With energy prices rapidly rising, it’s inevitable that some of the focus when designing and building homes needs to be on energy efficiency. This fits in with a broader focus on sustainability, flexibility, and well-being.

Energy Efficiency

These homes are designed to generate as much energy as they consume, often using solar panels, energy-efficient appliances, and smart building management systems.

They also incorporate improved insulation and energy-efficient glazing to enhance comfort and reduce energy consumption. A focus on water management is also expected to become more common, especially in regions prone to extreme weather events.

Weather Responsive Designs

As more homes are built in areas susceptible to severe weather occurrences, such as cyclones, bushfires and floods, new designs that are more practical in those areas are emerging. They include the ability to withstand high winds, or bushfire-resistant features.

Australia is a land with many different weather and energy challenges, and building trends are moving in the direction of being more sensitive to regional requirements. The ultimate goal is housing that saves money in energy costs and can withstand harsh weather conditions.

In our first post about building design trends, we covered flexible and multifunctional spaces, sustainable and energy-efficient design and smart building technology. This time we’re focussing more on how your home makes you feel – the “liveability” element of design.

If our home helps us to feel good, then it scores a big tick on the liveability building trend scale.

Building design trends evolve over time based on factors such as changing lifestyles, technological advancements, environmental concerns, and architectural innovations. Keep in mind that trends can change, and it’s essential to consult with local architects and builders for the most up-to-date information.

Flexible and Multifunctional Spaces:
Building designs that offer flexibility and adaptability for different uses, including working from home, are gaining popularity in response to changing work and lifestyle patterns. Building designs are prioritizing flexible spaces that can adapt to changing needs. This includes home offices, multipurpose rooms, and adaptable living areas.

Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Design:
Sustainability continues to be a significant focus in Australian building design. This includes the use of energy-efficient materials, passive design principles, and renewable energy systems.

Smart Building Technology:
The integration of smart home technology is anticipated to become more advanced, with features such as energy management systems, home automation, and advanced security systems becoming more common.

More to come next time!

Let’s face it – we all spend at least some part of our day in the bathroom. Many people aren’t exactly excited about that already, and that’s only going to be made worse walking into a bathroom which feels cramped, dark and unwelcoming.

So if you’re building or renovating, but only have a small space to work with, here are some ways you can help make your bathroom look bigger.

Tile Size

It’s generally agreed that big tiles tend to make a room look smaller. Which is great when you have a cavernous space for your bathroom and want it to feel cosier.

With a small bathroom, then, you’d think the simple solution would be to use smaller tiles. But wait – that means you end up with lots more grout lines, and that effect tends to make your bathroom look smaller.

Confused yet? The solution is moderation. Choosing a medium sized tile is easy to do. If you really can’t resist larger tiles, then choose one with rectified edges, and use a matching grout to try and make the tiles flow better without disrupting the scale of the room.

Tile Layout

If you’re going with rectangular tiles, then which direction you lay them is important. If you want the room to look wider, lay them horizontally. Laying the same tile vertically will elongate the height of the room, or make the room look longer if used on the floor.

Here’s a fun one if you’re feeling a little adventurous – lay the tiles diagonally. Again, it’s all about drawing the eye across the space. Your brain also can’t draw on experience to calculate how many tiles there are, so the two combined give the illusion the space bigger.

Colour Scheme

You probably already guessed it, but light neutrals is the way to go. Cooler shades of white, cream or light grey help create the impression of a bigger space. Lighter colours reflect more light, making the room feel more welcoming, as well as larger.

Fixtures

Finally, the fixtures you choose are important. Like any room, using big furniture and accessories can look crowded and overwhelming if the space is small.

Stick with modern, slimline fittings that are in proportion to the space, rather than large sinks, taps and other fixtures.

As with anything, guidelines are helpful, but it’s always important to design a space that works for you. If you can find a way to have a bathroom you love and also have it feel bigger and more inviting, that’s a bonus!

We’ve talked before about adding an al fresco area to your home, either as a renovation or during the design process. It’s a great way to expand your living space in a way that brings the outdoors inside.

So what else should you think about when adding an al fresco area?

Size

First step in working out what size your al fresco area needs to be is to think about how you expect to use it. If you’re planning to use it for entertaining purposes, particularly dining, then think about how big a table and how many chairs you want to have. A good minimum to work from is 3 x 4 metres.

