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Hi all,
In a bit of dillemma here with a house plan. If I delete a scullery, I will have about 2.97m of backyard, but if I don't then I only have 1.7m of backyard. The question is what can I do realistically do with 1.7m of backyard? Is it even enough for natural lawn patch or even wall clothesline? I mean I do want a natural lawn at the back for my kid to play on. To me, it's boring if the whole lot is brick & mortar, but will it devalue my house significantly by sacrificing scullery?
Love to hear your opinions & advice. Thanks!
EDITED: two different plans posted below
https://app.box.com/s/ykawyjymk46eeuq6oafz2bc7wl61x5ha (small backyard)
https://app.box.com/s/o0ebw8m0ubokw8a96faqcjflxsq6g02f (larger backyard)
Hi Sky,
I presume you are building on a small 'cottage style' block if your backyards options are 'small' or 'smaller'.
The answer will differ for everyone you ask. It'll really depend on your family, how long you intend to live there, are there parks or open space areas nearby you could use instead of the backyard? How much space do you have in the kitchen without a scullery? etc etc.
Most people will choose the scullery. I find myself in the minority and actually find a great irony in these sorts of choices. Small homes on small blocks are for small families. Families that need only 2 or 3 bedrooms do not need a scullery (I could be wrong - just an opinion). Larger families in need of 4 or 5 bedrooms (and a scullery) will outgrow a small home on a small block a long time before they're in need of a scullery. The same can be said for 3x3m 'theatre' room that provide about as much acoustic atmosphere as an en-suite bathroom.
I think you should do whatever suits you and your family. If you are building this house to live in then the backyard will likely do you more good than a scullery. If you are intending to move on from this house in 3 or 4 years and either sell or rent the property then you may be better off with the scullery. It will have more sale appeal (for all the wrong reasons mind you).
I'm currently building on a small block (270m2), 10m wide x 27m deep. The house takes up around 160m2 of that including garage and alfresco. This has left me with me with a backyard area of approximately 4m x 10m out the back (excluding the alfresco and around a meter wide down the sides. My plan is likely to brickpave the sides (and have a wall clothes line hidden away down one of these side alleys) leaving me to be a bit more creative with my 4x10meter yard area for entertaining etc.
I chose the house design largely because I liked the layout. Not so much the size. There are 3 other houses being built on my street (all the same size block) and they have opted for using up every square inch of their property for their home. I must admit I have had a fair bit of 'house envy' in the past as I've watched all the builds unfold. I often wonder if I've made the wrong decision (still do). Their houses will be worth more than mine on paper (though hopefully they spent more than me to achieve this..!).
On the downside this has left them with around ~1meter (it could be less to be honest) to their backfence, and an 'alfresco' that is almost completed enclosed. Their slightly larger, more spacious family/living areas with large open windows will be forever looking at a colourful tan or green colourbond fence.... Despite having the larger floor plan, I feel like I'll be the one less likely to feel claustrophobic when I walk in the door.
My slightly smaller family and living area will have large back windows looking out to 3-4meters of landscaped backyard with a feature wall at the rear of the property. Perhaps even a water feature etc. I plan to spend some money on the backyard to set mine apart and justify the decision of having the backyard area. Brick paving an entire yard can leave it feeling sterile and ultimately unusable (just my opinion). On the flip side I'm a very 'low maintenance' kind of guy so I'm also not partial to laying down any grass (you can see my pickle haha..)
Yes, their houses are 20-30m2 larger than mine, but they're no more livable after seemingly using this extra space in all the wrong places (ie to add a 'theatre room' that is only ~3m x 3m).
If you choose the 1.7m backyard I can all but guarantee you that you will be backed into the decision to brick pave the whole area and resort to potted plants for your source of greenery. Grass will not grow (at least not well) in such a narrow and confined place. Nor can you easily have sprinklers in such a narrow area.
To answer your question more specifically:
Choosing the the scullery will definitely add more value to your finished property (by the simple fact that more money has been invested in it) . People always attribute more value to additional house space over backyard space (regardless of how that space is spent unfortunately!).
Choosing a larger backyard area will likely add more value to your family though. If you have enough kitchen space without the scullery I'd be going with the bigger backyard.
Hope this helps in some way!
Good luck with your house planning... it can be a stressful at times but there will be light at the end of the tunnel when the finished product starts to go up!
