I understand housing is a significant problem across the globe and many people aren't able to crack into the housing market, I have been actively involved in developing policies and initiatives to support people to get into their dream homes.
Which is why at times I feel hurt when I share my excitement that I am one of the lucky ones that can build a home. It hasn't been easy, we spent 10 years at my mother in laws home while we saved a deposit. We entered the market into a small unit on a subdivided block. It was hard, only two bedrooms and a growing family we were quickly running out of room.
We recently sold the unit for the deposit on our build, we purchased a block of land with the equity in our home three years ago and have been paying it down until we were in a position where we could sell, move out and rent and get further finance for our loan.
My wife and I are on decent income, above average as we work in professional industries in the health and legal sector. But housing in Australia is amongst the most expensive across the globe.
Our Home
After searching far and wide for the perfect build or a build that will suite our life style, which isn't easy we found one. It's not as simple as just getting money and build, you need to research and ensure the home you're building provides you with what you need to fit your lifestyle.
I wanted a decent sized back yard as land in Australia is getting smaller so we knew we wanted a house that was designed to fit on a 28 meter long block. As our land is 33.5 meteres. Also, we wanted to go double story so we didn't take up too much ground space and had enough room out the back. The home we have selected provides us with an 11 meter back yard. On average today with new developments backyards are between 4 to 5 meters.
We also wanted to extend the garage so we could fit two cars and my home gym in it. As our block is 14m across we needed a home that would fit a maximum 12.5m frontage. This enabled us to extend the garage by 1.5 meters and and include a drive through.
Going up ment when mum in law moves in we will have enough space for everyone as we will be having 3 generations of family under one roof, a common emergence in today's housing.
Colours
I wanted to get as close as possible to the image in the display as I really liked the vibe and beachy feel. I wasn't too keen on the glass balcony but my wife liked them. She also anticipated that they are easier to keep clean and less maintenance in the long run. I just didn't want anyone to see if I was sitting there, she compromised and said I could get them tinted 🤣
The front door is similar to the door in the image above, I've had it reinforced and extended to a 1m door. Nothing has been harder in life then trying to fit furniture in through doors that don't fit.
There have also been a lot of home invasions in the area so security is a must. This house is coming with 24/7 security. CCTV and a few added extras because my wife is elected in local government.
Inside
We've maintained that holiday feel once you walk through the front door, as I'm the cook at home I got to design the kitchen layout. But we will get to that. The colours we chose were light browns and whites to help reflect light. The rental we are in now has a lot of dark colours and it is really gloomy.
Kitchen
The kitchen is similar to this however, I stripped away all the black and went straight white. I also chose to enclose the over head range hood and put in a bigger oven and stove bumping it upto 1200 from 900. Having the rangehood enclosed allows me to store my herbs and spices. I like to have a separate area. It also ensures cleaning is easier and just gives a smoother finish in my opinion.
Having everything white also ensures a timeless look as when you start adding colours it is really subject to the time. White is timeless and looks cleaner, also increases the feel of the size of the room.
I also replaced the separated window with just one large glass window which is reinforced and unable to be opened. Outside of the window will be the side garden and I intent on putting together a beautiful garden view out that window.
Stairs are feature points in homes, they lead to another realm of the home so need to look good. I got hardwood stairs not carpeted, I believe this will increase West and tear but you really want that sturdy look and feel from stairs. Carpet in my opinion create a tacky cheap feeling. Plus hard wood stairs! That's a show piece in itself.
As I have kids I've completely closed off that opening on the side and put in a window to the outdoors to let in natural light. On the left of this image that is closed off with a feature wall. I've completely changed that and added a cellar or store room. I haven't I clouding flooring or finishes. It will just be a concrete floor and unfinished. I plan on doing an art project with the little ones but this will increase storage capacity for the home and a place to store bikes/prams and throw junk in before visitors arrive.
Bathroom
Now this, this had a lot of planning go into it, Bathrooms and kitchens are the two most important rooms in a home and require perfection. I initially wanted a free standing bath however my wife convinced me otherwise. Given the cleaning aspect you would not be able to easily access behind a free standing bath. As the bath was tucked away it wouldn't be the main feature. If you have a free standing bath it requires a centre piece as it's the draw card. I still opted for a bigger bath but a wall mounted version of it as seen below.
This still provides the same look and feel but without the added headaches of cleaning.
Now the bathroom I wanted a feature, I wasn't able to have a free standing bath as a central piece so I needed a bold statement. I opted for squaring the entire bath room and doing floor to ceiling tiles.
The window is on the right side as you walk in, so I designed it that the light comes in shines onto a Belga white and misty grey tile. It's a lighter colour. This will be on the left and infront as you walk in.
On the right hand side away from the light but will be hit by the reflection of the light bouncing around the room I went a little darker.
I went a belga and Magellan Grey which will look something like this.
Providing a feature wall.
I'll keep you all updated on the build as we are commencing in April/May but to finish off the post I'll share the front and side profiles.
Front profile with selection of colours and renders
Side profile, I won't share the other side as it's pretty much the same, the drawings haven't included the garage extension which have gone back to the drafts people for addition.
I hope you liked my post and if you have any ideas or suggestions please let me know in the comments section below.
