Benefits of indoor plants in your home

Improve your health

Studies continue to find that plants offer a range of health benefits when introduced into our homes. Indoor plants have been proven to support both your mental and physical health by improving air quality, increasing oxygen levels and enlivening spaces.

Indoor plants have been found to reduce stress, as well as improve productivity, boost mood and minimise the frequency of headaches.

Enhances indoor spaces

By introducing plants into your home, they will effortlessly yet effectively enhance the home’s design. Plants can serve to energise a space through their bold colourways- adding brightness and vibrancy. 

No matter your home’s style, plants can soften areas and create a sense of calm. Indoor plants are ideal accent pieces and a great way to add contrast, create textures and compliment your styling. 

Where to use indoor plants in your home

Indoor plants will be best suited for different rooms and spaces, depending upon their access to light and how much heat and care are needed. 

Living rooms: G.J. Gardner Homes finds plants in the living room offer major health benefits to this central hub of the home and provide variety and life to the space. 

Bedrooms: indoor plants are an easy way to freshen up these neutral spaces and add colours, texture and contrast. 

Bathroom: functional spaces such as these can feel even more like a resort retreat by adding plants.

Outdoor kitchens are the perfect space to create some of your home’s most memorable moments. From garden parties to BBQ feasts, beautiful and functional outdoor spaces are a great way to make the most out of the Australian climate.

A kitchen outdoors lets you make use of all the space your home has to offer – with the added luxury of cooking and dining in the open air. You probably have endless inspiration saved for your dream main kitchen space, but when it comes to your outdoor space, where do you start?

G.J. Gardner Homes has found tried-and-true formulas for designing outdoor kitchens that’ll create the perfect space, from inside to outside. 

Stay connected

Switch up the standard outdoor kitchen arrangement, and instead, let this outdoor space be the heart of your home. The Blue Water home positions its outdoor kitchen so it flows from the living space, and rests under the bridge connecting the two wings of the house. This lets the space not be left disconnected from the rest of your home and likely to go unused. With different landscaping materials and sleek concealing cabinetry, your outdoor kitchen can fit in seamlessly but offer all the functionality and benefits of an outdoor dining space.

Open plan in the open air

Generously sized outdoor kitchens let you bring an open plan living and kitchen space to the open air. A home like the Wide Bay or the Baltimore features a cleverly designed outdoor space that offers a spacious garden as well as a cooking area, a dining table and lounge area. This dynamic is perfect for entertaining by providing families and guests plenty of space to unwind but ensuring whoever is cooking can stay in the heart of the action. 

Enjoying the undercover

A popular idea for an outdoor kitchen is to keep the space undercover so you can reap all the benefits of being outside without the risk of rain or sun exposure. Homes like the Freshwater provide an outdoor kitchen, including a fridge, sink and grill as well as plenty of space for your dining table, all with a timber panelled roof. The use of more natural materials enhances the outdoor experience as you enjoy breezes and fresh air, without exposure to the harsher elements. 

Optimised alfresco

If the idea of a dedicated outdoor kitchen seems too daunting for your culinary skills or entertaining habits, an optimally designed alfresco off your open living space can be the perfect compromise. The floorplan of a home like the Mandalay has been designed so the outdoor spaces effortlessly flow into the indoors. The use of an undercover dining area, and desert-style landscaping lets this outdoor area feel private and exclusive. Instead of a kitchen outdoors, the outdoor space connects via a window to the butler’s pantry. Seamlessly flowing from the living room to the  alfresco, you can open up the space throughout the summers and entertain effortlessly thanks to an innovative floor plan. This arrangement is ideal if an outdoor kitchen could run the risk of going unused. 

Get in touch

With over 36,000 quality, customised homes built over the past 35 years, we can find the outdoor kitchen design for your home and lifestyle. Get in touch with a G.J. Gardner Homes consultant today.

Let’s take this outside

As open plan living continues to become the new normal for house design, the role of the dining area has definitely changed. Once separated from the kitchen and living areas, the dining table today is where key daily moments unfold. It’s the spot for homework, family chats, WFH and of course, dining. But why not create this multi-purpose space outdoors as well?

With the Australian climate boasting such great weather, it’s no surprise we opt for alfresco dining areas to enjoy the long summer days or mild winters. When designed effectively, they can offer so much more than just a place to eat. The perfect alfresco dining area lets you fully utilise your home’s outdoor spaces for family dinners, parties and everyday tasks in the open air.

