Tag: floor plan

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Expert Tips Interiors Addict RENO ADDICT

3 things to consider at floorplan stage, from serial renovators

By Claire O’Connell

Thinking of renovating or building a new home? Exciting as that is, it gets real very quickly as you start to work through the floorplan design, lighting plan, finishes, flooring, bathroom tiles, tapware and so on. We might spend a lot of time thinking about how our house will look, but we don’t always put the same energy into the floorplan. It can be overwhelming, especially if it’s the first time you have ever renovated or built a house.

Cosmetic updates can be made whenever you want, but changing the floorplan can be expensive, so the initial planning is important. Having renovated 14 houses and built one, serial renovator Claire O’Connell and her husband Derek share three big things they think you should consider.

A statement entry

Consider that statement you want to make when you walk in the front door. For example, you might add windows to either side of your door, or use double door entry.

Open up the entry hallway if you don’t want the added expense of reconfiguring the front door. A wider than usual entry hall can give a clear line of sight to the back door or back window, which adds natural light, and can make the house feel much more inviting.

Higher ceilings

High ceilings will make a room feel so much bigger than it is. They also allow you to be more creative with lighting, both natural and artificial. You also have taller walls to play with.

If you plan on going through with this, make sure you plan ahead; you will thank yourself later. Include this in your architectural plans if you’re building a house, as it will cost you more steel. If you’re renovating, there are still ways to increase your ceiling height that you can look out for, such as checking the attic to see if you can raise the ceiling, or vaulting it and removing any unnecessary bulkheads.

Oversized windows

Natural light has such an impact on your mood and how you use your house, and large windows can help enhance that. You’ve probably already thought about the location of your windows, but have you thought about the size? If you’re renovating, you may be planning to replace old windows; if you are, consider reframing and ordering larger windows.

Before
After

There are so many things to consider when you’re renovating or building and it can be really overwhelming. Hopefully these tips will help you consider some aspects of your design.

Follow Claire and Derek on Instagram @renowayoflife

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Expert Tips

Interior design 101: The importance of a floor plan

By Cherie Barber

If you ever doubted the importance of drawing up a floor plan, have a think about how the placement of your furniture impacts the flow of traffic through your home. If the dining table and chairs are in the middle of the room, as opposed to up against a wall, then people will circulate around them – and that impacts where they look, and where you place other furnishings in the room.

If there’s a view you particularly don’t want people to focus on, then “tweaking” the traffic flow through strategic placement of furnishings can direct their gaze away from the offensive outlook and towards a startling piece of artwork instead. It’s a trick that professional stylists have certainly mastered.

By placing things like doorways, storage, island benches and furniture in certain locations, you can control how people move through a place, making them look one way instead of another.

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If you’re keen to create open plan living, then a detailed floor plan is imperative. The minute you remove a wall or move a door, you change the traffic flow. So you need to carefully think about how your furniture will work in the new open plan. For example, your television is going to need a wall, and then you need somewhere to sit to watch the television. Walls provide hanging space for kitchen cabinets or shelving, so you need to balance the appeal of open plan with the practicalities of losing valuable storage space. Be sure the walls you’re removing don’t create more problems than they solve.

You want to get your furniture plan in place before you go randomly plonking power points around the place. Ever seen the large wall-mounted television with a power cord dangling all the way to the floor power point? Or the fridge with an untidy power cord jutting out? Yep, someone didn’t draw up a floor plan and nut out exactly where the fridge, sofa, television, etc, would go, along with the corresponding power points.

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At the very minimum, your floor plan should have:

  • Precise room dimensions
  • Location of windows and doors
  • Location of power points and light switches

Then you can add in where your furniture should go. For this reason, it’s important that your floor plan is to scale. You’ll find free floor planners online, or simply use graph paper and furniture cut-outs that you can move around the room.

Just like the old trusted rule, “measure twice, cut once”, time invested in a precise floor plan can save many expensive and entirely avoidable mistakes.

Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit. 

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DIY Expert Tips Real Renos RENO ADDICT

How to decide if you’ll add value by changing your floor plan

It is such an exciting time when you buy a renovator; there is a massive itch to want to get that sledge hammer out early and get cracking hard!

There is no denying I have been a huge fan of smashing down a wall or two, especially in that post buying rush that you get, with all the opportunities that lie in front of you. But before you get cracking, you need to ask yourself a few key things.

