Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 05, 2009 7:14 pm We are only at the "thinking about it "stage of building(and have never built before). Has anyone on here built a house with living/dining/kitchen and main bedroom upstairs and all other areas downstairs? We have a view and would like to take advantage of it by having main areas upstairs with all windows and large balcony for entertaining but I'm just not sure how I'll feel about lugging shopping etc up stairs all the time. I have a friend who wishes she'd built this way (to make the most of her view) but most people I talk to say don't do it. Our kids are only a few years from leaving so we're thinking along the lines of it just being the two of us and it would feel like a very spacious apartment with room downstairs to spread out if we need to). Would love some feedback from people who have done this and whether they regret it. Re: "upside down" house 2Jun 05, 2009 7:21 pm If the view is really good, I would go for it. Another alternative is to put in a living room upstairs with the bedrooms, so that you can enjoy the view when you want, but living can be done downstairs. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: "upside down" house 3Jun 05, 2009 8:00 pm I think thats a great idea!!!!! . Most families spend their time in lounge kitchen etc. Why not take advantage of the views you have!! Dont follow the norm. I think it would be great! Living in Caloundra Thread****** Lovin my house all finished!!! Now tackling the HUGE task of the Garden- viewtopic.php?f=31&t=14782 Re: "upside down" house 4Jun 05, 2009 8:49 pm My parents built a split level house in 2000, set into a very steep block, it has ground level access at front and also at back and one can walk to back of house up a very steep side path. Upstairs has main bedroom. study, kitchen, family/dining, lounge, laundry, 1 bathroom, 1 toilet. Downstairs has garage (of course ),hallway which leads to staircase, small TV area (officially called "foyer" as they were not allowed to have a liveing area without a window ) 2 bedrooms, 1 toilet/bathroom. They live almost entirely upstairs and downstairs is basically for guests - of which they have many, mainly out of town relatives like ourselves. Shopping does have to be lugged up the stairs but they are pushing 70 and they cope, I'm sure this is not an insurmountable issue. Of course, with just the 2 of them, they dont have a family size shopping load anyway Upstairs has a full length balcony, accesssible from both lounge and main bedroom, beautiful view from foothills of Adelaide, especially at night, looking over the city lights. There are also full length windows in family room and a large kitchen window which have views of the large and picture perfect terraced back yard (gardening is Dad's specialty ) They designed their house themselves and had it built with custom builder, no regrets at all about the layout. Re: "upside down" house 5Jun 05, 2009 11:52 pm We have not built it - But if the views are good it sure makes sens - Having 1 living area upstairs to capture the view - A friend of ours did that but they finally spent most of their time downstairs so it defeated the whole purpose. The downside for me is having to carry all the shopping etc upstairs . Alos when getting older and if climbing stairs becomes an issue then I feel having kitchen and all areas upstairs would be an absolute pain. There was another forum member "ozkarnak" who was planning on building an upside down house - Blog is here http://thereluctantbuilder.blogspot.com ... ision.html Good Luck Re: "upside down" house 7Jun 06, 2009 11:22 am We are currently living rent free with my DP's grandfather in a house like this. His master bedroom, living area and kitchen is upstairs.. and we are downstairs. The view is beautiful!! Which is why I think he built it like this.. I guess there is the issue of having to walk upstairs all the time.. and for my DP's grandfather.. this is definately a HUGE issue as he's getting old. (90 this month) and struggles to get up and down the steps. But if you want to take advantage.. do it!! I'm definately far too lazy for all that stair climbing and will always only build single story. Just think how fit you'll be though! Building with PD - Regent 23 Cascades on Clyde Estate HomeOne Building Thread - PCI Completed - 28th August. Handover - 11th September. Re: "upside down" house 8Jun 06, 2009 11:29 am Here's a new idea. Build the living areas upstairs and the bedrooms downstairs. The only real problem is getting up and down the stairs when you are old (in the mean time, they'll make you fitter). Leave in the design an area for a lift. No need to buy the lift now, just plan where it will go. When the time comes, you have the option of putting a lift in. With more and more going into houses these days (who had a home theatre, data cables, dishwasher, etc 40 years ago) and the aging population, lifts may not be as rare (and expensive) as they are today. