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Archive for January, 2010
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January 28th, 201024/7 holiday house
January 16th, 2010
Ahhhhhh…..
That’s the feeling you get when you walk into even the humblest of seaside holiday homes. It may not be the latest thing. It may need a few repairs. But there’s something about it that just makes you feel happy.
Is it nostalgia for childhood Summer holidays? Or that beach houses can’t help but symbolize an escape from the controls and conformity of city life? Or is it simply that they define the feeling of larger spaces, greater freedom and more time to appreciate the sensual aspects of life?
Sure, the feeling may be mostly psychological. But in fact, there are a few common design aspects of beach houses that we should consider incorporating into our city homes to increase our sense of contentment, all year round.
• Go to ground
Beach holidays are often about living ‘closer to the earth’. Shoes become optional. Regular city clothes and full makeup just don’t seem necessary or appealing. Beach living is about paring back to essentials and its architecture often reflects that too. Raw textures, natural light, louvered windows that encourage flow through of breezes, raw timber floorboards, open fireplaces, earthy colours – all of these common beach house features can just as successfully be applied to city homes.
• Let there be light
Never underestimate the power of natural light. Many beach homes have large windows and sliding glass doors to capitalize on the beauty of the surrounding environment. But you don’t need a spectacular view to include them and the benefits of greater natural light (and more fresh air!) are many.
• Say No to neo
Holiday homes are very rarely neo-Georgian, Palladian, Victorian or neo-anything. They are what they are and they’re not trying to be otherwise. There’s an integrity about beach homes that releases us from the desire for pastiche styles and the pseudo grandiose and that’s a welcome soother for the soul.
• Relaaaax
Want to hang your beach towel over the balcony? Fine. Someone’s walked some sand into the house? No big deal. Holiday homes aren’t ever expected to be spotless or ready for their ‘Vogue Living’ close-up – because, well, you’re on holiday! A beautiful home, holiday or otherwise, should be about signs of life and time well spent.
New projects
January 12th, 2010
In December 2009 and January 2010, My Architect commenced the following new projects:
- Brighton - Restructure/reversal of existing floor plan to create an open plan living/dining/ kitchen leading out to backyard and pool
- Seaford – Additions to existing home to create an elevated room to optimise existing views and amenity to adjacent creek
- Coburg – Replacing 20-year old weatherboard extension on a 100-year old double brick house, with a contemporary extension offering more natural light and addition storage and an additional level of living
- Collingwood – Contemporary alterations and additions to a traditional Victorian cottage
- Highton - extension to 1970s home on large elevated block with builder as client
Successful renovating – it’s all in the timing
January 6th, 2010
Often, the question on most potential renovators’ minds is, will we or won’t we. It’s a big decision but once you’ve chosen to start, another fundamental question needs careful consideration. That is – when?
Getting the timing right on when to begin renovating is crucial. It can impact significantly on the outcome of your project and your satisfaction with the end result. If you time it right, you’ll save yourself money, time and frustration and you’ll most likely avoid many of the common pitfalls. To help you make the right decisions on timing, here are a few tips to guide you towards a renovation that’s as painless as possible:
• Firstly, let’s get real. If you think you’ll be sitting pretty in your newly renovated home in a few weeks, you’re pitching your expectations way too high and setting yourself up for some serious headaches. On an average size domestic renovation (eg. a new living area and kitchen extension with upgrades to the original part of the house including a bathroom), once the design process is over, you’ve lodged your planning application, received approvals and the building process is complete, you’re looking at a start to finish period of 9 to 12 months.
• Start now and you’ll be complete by late 2010. The cut off point for end of year completion is usually around May, so if you’d like your renovation finished by late 2010, you need to get the design process started pronto.
• If year end completion isn’t necessary… start researching for an architect now, then begin the design process in the next few months, lodge your planning application, receive planning approval later this year, receive costings from builders in the latter half of the year (but not December – see below!) and appoint your builder by year’s end. Once you’ve put everything in place for construction to start, have a well-earned break over Christmas, knowing that your builder is ready to begin at the start of the new year.
• Don’t request costings from builders in December. Builders (like everyone) tend to be rushed in the lead up to Christmas, and instead of taking the time to understand your project fully, will often cost a project to cover themselves, which usually means it’ll be more expensive that it needs to be. If it’s December and you’re at the costings stage, better to leave it until the new year.
• Avoid being under construction over Christmas. There are many reasons to avoid being under construction during the holiday season. Builders will usually close down for 2-3 weeks, so if you’ve moved out of your home during the construction phase of your renovation and are paying rent elsewhere, you’ll effectively be paying rent during that period with little or no work continuing on your renovation. Building supplies are also often more difficult to find at this time, as regular suppliers can be closed, causing delays in the building schedule. Time it right, of course, and you’ll avoid these pitfalls and associated costs completely!