When faced with the problem of how to block the view of a neighbouring carport built right against the boundary fence of their courtyard garden, the owners of a terrace apartment in Sydney’s Woollahra thought a wall featuring an outdoor mirror might be the solution.
The apartments’ owners, Richard and Dawn, found what they hoped was a solution online late one night and immediately called Rivas Design to arrange a visit to their studio.
They told Siita about their three-storey apartment, built within the walls of an old stone church erected in 1876, and she showed them her latest design — a Gothic-inspired double arched outdoor mirror.
“How good is that!” exclaimed Richard. “A Gothic mirror for a Gothic church. It was the perfect match for the building.”
They ordered four of the mirrors — tall and elegantly shaped like an arched church window — and had a wall erected along the rear boundary of their small and irregular shaped courtyard to suit the size of the mirrors. When the wall was completed and the mirrors were hung side by side they ordered two more to fill more of the space.
The line of mirrors not only conceal the view of the neighbour’s carport and parked cars, but provide the courtyard with privacy and reflect views of the garden, making the 50sqm space seem a lot larger than it really is. A timber deck has since been added in front of the wall, with recessed uplights that are reflected in the ironwork mirrors at night.
“If the mirrors weren’t there the garden would look smaller and we’d see the parked cars over the fence,” says Richard. “It’s funny,” he muses. “While the mirrors conceal that view and therefore close the courtyard off on one level, they open it up on another level.”
