At Wattle Court, family isn't just part of the business story, it's the business. Directors Horst and Melissa Lueckl have built a team that includes their children, in-laws, cousins and lifelong friends. It's a family tree that stretches across the Brookvale office and building sites from Seaforth to Palm Beach, with one thing connecting them all: pride in what they do.

At Wattle Court, when they say they're a close-knit team, they're not exaggerating. In fact, you probably need a family tree to keep track.

Directors Horst and Melissa Lueckl are parents to Finishes Manager Daisy Lawler, who is married to General Manager Marc Lawler. Site Supervisor Mitch Donnelly is Marc's second cousin. Sales Manager Grant Schwarz is Dad to Job Administrator Emily Schwarz. Consultant Jane Thompson goes all the way back with Melissa to their days at St Cecilia's Primary School and later Monte Sant'Angelo.

So yes, things can get a little complicated when someone says, "Can you ask Dad?" But behind the family connections is something that has become part of the way Wattle Court operates. Work and family overlap here, around the dinner table, and everyone is invested in the homes they build and the people they build them for.

Marc admits that working with family gives "a whole new meaning to taking your work home with you."

A normal morning for Marc begins like many other Beaches parents, getting the kids fed, dressed and off to school. Then the day can change direction in an instant. A DA approval lands, a new client arrives with approved plans and a tight timeframe, and suddenly the whole team is mobilised.

"We share in the highs and collectively work through the lows," he says. "We're passionate about what we do, and I think that shows in our results."

"We divide and conquer," he says.

That ability to pull together is something Emily Schwarz sees from the other side of the business. Her desk, which she describes as "organised chaos, usually a mix of plans, paperwork and a coffee somewhere nearby", is often where the invisible work of building a home happens.

Emily also happens to work alongside her dad, Grant.

"I've been fortunate to work alongside a very experienced team, including my dad, which has given me the opportunity to learn a lot about the industry and continue building my knowledge as I go."

Out on site, another branch of the family tree is doing much the same.

Mitch Donnelly spends his days moving between Wattle Court projects from Seaforth to Palm Beach, with stops at the Brookvale office. His workday often starts before he arrives.

"I'm a bit of an overthinker, so once I'm awake I'm already going through the day in my head," says Mitch.

Of course, construction rarely respects a carefully prepared daily to-do list. A trade discovers an issue, an answer is needed quickly and the day changes course.

For Mitch, the satisfaction is often in the things a client may never see.

"A lot of those things are hidden once the job is finished, so most people would never notice them, but there's a lot of satisfaction in knowing it's been done properly and to a high standard."

For Daisy, the details start in the Brookvale showroom, surrounded by tiles, tapware, joinery finishes and samples that have "taken up permanent residence" on her desk.

"I firmly believe a good flat white makes for a more productive selections meeting," she says. "I have no data to back that up, but I've not been wrong yet."

Clients arrive with Pinterest boards, screenshots, saved images and, occasionally, "a tile they fell in love with three years ago in a hotel bathroom in Bali."

Daisy's job is to find the thread connecting all of it.

"When it comes together properly, it stops being a list of selections and starts looking like their life."

Daisy spent years as a retail buyer before joining the family business. Construction was never the plan, but "when the idea first came up, I wasn't exactly sold," she admits. "Eleven years later I'm still here, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

There are, of course, realities to working with family. Work comes home and projects get discussed over dinner.

"We have young children, and we're lucky to be able to share pick-ups and drop-offs with other family members so we can run the business the way we want to," Daisy says. "Everything we do is for them. Family comes first, and I think that shows in how we look after our clients' families as well."

Nowhere is that more apparent than at handover. After months, sometimes years, of plans, approvals and construction, the protective film comes off and the family walks into their finished home.

"There's a particular kind of quiet that happens in that moment," Daisy says. "Handing someone the family home they've been dreaming about never gets old. I'll happily admit I've had a tear or two."

And that's what it's all about. One family helping another build the place where their own story will unfold.

The Wattle Court Northern Beaches Family Tree

Horst & Melissa Lueckl, Directors

Daisy Lawler, Finishes Manager, THEIR DAUGHTER

Marc Lawler, General Manager, MARRIED TO DAISY

Mitch Donnelly, Site Supervisor, MARC'S SECOND COUSIN

Grant Schwarz, Sales Manager

Emily Schwarz, Job Administrator, GRANT'S DAUGHTER

Jane Thompson, Consultant, MELISSA'S SCHOOL FRIEND

Key: Parent & child | Married in or Extended

Build it in the Family

Whether you already own land or are still looking for the right block, book a free site consultation with the Wattle Court team.

Wattle Court Sydney North | 28-30 Orchard Road, Brookvale 2100 | 02 9939 3339 | wattlecourt.com.au/builder/sydney-north

Photography: Wattle Court Northern Beaches