When renovating for profit, to sell now, in 12 months or five years, you need to ask yourself, will this change make me money now or long term? If the answer is not a resounding and confident YES then move away from the sledge hammer.

Before you make any floor plan decisions, you need to make sure you have completed the following steps to find out if the change will make you money and if your excited ideas will bring great value to the property.

So here we go…

  • What are the changes you want to make to the floor plan? List them out.
  • Will this add extra rooms to the property?
  • Will this add extra entertaining space to the property?
  • Will this provide better utilities to the property?
  • If the answer is yes to any of the above then you might be able to get cracking! BUT before you do go that extra mile…
  • Will the floor plan changes work?

I know that the floor plan changes work in your mind, but to truly see if they will work, you need to take your design concept to completion, to make sure that it works on all levels. For example, there is no use creating a new en suite in a master space if when you go to plan the bathroom, after you have already started the work, you realise there is not enough leg space on the en suite toilet! This applies to all spaces. I have seen too many times when people renovate a property and then they are unable to get furniture through a door, or around an awkward corner in the hall or they can’t find enough vertical space in the kitchen for a fridge and pantry.

Finally, check that the costs associated with the floor plan changes will return at least five times this amount in return on investment.

(A video showing one of Naomi’s floorplan changes)

Quick floor plan changes can sometimes be a huge value adding exercise and I personally do it a lot in renovating for profit. But there are some instances when a property is better left as is or extended rather than just have the floor plan manipulated.

Now that you have worked through the check list, if you have the green light, grab that sledge hammer and get cracking!

For more help on increasing your property value, why not head over to our free 30 tips to help you increase your property value?

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Architecture Design Expert Tips RENO ADDICT

Knocking down walls: what to consider first, with Joe Snell

Across Australia, the drive is on to unleash our homes’ full potential and lifestyle value. Our renovation radars need to be focused on maximising the space, light and lifestyle appeal of what we already own.

Ask yourself how could a disused or neglected part of my home be made into a beautiful asset? Big-ticket items such as views, garages and pools are no longer the only assets. Rather in a hot property market, every inch counts. Once neglected areas such as side paths, old laundry rooms, tiny courtyards, overgrown yards and boxed in kitchens are now assets ready to be brought to life. In contemporary living terms, this means opening up and refreshing every inch of a space. Nothing has to be too dark, small or cluttered. Rather, emphasise what you already own.

Image: iDesignArch
Image: iDesignArch

One clear path to unleashing a home’s potential is through improving its floor plan. If you’ve ever attended an open for inspection it’s not unusual to hear buyers talking about knocking down a wall. No one wants to buy a place and be limited by a constricted floor plan. Removing walls is a well known strategy for transforming a space thanks to television programs like House Rules, Selling Houses, The Block and Grand Designs showcasing the results.

Knocking down a single wall, or numerous walls, has become a hugely popular solution for creating more light, space and value. Australians are world leaders when it comes to open plan living and there’s a huge premium placed on contemporary design to deliver free flowing spaces where the lounge room, kitchen and ideally, indoors and outdoors, merge.

Image: Tommy Welsh
Image: Tommy Welsh

There are certainly positives to rearranging a home’s floor plan through removing walls. But before you start knocking them down, please remember that when it comes to design, nothing is in isolation, rather it’s all connected.

Consider the following before undergoing your wall removal project:

  1. Acoustics: the more you open up a space, the more it creates echoes and noise problems. There is such a thing as too open when it comes to sound.
  2. Be careful about stripping a space of its character. Traditional buildings such as terraces, semis, cottages and pre-1960s apartments, were designed with separate rooms because privacy and warmth were of major importance compared to today’s premiums on light and space. With a traditional building, consider retaining the feeling of the building’s original spacing by leaving a beam where the wall once stood. Beams can also help give a sense of grace that suits traditional spaces. Sometimes, your mind wants to know that the beams are holding everything up so emotionally you feel safe and secure.
  3. Creating a social home that’s not too hectic. We all love the idea of the social home where the kitchen is at the heart of the action. It’s the place where everyone congregates and therefore it should be located in the best part of your site. In open plan living, the kitchen and lounge room create a feeling of connection rather than isolation. However, consider creating a sense of division somewhere amongst this openness once the wall/walls are removed. Try to create two living areas that give the opportunity for families to handle the complexities of sharing a space. For example, where are the kids going to play Lego where it’s not in the way of the adults? Perhaps consider a half wall, or a flexible solution like a bi-fold, which will give you the right amount of area division so kids have their own play space and aren’t on top of the adults. Then you have the best of both worlds.