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: "upside down" house 9Jun 06, 2009 2:11 pm Hi - I'm building an upside down house !!! - welcome to the very very tiny club, your member number two . I'm doing it for the view (180deg view of parklands, horse paddocks and the dandenong ranges) but to be honest theres a lot of people that just wouldn't do it regardless. In the current design I have the master, a study, kitchen and main living upstairs with the kids bedrooms, laundry room and rumpus room downstairs. Upstairs I also have a deck (that sits directly above the ground floor) across the length of the view too but then I've added in an Alfresco area downstairs as well for no seemingly logical reason. The only tough thing I've found with the whole process is the lack of plans around to get ideas from. While there tends to be a number of houses built, especially around my area and near beach areas, theres not a lot of "off the plan" designs to look at. Building Upside down house in Wantirna VIC Current Stage: Procrastination... it's just all too hard.... Blog: http://thereluctantbuilder.blogspot.com/ Re: "upside down" house 10Jun 06, 2009 2:20 pm We are designing this to be in our parents house at the moment so they can take advantage of the view and it is alot cheaper to add a kitchen and powder room upstairs than a bathroom so far. Anyway the one must have is a dumbwaiter so my mum doesn't have to carry the shopping upstairs. Plenty of plans that give you this option here in the West as it has become alot more common. Re: "upside down" house 12Jun 20, 2009 3:51 pm To wce 1293 It sounds like you are in exactly the same position as us. We have bought a block of land with great views of the lake and we are thinking of putting the living and master bedroom upstairs. I think it is a great idea but I broke my ankle last year and am still suffering from it and worry about the stairs. The only alternative I can think of if to leave an area where you could install a lift at a later stage if necessary. Kids at high school so not too old yet My other problem is actually finding house plans with living upstairs. The views are at the back of our block and we want decks across the whole back. If you find any good plans please let me know. Re: "upside down" house 15Jun 20, 2009 11:54 pm Highly recommned it. Nothing better than waking up looking out over a great view and seeing the night lights. and as you are plannning - entertaining up there makes it a great spot. Also plan the kitchen living areas to be in the north so you gain winter sun - assuming you are in a southern clime. Where are you building? re access as you get older - lift or a stairwell ride thing. Shopping - it's not a hassle - sure it's not as easy as a downstairs kitchen - but hey - you get to enjoy the view more often Re: "upside down" house 16Jun 21, 2009 8:52 am Thanks for your hints - I will definitely check out those builders. Our land is at Murrays Beach NSW on Lake Macquarie. Beach is about 10 mins away but we have the tranquility of the Lake. We have building "restrictions" (eg lots of north facing windows and positioned to allow cross breezes, decks, high ceiling height, unusual angled roofs etc). It is in the bush and they have preserved as much of the natural environment as possible and they want all the houses to blend into the bush and compliment each other. We are happy with that as no one will get a purple monstrosity pop up next to them. Re: "upside down" house 18Jun 21, 2009 12:04 pm We are thinking of maybe building something like this on our block: http://www.totalhomeframes.com.au/pdf/Colonial.pdf Obviously it would make the most of the views, and I like the private balcony off the parents room. My main concerns are: - carrying shopping (gweluphomes suggestion of a dumb waiter is good) or I could just get really fit - evacuation in case of a bush fire. - I have big dogs and am concerned how they will go about getting up/down so many stairs in their old age (maybe I can put in a lift ) Re: "upside down" house 19Jun 22, 2009 6:08 pm I haven't built a house like this but we rented a holiday house that had living, kitchen and dining and main bedroom upstairs and 4 bedroom, living, bathroom and laundry downstairs - it was fantastic to be able to enjoy the view for the upstairs. My only criticism of this house was that there was no toilet upstairs - only the main bedroom ensuite. On another note, my Mum and Dad's house that I grew up in was a old high-set Queenslander where everything is upstairs so the idea of having to take groceries upstairs is not an issue for me. Most houses in the town where I grew up had kitchens and living areas upstairs so these designs seem normal to me - not upside down My blog: http://artstitcheshome.blogspot.com Re: "upside down" house 20Jun 22, 2009 6:14 pm Our holiday house has ocean views, so we had all of the living upstairs, and all bedrooms downstairs, as we spend most of the time upstairs when we're there. We have decks at the front and back as well. We will add another bedroom & ensuite on to the side eventually. It works brilliantly for us there. Carrying shopping up doesn't bother me, but I guess it's not our permanent home. If you have lovely views that you want to take advantage of, and that's the way you want to go, go for it!!! Solidarity, not solidity.......The Lexicon of Life Hi HomeOne, I'm in the midst of landscaping a cat run down the side of my house, and the recent rains have me wondering if I need to install some sort of drainage. I've… 0 12279 How long is a "long period"? 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