Lifestyle Communities St Leonards

A light-filled dining room anchored by a soft, curved fireplace. Timber tables, upholstered chairs and artful planting create the feeling of an all-day neighbourhood café.

A resort-style clubhouse designed for connection and comfort

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#Lifestyle Communities
#Locations
#Luxury
#St Leonards
#cafés & bars
#hospitality
#residential


Project Architect: TRG The Retail Group
Landscape Architect: SLS Designs
Interior Design: Design Clarity

At Lifestyle St Leonards, the clubhouse isn’t just an amenity — it’s the beating heart of the community. Our interior design vision was to create a warm, welcoming space that feels more like a boutique hotel than a typical residents’ facility. It’s a place where neighbours become friends, celebrations unfold effortlessly, and every corner invites connection.

Working closely with the developer, we shaped the entire interior experience: spatial flow, custom joinery, finishes, lighting, furniture and styling. From the very first step inside, the space is calm, contemporary and full of natural warmth. Soft curves, layered lighting and earthy tones create a sophisticated yet approachable feel. The architecture stays in the background while interiors take the lead — welcoming, intuitive, and people-focused.

The layout flows openly, but each zone has its own identity. A statement fireplace anchors the lounge, while the entertainer’s kitchen is the social hub, complete with a generous island that invites group cooking, wine tastings or casual chats over coffee. The library mixes work and leisure with clever storage and flexible seating. Throughout, materials were selected to feel great to the touch, look elegant, and stand up to everyday use — balancing beauty with practicality.

There’s an easy elegance to the way everything works — lighting that sets the mood for events or downtime, furnishings that are stylish yet supportive, and finishes that elevate without demanding attention. It’s design that understands its audience and delivers a clubhouse that feels just right, every day.

Outdoor rooms are as important as indoor ones. Here, gently winding routes create intuitive wayfinding and encourage movement. Materials are practical—stabilised gravel, mulch, hardy plantings—so maintenance stays manageable while the space feels lush. Varied seating offers choice: sunny perches, shaded benches, sociable clusters.

Curving paths stitch together lawns, native planting and shaded seating. The clubhouse reads as a series of calm pavilions, while mature eucalypts lend character and scale. It’s an easy landscape to stroll, pause and meet neighbours in.

Curving paths stitch together lawns, native planting and shaded seating. The clubhouse reads as a series of calm pavilions, while mature eucalypts lend character and scale. It’s an easy landscape to stroll, pause and meet neighbours in.

A welcoming corridor leads to concierge. Timber lockers and a long bench add usefulness; patterned walling and framed views add delight. The result: a functional, art-led arrival that still feels calm.

A welcoming corridor leads to concierge. Timber lockers and a long bench add usefulness; patterned walling and framed views add delight. The result: a functional, art-led arrival that still feels calm.

We treated the circulation spine as a gallery—moments of texture, seating and planting turn a passage into a place. Vision panels keep spaces visually connected and safe; warm light, generous benches and personal lockers make daily routines smooth for residents and guests.

A generous island anchors the residents’ kitchen, pairing a boldly veined stone with pale timber joinery. Soft task lighting washes a square-tiled splashback, while integrated appliances and slimline stools turn the space into a relaxed hub for cooking, classes and communal dining.

A generous island anchors the residents’ kitchen, pairing a boldly veined stone with pale timber joinery. Soft task lighting washes a square-tiled splashback, while integrated appliances and slimline stools turn the space into a relaxed hub for cooking, classes and communal dining.

This is the social heart of the clubhouse: a catering-capable kitchen that looks domestic rather than institutional. It invites residents to host long lunches, attend cooking demos and gather informally around the island. For an over-50s community built around resort-style amenities and easy living, spaces like this support connection and everyday independence without fuss. They’re deliberately warm, practical and familiar, so homeowners feel at home the moment they walk in.

Connection to the outdoors is pivotal to wellbeing. This terrace provides that link year-round, framing views to planting beds and communal spaces beyond. Furniture is scaled for ease of sitting and rising, and the palette continues the interior calm to ensure the transition feels effortless.

A sheltered outdoor lounge opens directly to the central garden. Deep, low chairs and a compact coffee table create a conversational setting, while the covered edge provides shade, weather protection and a gentle threshold between indoor comforts and the landscape beyond.