If you want to add an outdoor kitchen or barbeque, add extra space, and make sure you allow enough room to move between the cooking and sitting areas. As a side thought, think about the way the wind generally blows on days when you’re most likely to be entertaining outside, and position your cooking facilities wisely as a result!

Perhaps your focus for the al fresco area is to add extra casual living space to your home. This might encompass 1 or 2 outdoor lounges, a chair to read your favourite book in, and one or more tables for drinks and nibbles. Again, start with a base of 3 x 4 metres. Add more space if you’re going to have something like a fire bowl to congregate around.

You could also add a bigger, multi-functional room to allow both for casual entertaining and a lounge area, in which case you would need to look at having at least 3 x 5 metres available.

Short of space? It’s possible to have a smaller al fresco area if you just want to be outdoors connected with nature while you do your daily yoga routine.

In the end, the size of your al fresco area comes down to how you expect to utilise it. Determining that is your first step.

Over the years, I’ve inspected thousands and thousands of houses, to the point that most of the time I can give you a rough idea of the decade the property was built, based on certain features.

And it looks like the 20s are shaping up to be the decade of the Butler’s Pantry.

Kitchen Design Co.

Going back to the 50s and 60s, the kitchen, like most rooms in the house, was defined by walls and a door, and was separate from the dining and living areas.

An advantage of this was that once the door to the kitchen was shut, all the mess and chaos was hidden, and everyone could enjoy their dinner and ignore it.

Kitchen Makeover

Then in the 70s and 80s open plan living became the rage, and kitchens became integrated into a bigger living space.

Although this meant kitchen mess was now a lot more visible, many designs from that era incorporate an arm of the kitchen bench that effectively still separated it from the living area, and had a barrier or panel of some kind on the back of that bench, allowing messy chefs to still hide their chaos.

The new century arrived, and even the panel on the back of the kitchen bench disappeared, as home owners embraced the casual dining trend. Benches now had an overhand with stools tucked underneath on the living area side, to reduce or even remove the need for a dining table.

As a lifestyle choice this worked brilliantly, but from the point of view of the messy chef? Disaster. There was nowhere left to hide.

Artistry in Cabinets

And now we arrive in the 20s, and what was old is new again – the Butler’s Pantry. Essentially it performs the same function as old-style kitchens or high-backed benches – it’s a place to hide the mess and chaos.

It will be interesting to see whether this is a trend that endures, or whether in another decade or two design moves on as messy cooks decide they don’t want to be hidden away in the Butler’s Pantry any longer.

While the trend of having an outdoor entertainment area, often fondly referred to as an al fresco space, has been around for a substantial period of time, there’s no doubt it has accelerated thanks to the pandemic. There’s only so much time you can spend, staring at the same four walls. It’s also evolved from having an outdoor back deck into something more like an extra room on the house.

If you’re building a new home, particularly through one of the larger builders, chances are an al fresco area is already part of the design. But if you have an existing home, adding an al fresco can help to modernise your home as well as giving you more outdoor entertaining opportunities. And given the weather in Australia, why not take advantage of it?

Like most things, your first step is to stop and ask yourself some questions. What do you want to use the space for? How much space is needed to achieve that? What fittings and furniture? There’s quite a long list. We’ll take a look at the main items on the list over a couple of blogs.

Integrated Indoors and Outdoors

In order to get maximum value from your outdoor area, it’s optimal if you can link it seamlessly into your existing living spaces. There are a couple of ways to achieve this.

First, matching floor heights. The last thing you want to be worrying about when carrying a tray of drinks out to the al fresco area is dodging a tripping hazard. One of the best things you can do is make sure the new space is built so that its height matches the existing floor level inside.

This may involve building a deck slightly above ground, or having a thicker concrete slab if you’re planning to tile the space.

Second, bigger is better when it comes to doors or windows between the indoor and outdoor spaces. Use large concertina or sliding glass doors that can be opened as fully as possible. It’s even better if the tracks are inset into the floor so there’s no trip hazard going in and out.

Being able to completely open the connecting wall helps to make the two spaces flow seamlessly together, and maximises the available space.

More next time on how to have an awesome al fresco area!

You’ve built your new home, or bought your first one, or are just upsizing. And you have that moment of sudden panic – in all your number crunching, budgeting and planning, you didn’t think about furniture.

Somehow, the slightly mangy couch you grabbed off a neighbour’s nature strip during hard waste collection just doesn’t seem right in your pristine, spacious new environment.

So how can you get the best bang for your buck when it comes to furnishing your new home?

