Thought some of you might like this article:
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/design-trend-takes-childs-play-out-of-backyards-20101124-187eh.html
e.
Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Nov 25, 2010 8:04 am Thought some of you might like this article: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/design-trend-takes-childs-play-out-of-backyards-20101124-187eh.html e. Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 2Nov 25, 2010 9:01 am Oh and block sizes being smaller now than in the past. So less room to fit in play area plus entertaining area, plus chook run, plus vegie garden, plus a shed etc. I'd love a larger block to fit all that in but I just can't afford that much land plus the size of the house I want. Decent size backyard needs a block that is 800-1000 and they just don't really exist very much anymore. If they do they are often subdivided. Add to that the land being completely cleared in most cases too, so existing tree's to climb are fewer and far between. Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 3Nov 25, 2010 11:25 am That article seemed to blame the trend entirely on house sizes. It doesn't mention the fact that block sizes have reduced from 800-1000 squares down to 500-650 squares. Part of the problem is that land is so expensive and only small blocks are available so people buy what is available and figure if they aren't going to have the land of their dreams then they may as well have the house of their dreams. If they want people to have backyards then pressure councils and the government to decrease the number of blocks per acre in new estates. Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 4Nov 25, 2010 2:00 pm I guess it's a complicated issue for a lot of families and has a lot of factors such as block size, as others have mentioned. But I have to admit it sometimes baffles me that people with kids give little to no thought about where their kids will play. It makes me a bit sad when I see families with kids building massive houses with TV's in every room, fully kitted out home theatres, extensive data cabling with computers and entertainment systems everywhere leaving virtually zero backyard and then they wonder why their kids become couch potatoes. Maybe because they didn't have much choice. If it came down to it, I'd personally compromise on the house to give the kids somewhere to play, in our case we moved further out to get more land. Parks are great, but nothing beats unhinibited play in your own backyard, and it doesn't have to be an overly large space in order to be able to play. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 5Nov 25, 2010 2:35 pm If I could find an affordable block with a decent size back yard I would be over the moon. Ideally, i want room for a vegetable garden, chooks and then a nice entertaining area but the reality is that in the area that we want to buy (near both families and workplaces) we just cant get a block anywhere near big enough for that and still build the size house that we want/need. In our area, the average block size that is currently selling is around 450 - 480 sqm, these blocks are for between $180k - $250k and that is just in your 'regular' estate, not taking into account what I call 'premium' estates. Large block sizes just arent affordable anymore... Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 6Nov 25, 2010 3:12 pm What do people define as play though?? I have specifically tried to have a the best of both worlds the Vege patch up the sunny side (north) and the play area on the east side however my plan is to get my kids as MUCKY as a pig in a sty by using the vege patch as a place to learn and have fun it is how you look at it I grew up in housing commission towers and never had a backyard so my kids are 100 steps in front of me I went outside once. The graphics were alright, but the gameplay sucked! Settlement:22nd June Slab:27th August Frame:16th Sept Bricked:21st Oct Roof:24th Nov Linings HANDOVER23rd March! Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 7Nov 25, 2010 3:40 pm Our house isn't getting a bigger footprint but the patio is. The kids will still be able to play outdoors but on tiles. The vege garden will be in a few pots. Mostly herbs. Even if I had a 1500m2 block I wouldn't have the time to tend to it. As to chooks, a friend recently awoke to a new local rooster. He's not happy. Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 8Nov 25, 2010 3:48 pm We must be defying the trend, we are lucky to have a large block but to have that we moved further 10ks from the city that we where before. At the moment we are landscaping the backyard we have a sloping block to play with so we have put in different zones with paths betwwen them there is a grass pad for the kids, another spot for the trampoline, vegie patch & fruit tree, fire pit, pool and DS6 has marked out his dirt digging patch. Its all about thinking outside the box and being creative and we are not spending a lot of money. Our block size is just over 1000. Cheers Lou http://take2-customdesigndownslope.blogspot.com 07-10-09 omg they have cut the block 14-05-10 we finally have the keys Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 9Nov 25, 2010 4:02 pm hmm interesting topic. I agree that housing estates need to keep more trees. It may take more thought process...and probably money. they would need to survey the estate, mark the trees, include trees that lie at the back of blocks without being on fencelines, but it would be worth