A mini piece of Japan in the Adelaide Hills

A quiet place

The one thing Sally wanted for her home was a quiet place.

But not another room in the house. Somewhere separate, nestled within her beautiful garden in the leafy Adelaide Hills of South Australia. A space that was there purely for stillness, calm, tranquillity… and nothing else.

“We wanted to create an extra space around the home for peace and quiet,” Sally tells us.

A place where she could read, tackle a puzzle, stretch and simply relax and unwind. Somewhere warm and cosy on cold Hills winter evenings, while offering shady relief on hot summer days.

The perfect location had already been decided. Beneath a sprawling old oak tree at the bottom of the garden was a quiet pocket of space that felt wonderfully removed from the house.

“We knew precisely where we wanted to put it, how much space we had to work with and which way we wanted it oriented,” Sally tells us.

For a spot like that, a Melwood Mini was the right fit.

A little piece of Japan

Sally’s connection to Japan runs deep. She lived there for around four years, and it never let go of her.

“I love it, I get back there every year or so,” she says.

Those ties remain deeply personal. Thirty years after her original exchange, Sally’s Japanese host family travelled to Australia to spend Christmas with her. For Sally, Japan is a second home.

So, the building’s Japanese character wasn’t simply a decorating theme. It reflects a country that has remained in Sally’s heart for decades.

And it does that completely.

Step through the sliding door, past the bamboo blind on the porch, and inside it is a calm, considered and authentically styled tatami room: soft green walls, paper shoji screens at the windows, framed Japanese prints, and a kotatsu, the low, heated table synonymous with Japanese winters, at its centre.

“This is a heated table, so you just turn it on, tuck your legs under, and you’re all toasty,” says Sally.

Outside, the all-black façade is just as traditionally Japanese. A bamboo blind hangs across the entrance, a stone lantern sits by the step, ferns and maples surround the exterior, and the whole setting feels worlds away from South Australia.

A design that fits in

When Sally began looking for a garden room, she found plenty of options. But very few felt like they belonged in the landscape she’d carefully created or delivered the aesthetic she had in mind.

The Melwood Mini range was different.

“We thought the designs were more visually appealing than other boxy designs on the market,” she explains.

That mattered. After all, this was going to become a destination within the garden itself, and the way it would look was just as important as the way it would be used.

The pitched roof and covered gable entrance of the Melwood Mini Porch had the character Sally was looking for, while its compact proportions suited the designated space perfectly. And now it sits comfortably beneath the branches of the old oak tree, looking every bit the traditional Japanese garden retreat that Sally intended.

“It’s a good little spot,” Sally says. “It’s fit in beautifully under that tree.”

A daily journey

Today, this adorable space has become a firm part of Sally’s daily routine.

“I come up here for reading and stretching,” she explains.

And with its deliberate orientation and positioning, it’s a place that she can escape to all year round. Throughout winter, the afternoon sun streams through the windows, filling the room with warmth just as the kotatsu begins to glow. In summer, the oak’s canopy casts welcome shade, creating a cool retreat beneath the leaves.

Some days it’s somewhere to escape with a book. Other days, it’s a place to stretch, complete a puzzle or simply enjoy the silence for an hour or two.

But it’s always a space that is completely removed from everyday life – somewhere time slows, and distractions disappear.

For a little while, Sally can escape to her beloved Japan.

Even when she’s miles away… in the heart of the Adelaide Hills.

All measurements are approximate.