Marilyn and John Yates have transformed what was a dull, boring garden into a colourful, tropical paradise – and they did it on a limited budget! Marilyn and John have always spent their holidays in Bali. In fact, they have been there 17 times. Now, instead of spending two precious weeks per year in Indonesia, they can enjoy their own private Balinese villa every day. The villa has a very special, authentic atmosphere, which brings back memories of many happy holidays.

Marilyn and John have achieved this miraculous turnaround in just three years. They did all the work themselves, apart from installing the pool, and building a deck to extend their living area into an indoor/outdoor entertainment area. Lots of legwork went into tracking down the best prices for materials, including tiles, timber and paint. Warm paint colours and tropical foliage plants were used to help create a comfortable, inviting holiday feeling. The centrepiece of the garden is a bale pavilion with Alang Alang roofing, which provides the perfect setting for artefacts purchased in Bali and India and brought back to Australia in Marilyn’s hand luggage.

Copyright 2003 CTC Productions