Floor Plans – Page 3

What Is The Focal Point?

What is the ‘Focal Point’ of your new living room going to be?

This is something to think about when you are planning your new house as it will involve the layout and furniture of the room.

Generally there are three options.

The Fireplace

When i was young . . . in the 1950’s, (In the UK) this was the traditional focal point to a room.

Now with central heating the fireplace, in many home,s has lost its importance.

Many homes no longer have a fireplace as standard, but it can be an expensive ‘upgrade’.

The View

A window can be a great focal point with a few qualifications;

The view needs to be pleasant . . . not a view of a colourbnd fence 1m from the window.
The view need to be visible when you are sitting down.
What happens at night when it’s dark and/or the curtains are shut?

The Television

As television screens have increased in size over the years the TV has become a more important focal point.

In many rooms I see the television is not only a focal point, but dominates the room.

How Many Focal Points?

I think rooms can work well with two focal points.

In our current living room our focal points are a great view and the TV. These are on adjacent walls with both in direct line of site from our normal sitting position.

I have seen several rooms such as the photo rooms where the TV is mounted above the fireplace to get three points, although I’m not so sure about the idea as I think the heat can affect the TV.

I also prefer the TV to be at eye level rather than looking up at it.

Photo from godfatherstyle.com

Laundries – The Latest Source Of Profit

Over the years I have seen many builders put up many reasons for making houses bigger and more expensive. . . . which means more profit for them.

When they can’t think of another room then its how can they make a room more expensive.

A typical laundry used to be a washing machine, drier and a trough a bit like this.

Additional Costs

Some of the laundries I see these days are huge rooms with:

Built in cupboards
Stone counter tops
Expensive floor to ceiling tiles
Downlights

All this can mean several thousand extra dollars on the price of your house.

Yes is does look nice . . . but how many people are you going to be showing round the laundry?

Thanks to Maegan Tintari for the photo which was on her Flickr page.

Large or ‘Character’

Lots of people say they like character . . . . but build houses with these huge open plan living rooms.

Modern Living Room by Perth Design & Construction Firms Cambuild

Some of the display houses I see do look light and airy. . . . but to me have all the character of an airport terminal, unlike this smaller living room.

One of the things about smaller rooms is they need a lot more thought about getting things in.

The various features add interest.

The same furniture would look lost in a bigger room and the features would not be as apparent.

What do you think?

Eclectic Living Room by Alexandra
Torre Design & Interiors

Photos courtesy of Houzz.com.au

Fridge Location

You may be out shopping for a new fridge to go in the new house

You may just want to check your existing fridge fits in the alcove in your new kitchen.

Whichever it is . . . . . Don’t forget to leave room around the fridge!

Ventilation

Both refrigerators and freezers work by extracting the heat from inside to a radiator coil on the rear of the unit.

If the air flowing past the coils is restricted the efficiency of the refrigerator will drop, and your power bills will go up.

I would recommend a space at least 25mm either side of the cabinet and 40-50mm behind and above the top of the unit.

Don’t then use these spaces to store trays, chopping boards, etc otherwise you are going to block that ventilation path.

I have heard of people installing an external vent behind a fridge mounted on an external wall. . . It seems like a good idea if you remember to shut the vent on hot days. (remember on a 30 + degree day the incoming air will be hotter than the air in the room)

Door Opening

To get drawers out of a Fridge or Freezer you normally have to open the door by much more than 90 degrees. (I have just checked mine and its about 135 degrees)

This means you may need more than the 25mm suggested above on the hinge side unless the front of the fridge projects forward of the alcove.

Built in Fridges

I’m not a big fan of built in fridges, but if you like them make sure that ventilation and door opening are fully considered before you buy.

More Storage Space . . . . or Too Much Stuff?

Read the House Magazines or watch TV Programs and you will often notice quotes like:

“You can never have too much storage space.”

Well I think that’s BULLDUST!

If you think you need more storage space; then think about getting rid of some STUFF.

Get too much storage space and your are just going to be storing JUNK you no longer need!

10 Decluttering Ideas

Here are some things to think about before you decide how much storage you need in your new home:

Magazines – Once you have read the magazine put it in the recyling its unlikely to be read again. If you think there is an interesting article you ‘must’ keep then rip it out and put it in a folder.
Fiction Paperbacks – Are you really going to read that thriller again when you know ‘Who did it’
Old Computers/Tablets/Phones – These days people seem to update their technology every couple of years but why aren’t they throwing the old away? If you have got something stored on the old device either transfer it to the new device, or store it on a hard drive.
Media Storage – Still got some Video Tapes, LPs in boxes? Why? even CDs /DVDs are gettinng to be old technology. Unless you are a serious collector or regularly play them copy to a hard and send them to the OP shop.
Pictures and Ornaments – No longer like the picture or ornament? Then why are you keeping it in a box in the garage?
Clothes and Shoes – No longer fits, needs repair, or haven’t worn in a year? Then it could be time to go.
Bedding – You can get by with two sets of sheets for adults, four if you prefer warmer sheets in winter. Children possibly an extra set or two in case of accidents. So get rid of the rest.
Children’s Toys – We have been guilty of saving toys for future grandchildren, but unless they are classics like Lego will the future children want them?
Kitchen Gadgets – Got a pineapple corer, egg slicer, potato chipper . . . . or any other of those kitchen devices that take more time to clean than doing the job with a knife? Unless you are using at least 4-5 times a year its just wasting space!
Glasses and Crockery – The set may have been a wedding present. . . . but if you have dropped, and smashed 3 out of the 6 it might be time to ditch the rest.

What do you think you can get rid of ?

Do You Need A Home Theatre?

