Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Oh No! Torn between two houses... 21Nov 06, 2008 1:32 pm Hi Damo,
Don't let all the upgrades fool you into liking the design more... Be carefull! The more the builders fill a design with upgrades the more I become concerned about how the base home looks/feels. Although it must be said I prefer a well designed single story now. Currently live in a double story with just the wife and all we do it seems is work and then come home and clean. Our single story before this house was so much easier! How about building the latitude and using the extra money to do a pool (as in the Grandview display out at Caroline Springs). Nice for romantic little swims or great for entertaining. Cannot wait until I can jump in ours, and actually not that expensive to keep heated all year round if designed correctly! As your mind is changing again how about giving the number I gave you a call. Sit down and custom design it. Get the facade and interior you want. You both are really like my wife and myself jumping from one display to another for a couple years. Now that we have gone the custom route and have the plans all drawn up we really are not looking back. All those displays we loved really just don't stack up to what we have drawn up now, and even though bigger still came in under the metricon quote we had for the latitude specced to our liking! Go on come over to the dark side and go the custom route... Sounds like you really want/need to Best of luck mate Cheers Stuart P.S. just wait until you get to selections then the decisions get really hard Finally Designing and building the home I always wanted to! Re: Oh No! Torn between two houses... 22Nov 06, 2008 2:38 pm Hmm, baffling why you would consider the double story option when it is just the 2 of you?? And kids may come...they have a way of sneaking up on you, and then little kids + stairs = nightmare. You're young, go for the great party/entertaining house! If u both work heaps, you won't want to be spending all your spare time maintaining the bigger backyard ( unless of course you are avid gardeners! )
If you are set on "M"...why not consider some of their other nice single story homes with nicer facades and bigger pantries? Jasper, Mercer, Soho, Windarra... all nice 4 DINKS...nice for entertaining, easier for cleaning, cheaper to heat and cool... and save yourself 60K!! Sorry, probably confusing you more! Best of Luck with your decision! Re: Oh No! Torn between two houses... 23Nov 06, 2008 4:18 pm I personally prefer the Latitude! Its just going to be the two of you.
I am abit bais as I've always liked single storey to double. I use to live in a double storey when i was a teenager because my parents built one, and trust me, you dont have to be old to hate them! After living in it for 4 years, i was about to pack up and live in the study downstairs!! I found it annoying having to walk/run up and down all the time. Single storey just seem so much cosier and liek you said, you found that the Latitude gave you a cosier warmer feel,. I would stick to your old plan, just don't get swept away by M's decorating because sometimes its hard to see the house without all the extras. But at the end of the day it's your choice. You will be happy with whatever you decide. Idiots are fun, that's why there is one in every village! - Dr. House - Re: Oh No! Torn between two houses... 24Nov 06, 2008 9:26 pm Hey damo, some great advice given by everyone here, sounds like you already know what you might have to do!!
I personally can not handle stairs well, wish I could, as it would mean lots more back yard. If you can handle stairs then I would go the double storey if I were you. Also consider the block orientation ... which way is north, and do the living areas of each house face a good way to let in maximum light, etc... God luck with your dilemma! Re: Oh No! Torn between two houses... 25Nov 07, 2008 1:50 pm Thanks to everyone for your feedback. I think donuts is right, we sort've have made our minds up! We're going back to look at the Stanton again tomorrow, but I think that's what we'll end up choosing.
Main reasons were: Better use of land (we like a bit of garden space); Awesome looking facade; Better options for zoned living (this isn't super important to us, but I think it will help with resale. Plus, I'll enjoy saying "Let's have dinner in the good room ) Better use of space inside (the Latitude has two long corridors that aren't very efficient, we never noticed that before my Dad pointed it out!) Thanks again everyone - now I need to update our thread AND the blog. Actually, perhaps this thread can be merged with the journey thread? Mods? Not sure if that's easy or not! Damo Visit my blog: http://damosbitofblog.blogspot.com/ Re: Oh No! Torn between two houses... 26Nov 07, 2008 4:00 pm it's really hard to decide which one to build if you see lots of nice plans/houses around.
take time to study the plan.. how it would look on your block... etc. don't rush it. it took us 2 years to finally decide what house to build and another year to build it... but it's all worth it because we ended up building our dream house. good luck tomorrow! hope you finally sort it out! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Built the Nevada 42 Next project - landscaping! Re: Oh No! Torn between two houses... 27Nov 07, 2008 5:02 pm You need to like the street apeal. Thats a must.
You MUST like your house from the street. No point trying to hide inside something you hate externally. Then I'd sit down with a list of pros and cons. desires and needs. Like thisKitchen - open plan to dining nad outdoors - yes no Bedrooms close to living area or totally seperated yes no etc etc Do you list, find the street apeal desin you like, set your budget and move on from there. Steve Re: Oh No! Torn between two houses... 28Nov 07, 2008 5:37 pm We have a very small block so we made sure that we built on the smallest possible foot print. We chose a home that builds two stories on the entire footprint, so no land is wasted. Re: Oh No! Torn between two houses... 29Nov 07, 2008 7:48 pm Hi Damo
Just wanted to say what a happy, positive, fun reading blog you have I hope you keep it up to date as you progress with your house. As for your 2 house dilemma, I had a look at both and the Stanton wins hands down in all areas and I can see why you are attracted to it...I would be too. However, uncertain times are ahead and unless you have plenty of extra cash/assets up your sleeve, I would probably go for the cheaper but just as beautiful single story home. Also , keep in mind you dont overcapitalise for your area by building a more expensive home in a street where houses are being sold for much less. Both are really nice homes but as others posters said, be careful of those extras that make the houses look nice...they will blow the budget Good luck and enjoy the journey Mrs B Re: Oh No! Torn between two houses... 30Nov 07, 2008 8:16 pm Personally, as nice as these plans look, I would never consider building a double storey home without a large shower and bedroom downstairs. From bitter experience you never know when someone is going to break/injure themselves and be unable to tackle the front door step let alone a flight of stairs!
Best double (or rather, triple!) storey house design I have ever seen was built by a retired couple who intended it to be their final home. Large living areas, beautiful kitchen, bedroom and bathroom all wheelchair friendly on the ground floor. Basement was a study and rumpus room, master and minor bedrooms upstairs (multiple spares required for the grandkids and other regular visitors). Sort of house you could live in at any stage of life. With an aging population it is surprising that more people don't go down this route for resale value. Hi, We're building a double-storey in Perth and I'm undecided with the kitchen sink situation. I'm set on having the main sink with dishwasher in the scullery - and… 0 20911 2 2978 The price you're seeing for a high-spec 2-storey home in Perth sounds steep, but unfortunately, it's kind of the norm these… 8 7833 |