European getaway

La Morada is a sprawling waterfront property in Broadbeach Waters offering an array of living areas intertwined with manicured gardens

IF you’ve ever dreamt of escaping to France or Italy but don’t want to leave the Gold Coast, this is the property for you.

Lara and Stephen Madden are behind La Morada, a sprawling European-inspired estate nestled on the waterfront in Florida Gardens.

The couple, who have three children — Ava, 11, Tony, nine, and Presley, two — bought the property in 2012 with a big vision in mind.

“We couldn’t find a house that suited what we wanted,” Mrs Madden said. “We found this place and the gardens were very overgrown.

“We decided to do a massive renovation starting on the inside and going out to the landscaping.”

But where exactly do you start on a transformation like this?

“For me there were some key pieces that I wanted and one was my large Ilve oven,” she said. “I also found copper sinks and then copper became quite a theme throughout the whole house.”

The house was completely guttered with new gyprock, electrics, plumping and a Cbus system installed. “When we pulled the house apart we could have almost knocked it down,” she said. “While the structure is the same we really opened it up.”

As well as renovating the kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms, french windows were installed in keeping with the European theme. The sinks were imported from Mexico while the marble benchtops and tiles were brought in from Italy.

“We both really like that warm and rustic feel so everything, from the walls to the ceilings, has a warm undertone — even the lighting is of a warm nature,” she said.

Walking around the property, it’s easy to feel a million miles away among the manicured gardens and numerous entertaining areas. “The gardens really compliment the house now, it flows all the way out,” she said. “One of our favourite features is our veggie gardens beside the water.”

Other standout features include a self contained residence and gym, pool, outdoor alfresco kitchen and a jetty.

Mrs Madden said the property would ultimately suit another family. “The big thing about this property is the space,” she said. “There’s so many different areas for a family to use. The couple plans to remain on the Coast and are looking at taking on another renovation project.