Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Dec 30, 2007 7:48 am Hey gang,
We're about to go visit the same display home for about the fourth time in two months, so I reckon we're pretty close to making the final decision on which house we'd like to build. However, as we still have at least three months in which to make the decision, I'd like to learn more about what it was that sold you on your favourite plan. For us, our considerations are: garage and living areas need to be on the same side of the house, due to orientation and placement of driveway. We would prefer the master bedroom at the back of the house, but there are very few designs with that arrangement. We want a dedicated home theatre room and a dedicated study (there are twice as many computers in our house than people). At the moment, we're leaning towards a particular single-storey plan from the Big M, but I won't say which one yet. Though, I'd really love to take the front of one their plans and smoosh it onto the back of another. So... what made you pick your dream home? Re: How did you pick your house plan? 2Dec 30, 2007 8:15 am Looking at all the different designs can be mind boggling !
We made a list of what we did and didn't want eg: no formal lounge (we had one previously and never used it) ditto with formal dining, weren't too fussed about a theater room - we aren't big movie/tv watchers, we did want a large open family/dinig area, master bedroom at the back, rumpus near kids bedrooms. We pretty much have our perfect house, only thing I would change would be an additional rumpus at the back for a 'grown up' games area, if we ever want to get a pool table it will have to go in the garage ! Re: How did you pick your house plan? 3Dec 30, 2007 8:17 am I started online .... I went to every website I could find - went through all the plans that were online - I narrowed it down to about 10 options that we liked and were within our basic price range, then I checked out where they built (narrowed it down even further since I'm not in a capital city) and then we started visiting the actual display homes.
I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted - we are big entertainers and I am VERY particular about what I want in my kitchen - so any designs with pokey kitchens were out, small alfresco areas or lack of potential for outdoor space were also discounted... I also originally looked at designs that had a large study room near the front door so I could work from home (but since then and due to council restrictions we know we need to build it slightly differently to accommodate this) .... I wanted a seperate toilet to the bathroom in both the ensuite and the main bathroom, I also didn't want one of those mega master bedrooms that has loungesuits in them ... also we didn't need a formal loungeroom - or 4 different loungerooms (as 1 place offered)...... It was funny, cause my favourite on paper when I walked through it felt weird and not how I'd imagined it to be .... others that I had discounted on paper felt full of potential .... Honestly the builder we have chosen was the first one I ever looked at and the house - well when we walked through the display house (slightly different configuration for the bedrooms but essentially the same as the one we wanted to build) we got half way through the house, turned to each other and said "this is it!" - it was an instant feeling of this house being perfect for exactly what we wanted... It has a 9m x 4.6m "great room" that runs down the length of nearly half the house - there is a huge galley kitchen off this, then there is an alfresco area (also 9m x 4.6m) that runs down the length of the rest of the house off the "great room" ... the bedrooms are along one side and seperate to the living areas, and there is room in the plan for me to modify it to build my clinic onto the front ...... We have done things in reverse than most people, we decided upon the house before the block of land - but because I needed to have something that could be modified for the business this is the way we had to do it. Now we have our eye on a block of land that would be perfect for this house ... so it all is falling together (but won't be released until mid 2008 - so even the timing is good for what we need) Fiona Re: How did you pick your house plan? 4Dec 30, 2007 8:23 am Hey there,
I'm pretty new to the "building" aspect at it all as well. We have chosen our house and have our land in Hawkstowe in South Morang. and just waiting for land to be released! University Hill is a minute drive away from where my parents live! I read your blog and WOW I can' believe the amount the land is going there!!! no way we could afford that! ehhehe Anyway back on topic! hehe, we are building with Porter Davis and think we have gone to nearly all the display homes with that house! hehe...we chose based on what we wanted, i.e. large kitchen, theatre room, family/living room all in one, no wasted loungey bit in the front! hehee Based one what you wanted, maybe have a look at http://porterdavis.com.au/#homeviewer/N ... lakeside_l Its the only PD house with master bedroom at the back, i think... Anyway. good luck with choosing! Thuy Re: How did you pick your house plan? 5Dec 30, 2007 8:27 am Hey Fiona!