If you’re looking to create the perfect alfresco dining area, here’s a few things to consider first.

Add a kitchen

If you’re looking to enhance your alfresco dining area, an outdoor kitchen is a must. With clever cabinetry, a mini fridge and BBQ can be effortlessly concealed in your alfresco space, and you can even add a sink so it can be fully operational. An outdoor kitchen in your alfresco dining space not only lets the chef enjoy the outdoors, but offers you a premium outdoor feasting experience. Entertain without going back and forth from the inside kitchen, making summer BBQs or birthday parties a breeze.

Unwind with a lounge

Of course, an outdoor dining table is a must-have to anchor your alfresco space, but adding a lounge as well lets you unwind in the open air. An easy add-on to your alfresco spaces, an outdoor lounge gives you a more casual space to entertain, enjoy time with family or find some peace and quiet. A home like South Bank 530 has a discreet lounge area outdoors, perfect for an evening drink alongside the outdoor dining table. A lounge or living space in your alfresco area simply elevates the space and lets you truly enjoy the relaxation and comfort outdoor spaces offer.

Warm up with a fire pit

A fire pit is a way to create the ultimate alfresco dining space, particularly when alongside a lounge. Not only does a fire pit help you beat cold weather, it brings a cosy feel outside that resembles family camping trips. A fire pit is a way to master your alfresco space, whether it’s been built-in or free standing. Our Edgewater 220 home has added a fire pit to the alfresco dining and lounge space to bring warmth to the space and make it even more functional.

Add an awning

Although awnings might not be as exciting as these other additions, they can be crucial to protecting your alfresco dining space from the harsher elements. Many of our homes keep the alfresco dining table undercover so you can enjoy the outdoors no matter the weather – still reap all the benefits but without the risk of sunburn or rain. This coverage also protects your outdoor furniture and features from water or sun damage.

Want to learn more about adding an alfresco to your home design? Get in touch with the G.J. Gardner team today.

The luxury of beach-living- all year round

If you ask most Australians to describe their dream home, you’d expect to hear features like: open space, natural light and a relaxing atmosphere.

It’s no surprise then that styles like Hamptons and Coastal are some of the leading aspirations for countless Australians. In fact, these beach-inspired homes are the top home preference for almost 30% of the country.

Although easily confused, Hamptons and Coastal styles actually offer different approaches to the ocean-inspired look through the use of colour, texture and space. Both styles are a favourite source of inspiration for G.J. Gardner Homes for their bright, light and airy feel that transforms where you live into an idyllic retreat.

What is Hamptons home design?

The popularity of Hamptons-inspired homes has been on the incline for years. And today this love spans generations as Hamptons-living recently went viral on Social Media with even Generation Z fawning over its charm.

Australia’s climate and relaxed beach-loving culture is a perfect match for the Hamptons style, with the added twist of luxury. This look is defined by classic and elevated details and a rustic charm both inside and outside the home. As a popular inspiration for our G.J. Gardner Homes designs, here are the three staples of the Hamptons home.

The famous façade

Hamptons homes can be recognised by their weatherboard exterior and overstretching arbours that greet guests at the front door. Along with a shingle roof for that classic pitched look, Hamptons homes are known to be sprawling in size, and suit either single or double storey. Usually painted white, navy or grey, the Hamptons façade is the first introduction to this clean and classic home.

Dark accents

Both inside and outside, you’ll find the use of cool hues like cobalt navy, french grey or duck-egg blue contrasted with a bright white. This crisp colour combination provides Hamptons homes with an always refreshed and chic look. The neutral white perfectly grounds the home’s colours to let the accent colour energise the space

Shaker style & clean lines

If you’ve ever wondered how to create a Hamptons inspired-home, you have likely heard that shaker style cabinetry and kitchens are a must-have. But what is shaker style? It’s actually been in our kitchens for centuries and is defined by its clean line bordering. From kitchens, to wall paneling and pillars, shaker style uses recessed panels to frame and border whatever the feature might be. Best compared to maybe a picture frame.

This iconic Hamptons feature provides the space with plenty of clean and sleek lines to give off an elevated effect.

What is Coastal Home design instead?

