Back in 2019, Brandon and Amy Cooper were living in a tiny unit. A pet would’ve been unthinkable let alone finding a cat to swing. But quietly, a grandmaster plan was unfolding.
Calculated. Passionate. Nerved.
A high-stakes game of chess is always laced by this triad and governed solely by rules.
But what if that rulebook was no more?
What you are left with is something likened to what Brandon and Amy Cooper experienced as first-time homebuyers — a monochromatic space prevailed of barricades and possessed with beauty deserving of an audience.
The Coopers moved into their four-bedroom abode nearly two years ago, a long-awaited reward after years tantalised.
The time in stand-by came as no surprise though — it was a COVID-19 building after all.
Eight months of no development, a period staring at an empty slab, and instead of watching the grass grow, it was the unrelenting weeds seen seething through the property.
Looking at the house now, radiating its pristine presence, the nihility it once was seems unfathomable.
Inside, a neutral white palette provided the clean slate to the interior and black accents permeate throughout, carrying the ultimate noir aesthetic into every room.
“Once I decided to get black shutters everything became black and I realised I’d leaned into a theme now,” Amy said.
“It was an easy decision to run with because we could pull out these black shutters and all this black stuff and change it and it would look completely different because of the white base.”
The black aluminium shutters in the dining area, which are also in the bathrooms, was a strong contender to be the feature accent, until the dining table arrived.
Softened by its circular shape and topped with a bright floral arrangement, the solid black dining table is a magnetising amenity for visitors.
The same pop of colour created by the verdure extends to the house’s exterior.
“The one thing I wanted was magnolias — we have 36. They flower all-year-round and they’ll eventually grow up over the fence and become a bit of a screen,” Amy said.
After the decision was made to wrap the yard in magnolias, the landscaper heeded the Cooper’s vision and was able to hone in on the design.
A floating deck surrounded by curved garden beds and artificial grass is a pleasure to gaze at for any guest on arrival.
But the real attraction is the alfresco area in the backyard.
At the end of every day, the couple are enticed to eat outside in the heated outdoor space, which is enclosed in screens on a base of decking.
“We didn’t have landscaping until December last year, almost a year after we’d moved in. It was just mud everywhere,” Amy said.
“The landscapers did it all in the span of a week, the week before Christmas, and all the trees were planted two days before Christmas.”
Whether it’s a holiday or a festivity, the Coopers are no strangers to a celebration.
The couple married in January 2021, purchasing the land of their first home smack-bang in the middle of wedding planning.
It was a risky manoeuvre, but one that allowed strength to prosper in their relationship throughout the anxiety-filled weeks leading up to matrimony.
“It was so stressful, and we were living in chaos in the rental with boxes of stuff everywhere,” Amy said.
“It was a relief actually when we finally had the wedding because I thought now I only have one thing to work on.”
Today’s stresses can be washed away in the luxurious ensuite featuring a triple shower, double vanity, and plenty of storage space hidden behind glass mirrors.
It gives an essence of hotel indulgence that is carried through to the master bedroom’s crisp white covers, a common colour associated with bedding in an otherwise unique setting.
“I don’t like to get things that everybody has, I like things that are a little bit different – like the Cooper Home sign I got recently — things that are personalised to us because then I know nobody else is going to have it,” Amy said.
“It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of what’s trending, but, in my opinion, having a house that’s a lot different to everybody else’s, and putting all our personal touches to it, makes it ours.”
Amy’s style has certainly caught the eye of online audiences, thousands in fact.
“The Instagram @cooper.home was made as something for myself to document and look back on the build.
“I thought after the build it’d be finished, but apparently people still care, and it’s become a bit of an interior design page.
“If we do another build, I think people would be interested in that for sure.”
I, myself, by the end of this interview, was enamoured.
Heading off, I was compelled to take one final glance back, but it wasn’t the house drawing attention this time.
Brandon and Amy are standing in the doorway of their first home, a glint of reflection in their eyes at how far they’ve come from that tiny unit.
It’s checkmate, and the Coopers have won.
This story originally appeared in Our Home. You can find the full publication at http://tinyurl.com/OurHome-Spring2023