A sheltered outdoor lounge opens directly to the central garden. Deep, low chairs and a compact coffee table create a conversational setting, while the covered edge provides shade, weather protection and a gentle threshold between indoor comforts and the landscape beyond.

A club-style games lounge pairs a full-size billiards table with café-height tables beside sheer curtains. Upholstered bench seating, long linear pendants and acoustic treatment temper the buzz, encouraging everything from tournaments to quiet card games and morning coffees.

A club-style games lounge pairs a full-size billiards table with café-height tables beside sheer curtains. Upholstered bench seating, long linear pendants and acoustic treatment temper the buzz, encouraging everything from tournaments to quiet card games and morning coffees.

Leisure spaces here do double duty: they’re active when you want them to be, but comfortable enough for everyday use. This room borrows cues from hotel lounges—soft lighting, relaxed furniture, tailored joinery—so residents feel welcome whether they’re meeting friends or reading the paper. It’s part of a broader amenity offer that helps homeowners “thrive” through social activity and shared facilities.

A robust pergola shelters an outdoor table setting, paired with timber-and-steel benches around a fire bowl. The space hosts everything from long lunches to evening events, connecting directly to garden paths and planting.

A robust pergola shelters an outdoor table setting, paired with timber-and-steel benches around a fire bowl. The space hosts everything from long lunches to evening events, connecting directly to garden paths and planting.

Outdoor gathering is part of the lifestyle promise. This courtyard combines shade, dining and casual seating within one coherent, low-maintenance setting. The pergola creates structure; gravel and stabilised granitic sand keep the palette honest and practical; furniture choices bring warmth and colour.

Digital basics—printing, scanning, online forms—are made easy here without turning the clubhouse into an office. The composition is welcoming rather than corporate: pale panelling, timber shelving, and carefully chosen lighting that keeps eyes comfortable during short online tasks.

A companion view of the library shows the dedicated study bench with two screens, cable management and soft task lighting. Open shelving continues overhead for display, while a pair of sculptural armchairs create a secondary conversation pocket in the foreground.

A companion view of the library shows the dedicated study bench with two screens, cable management and soft task lighting. Open shelving continues overhead for display, while a pair of sculptural armchairs create a secondary conversation pocket in the foreground.

From the shallow end, the pool reads like a sunroom—quiet light, soft planting and long perspectives that make daily laps feel like a ritual rather than a routine.

From the shallow end, the pool reads like a sunroom—quiet light, soft planting and long perspectives that make daily laps feel like a ritual rather than a routine.

This view shows the full, 25-metre axis. We emphasised length and clarity with rhythmic ceiling panels and continuous floor tiling. Lighting is layered for daytime sparkle and evening serenity, ensuring the pool feels equally welcoming at 6am and 6pm.

A calm, private sun deck edges the pool hall, stepping out to citrus-toned planting and views of the courtyard. Generous loungers, café settings and a low fence keep the space sociable yet secure—perfect for a slow morning or post-swim pause.

A calm, private sun deck edges the pool hall, stepping out to citrus-toned planting and views of the courtyard. Generous loungers, café settings and a low fence keep the space sociable yet secure—perfect for a slow morning or post-swim pause.

This terrace extends the wellness offer outdoors. We softened the architecture with planting lines, warm paving and light furniture so residents flow naturally between swim, sun and social time. The composition balances privacy with connection—there’s always a perch in the sun, and always a view back to community life. Detailing is deliberately low-maintenance and coastal-resilient, supporting Lifestyle Communities’ promise of easy, year-round use.

At the heart of Lifestyle St Leonards, the Dining Hall brings neighbours together around an entertaining kitchen scaled for community life. The planning keeps the room legible and welcoming: dining to the foreground, a lounge hearth at left, and the bar-height island anchoring the right edge. A calm coastal palette—honed stone looks, light timber and linen—keeps focus on people and activity rather than finishes.

A warm, flexible “great room” where dinners, trivia nights and club meetings flow around a generous chef’s island, layered timber joinery and soft sheers to the garden terrace.

A warm, flexible “great room” where dinners, trivia nights and club meetings flow around a generous chef’s island, layered timber joinery and soft sheers to the garden terrace.