When comparing Coastal homes to the Hamptons style, it would be easy to say it’s just the West Coast Californian sibling. Australian coastal design has been impacted by many influences from abroad and at-home with the likes of surf culture, beach shacks and even Mediterranean escapes

Today, G.J. Gardner Homes’ take on Coastal Homes marries these influences to craft the perfect relaxed, beach-inspired and casual home style. Still relying on that fresh white colour palette, coastal homes take a different route. They let you bring the joys of beachbound holidays home and into your everyday life. So what are our three favourite features of coastal homes?

Natural organic texture

When compared to Hamptons style, coastal has a little less navy check and a lot more rattan detailing. Coastal offers a different take on luxury, drawing from the organic materials you might find in a tropical resort like timbers, straws and even clay adobe. These sources of texture bring a warmth and softness to the home that not only contrasts against the dominant white colour but also provides depth.

Light and bright

Natural light and airy spaces are a shared feature for both Hamptons style and Coastal style homes. However, the minimalism of Coastal homes relies on open-plan living spaces that only enhance the natural light. Generously sized windows let sunshine wash over living rooms and beyond and the fewer walls even let you enjoy natural airflow.

Simplified styles

Our Coastal Homes incorporate minimalist features to provide that ultimate calming effect. From waterfall benchtops and concealed cabinets to classic wood-look flooring, the modern Coastal design is known for its perfect combination of comfort and chic. Where Hamptons homes opt for pattern and even a touch of opulence in its styling, for Coastal homes, less is always more.

Get in touch

If you have fallen for the beauty of these beach-inspired home designs, get in touch with our friendly G.J. Gardner Homes team. Whether it’s Hamptons or Coastal, or even maybe a bit of both, G.J. Gardner Homes’ expert designers can make your dream home a reality.

Most of today’s leading home trends are under the influence of Scandinavia. For generations, this European hub has remained at the forefront of design by infusing classic features with a modern perspective.

Australian homes continue to take inspiration from the sleek, subtle and sophisticated approach of a culture at the opposite end of the earth. And for most new home builders, this effortlessly chic and refined look is the goal.

But, what is the Scandinavian design style?

The design approach hails from Scandinavia, a northern region of Europe made up of countries like Denmark, Sweden and Norway. For decades, Scandinavia has been the epicenter of design, producing famous furniture, design techniques and iconic designers. A lot of Scandinavian design features, like muted colours, clean lines and functional features, come from classic 50s modernist styles being reworked for the cold climate and lifestyles of the Nordic. 

In comparison to styles like Australian Coastal or Hamptons, Scandinavian home designs are known for being modern rather than classic, elegant rather than comfortable and subtle rather than bold.

Scandinavian home design ideas

Scandinavian-style draws on the key principles of functionality, simplicity, and craftsmanship. Since our team of designers prioritise similar design elements, Scandinavian features can be found across our range.

Most Nordic design features were actually developed to combat their long and frosty winters. Although the Australian climate might need fewer furs and fireplaces, many of the trademark Scandinavian design ideas still work in our warmer climate. At its core, the Scandy design approach aims to work with the surrounding environment for an elevated living experience. Here’s a few of our favourite Scandinavian design ideas, and more importantly, how to use them.

Neutral colours

A staple of Scandinavian design is the use of minimal and muted colours, including whites, blacks or greys and wood. You’ll find most classic Scandinavian homes rely heavily on white. This is a long-lasting design tradition that attempts to brighten up the long and dark Nordic winters. Wooden accents perfectly complement this minimalist colour palette and offer a rustic and natural feel. In more contemporary styles, you’ll find the addition of dark finishes with black tapware, lighting and other fixtures to add depth.

Natural light and open plan

These design features were also inspired by long Nordic winters and maximise and enhance any natural light. Open plan living spaces and natural light go hand in hand and work together to give homes a more airy and light feeling. For Australian homes, these ideas end up complementing the hotter and longer days, letting you enjoy cross breezes and the outdoors.

Minimalist living

The minimalism of Scandinavian design isn’t too extreme as it’s based around making spaces liveable and convenient. Clean lines and subtle textures form the foundation of this home style. Instead of being influenced by the climate, the minimalist features of Scandy design are much more in step with Nordic culture.

Explore G.J. Gardner Homes Scandinavian-inspired homes

Get in touch today

If you’ve been inspired by the simple beauty of Scandinavian-style homes, get in touch with our friendly team today. Our custom homes let you decide your home style, floor plans and design finishes so you can build your dream home with ease.