Our land isn't being released til mid 2008 either! eheh....and we also decided on house before land....ahhahhaaha how freaky.. We can experience the building process together! hehe Re: How did you pick your house plan? 6Dec 30, 2007 8:38 am A nice looking house Newbie’s!
We did what a few others obviously have done. Made of list of likes and dislikes, must haves and would be nice to have, then prioritised them. Once you have a list of ‘the essentials’ it makes it a bit easier to narrow down the plans. It’s only when you end up living in a house do you realise if you’ve made the right choices or not. Re: How did you pick your house plan? 7Dec 30, 2007 10:11 am We knew we wanted a single storey with:
*a minimum of 4 b/r's and a study, *master seperate to the other bedrooms *island bench in the kitchen, *theatre room or allowance for one was a big factor, *largish ensuite with spa, *HAD to have a triple garage, but couldn't find land big enough so went 2.5 as a compromise *It needed a room dedicated for the kids and a large alfresco as well as an open kitchen, meals, family area that opened out to the alfresco. We walked through plenty of houses that might have looked good on paper but when we walked through them they had no sense of flow - if you get what i mean.... Some places had pokey rooms that you walked into and thought....what were they thinking when they drew up this one???? Also a home that would take advantage of the block we eventually bought... We looked at houses first but couldn't find the block we wanted or the house would not fit on them, so we changed houses about 4 times and blocks of land about 5 times until we got it right..... We wanted one particular estate so it was difficult to get in there with our selections. In the end, by default, (cause w bought a H&L pkg with AVJ but pulled out of the house - keeping the land though ) we had the land we wanted at the top end of a court, decent size, 665m2 but our 3 car garage was thrown out due to a 2m rule of "corner" houses being off the side boundary... We were about 45cm out....so we went as wide as we could to be right on the 2m boundary..... Slight compromise but still happy with what we have....in all a 36sq home should just fit us....but not for long... Already thinking of the next place and what i'd like to do that i couldn't in this one.... hubby will slap me i know, but i love this process....seriously i do!!!! Re: How did you pick your house plan? 8Dec 30, 2007 11:00 am Well we chose our house first too, before the block.
We looked at display houses and designs on offer. Checked out the plans in the paper and all on that were online. We needed a house with 2 studies/theatre/games/4 bedrooms (with seperate toilet in ensuite)/large linen and pantry. After looking at all the plans and looking at all the display homes , we discounted everyone that were too expensive for our budget...which was nearly all of them.... and took out everyone that didnt have the right amount of rooms or small linen-pantry (yes thats very important to me! ) We were only really left with 3 that was in our budget...one we took out because we heard bad stuff about the builder, and the other was taken out, as we had walked through an 'unmodified version' of the house and it seemed a little "bland" also because it was a budget/investor home, the selections were pretty 'blah'. So we were left with one. Never been to the display house, as it is too far away so I guess it will be a 'leap of faith' in how it turms out. We have however been told from the sales rep. that it is a nice family home that feels quite spacious. I do have my doubts, but it really was the only option for us. Re: How did you pick your house plan? 9Dec 30, 2007 12:24 pm We had a wish list
- two storey with a balcony at rear because of great view - guest room downstairs with own ensuite in case we are still in house when we get old - home theatre - bar and cellar - no formal areas but two living spaces We designed our own house with a custom builder which well and truly blew our budget and we couldn't afford it. Then we walked into a display home that with a few tiny alterations was perfect. We are still waiting to build it... Fi has moved in!! Re: How did you pick your house plan? 10Dec 30, 2007 1:56 pm I know most people in this thread have already done it but...
