Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 20, 2007 1:50 pm Hi Everyone,
We have found the Eden Brae Entertainer suits our block and light etc. Has anyone built this and made some interesting changes? Also, perhaps does anyone have suggestions re project home that would suit a block with a 10m frontage but 40m at the back boundary? We are obviously in the arc of a cul de sac explaining the small front but large back. Thanks J. Re: Eden Bray Entertainer Parker Entertainer - Any changes? 2Jul 20, 2007 1:59 pm That can be a tricky shape to build in. You need some sort of triangle home!
To help narrow down some prospective builders can you let us know what state you are in and which council? Re: Eden Bray Entertainer Parker Entertainer - Any changes? 3Jul 20, 2007 2:05 pm Hi J!
Someone on here is about to start building the Entertainer. Can't remember who off the top of my head. Are you building the 39 or the 44? If the house is set back the standard distance, there should be enough width and still leave around 10m to the back fence. With the back yard - what about siting the house with the back pointing straight down the middle. Then for the width of a house - put a nice lawn down to the back. Then you'll be left with a wedge either side - line each side of the grass with dwarf fruit trees (apples, mandarins, mangos, lemons, oranges etc). Now there's 3 zones in the back yard - a big rectangular area for kids, cricket etc. and 2 wedge shapes. Options for the 2 wedges include * a big veggie garden so you can be self-sustaining * a kids playground with sandpit, swing set etc * an outdoor pergola area for entertaining (though you've already got the alfresco * a shed area Re: Eden Bray Entertainer Parker Entertainer - Any changes? 4Jul 21, 2007 2:47 pm Hi there,
Thanks for your responses. We are in NSW and Sutherland Council. Your ideas regarding the landscaping were great. In fact we are hoping to orientate the house so that we capture as much yard as possible as well as the days sun. We are keen to include as many energy efficient fittings such as solar heating for water and a pool (id we end up putting one in). Additonally we are hoping to us some types of cross ventilaltion as we are close to the coast. J. Re: Eden Bray Entertainer Parker Entertainer - Any changes? 5Jul 21, 2007 4:18 pm Hey gearel,
Have fun with Sutherland Council My parents live in Illawong and their DA process was around 6 months - took forever! Eden Brae are Greensmart accredited builders - so I think they can do a lot of small modifications with window position, window glazing etc that can make a home more energy efficient. We are also building a project home (starting next year) - most likely with Wisdom Homes - the guy used to be a designer at Eden Brae - and he has lots of great little additions to be ultra-BASIX compliant. The house we are building will be the Impression 38 Mk II - it's towards the bottom of the page here: http://www.wisdomhomes.com.au/everydayliving.html We liked the Entertainer - but the dining room was too far from the kitchen for us and the media room was just a really strange shape to use (there's really only 1 way to set up the furniture). The Impression 38 Mk II by Wisdom is a very similar house (seeing as they were designed by the same guy I think!) but has a living room/dining room/media room set up that is a lot more user friendly and better if you're going to do more entertaining in the backyard. They (Wisdom Homes) are in Sydney also - display home is near Narellan. Re: Eden Bray Entertainer Parker Entertainer - Any changes? 6Jul 21, 2007 5:10 pm Hi gearel,
We've just finished building the Entertainer 44 with Porter Davis in Melbourne. I just looked at Eden Brae's website and it is the same house - they must be the same company under a different name. We didn't make many changes apart from putting lots of doors everywhere. We should have put a door in the hall, ideally near the cupboard under the stairs because the entrance and stairwell is a huge area and difficult to heat. We also put an extra 2m width on the garage. I don't have any problem with the media room. We are using it as a combined rumpus and media room and there is plenty of room for the kids to spread out their toys. I agree with stonecutter that the formal dining room is a long way from the kitchen but we don't plan to use it for that. With a dining setting in the meals area and another in the alfresco we will be using that space for a piano. Friends of friends built the same house and the extended the kitchen and made room for a walk-in pantry which would be nice. We moved in last weekend. We are up to our elbows in boxes and surrounded by a sea of mud but happy with the house. Re: Eden Bray Entertainer Parker Entertainer - Any changes? 7Jul 21, 2007 5:22 pm Ahh - I knew it was someone!
