- Take maximum advantage of the NW view balanced against Northerly aspect
- Minimise summer heat gain, Maximise use of natural light, cross ventilation
- Shelter from prevailing NW winds and cold Southerlies
- ECO friendly, mindful of Return On Investment (ROI), Double glazed, ideally with thermal isolation in frames
- Seamless outdoor living, ideally at ground level to maximise area and reduce cost
- Contemporary modern design, simple but striking
- Ideally on a slab, or at least partially, maximise thermal mass
- Controlled by 70% Masonry or “Textured” covenant – We like mixing it up, James Hardie Stria, Axion, Matrix
- Steel roof, Skillion or flat
- Cater for 1:4 drop, House as high on the land as possible
- Don't be constrained by current driveway crossover
- Oversize double garage, ideally with internal access (around 7.5 x 7.5, 5418mm door)
- Driveway as flat as possible
- Kitchen/Living to flow through to outdoor area's
Ground Floor (click on the image to enlarge)
Upper Level (click on the image to enlarge)
Elevations 1 (click on the image to enlarge)
Elevations 2 (click on the image to enlarge)
[UPDATE] The design has been updated, lost count of how many times.
Yet another plan update! This is the plan as sent to the designer. Critical feedback appreciated!
Ground Floor (click on the image to enlarge)
Upper Floor (click on the image to enlarge)
I have lost track of the changes we have made since the last one! Some of the key things:
- We decided we really didn't want the parents zone on top of the kids so it is now on top of the living
- We have lost the guest bedroom again and have opted to enclose the family room so it can be a guest bedroom as necessary.
- The garage is back up the top and the laundry has moved back up to the entry level (half a floor up from the main ground level)
- We've got covered alfresco and another huge outdoor space off the side. The kitchen now flows seamlessly out (the doors in the plan are not accurate, we are hoping this will be one single sliding door that slides forward externally along the living wall). From the entry all the way through the living and both outdoor spaces will be polished concrete. Opened up it will be a great entertaining space!
- The laundry chute is back! YAY
- The kitchen is a little narrower, still huge really., I think it is so worth it for the outdoor flow!
- I've completed the external design and I like it ... just couldn't get the other versions looking like we wanted.
- Living layout change, you can now see the view (and the TV) from everywhere. Not totally happy with flexibility for speaker placement but there is always a compromise!
- Bedrooms are no longer identical, but have features designed specifically for their occupants so hopefully they will be happy!
- In gaining the downstairs covered alfresco we've scored an upstairs deck, if we're lucky that will be covered too!
[END FEB 24 UPDATE - Below is now out of date]
I've included the latest floor plans here (as at 5 Jan 2012, V20 and discussed in the post '2012 A special year'). I will upload some external images as soon as I get around to tidying up the externals!
Ground Floor (click on the image to enlarge)
Upper Floor (click on the image to enlarge)
Most of the things we like about this design are similar to the original post:
- The zoning, living to the North, kids on their own and parents zone upstairs.
- The two outdoor zones
- The central entry area and stairs will provide for ventilation and allow heat to be sucked out of the house.
- The house is orientated along the contours, minimising site disturbance and maximising the view while not totally compromising the northern aspect.
- The outdoor room, especially how it opens up the entry and adds some wow factor to the entry
- More privacy to upstairs from the entry
- We've re-introduced the guest bedroom!
- You get view and TV viewing from all the key places in the Living area
- The garage is integrated into the house to reduce cost, still allow internal access and provide for a shorter reasonably flat driveway.
[END UPDATE} - Below is now out of date!
What we've ended up with (at this stage!) is illustrated below.
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| Ground Floor (click on the image to enlarge) |
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| Upper Floor (click on the image to enlarge) |
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| Front View (click on the image to enlarge) |
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| Side View (click on the image to enlarge) |
Some of the things we like about this design are:
- The zoning, living to the North East, kids on their own and parents zone upstairs.
- The two outdoor zones and stacker doors adjacent to the Kitchen/Dining provide the ability to open up the house and will hopefully allow us to still utilise the outdoors on windy days. We will probably compromise on opening space and use sliding stacker doors rather than bi-folds due to the reduced cost.
- The central entry area and stairs will provide for ventilation and allow heat to be sucked out of the house.
- The house is orientated along the contours, minimising site disturbance and maximising the view while not totally compromising the northern aspect.
- The garage is positioned to allow internal access and provide for a reasonably flat driveway.