Thanks Simbo for your detailed reply. I actually got a 15x30 block, but we just being greedy wanting a 280m2 house on the block, which has 4 beds, study, activity, theatre, and even scullery if I want it. I think we think the same, no point build a house which make you feel stucked inside the 3 fences huh.. Always find no point having big alfresco if there's no green area to complement it.
I think bigger backyard is the way to go, think I could live with selling for less in the future than having to suffer through the years of no green area. Any idea how to best make use of the 3m backyard? I definitely need a shed, lawn area and possibly a lemon tree (wife loves lemon). Saw people did planter box at the backyard which looks awesome but I don't think it will fit eh? Will upload a pic of my plan soon though.
Scullery isn't critical and probably won't add value to be honest. I'd definitely choose the bigger yard space!!
I would definitely go for more outdoor space - we built up for that very reason.
We enjoy such great weather - more value in having outdoor space for me.
I think I would get rid of one of the study, activity or theatre before the scullery. Thats a lot of different living rooms (there's also a living, is there a lounge too?) for a four bedroom house and The kitchen looks pretty small Wi out the scullery
Oh I didn't even answer the question. Definitely the three metre back yard as a minimum!
Large houses with next to no backyard seem to have a harder time selling than those with more space. I don't think you will decrease the value by removing the scullery (or other area, like study).
I'd definitely go with the 3m backyard given your two options.
To answer your question previously of what to do with a 3meter backyard... I don't have a good answer just yet (I'm still deciding)! If you find out let me know haha.
A good way to get some inspiration is by looking at Display Homes. They're normally done with fairly small backyards.
I would go with the scullery, also makes the alfresco and games bigger... end of the day 1.7 or 3m isnt much differenct cant do much with either so with tha tin mind i'd want a bigger more equiped house instead!
Not sure where you are but my council requires a minimum 3m backyard. But if there was no requirement I would choose to reduce the areas elsewhere to keep scullery, eg get rid of study, reduce master & games room a bit. Those rooms are massive
We are building on a 500m2 block with a 26m2 single story home all the same rooms as yours (except we don't have a study) and have a 5.6m backyard with 4m down one side. Just something to consider. All the best
Not sure there's restrictions at the back, definitely average 4.5m to the front
I would say option 2 appeals to me, but maybe change the entry of the games room to the dining side so that you can maximise your kitchen space?
Hey Hootie, good suggestions..didn't think of that before..(the wonder of forum
)
Do you think I could turn that corner into small scullery/pantry..any idea how you would do it?
Hi Skydroid,
Our build will also have a 3m backyard (which i am very disappointed about as this was a deal breaker for us with a young family and dogs).
When we signed up for the build we originally had almost 5m, and even took out our study for this space, but later on due to estate guidelines the front set back of our home had to be pushed back.
Our dilemma now is trying to make something nice of our 3m yard, with hubby wanting a small BBQ area and i'd still like a small deck apart from our alfresco, with planters along the back.
Would love to see your ideas!!
Our 'First Home' Build
viewtopic.php?t=72518
Hi Skydroid,
Have you looked into building a double storey? We were greedy as well and wanted a whole lot of space inside and out.
We have a 14 x 36 metre north facing lot which is not all that different from yours except may be being a bit longer. There is a minimum front setback of 5.5m and a minimun side setback of 1.8m at this estate. This front setback would eat a lot into our backyard space. So we are going double storey with a 38 Sq floor area and leaving us a decent backyard space of 11 x 14 metres. Already looking into making a tropical fruit garden and a water feature for when we move in.
The house will be a 4 bedroom + retreat + theatre + study + alfresco + double garage. We wont need or have a skullery but will have a butler’s kitchen. Have also opted for an additional ground floor guest bedroom with an ensuite. So usable/useful indoor space we will have a whole lot of. By increasing the first floor ceiling height compared to what is offered as standard, the space will be quite a bit more there as well.
We also plan to make planter boxes along the sides of the house for herbs and veges. 1.8 metres on each side is quite a usable space. You may have a slightly wider area to play around with depending on your actual building width as your lot width is 15m.
While there are quite a few obvious space related advantages in a double storey house, you may not like the idea of a double storey at all. Just wanted to let you know what we are doing with our lot that is somewhat similar to yours.
If you want to make a single storey house with a 3m backyard, you can actually achive quite a bit with it if you do it well. We have a single storey house in NZ with a 2.2m backyard. Its actually quite functional and pretty with a terraced planting area, a raised bed and a pebbled area. So dont be too disheartened about a small space at the back. There may still be plenty you can do with the usable back and sides of the house. Good luck