it. I don't think size of the block has much to do with kids not being able to discover outdoors. We have a 900sq mtr block and it is great for my kids. I wanted to put in chooks, but I was only allowed 2 (council) plus 1 of neighbours said she would 'contest' it because they bring rats?? After I had my 2nd I relised takng care of the 2, plus the dog really was enough and I wouldn't be able to clean the ckicken house out every week. So it's not just about space, and trees being cut down. It's about our lives and how much time we have to care for these blocks. I am in my garden everyday. Weeding, re planting, handwatering the plants that don't get retic, picking up dog poo. On top of that I hire someone to mow the lawn because DH works so much. My new garden is going to have a pool, which I am sure I will have to hire a pool guy to come clean. While I am at work in order to pay him!!! It's all a bit backwards?? Children do need to swing from things and dig up things.. no doubt. But having a 500sq mtr block doesn't mean they won't. Pottted vegies, fish pond in a pot, and a swign set with monkey bars will fit. Having quiet time watching tv can have it's benfits too. No need to stop shaving the arm pits and get some dreddies in order to have well balanced kids. Building with Life$tyle Homes in Perth SOR Key Dates on First Page of my Thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=38761 Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 10Nov 25, 2010 6:55 pm I dont have much to say on the real topic here, haveing no little kids any more and liveing in the country where land sizes are not such a dilemma - we downsized from our old house on a block over 1000m2 to current one which is still over 700m2 - I guess thats a large block by some city standards. However, I did own chooks for many years in old house so am commenting on them. The number varied but probably averaged around a dozen most of the time. Quote: As to chooks, a friend recently awoke to a new local rooster. He's not happy Problem easily solved - dont have a rooster. Chooks lay just as well without one and many people prefer unfertilised eggs. Roosters just eat extra food and make lots of noise for no positive gain (bit like males in general, hahaha ) Quote: I wanted to put in chooks, but I was only allowed 2 (council) plus 1 of neighbours said she would 'contest' it because they bring rats?? Never had a problem with rats. However you will get mice if the chicken feed is not in a proper container. If you keep it in the hessian sacks it comes in, the mice will nibble through and make a big mess - we used to keep ours in strong plastic bins with secure lids - the type you used for garbage before wheelie bins. Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 11Nov 25, 2010 7:17 pm Helyn many people prefer unfertilised eggs. I know that's how I prefer mine Seriously though sure you might not be able to play cricket in some backyards but not all kids want to - the size doesn't have to mean that they can't still have adventures and fun. 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 12Nov 25, 2010 7:57 pm I have moved from my 460 square metre block in Brunswick where we had an awesome vege patch and 4 lovely chooks that wandered around our beautifully green backyard. We had an old fig tree that the kids used to climb, and a lemon tree always loaded with lemons. The kids loved it, and I believe they had a great backyard to live in. However - we have moved to my parents home in the country - where the kids have about 2 acres around the house that they can explore. We tried really hard in Brunswick, but there is no denying that the space the kids have now makes all the difference. The kids love it, they are so much happier now - they have space to move without getting in each others faces. There are very few fights between them now, and as a parent my life has become so much easier simply because the kids have more space to move in. I guess we all do the best we can with what we've got, but in my (limited!) experience .... lots of space for kids is good! Building on an acre in Macedon ......one day. Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 13Nov 26, 2010 9:00 am What about those that don't want the veggie patch, the chooks or the swing set? Personally, I would hate to have to clean up after chooks - my sister had them roaming her backyard at a previous place and there is no way I'd let my kids roll around on the grass! I've never had much success with growing edibles, so I'll just stick to buying my fruit and veg and my garden will remain low maintenance. I grew up without a swing set, and it is likely my kids will also - mostly because we don't really have the room - I'd rather them have a decent area of clear space that they can play, rather than have a swing set that would only get used occasionally or a cubby that would quickly start looking like a haunted house from the spiders. I guess the bonus is that we live in a court, so there is very little traffic coming past, and the kids can run/ride up and down the footpath as well. We also have a bike path behind our house so when they get older they can start going further afield without mixing with traffic. Why pay for the land when there is plenty of usable public reserve land that doesn't cost a cent? Second Time 'Round Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 14Nov 26, 2010 11:26 am Might be a little off topic - but did anyone see 7pm project talk about this last night? They had Don Burke comment... is