"Upside down" double storey house

I'm still not 100% sold on the idea of 'upstairs living', it's probably because I have always grown up with bedrooms upstairs and it is what I am used to...

A couple of points that deter me from upstairs living:
- like you mentioned carrying groceries etc upstairs
- children playing upstairs - if general living area is up there, I get worried anytime my children are near stairs and with their bedrooms upstairs they are only ever up there when asleep
- I like that when my bedrooms/childrens bedroom is a mess - its hidden upstairs when guests come over (there is no reason for them to go up there either as its only bedrooms)

If the views are reallt great, what about a balcony from the main bedroom - it could be a sort of 'mini' living area where you could sit an eat meals on a nice night - or have a glass or two (;)) without compromising the downstairs living...

Hopefully others who have lived in a similar situation can shed more light, for me I prefer the traditional way

Good luck
Belinda

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Nothing wrong with it Shaje.

I grew up in a queenslander in Brissy, and while we had bedrooms and living areas upstairs, carrying groceries up the stairs is not that much of hassle.

You also get to enjoy the breezes a bit more because the upstairs areas are that little bit higher.

If it will work and see good views - do it.
Sociery will be more and more looking for houses with views as they try to escape suburbia but can;t afford the fule to actually live that far out of town.
Steve

No big deal. That sort of layout is quite common with homes built on steep slopes: You enter on the living area and the bedrooms are downstairs at the back. Not the same situation of course, but it's not uncommon. As for lugging groceries, I think that is a total non-issue. Plenty of houses (especially high-sets in Brisbane) have steps going up to the front door even if they're one level.

I'd just pay close attention to where the noisy areas are and carefully position the bedrooms to avoid the loudest zones from above.

One advantage of living areas upstairs is that it's easy to add skylights if you need more lighting.

So make your main entrance via a set of stairs to the main door upstairs and leave the downstairs entrances the garages etc and the bedrooms re access via a set of internal stairs.
Steve

Thanks for your comments everyone. It all provides good food for thought. I hadn't even considered the old Queenslander style homes, and I have lived in one. I was only a kid though so you don't really think about how the house works. If we go this way (I'm still not convinced the views would be that great - hubby tells me to get on the roof and see - I'm not that game!) I would definitely be very careful of where the bedrooms are located so as to prevent noise, would also look into some kind of sound proofing material between the floors if possible. Friend of ours who live in a split level with the living upstairs say it's a pain to carry the groceries up but they wouldn't base their decision just on that. They also say they like that the upstairs living provides a little more privacy.

Thanks again!

Hey Shaje,

My wife and I encountered a similar problem at homes we looked to buy. A builder friend suggested putting in a small DIY 'dumb waiter' between levels to put grocery items etc in from the garage. I don't know what your budget is but have a look anyway. Good luck.

http://www.dumbwaiters.com.au/index.htm
http://www.ezy-lift.com.au/index.htm

Good point about stairs, Virgin-builder.
My parents have a split level house, living areas upstairs and we have an uncle with Downs Syndrome, he has a phobia about stairs, and always walks around house to back door.
But this won't work with an actual double story house. Also what if one of you injured and temporaily cannot manage stairs?

Helyn is that your dog in your avatar? so cute