Pick the block before you pick the plan. It is easy to find a plan to suit a block but hard to find a block to suit a plan. Re: How did you pick your house plan? 11Dec 30, 2007 4:51 pm Browsed through lots of house plans whilst toying with the idea of building a new house, had rough idea of what we wanted. Probably bit different to many others on this forum in that it will be almost an empty-nester house, 2 out of 3 children will have left home by then and only have youngest one (16 year old) coming with us. Then house/land packages became available in our area (in fact < 1km from current home where we have lived for over 20 years), we had flexibility with choosing block and adjusting plan, minor ajustments as plan was almost just right as is. We wanted main bedroom and lounge at front, and a separate lounge as well as open space casual kit/meals/ family. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house, big enough for us, with largish rooms(166m2 plus double garage)
actually as big as some 4 bedroom houses. Block is 707m2, smaller than current block of over 1000m2, as we wanted but still easily enough for pergola, shed and garden area. Re: How did you pick your house plan? 12Dec 30, 2007 6:02 pm We started with our block - with frontage on a golf course. Then it was about finding a plan to suit our views, sun position and living style.
Making the choice was quite easy as we only found 1 design that suits all our needs - so no tossing up between choices! Re: How did you pick your house plan? 13Dec 30, 2007 6:06 pm Well i buy my home with the help of builthome.com they are one of the best home designers today ........ Re: How did you pick your house plan? 14Dec 30, 2007 8:02 pm Due to the strict design requirements set by our land developer, the house designs that would suit our block were limited.
What made it worst was that our block is in a corner, so additional requirements to adhere to. We checked out display houses (from all over Melbourne) and asked for brochures and pricing, as well as the internet for house plans, inclusions and promos. We started with single-storey houses (due to budget constraints), but really wanted a double-storey house to maximise our block (667sqm). We always wanted to have a big backyard for the kids. Later on, due to some changes to our circumstances, we decided to go ahead with a double-storey house. Our list of 'must haves' were: - no formal lounge/dining - big kitchen (lots of cupboards) and walk-in-pantry - 4 bedrooms - big master and WIR - an outdoor area - study - home theatre room - if possible, a mud room (where you put your shoes, hang your coats, etc. coming from the garage into the house) - if possible, a roller door at the rear of the garage We went from one builder to another, paid deposit 3x and finally settled with the big M. Deciding which builder to go to was difficult, after hearing so many stories about builders and reading feedbacks about them. In the end, it's the house plan that we really love that made us decide to go for it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Built the Nevada 42 Next project - landscaping! Re: How did you pick your house plan? 15Dec 31, 2007 2:07 pm we decided what we wanted i.e. 2 story hebel, study, main br & ensuite on ground floor, 2 lounge areas, kids bedrooms and playroom upstairs. Then we drew up the plan to scale on a sketchpad and asked various builders to quote on the design.
Once we settled on the builder and spec, we fine tuned the design using the builders own draftsman. Then we consulted an eco-architect who modified the design for passive heating/cooling. This took about 9 months. Every house plan we saw needed modifying (either the front elevation or moving internal walls) and the builders wanted to charge an arm and leg for changes so we just designed our own. The only thing with designing your own home is that you don't get to see what it will look like before it is built. Its like going to a dressmaker and hoping the final product is what you wanted / expected Re: How did you pick your house plan? 16Jan 04, 2008 7:43 pm Hi everyone....we finally have a plan we are pretty happy with! We bought our block long before we knew what house we wanted to build on it - because it is in an established area, you gotta snap them up when they are available or you will miss out!! Its a nice long block so single storey for us (yay).....Our main concern is building a practical, modern family home...we looked around for ages at display homes & decided there was not really anything we liked 100% - so we took our ideas to draftsperson & are quite happy with design so far.
