Today’s over-50s know what good living looks like – and they’re after more than just a new home. They want a total lifestyle package in master-planned communities, with architecturally designed spaces and resort-style facilities that wouldn’t feel out of place in a boutique hotel.
As land lease communities continue to grow in popularity – offering a flexible, lifestyle-driven alternative to traditional retirement living – developers are lifting their game to meet rising expectations.
“Today’s over-50s buyers have seen the world. They have stayed in the best hotels and dined in the best restaurants and bring those same expectations to where they live,” says Phillip Nielsen, Head of Design at GemLife, one of Australia’s leading lifestyle resort developers.
Powered by a fully integrated in-house architectural and interior design team, GemLife is at the forefront of a design-led evolution, redefining over-50s living.
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The design of lifestyle communities has changed to reflect the discerning, active over-50s of today.
A big shift
This focus on design is driven by a new generation of downsizers. No longer is buying into an over-50s lifestyle resort community tied to retirement.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that in 2022, the average age of people who retired was 64.8 years, meaning buyers will likely be moving into the communities well before they stop work.
“People in their fifties now were born in the 1970s,” says Nielsen. “Gen Xers have a completely different mindset to people a generation older, who were born in the post-war era.
“Today’s over-50s are interested in high-quality resort facilities that fit with their lifestyle – that includes more fitness and sporting options as well as sophisticated social spaces.”
In-house design, unmatched responsiveness
To deliver what these buyers want, Nielsen says design teams need to embrace varied architectural and interior design inspiration, taking cues from prestige hotels, beach resorts, fine dining venues, and more.
“By keeping this generational shift in mind, we can go in different design directions than what you might traditionally get and deliver something really unique,” he says.
GemLife is one of the few over-50s lifestyle resort developers to have its own in-house architecture and interior design team. This close relationship with the construction and operational divisions gives designers a front row seat to see how homeowners use leisure, recreational, and sporting facilities.
“We live and breathe the designs,” Nielsen says.
“We visit our communities regularly and hear straight from the source—every key learning we get about how our residents use our current resorts goes directly into improving the next one.”
Unlike traditional developers, GemLife operates as a fully vertically integrated company.
Architecture and interior design are closely aligned with drafting, estimating and construction – creating a truly seamless process.
“It’s a collaborative effort across multiple disciplines,” says Nielsen. “And the reward comes when you see homeowners not only making the resort facilities their own but also taking so much pride in them.”
GemLife’s in-house architecture and design team is at the cutting edge of creating lifestyle communities that respond to what residents want.
6 resident-loved design trends
Nielsen has distilled these insights to six key points which inform the design of each GemLife resort.
1. Movement-first planning
Movement-first planning is about how easy it is for people to live an active lifestyle in their community.
“We consider how a resident can reduce reliance on a car. It’s about having seamless walking paths between amenities in the resort,” says Nielsen. “Getting around should feel easy and natural.”
GemLife Moreton Bay in Queensland’s South East is an excellent example of this concept in practice, he says.
“Across the nearly 150-hectare site, we have thoughtfully designed how the space is used. For example, each home has no rear neighbours, precincts are connected by paths for walking and cycling, with many homeowners incorporating daily walks around the resort’s multiple private lakes.”
2. Spaces for quiet connection
From nooks in the communities’ multi-million-dollar country clubs to library lounges, more intimate spaces are also essential, says Nielsen.
“These could be incidental spaces such as a seat overlooking a sunlit courtyard garden, like we have designed at GemLife Highfields Heights in Toowoomba,” he says.
“You want spaces where you can grab a coffee, sit and be part of the community—but not always have to be right in the middle of the action. We create moments of intimacy within the grandness: places for relaxation, reflection, or quiet conversation.”
Residents are looking for communities with spaces where they can connect with the people around them.
3. Subtle, seamless accessibility
Accessible living is important to over-50s lifestyle buyers, but they don’t want to feel like they’re in a retirement village.
Achieving this balance calls for subtle design, Nielsen explains.
“There are many ways to deliver compliant design but have it as a luxury experience. Everything is integrated, seamless, and beautiful,” he says.
“True accessibility is invisible. It’s there when you need it and unnoticeable when you don’t.
“For example, in our pools, you might find that a ramp is built in organically, so that it feels like part of a beautiful design—not added on.”
4. Resort-grade amenities with designer touchpoints
Health, wellbeing, and community connection are of prime importance to today’s over-50s buyers.
That’s why GemLife’s in-house design team draws on feedback to shape how resort features like gyms, pickleball courts, cinemas, and lounge areas are laid out for comfort, accessibility and style.
“It should feel like you’re at a luxury hotel,” Nielsen explains.
“Boutique hotels and resorts are characterised by their intimate atmosphere alongside unique design details and flourishes that give them a distinct personality. We want to create the kind of ambience and atmosphere – calming and relaxed – set off by some hero feature elements.
“Everything you can touch should feel high-end, and you should want to bring your family and friends over to experience it.”
Resort-style facilities are a must-have for residents who are used to the finer things in life.
5. Site-sensitive architecture
To make sure every community is unique, GemLife focuses on designing to complement the local environment.
“We have one development in Victoria which has an existing heritage house that’s over 100 years old. It’s being retained and embraced in the broader resort design,” says Nielsen.
“Each location is unique and so is each design. Cookie-cutter doesn’t cut it. We let the site speak, and we design in response.”
And it’s not just the pre-existing built environment that is taken into consideration – the natural topography also inspires design.
“What might at first be a challenging location also opens the door to embrace something different and let us lean into the environment,” says Nielsen.
“The sloping site at GemLife Palmwoods that leads down to a creek and bushland, created the opportunity to maximise views to the Blackall Range, with the Country Club evoking the feeling of a luxury mountain lodge.
“On the other hand, GemLife Gold Coast’s Country Club sits on a brow of a hill with sweeping easterly views, so we made a hero of it by creating an upper-level terrace and infinity-edge swimming pool with sunken conversation lounges for homeowners to take in Surfers Paradise skyline views.
6. Long-term liveability
Great design should stand the test of time.
“Good design should age gracefully with our residents, not against them,” says Jennifer Kyle, GemLife’s Interior Design Manager.
“We approach interior design with an eye toward a long lifespan. To do that, spaces are designed with a timeless aesthetic – we avoid fads and trends that will quickly date – and always choose quality materials, finishes, and furnishings,” she says.
All the furniture pieces are chosen for their high-quality craftsmanship and are built to last.
Among Kyle’s favourite stand-out design pieces from GemLife Pacific Paradise’s Pavilion, for example, is a sophisticated modern pendant chandelier featuring thousands of hand-sewn wood and coco beads.
“These striking ceiling lights are really beautiful with an organic and artisanal vibe that marries the timelessness of centuries-old tradition with distinctly modern finishes,” Kyle says.
At GemLife Moreton Bay, the Summer House features poolside nooks with comfortable day beds – large comfortable furniture pieces crafted from natural Nigerian twisted hyacinth fibre – an environmentally friendly rope woven from an invasive aquatic plant.
Design-led living, redefined
As more Australians approach retirement with a focus on lifestyle, wellbeing and connection, the built environment around them is evolving too – and for GemLife, that evolution starts at the drawing board.
As a design-led lifestyle brand, the company is quietly reshaping expectations of what over-50s living can be to create beautiful, resilient spaces that support vibrant, independent lives.
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