I keep reading articles about issues with the affordability of Australian houses. . . . . but then find lot’s of you want a ‘Media Room’ in your new houses!

So how much is a basic Home Theatre going to add to the cost of your new house?

Room Size

Room size if you are going to get a big screen tv say 75″ or a projector the experts say you really need to be around 3m away from the screen.

That means you are talking about a 4m x 4m room.

At ‘say’ $1,500/m2 the room alone is going to cost you around $24,000.

Fit Out

Again looking at a fairly basic system I have allowed the following:

$6,000 – TV and sound system, cabling, etc
$3,000 – Furniture, carpets, and lighting.

Of course if you really want to go to town you could spend Millions!

Overall Costs

So your basic home theatre is going to cost around $31,000!

Assuming you borrow the money the payments, at a long term average of 7% over 25 years, amounts to:

$54 per week.
$240 pr month.
$2,880 per year.
or $72,000 over the full term.

Don’t forget all this is going to be in addition to a large TV in the family room, and probably another couple of TVs around the house!

In Conclusion

Well it’s up to you but, I’ve got to 60 and don’t feel that I have missed out by not having a home theatre.

In fact instead of over committing on houses I was able to put more into my Super means I am now semi retired!

Don’t Agree? . . . Leave a Comment!

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Do You Need A Formal Dining Room?

Go round most Display Homes and you will see a Formal Dining Room . . . . . but why do you need it?

Photo from www.home-designing.com

If you look round the options for eating a meal will be:

The ‘Island Bench’
The ‘Breakfast Table’
The ‘Formal Dining Room’
The ‘Al Fresco’ Dining Area/Barbecue Area

The questions you should be asking yourself are

“How many meals do you eat on your knee in front of the television?”
“How often will you really use each of these eating options?”

Original Reasons For Formal Dining Rooms

Historically Dining Rooms, which were only found in ‘Posh Homes’, were kept separate:

To keep cooking smells and steam away from the dinner table.
So guests wouldn’t see the clutter of the kitchen.
Most of the cooking was done by servants

Reasons For Not Having A Formal Dining Room

Modern extraction systems effectively remove smells and steam.
With dishwashers to hide the dirty pots and even ‘Butlers Pantries’ to hide the preparation work there is much less clutter.
As most of us can’t afford servants, why exclude one of the ‘cooks’ from the dinner table conversations?
The popularity of ‘Reality’ Cooking Shows tells us that cooking can be part of the ‘Entertainment’.
A dining room will be at least 12 sqm, so the extra area will add between $12,000 (Basic) and $24,000 (WOW factor) to the cost of your new home. A lot of money for something you may only use a couple of times a year!

For more thoughts see ‘The Entertainer‘

Wardrobe Location

Get your wardrobe location wrong and you could finish up with mouldy clothes!

I have recently seen a few house plans with built in wardrobes along an external wall . . . . Not a good idea.

The Problem

Basically there is a lot of water vapour in the air in every house.

This water vapour can condense on surfaces that are cooler than the air such as outside walls, even if they are insulated.

The lack of air movement in the back of a wardrobe means that there is little chance of moisture drying out.

As a consequence the dampness gives mould the opportunity to grow on the walls and clothes that are touching the walls.

Although the wardrobe in the photo only has one end against the external wall we still have have problems when clothes have been allowed to touch the outside wall.

Some Solutions

Avoid having wardrobes backing onto an external wall.

Where a wardrobe does have an edge against an external wall think about how you will keep your belongings away from the wall.

Wire basket drawers, as in the photo, will allow air to circulate between the wall and the clothes

Finally

Another advantage of having wardrobes on internal walls is a wardrobe full of clothes will provide some extra noise insulation between rooms.

For Similar posts see Floor Plans

Access to Rear

With the narrow blocks that are becoming more common you see a lot of new houses built right to the side boundary on both sides.

In some cases that can’t be avoided, but I think there is a real advantage in buying a block with enough room for a path on at least one side of the house, preferably both sides.

Here’s some reasons why:

There will be extra costs for special wall and roof details, constructing foundations, and building walls on the boundary.
You might have ongoing property maintenance issues if you fall out with your neighbour.
If you need to do some gardening you can avoid taking top soil, plants and other dirty things through the garage, or even the house, if the garage doesn’t have a back door.
Many properties have drainage or sewerage easements with a Manhole (or in these politically correct time an access pit). If the council/water authority needs access you may need to take time off work rather than just leave a gate open for the day.
If you have a dog in the back yard then looking through a gate helps to stop them getting bored while you are out at work.
If you want a detached property why have it looking like a terrace?

Perhaps there are some advantages of building to the boundary. If you have found any let me know.

For more things to think about when buying a block see:

Guide to Buying a Block

Quirky Rome Apartment

I am on holiday in Rome at the moment.

When I travel, rather than stop in a Hotel, I prefer to rent an apartment and feel a little bit more like a local.

The apartment I am renting here is more than a little bit quirky so thought I would share some of the design ideas over the next couple of posts.

The above photo shows the bed ‘cave’ . . . you go down 4 stairs to a ‘bed room’ which is only just bigger than the bed and has no windows; its easy to sleep late, with no curtains to let light in.

The next picture shows the stairs from the entrance door up to the living/dining area.

The individual stairs are cantilevered of the wall off the building with no balustrade, although there is an adjacent bulkhead.

Not as dangerous as this staircase (Safe Stair-Fail) but I don’t think it would meet the Building Code of Australia.

We are really enjoying staying here in very centrally located apartment at only 110 euros a night.

If you are planning to visit Rome and want to stay somewhere different you can find this apartment at www.airbnb.com

NB. I have not been paid, nor received a discount on accommodation, for this post.