Innholdsfortegnelse for No 53 i BuildHome Victoria

Working with a custom builder brings many benefits. It enables you to develop highly individualised floor plans, choose any fittings, finishes and appliances you like, utilise high-tech building systems, and integrate the precise features your family wants and needs. A custom build is a popular choice for knockdown-rebuild projects and it appeals to people upgrading to their second or third home. But it’s not just for those with deep pockets. A custom builder can help you find a way to have the home you desire within a budget that suits you, and do so with minimal compromise. We take a look at custom building and how to get the most out of the experience. Whether your home is a custom build, a project home (many of which offer a raft…

Being outside—it’s a temptation most of us just can’t resist, even more so when we want to share good food and good times with the people we love. Family lunches, dinner parties, movie nights—we now take all of these activities, and more, outdoors. Of course, Australians have always loved to entertain under the sun or stars, but now outdoor entertaining is often a more sophisticated affair, with zones for lounging, dining and cooking. Today, most outdoor entertaining areas flow from our main indoor living spaces, creating an effortless transition from inside to out. In fact, making it possible to enjoy indoor-outdoor living has become a priority when designing a home, as has creating alfresco spaces that can be used in various ways by different family members. “Having a modern, multifunctional…

The story of this home, dubbed Joan 7.3, begins with clients who “wanted to push the boundaries” to achieve a sophisticated, sustainable and enduring home, explains Bios Design Build Sustain designer Greg McNeil. “Our ethos is to approach any project with the environment and sustainability in mind,” he says. “We believe every room should have an outlook and design to ensure we capture the external vista. In this house, for example, wherever you turn you can see the sky or greenery in the garden or courtyard.” Experiencing the “outside from inside” makes a key contribution to achieving urbane ambience on this tight block and the healthy environment of this 7.3-star energy-rated residence, but it took “unconventional strategies” and clever use of materials and technologies to achieve it. The project site…

Form and functionality combine in the Mosman 56 to provide discerning families with the style and flexibility they demand, not to mention a raft of lifestyle-enhancing features. Modern families expect a lot, and this offering from Clarendon Homes exceeds expectations. “The Mosman 56 displays an adaptable open floor plan that is perfectly configured for family entertaining. It boasts generously proportioned rooms and multiple living areas that flow effortlessly throughout the home, leading to a strategically placed luxury alfresco,” says Carolyn Piggot, group interior designer for Clarendon Homes. “With its intelligent layout and stylish contemporary design, it’s a home ideally suited to large, growing families or multigenerational living.” To cater for in-laws or grandparents who regularly come to stay, there is the option of a guest room with ensuite on the…

One of the most popular family homes in the HomeQuest Display Village in Kellyville, north-west of Sydney, the Chillagoe offers practicality and luxury in abundance, along with generous living spaces designed for comfort and style. Upon entering the house through the Axolotl door, manufactured from zinc, copper and bronze, it’s clear there will be plenty of surprises in store. It’s the blend of earthy, organic materials combined with modern, innovative design elements that sets this striking house apart from other contemporary designs. Horizon Homes’ inspiration for the use of a variety of organic materials and colours was drawn from the striking marble artwork which is a focal point on one of the walls. All of the marble for this was sourced from the once-thriving mining town of Chillagoe in Queensland.…

With a decades-long passion for interior design, Samantha knew instantly she had found the home she wanted to build for her family when she and her husband David came across Harkaway Homes 10 years ago. With previous experience in building and renovating, Samantha had no hesitation about becoming an owner-builder and project managing the construction of her new family home. “I was so excited and the process didn’t scare me at all,” she says. “When we found Harkaway Homes, we instantly fell in love with the charm and character of the homes and, in particular, the Gabled Homestead Series. We knew that we wanted a country-style house and the symmetry of this roofline really appealed to me, as did the ceiling heights and the verandahs that wrap around the whole…

Once you’re completely happy with the design and orientation of your new home, it’s time to start looking at the building materials, products and finishes you will employ. When selecting products for a new home or a home renovation, you need to consider what will help improve the thermal comfort of your abode. Ian Fry from Frys Energywise shares his top 10 tips, not necessarily in order of importance, for making eco-friendly, sustainable choices. TIP 1: WINDOWS The installation of energy-efficient windows will not only help reduce your energy costs and make your home more comfortable to live in, it will also protect interior furniture and furnishings from being damaged by the sun. TIP 2: WINDOW FURNISHINGS Window furnishing (blinds, curtains, shutters) also help protect the interior of your home…