At the end of the day, knocking down a wall can be all the difference in terms of space, light and a lovely home, but think very carefully about it, and do your planning, as you want openness but not over exposure.

—Joe Snell is an architect and judge on Channel 7’s House Rules, coming back to our screens soon. Read all articles by Joe.

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Before & Afters Design Expert Tips House Tours Real Renos RENO ADDICT Styling

Real reno: floorplan change makes all the difference

Our Resident Expert Naomi Findlay takes us through her latest reno. What a stunning end result!

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Property: Small, inner city cottage in Newcastle, NSW.

Time to renovate: 6 weeks

Profit after all costs: $35,000

Exterior after
Exterior after

Exterior before
Exterior before

What were the biggest challenges?

Creating an extra room in the home (the dining room as it did not have one originally) without increasing the overall floor plan. I had to milk that floor plan for all I could get out of it.

Watch the floorplan change…

Any nasty surprises?

There are always surprises when you renovate. Years ago I used to see them as nasty, now I work hard on seeing them as part of it. I figure if you have a budget buffer nothing is too nasty. I was not happy when I found a 30mm height difference between floors when I removed a wall! Also, in old homes there are always hazardous materials that need to be handled appropriately.

Did you change the floorplan? How?

I moved the kitchen location to make it at the rear of the property and to allow for a flow from the kitchen to the outdoor space. I created a dining off the kitchen, opened up the living and dining/kitchen to open plan and opened the rear of the house to the yard. I created a European laundry, made the bathroom twice the original size and turned the old kitchen into a bedroom.

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Photo 15-09-2014 7 23 02 am
Before: this old bathroom was doubled in size

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New bathroomIMG_7821

Before: the old kitchen became a bedroom
Before: the old kitchen became a bedroom

After: the bedroom that was a kitchen
After: the bedroom that was a kitchen!

How did you approach the decor and styling? What was your target market?

When renovating to sell, it is so important to walk the fine line of appealing to a huge market. Even when you think you know your market you have to play it safe ‘ish’ to some extent. Yet at the same time make sure it stands out from the crowd enough that someone will pay top dollar for it.

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Did you enjoy this reno?

I love every renovation, my happy place is on a building site!

What sort of interest was there in the property?

There was strong interest once the property was on the market. There were offers on it the day after it went to market, and an offer accepted within the first week.

What are your top tips for dealing with trades?

Be kind, be honest, be involved, be real and LISTEN! As well as this take coffee and kebabs.

How do you know when to spend or when it’s not worth doing something? How do you avoid overcapitalising?

You must know your market and you must know what the end-user will expect. When renovating for sale it is all about them and how you can get them what they want on a budget. If you can define who is going to buy it, and what other houses they are looking at, you can make sure that you are on the money with your inclusions. A detailed property comparison is essential before you even commit to buying the property.

Got a question for Naomi? Ask it here.

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Bathrooms

New easy online 3D bathroom planner lets you design yourself

Whether you’re designing a brand new bathroom or planning a renovation, it’s now easier than ever thanks to the 3D Bathroom Planner recently launched by Reece.

Reece 3D Planner - Bring your bathroom plans to life

This innovative online planning tool is already helping home owners become their own designer and bring bathroom ideas to life in just a few clicks. You to select and swap products to create the perfect look for your bathroom space.

Reece marketing manager Belinda Geels said that making the bathroom design experience as easy and visual as possible was key to its development. As well as allowing users to select from the entire range of Reece bathroom products and preview how they’ll look, the 3D Bathroom Planner also lets you choose fittings, lighting and tiles to complete the look.

Continue reading “New easy online 3D bathroom planner lets you design yourself”

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Interiors Addict

New app makes it easy for anyone to create floorplans on their iPhone or iPad

Planit2D, which launched last week, claims to be the the fastest, most user-friendly 2D floorplan creator available on the App Store. It’s aimed at anyone and everyone with an idea in their mind or a scratching on a piece of paper.

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Using ‘drag and drop’ and pre-defined room layouts and fittings, you can create a floorplan that suits you and your family or indeed, your client. Using industry standard sized furniture, a metric or imperial based platform and a host of drawing tools and options, you can create and modify your designs with ease.

Continue reading “New app makes it easy for anyone to create floorplans on their iPhone or iPad”