Need help choosing a house design

I have a west facing block with 18m frontage and 32m depth. I have shortlisted two designs and appreciate your input in finalising one. Following are the layouts.

A). http://hallmarkhomes.com.au/home-designs/horixon-256/

B). http://stylemasterhomes.com.au/home/bay ... 7-bp-view/

Also, We don't have houses on one side of the lot. So, option 'A' with side alfresco will give us some privacy. But my wife likes option 'B' for some reason Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!

If by west facing you mean the front is facing west, then the left hand side is facing north and that is where you absolutely want your living areas. Personally, I would choose the first design, but only if you can flip it left to right. If not, then it must be the second design.

Hi! Yes, the front of the house is facing west. The layout can be flipped.

I agree that living areas should be north facing.
I like both designs. Option A layout speaks to me more , maybe because I like having bedrooms together and at the back of the house. Also consider if you are on a busy road. I personally don't like bedrooms at the front, I feel like I could never open the blinds because I wouldn't want people looking into my bedroom. I also like the idea of the cinema room further away from the main living areas so the noise doesn't interfere with everyone else. Having said all that, option B with the additional leisure room the kids could use would be what we would have gone with if it was us as an "Xbox room" was compulsory for our lot I guess it depends on which of those considerations are most important to you

Thank you very much for your replies. I am more leaning towards Plan A, as it gives me north facing outdoor area and also there is good amount of natural light coming in to the living and kitchen.

Definitely A. Plus points are master at the back, close access to kitchen from garage (for groceries!), light to study and media room, enclosed alfresco to keep wind down... and more.

Agree that plan A works better from a passive solar design. If you have need to have the main bedroom to the front then that's the only key benefit of plan B.

I like option A more too but only if flipped. Hubby and I walked through a display of that design and loved it! We had already paid our deposit with our builder so we're just looking displays for colour inspirations.


GJ Gardner Modified Coolum 277
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I've done this too XD Kept looking at displays after my contract was signed for inspiration. Although, probably good for me displays are all twice the size of my house, so I can't regret my choice.

Also consider that the east or west faces will get sun in mornings and early evenings which will cause increased heat through the windows in those rooms and or be annoying when you are trying to watch TV or sleep. But... blinds will fix that.

Otherwise definitely need to flip option A for passive solar benefits but would be perfect!. Could also possibly consider whether you will have neighbours with a two storey peering into the sleeping rooms. Again blinds can fix.

Option B has the redeeming quality of a more square design which might be more energy efficient.

Good luck with your final choice!

Thank you all. I am also looking at http://coralhomes.com.au/storage/app/up ... 0_auto.jpg . The layout is similar to plan A but the master is at the front.

This is my favourite of the three.

Is that the Marcoola by Coral? We almost signed up to build that but went with GJ instead

I love that plan


GJ Gardner Modified Coolum 277
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I like option B bcoz I prefer rectangle houses utilizing as much land as possible

- Option A is not utilizing space on one side of the house
- Option C, I don't prefer to have the kitchen and living areas in the middle of the house surrounded by other rooms

looking forward to see which option you gone with

Yes. If you don't mind, may I know why you didn't go with Coral? I am concerned about the recent bad reviews about them.

Please whatever you do don't build a home with Coral homes. My discussions have escalated to the National level and I can tell you now- no one at that company cares. I was told the other day not to expect quality from a volume builder and that if I wanted certain finishes in my home completed within standards, I should have built with a private builder.

Save yourself the heartache. They are a bunch on incompetent morons. If you have a few months and nothing better to do, read my thread.


C U S T O M. C O R A L. B R O N T E. 43
http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=79581

And to that I will add- when you look at reviews for different builders, all builders will have bad reviews. What you need to look at is how the builder deals with issues. That's my issue with Coral.


C U S T O M. C O R A L. B R O N T E. 43
http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=79581

We had terrible customer service, we told our SC what we wanted and he quoted the opposite wouldn't change any plans until we paid a deposit just treated us awful so we ran for the hills


GJ Gardner Modified Coolum 277
viewtopic.php?t=83643

I do like the Coral design, but I still also like design A.

No no no coral! Don't do it