Once again, brands and tradies have donated all the labour, land and materials for Henley and Villawood’s annual Good Friday Appeal house, and whoever buys this gorgeous new build will have the bonus feel good factor of knowing the proceeds go to The Royal Children’s Hospital.
Now open for inspection, the spectacular Vogue 34 by Henley (on land donated by Villawood) goes to auction with no reserve on 15 April 2022.
Comprising of five living areas, four spacious bedrooms, and an impressive master suite, the 34 sqm home comes fully furnished and can be a wonderful forever home with Henley’s 50-year structural guarantee.
Master bedroom with ensuite
Beautifully constructed on a 448m2 block over eight months, the house includes a separate theatre, study and leisure areas.
Study room
One of five living areas with soft furnishings and decorative pieces
Its gourmet kitchen showcases a glass splashback with feature window, Caesarstone benchtops, rear bench pot drawers, SMEG appliances, and even an expansive butler’s pantry.
A special addition to the full landscape package is the uniquely designed mini soccer pitch with goal.
“We’ve selected a prime site at our Redstone community in Sunbury, in the middle of Melbourne’s burgeoning north and western growth precincts. It’s close to our amazing Club Rathdowne, a sophisticated town centre, extensive parks and open space and it offers a great lifestyle,” says Rory Costelloe, executive director of Villawood Properties.
This year’s Charity House Auction represents Henley’s achievement of three decades building and donating homes, building the 43rd charity home for the Good Friday Appeal to date. It is the 13th year of Villawood generously donating land.
The house is open for inspection every Saturday and Sunday (11-to-12) and Wednesdays (6-to-7pm), at 12 Sacred Drive.
The Best of Houzz 2022: Australia’s most popular architecture and design – The Interiors Addict
Every year, Houzz.com.au announces its annual people’s choice awards where the Houzz community highlights the renovation and design professionals with the most popular designs and top ratings. From a stylish…
The seismic shift in lifestyle created by COVID-19 and lockdowns has reshaped how Australians are choosing to build and renovate their homes. From an increased focus on hygiene, to rallying against shrinking block sizes, the story of Australian architecture has taken a new turn.
With industry data showing that over 40% of home buyers have changed their preferences for their properties, James Hardie’s experts explain some of the trends influencing the homes of 2021.
More spacious homes
“At the beginning of 2020 we were seeing increased interest in more sustainable ‘micro homes’ and an acceptance of shrinking block sizes in metro areas. However, in less than a year, our homes took on new roles from offices, gyms and other locations that we would normally go outside to visit,” said Helen Simpson, insights manager at James Hardie.
“In fact, nearly half of homeowners that changed their home priorities are now looking for a home office or study nook, while over a quarter wanted additional living spaces.” she added.
New designs will seek to balance between shared spaces and private areas. “With families spending more time sharing the same space, there is also a greater need for areas of connection as a family and separate retreats for privacy. Floor plans that separate bedrooms and home offices with a central living-dining area work well,” said architect, Joe Snell.
Shift away from the city
Working from home has reduced the need to be tied to a physical work location, opening up new property opportunities. “Across all age groups, data shows that 23% of Australians that have changed their home preferences during 2020 are now considering a move out of the city,” said Helen.
She added that downsizers are escaping the city in favour of smaller beachside properties. “They’ve bought or built enough homes to know what they want and have the money to get it and COVID-19 has only motivated them.”
Rise in renovations
“Home isolation has provided owners with time to reflect on potential improvements to their properties, with leading industry bodies expecting a growth in renovations such as kitchen and bathroom updates,” said Helen.
Without the ability to travel, bringing the holiday feeling to the home has become increasingly important, explained interior designer Natalee Bowen, principal of Indah Island. “The idea of creating a sanctuary at home is not new, but it has certainly become a driving force in 2021.”
Refreshing home exteriors
Homeowners want their properties to reflect their style. Many more experienced homeowners are realising that they can cost-effectively redefine their homes’ exteriors by re-cladding or with cladding features.
“Homes with little architectural shape can be enhanced by varying lines, textures and colours,” Joe explained. “By incorporating a larger range of materials, the look opens up almost endless design possibilities, perfect for people who have rediscovered their creative sides during lockdowns.”
Property and building costs
While forecasters anticipated house prices to crash across the country in response to the recession, industry data showed that they actually rose at the end of 2021. With land prices rising, there is a downward pressure on build costs.
“No matter the property, there is normally a compromise between costs and the dream home people are trying to build and according to industry data, these decisions will be affected by growing house prices,” said Helen. She encouraged homeowners to work with their builders to realise their ideal home with cost effective materials, without compromising on quality.
To find out more about how to build or renovate your own dream home, from inspiration on the latest look to advice on modern materials, visit jameshardie.com.au.
It’s easy to fall in love with a property and jump in without researching the suburb you will be calling home for the next five to 10 years. Trust me, there aren’t many feelings worse than unpacking in your dream home and then finding out your neighbourhood is a nightmare. Luckily, there’s plenty you can do to stop that from happening, and it all starts with playing detective.
Do some digging before they start digging
It’s not a real estate agent’s job to provide you with information about any development that will affect your property. It’s ‘buyer beware’, and you have to do your own investigations into what’s going on around, underneath and above your potential new home.