Do you have pics up anywhere penjay? Which facade did you go for? Re: Eden Bray Entertainer Parker Entertainer - Any changes? 8Jul 22, 2007 9:10 pm Hi Penjay,
Glad to hear that you are happy eith the house. I am also keen to use the media room as a combine kids play room come music room. When you mention doors do you mean doors to the study? We are also keen to add a few doors. The display home we saw now includes a "straight" staircase rather than the curved staircase in the original edeb brae drawings. Which do you have? If you have any pics or advice I would love to hear them. Cheers J. Re: Eden Bray Entertainer Parker Entertainer - Any changes? 9Jul 23, 2007 9:37 pm We added a single door to the study, double really high doors to the front lounge room and a single door to the back of the same room so it can be closed off and isn't a thoroughfare. We also put tall double doors to the media room and a door to the ensuite (I prefer showering not to be a spectator sport!)
We have the curved staircase. I think it makes the house and I just mentioned it to my husband and he agrees. The entrance really is a "wow!" factor that would be lost with a straight staircase. It was a real selling point to us. Porter Davis have just dropped the Entertainer but the Wentworth is very similar, especially the staircase and the back of the house. I don't have any photos but if you look at the photos of the Wentwoth at Point Cook on the PD website, it shows the staircase really well and also the kitchen which I virtually copied because I fell in love with it! I can take some photos if you need to see anything but you'll need to excuse the "just moved in" mess! Please feel free to ask anything you need to know. This forum has been a fantastic help with loads of information - I just wish I'd found it at the beginning of the journey rather than a lot further down the track. By the way, I don't know if Eden Brae are the same as Porter Davis, but a few essential (to my mind) features that aren't standard are: - towel rails - toilet roll holders - shelves to the WIRs - light to the cupboard under the stairs - exhaust fan in the laundry - drains to bathrooms and laundry I'm sure there are more but that's it for the moment. I live in an outer suburb so virtually everyone I know has built at least once. I've heard that it takes three homes to get it right. This is our 2nd and we've still made mistakes. maybe with the help of the forum, twice would have been okay! Re: Eden Bray Entertainer Parker Entertainer - Any changes? 10Jul 23, 2007 9:47 pm p.s. We went for the French Provincial facade but got rid of the wrought iron bits on the windows and had the wrought iron bit on the balcony bricked and rendered. I'll take a photo but please excuse disgusting render colour - I need to have it repainted! It's a bit difficult to choose a colour from 12 small rectangles at the showroom!!!!!!!!! Re: Eden Bray Entertainer Parker Entertainer - Any changes? 11Jul 23, 2007 10:12 pm HI there,
Thank you so much for your response. I have to agree about all the changes you have made especially with regards to the ensuite. I also think the staircase is the standout feature especially compared with some of the other project homes. Perhaps we are all romantics deep down with some type of "Gone with the Wind" dream..... This is certainly the most appealing plan we have seen and I am now checking everyones posts and blogs regarding changes to their houses as well as tips of any kind. Thank you so much for making the time. It is all helping me convince my husband that this is the way to go (he agrees but needs to procrastinate around his decision making!!!). J. I built with EB back on 2009. Check out this thread on this forum. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=12911&p=154061#p154061 I can't speak for recent expericience however, we had no… 1 22247 A question. Im in Queensland and building a new home. We managed to reach practical completion 6 weeks ago but we haven't heard any date for handover yet. Who should we… 0 5800 i had the my concreters concrete right up to the fence. I have pits all along my path, so the water tends to drain away from the house and into the pits. There's only one… 7 12719 |