he losing his mind? What was he going on about???? Building with Life$tyle Homes in Perth SOR Key Dates on First Page of my Thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=38761 Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 15Nov 26, 2010 12:26 pm Mozzie That article seemed to blame the trend entirely on house sizes. It doesn't mention the fact that block sizes have reduced from 800-1000 squares down to 500-650 squares. Part of the problem is that land is so expensive and only small blocks are available so people buy what is available and figure if they aren't going to have the land of their dreams then they may as well have the house of their dreams. If they want people to have backyards then pressure councils and the government to decrease the number of blocks per acre in new estates. Our block is 692m2 and contains an inground pool, a large trampoline, a vegetable garden and over 130m2 of grassed area. 650m2 block is plenty of land to make fun for the kids. Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 16Nov 26, 2010 3:27 pm Quote: Personally, I would hate to have to clean up after chooks - my sister had them roaming her backyard at a previous place and there is no way I'd let my kids roll around on the grass! Agreed, Ray - I would never have free roaming chooks like that - they dig up your plants and sh*t all over your garden paths ours used to get out occasionally if some-one didnt shut the door properly We had a DIY chicken coop, used old rainwater tank for covered area, DH put some roosting rails in there and pea straw on floor for them to lay eggs in and enclosed area about 3 x 3m of uncovered area. Quote: Why pay for the land when there is plenty of usable public reserve land that doesn't cost a cent? Because its nice to have your own garden? But then I guess not everyone likes gardening either Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 17Nov 26, 2010 3:41 pm Helyn Quote: Why pay for the land when there is plenty of usable public reserve land that doesn't cost a cent? Because its nice to have your own garden? Don't get me wrong. I love having a garden and a space of my own, but I personally wouldn't be prepared to buy a bigger block just so the kids could play cricket in the backyard, for instance. Plenty of other places to do that Second Time 'Round Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 18Nov 26, 2010 6:16 pm Yeah there is so much public open space, especially in new areas where the developers have had to put it in, and nobody hardly uses it where are the old blokes playing petanque who can watch the kids while they're on the monkey bars... ok that is a whole other topic Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 19Nov 26, 2010 7:10 pm Melrich Mozzie That article seemed to blame the trend entirely on house sizes. It doesn't mention the fact that block sizes have reduced from 800-1000 squares down to 500-650 squares. Part of the problem is that land is so expensive and only small blocks are available so people buy what is available and figure if they aren't going to have the land of their dreams then they may as well have the house of their dreams. If they want people to have backyards then pressure councils and the government to decrease the number of blocks per acre in new estates. Our block is 692m2 and contains an inground pool, a large trampoline, a vegetable garden and over 130m2 of grassed area. 650m2 block is plenty of land to make fun for the kids. Melrich, I was reading through all the responses to the end, but was going to post something similar. We have about 650m2 - and although our backyard is still a bit of a WIP, we have a large lawn area, garden shed, 3 large veggie patches in progress, a deck, space for a paved BBQ area, and, could still fit a pool in when we win lotto with heaps of spare room still left over. Our house isn't huge, but it's big enough (3 x 2 with two living areas) and we can always build up if we need to extend (even if we extended out the back, still room). I have often wondered if ever we had to (financially), we could probably build something at the back and subdivide. AND, we have a fairly decent front yard too. So, my point is, I don't think block size is the issue with little or no space for back yard (esp if you have 700-800m2, it is the house size. And just to comment on the use of parks, whilst I also think it is great to have parks nearby for kids to play and kick a ball or play cricket or whatever.... it is also harder to let them go unsupervised down the park - esp when they are younger. But being able to open the doors and let them run freely in your backyard - priceless. When I was a kid, my whole neighbourhood was my back yard. I used to be able to go out and as long as I was home for tea, the world was my oyster. Sadly, we don't have those freedoms anymore. Ceebs Re: Design trend takes child's play out of backyards 20Nov 26, 2010 7:29 pm Quote: Ceebs[/quote] I grew up in the pilbara and we didn't have fences - they were low with mesh.... so everyones backyard was everyones... maybe that is the key. Share the backyard. I am sure the parents loved it when I came banging at the back door asking if their kid could play. Building with Life$tyle Homes in Perth SOR Key Dates on First Page of my Thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=38761 3 48357 4 14289 Unless there is something in special conditions the builder does not have to give you timeline. If your demolition contractor has not removed Asbestos and it was found… 12 28800 |