There are many risks associated with major works (such as tunnels) that can cause cracks and devalue properties. Check out local zoning details, where maps and visuals of planned tunnel routes are available. Likewise, if you’re not aware of local zoning, you might find your property dwarfed by high density and industrial developments in the coming years.
Also, trawl through council websites for news of developments and Google the name of the suburb and the keyword ‘development’ to see what pops up.
Use social media as your guide
Before you become part of the community, it pays to become an active member of the digital community of your target area to see what the issues are. Local Facebook groups are a valuable source of intel. So, jump on and comment. ‘Hey, I’m thinking of buying a property in this street, what do I need to know?’ You won’t get a completely unbiased view of the suburb, but people are glad to help out and certainly are the experts.
Follow council and local police social media pages to see what’s going on and hit Google hard with all the keywords that you can think of attached to your suburb’s name: Noise, crime, robbery, flight path, building works, etc.
Don’t ignore traditional media, either. Local newspapers are packed full of the good, the bad and the ugly things in the region.
Hit the streets
No matter how much research you do, there’s no substitute for spending time in the suburb to get a feel if it’s right for you. If you’re going to commit to a property for 10 years, you should be prepared to spend at least 10 hours immersing yourself in the area. I give my clients homework every week as they close in on a property.
For example:
Go to cafés and parks and see what kind of people are there and what the vibe is like. Do you feel comfortable?
Sit back in your car, open your windows and watch the world go by. Is it noisy or right under a flight path? Are there dodgy people around?
Stick your head over the neighbour’s fence. You can tell a lot about people from the state of their garden.
Get educated
For those with children, the quality of the schools is going to have a significant impact on their lives. Catchment areas and NAPLAN results only tell a tiny part of the story, so visit the school and talk to the parents and principal. Just because people rave about a school, it doesn’t mean that it will suit your child and your family’s philosophy.
There are a million and one things to consider when selecting a new suburb, and I hope you find this guide useful as a starting point. As always, please get in touch if we can help with your search.
Janelle Miles, interior designer for Porter Davis Homes Queensland’s World of Style, talks us through how new home buyers and builders are changing their approach since Covid-19.
People craving more light and open areas are opting for dramatic voids in double-storey homes, and choosing double-storey to give them more garden space.
While we’re all hopeful this is only a temporary situation, customers who are building a new home are taking steps to future proof themselves.
Below are some of the trends that we at Porter Davis have seen.
Let there be light
We’re all spending a lot more time indoors than we’re used to, and more customers are now craving large, airy spaces. A great way to bring light and air in a double-storey build is with a void, which works to bring in natural light and opens up a room to create more space, without actually needing to expand the size of the floorspace.
Customers are also choosing dramatic voids to create a sharp contrast between the main living areas and the rest of the home. The living room has now become the sanctuary, and we’ve seen customers put more thought into how to turn their living room into a beautiful space that their family can retreat to at the end of their day. This helps create a mental disconnect between work or school and life, which is so important now that we are not necessarily physically leaving our offices at the end of the day.
Study and work zones
Office workers and students who regularly commute to work or university have now had their lifestyle significantly impacted by the increase of the working/studying from home movement. Never before have we had so many conversations with our customers about study zones and work zones.
No longer is it enough to simply pop a desk in a bedroom. In fact, many of our customers would prefer to move away from this completely to ensure they aren’t cooped up in a single room all day.
When it comes to creating a dedicated work or study space, we have seen customers opting for these to be on the ground floor, but removed from the central hub of the home. This enables each family member to have their own space, while also being able to take time out and socialise with others when they need a mental break.
Inclusion of ‘nooks’
We’re also increasingly building small ‘nooks’ off areas in the kitchen or lounge, where customers can keep a laptop set up for any after hours school or office work, or to pay bills and do other life admin.
These nooks allow children to do homework while their parents cook, or allow parents to do work in the evenings without having to remove themselves and go to their home office.
Dual-purpose rooms
Another trend we’ve noticed is that customers are wanting to get more out of their rooms. Rather than creating a room for a specific reason, they’re creating multipurpose rooms that can change from day to night, to cater for different needs. For example, we’re now building rooms that might be a study zone during the day, and easily convert to a home theatre at night and on the weekends.
Creative use of space
A trend we weren’t surprised to see is more customers wanting larger blocks of land, so they can have gardens and increase the amount of outdoor space they have at home. Unfortunately, modern development blocks are usually limited in land size. Due to this, we’ve also seen an increase in demand for double-storey homes to make the most of their grass space, and we predict this trend will continue.
Customers are also getting creative with the space they’ve been given. Some are opting to close in outdoor terraces upstairs to create a space where they can separate themselves from the hub of family life. We’ve seen this especially in those working in corporate roles, who need a quiet and private space for confidential business calls and to ensure their children don’t pop up in the background of their Zoom call.
-Janelle Miles is an interior designer for Porter Davis Homes’ Queensland World of Style. Porter Davis Homes was awarded the 2019 Housing Institute Association – Australian Professional Major Builder of the Year award, which they have won six times in their 20-year history. They build homes across Queensland and Victoria.