THIS HOME IS A WINNER Rawson Homes scored a major win in the 2018 MBA NSW Excellence in Housing Awards when its Derwent 27 display home was named winner of the Exhibition/Project Homes $350,001-$400,000 category. The family-friendly Derwent 27, designed with a narrow footprint that makes it ideally suited to 10m-wide blocks, makes intelligent use of space and does not stint when it comes to special inclusions and style. The two-storey design offers generous spaces throughout. This culminates in a large open-plan family area at the heart of the design that incorporates the kitchen, living and dining rooms as well as access to a sizeable alfresco and separate rumpus room. In turn, this leads through to one of the five bedrooms. The astute positioning of this bedroom—which also features a…

Irrespective of its style, a garden—front or back—should work with the topography of your site, the architectural style of your home and the local climate. It should present a pleasing vista when viewed from inside the home, one that draws you out, and once you are out, it should make you want to linger. But functionality is just as important, which is why it can be pure folly to start work on a garden without proper planning, or professional advice. MAKE A MUST-HAVE LIST Think carefully about what activities you and your family will want to undertake in your garden, advises Steve Warner, principal of Sydney-based Outhouse Design. “Write a list, breaking it into two columns: the must-haves and the things you would ideally like, and get input from everyone…

Designing an energy-efficient home is like putting a puzzle together. All the individual parts play an important role in creating the finished working home. Forget a couple of pieces and it doesn’t work the way it should. When designing your home, studying your climate is the first step to getting it right. If you understand the environment that you are building in, it makes it easy to select materials that work with it. To do this you need to look at these key factors: How to maximise the northern exposure to ensure good sunlight enters the home. The maximum and minimum temperatures in the area. The wind direction during the different seasons. Any adjoining features, hills, trees and buildings. Armed with this information you can start designing your home to…

If the debut project from Jason and Jorja Gec of Jarchitecture is anything to go by, the husband and wife team are onto a good thing. A weekend getaway that’s anything but your average holiday home, the Rhyll House is all the motivation one needs to take a break. The small fishing town of Rhyll is located on Victoria’s Phillip Island and was the location of choice for a family of 10 and their two dogs. Purchasing a slightly sloped site with only a few trees, no existing dwelling and not a neighbour in sight, the clients certainly hit the jackpot. Gifted with 220-degree views of the tree laden foreshore cliffs and hills, and surrounded by the tranquil waters of Western Port Bay, this site was the perfect spot to…

While a narrow block may pose certain challenges, with the Evoke from Rawson Homes a small-width site is no barrier to having a light and airy home with room for everyone. Suitable for young families, couples planning to have children and those who have extended family to stay, the Evoke offers everything you need, without compromise. What’s more, it’s perfect for empty nesters who are looking to downsize to a single-storey home but still want space for when the kids and grandkids visit. Rawson Homes put a lot of thought into the design of the Evoke. Land costs have risen and as a consequence, developers are offering smaller lot sizes to make building homes more affordable, especially for young families and those trying to enter the property market. The Evoke…

Suited to almost any location—be it a farm, suburbia, acreage or beachfront—Storybook Designer Homes’ residences are always inviting. In fact, the attic-style houses on offer at Storybook Designer Homes look like they’ve jumped straight out of a picture book. Boasting a team of highly experienced and professional staff, the company strives to please and accommodate all of its clients. It understands that designing and planning are the most important aspects of building a new home—or adding an extension to an existing property. Whether you’re looking for a modern or traditional-style residence, the company has a design to suit. And while there are more than 2000 designs to choose from, Storybook Designer Homes remains focused on providing an individual design service for all clients. According to managing director and designer, Phil…

If you want an outdoor living space you can use year-round, you need the experts from Outrigger Awnings & Sails. Outrigger specialises in the creation of custom-designed shade and rainproof fabric structures for domestic and commercial applications. Designs include retracting, batten and cantilevered awnings, awnings for carports and pergolas, as well as sails and outdoor blinds. Designed for strength and longevity, Outrigger awnings are the ideal choice when you want year-round coverage in a high-wind area. Outrigger retracting awnings can withstand winds up to 80-100km/h, depending on the design, while the company’s fixed awnings are rated for winds up to 140km/h. All awnings are custom designed and engineered by company owner Andrew Perry and fabricated in the Outrigger factory in Sydney, so you can be assured each product will be…