For us the kitchen & wet areas as well as large open living areas were important....we also wanted slightly larger bedrooms & with 4 beds plus study most of the display houses we went to see had pokey little bedrooms Ruth -Bought house in Melbourne inner burbs, knocked it down & now...we are owner builders! Completed OB project and moved in to our new home with our new baby in May 2009! Re: How did you pick your house plan? 17Feb 03, 2008 6:59 pm We too chose the house before the land....at first we were thinking of single story (had enough of stairs to last a lifetime as our last home was a triple story townhouse )...we wanted all the bedrooms together as we have young children (3 ages 6 and below) and wanted open plan living (so that we can keep an eye on the children while we cook etc)...anyways, we then were able to find the land which would fit "our" house (needed minimum frontage of 17.5m)...after getting the land settled & titled etc, felt led to go :
1) double story as husband works the night shoft so hopefully the children being downstairs helps him get some much needed rest 2) bedrooms are usually together in a double story so that's a tick 3) No spaace wastage- did not want formal lounge and dining cause we'd never use it But would still have to clean it 4) wanted a guest bedroom away from other bedrooms with ensuite & WIR (so if we have friends/family living with us, they had their privacy & we had ours ) 5) Large kitchen with WIPantry 6) Large bedrooms 7) Al Fresco area so we can enjoy Oz's favourite meal i.e. BBQ and we found our house...or more like our house found us ) We have visited the display home 6 times now and each time we like it even more...hehe P.S. We are grateful to find a house that fit our needs exactly without having to change the design too much. I guess it boils down to your living style, family needs etc.... Re: How did you pick your house plan? 18Feb 05, 2008 11:11 am We just wanted something that was bigger than our tiny 14 square box we currently live in!
There were actually a lot of things that we were quite specific about! *Double Storey - Our land isn't terribly huge, and we wanted to keep a relatively small footprint of the house on the land and retain a decent sized back garden for the kids to play in. *Double Garage with internal access - Current house does not have any garage (only tiny, impractical car port which we have never used for it's intended purpose...too small!) *Combined Family/Meals and Kitchen - I find it inconvienient trying to cook dinner and watch the news at the same time...in another room ...as we do now! * Formal Lounge/Dining - Current house has only one living area (small) and I'm tired of tripping over toys and not having any space for the Adults to relax toy free! We also have a large extended family, and when we entertain it's a nightmare trying to fit in one room! *Lounge/Dining close to Kitchen - This was a real deciding factor, that these two rooms HAD to be close to the kitchen and family room where they would be utilised, rather than having the lounge at the front of the house away from the rest of the family and separated by a study. This didn't make sence to me, and I felt it would never be used if it was this isolated from the rest of the living areas. * Study - The study is at the front of the house instead, and will be used everyday...also needed to be sound proofed, have doors and as far away from the kids bedrooms as possible!! * Storage under stairs - Self explanitory, really! Hide all the mess in there and keep the door closed! * 4 'non pokey' Bedrooms - We have 2 kids, but thought it would be great to have a 'spare' room for guests to stay, or to convert into an art/photography/sewing studio. * 2 bathrooms - It's impossible to fit four people in our current tiny bathroom (and only 1 toilet!). It will be bliss to have an ensuite AND a downstairs powder room! * No Parents Retreat in main bedroom - The bedroom is for sleeping, We can hide in the study or 4th bedroom! Waste of space IMHO! * WIR not attached to the ensuite - I wanted the WIR separated from the ensuite by a wall, so you didn't have to walk through the robe to get to the bathroom. I also don't really like the idea of all that steam from the bathroom going near my clothes... * Kids area upstairs near bedrooms for TV, studying, generally lazing about with their friends! Not much to ask, really!! We are building this house with the future in mind. We plan on staying in it for at least 30 years...not 3, so this is why it's quite large (40 squares is HUGE compared to the 14 we have now!!). There will be other features in the house not mentioned, but the floorplan HAD to be 'right' and have a good 'flow' about it without changing too much around at added expense. This is most likely the only we do this, and we wanted to do it right the first time! So many 2 storey homes we looked at had pokey rooms upstairs for the kids bedrooms, or the main bedroom was massive in comparison, or had the lounge at the front of the house away from the rest of the living areas. This way with it being close to the family/kitchen, having a party it will naturally flow over into those two rooms. Henley - Wilshire Mk 3 ... I love my house!! Site start: 4th Feb 09 Handover: 10th Sep 09 Blog: http://stormygirlscastle.blogspot.com/ Build Thread: viewtopic.php?t=7166 You may still have a case, but your next step is to speak to a lawyer. 3 1617 Thanks mate. Yeah good points! Leaning towards Option 3 to get a bit extra space in the cabinets but not going too crazy high (and expensive). Would require a mini… 13 39690 No the fireplace doesn’t work. It’s been enclosed. I’m not sure what was removed, as it was done quite some time ago - well before what I can see with photos online… 2 11577 |