Measure

First up, measure the spaces you need to fill. This is a crucial step, and often overlooked. You want the furniture you buy to go the distance, particularly the big-ticket items, so it makes sense to choose items that will work properly in the space.

As an example, a 3-seater couch may be just right for a large space, but totally overwhelm a small one, no matter how much you might like the length of it for occasional overnight guests.

You also need to factor in the position of windows, doorways, and access routes. There’s no point buying a bigger couch if it means a side table is going to end up right in the place where people need to walk through to another room.

Allow for the Extra Bits

Remember, too, that you need to allow space for extras, such as side tables, lamps and other chairs. These bits and pieces can take up a surprising amount of floor space in a living room.

This rule of thumb applies in other rooms as well. In your bedroom, you might want a dresser or dressing table. A buffet in the dining space. The list goes on.

You don’t necessarily need to buy all the extra bits at the beginning. But if you’re aware that you’re probably going to want them one day, then you can make sure you allow enough space for them when purchasing the first bigger items for a room.

Compromise

Be strategic in your purchases. Focus on buying core items that will last, and if you do still need some supplementary items, use cheaper furniture initially then replace it down the track. Styling can do a lot to dress up or even hide a cheap IKEA table or shelving unit until you’re ready for something more permanent.

And remember – minimalism is a massively popular trend right now, which gives you the perfect excuse to stick with just the basics initially!

Whether you’re designing a brand new home or renovating your old one, it’s important to dedicate some time to the toilet. No, not sitting on one while you contemplate your plans, but what style to use, where to locate them and more. We’ve put together some helpful tips for you to start the process.

2. Size

While you might think all toilets are basically the same in size, that’s actually not quite true. Many modern designs can have the cistern and other pipes built into the wall, with the pan being set flush (hehe!) against the wall. That takes up substantially less space than the more traditional styles where all the plumbing is incorporated into the toilet itself. A compact style is great in a small space, but can look out of place in a spacious bathroom. The reverse is also true – a bigger toilet can be dominating in a very small space.

3. Spray

Modern design has moved away from the older style of shower cubicle, preferring frameless showers or even just a glass partition between the shower head and the rest of the room. While this has done wonders in terms of opening up the visual impact of a bathroom, it has created an issue with spray from the shower escaping the confines of the shower area. It’s not great fun to sit on a toilet only to discover it’s covered with a mist of droplets left behind after someone’s shower. So you need to think carefully about how to prevent your toilet copping a spray during a shower.

4. Users

Who is going to be using the toilet? If your typical user is getting older, then having a wall beside the toilet can be useful if you may need to install rails down the track. A family with smaller children may like a compact, lower pan. Think about your target market and make allowances for their needs.

5. Toilet Paper

While the location of the toilet is important, the location of the toilet paper is even more important. After all, it’s something that is going to be accessed multiple times a day, and the last thing you want is to be performing contortionist tricks to access it every time, because the only place to put it was really awkward.

And while all of the above needs to be taken into conderation, we’ve saved the best for last – whereabouts in the room is the toilet? It’s almost universally agreed that the last thing anyone wants to see when the bathroom door is opened is the toilet. So if you can locate it behind the door, or behind the vanity, shower or bath, that’s always preferable to it holding pride of place. But if centre stage is unavoidable, then use other fixtures or styling to give the room a better focus point, so the eye is drawn away from the toilet as soon as the door is opened.

We’ve all done it. Turned up at someone’s home, only to stand on the footpath outside puzzling over where the front door is located. To increase street appeal, your home’s front door should always be easy to locate, with a clear route to it.

1. Make your front door visible

For many homes, this is easy – modern designs in particular are very keen on using pillars to frame the entry. You can achieve a similar effect using a verandah with an attractive handrail, or a change in roofline. Just be careful that your front door doesn’t end up looking look an endless black hole through shading. Another current trend, using a brightly painted front door, can help with this. But even a light-coloured wood makes a difference.

Avoid overgrown bushes that hide the front door, or piles of junk. Apart from improving street appeal, having your front door visible is a good security precaution.

2. Car parking

For some houses, parking the cars in an open carport and effectively blocking the front door is the only parking option you have. This probably doesn’t matter too much if you’re not expecting visitors, but if you are, look at other options such as parking in tandem, or putting one car on the street. The last thing visitors want to do is squeeze past your cars in the search for the front door. And you probably don’t want them scratching up your cars, either!

So there you have it – 3 ways to improve the street appeal of your property by letting everyone know where your front door is.