Custom home builders specialise in building one-off designs for their clients. They build homes designed exclusively for the client and the client’s unique block of land and this tailored, individualised approach ensures the finished home is a perfect fit with the client’s lifestyle needs, aesthetic preferences and the topography of the site—and, of course, their budget. “A custom builder, also sometimes referred to as a designer builder, will build bespoke homes for clients who are looking for something exclusive and individual,” says Nick O’Shea of O’Shea & Sons Builders in Brisbane. “A good custom/designer builder will provide a one-stop-shop service, whether in-house or by way of professional partners, to help guide the clients through the entire build process, from design concepts to completion. “People engage a custom builder often because…

Roofing and cladding are two words that don’t excite a lot of people. They might not sound sexy, but both are essential elements if you want to design and build a visually pleasing and structurally sound dwelling. Taking Australia’s heat and often harsh climate into account, there will be a number of options to suit your home, depending on your style and budget. HEAD UP TO THE ROOF Much like a good head of hair, a building’s roof has a significant effect on the appearance of a home. Taking up around 30 per cent of the facade, this important element is often overlooked by homeowners and renovators. But, with advances in roofing technology, securing a safe and high-performing roof that also looks good has never been simpler. As the first…

MASTER BUILDER OF THE YEAR + BEST CUSTOM HOME OVER $2 MILLION Winner: CBD Contracting Group Pty Ltd Project: The Compound, Brighton Description: The structure is oriented along an east-west axis, with glazing to the north and solid walls to the south. The thermal mass of these walls, combined with an exposed concrete slab on the ground level, retain and radiate heat during winter. During the hotter summer months, the copper screen and the off set overhang of the upper floor protects the ground floor from the high summer sun. Catenary wires for a deciduous vine have been incorporated into the trusses and this vine has the potential to offer further sun protection. The house is entirely double glazed with low-E film, and the garden and pool are fed by…

EXPERT TIP: Ensure your new home is as energy-efficient and sustainble as possible and it will look after you and your family well into the future. An energy-efficient home is a comfortable home. It’s easier to heat and cool, it saves you in energy costs, and it can be any style you like. What’s more, an energy-efficient home is a lot more affordable to build than you might think, especially when you’re guided by the experts. Solar Solutions Design specialises in designing energy-efficient houses that are individually tailored to meet each site’s specific requirements, the climatic conditions and the style preferences of the client. Energy-efficient features can be incorporated into houses of all design styles, meaning there is no need to make aesthetic compromises. The main focus is to ensure your…

EXPERT TIP: Through intelligent design, you can activate every area of the home. This approach is perfectly suited to maximising the potential of narrow lots and provides the space and flexibility you need as your family grows and changes. The Tulloch 31 has quickly become the number-one-selling design within the McDonald Jones Homes’ portfolio, and it’s easy to see why. “The clever design celebrates space and brings every area of the home to life, elements that are crucial when building on today’s narrower lots,” says Nathan Thurston, marketing manage, McDonald Jones Homes. “While this home can easily sit on a 10m-wide block, our architect Stuart Everitt has filled it with versatile, effortlessly connected spaces that make the home feel spacious. He has also incorporated various architectural features and inclusions that…

By considering a modular solution for their new home, a young working family now has all they were looking for, and more, in a family abode—all wrapped up in a stylish, contemporary package. This was the third time the family had undergone the building process—and it was by far the least stressful for them. They’d previously renovated, then built a project home and were slugged with surprise additional costs and a lengthy, complicated build process. In choosing a modular build, they were delighted with the whole process, from the easy design stage right through to the quick turnaround and hassle-free construction phase, which meant they were enjoying their new residence a whole lot sooner. The homeowners wanted a coastal feel, including high ceilings, light interiors and plenty of timber throughout.…

Choosing the right designer for your project is arguably the most important step when planning a new kitchen or bathroom. Before you start looking for a designer, however, it’s important to understand the various stages of design and construction. THE DESIGN PROCESS Concept design is the first phase of the design process, when broad outlines of your project are defined, ideas are brainstormed, and various options are explored. Investing some energy, time and money into this stage will help you approach the rest of the project with confidence. After working with your designer, you may decide you’re ready to go, or you may want to hold back and save a little extra cash to complete the project of your dreams. The Kitchen and Bathroom Designers Institute (KBDi) has many members…