front gate and porch

click on the picture to enlarge
clockwise from top left: front gate, pergola, open front gate,side wall

tips on external colour scheme

Things to consider...

If your house is close to neighbouring houses consider a colour scheme that is harmonious with them. That’s not to say that you can’t express your own tastes, but be aware that using outlandish colour combinations on traditional house styles can limit resale value. Colour combos that might look great on a new house can kill the classic lines of a federation home or a bungalow.

When you’re working out the colour scheme, consider all the exterior aspects that will have an impact. Pools, paving, decks, fencing and planting all need to be integrated. For example, a large expanse of terracotta paving will create a big impact on the overall colour-effect of your outdoors, while pebbles or stone provide a more neutral palette. Pools do not have to be bright blue – today many pools are being painted darker colours to integrate with their surroundings.

Consider the immediate environment. Do you want to blend in or stand out? If the house is surrounded by bush, or at the beach you may want to consider colours that will enable the house to ‘disappear’ into the landscape.

Consider the effect of texture on colour. What works on smooth weatherboards may not work on a concrete wall. Think about how the colour will age and weather on different surfaces – this can be used to wonderful effect.

Plant for colour. Plants that starkly contrast against the background walls or weatherboards will draw the eye. On the other hand, plants which are similar shades to a background wall will emphasise interesting or sculptural forms.
To help enhance the flow between indoor and out, consider continuing the exterior colour inside – this is particularly effective with flooring/paving.

Consider the colour of outdoor furnishings – cushions, umbrellas and awnings and pots and planters. A bright splash of colour that picks up a featured garden colour might be all it takes to lift a small outdoor space out of the ordinary. Climate and culture can make a big difference to your choice. A hot Mexican colour combination of orange and blue can work brilliantly at the beach, but it may fall flat in the city on a grey day in July.

Consider the fact that you might want to change your mind! Remember that it’s a lot cheaper to change the colour of the outdoor cushions, or the planters, or even the fence or shutters , than it is to repaint the entire house!
Make your spaces work beautifully.

from: http://www.lookhome.com.au/GetIntoIt/GetIdeas/ExteriorStyle/ExternalColourScheme.htm

DIY - Do IT Yourself

Not everything is as easy as it appears on TV do-up shows. Some jobs, such as tiling, are a lot harder than they look and are best left to professionals. Another thing you should consider is whether your time is better spent earning money doing what you are good at in order to pay someone else to do the job for you!

When you do DIY remember that DIY also stands for “Don’t Injure Yourself”. A fall from a ladder, or an accident with a powertool could end up costing you a lot more than money.

Do DIY...

Painting – interior and exterior.
It’s important to know what you’re doing. Don’t rush preparation and be careful up ladders, on scaffolding and on roofs. If you are not certain about your colour scheme it is worth painting a section of wall to help visualize what it will look like. Bear in mind that a big painting firm will be able to buy paint cheaper than you can. Don’t use cheap paint – it’s cheap because it’s not as good as the top brands. Remember to factor in the cost of scaffolding.

Landscaping. While a landscape designer might seem like a luxury, a good one will add huge value to your home. Think about it – if you’re planting trees that are going to take ten years or more to reach maturity, you should be absolutely sure that you’re planting the right ones! If your budget is tight, consider getting a landscaper to design a plan - and do the grunt work yourself!

Laying lino or timber veneer flooring is fairly straightforward, but do your homework and make sure you have the right gear.

Putting hardware on doors is do-able for the average home handyperson.

Don’t DIY...

Gib stopping – looks easy, but you don’t want to feel annoyed every time the light catches the irregularities in your walls.

Tiling – again you can do it, but if you get it wrong it’s costly to undo to get right!

from:http://www.lookhome.com.au/GetIntoIt/GetPractical/TheBuildingProcess/BuildingBudgets.htm

house renovation - side view

construction in progress - side view

clock wise (from top left): view from the inside looking at the wooden wall, view from outside with small side gate, construction-final stage, side view from the road

koi pond and fountain

click on the picture to enlarge
clockwise from top left: pond & fountain nearing completion, early stage construction, completed fountain, koi pond

left: side wooden gate, right: koi pond - view from 1st floor

Tips on room by room lighting

Each room of your home has a different lighting requirement – here are some things to consider to enable you to get the best out of each room.

The Hallway

• Hallways can be enclosed dark spaces – but as the entrance to many houses the goal is to make them warm and welcoming. Lighting should be warm. Also consider skylights to create shafts of light.
• Referred light can also be used to brighten up a hallway – bringing light in from other rooms at ceiling height – either through open sections – or through glazing.

The Living Room

• A room used for a variety of purposes needs a variety of lighting sources – ambient lighting for general activity, kinetic lighting from fireplaces to create warmth , accent lighting and decorative lighting to draw attention to particular features.
• Dimmer switches are essential to create lighting specific to the room’s many uses.
• Mixing tungsten and halogen lighting will provide ‘warm’ and ‘cool’ areas.
• Mini spotlights and coloured lights can be used in and around shelving to highlight special objects and create dramatic effects.
• Remember that generally, down-lighting has a flattening effect while carefully used ‘up-lighting’ creates drama.

The Kitchen

• First and foremost, kitchen lighting has to be functional. Mood lighting is all very well, but not much help when you’re trying to chop an onion. Good task lighting over the bench and stove are important.
• Natural light is very important too. Consider a skylight over the work-stations to bring more light in – but be aware that you do not necessarily want the kitchen floded with direct sunshine in the middle of summer.
• Be mindful of the fact that a body working at a kitchen bench shouldn’t block the light source, throwing the work station into shadow.
• Consider the effect that reflective surfaces will have on the overall lighting scheme. Stainless steel benches and kitchen appliances will reflect a lot of cold light to great effect – but it can also be warmed up with warm lighting.
  Light under cupboards, or shelves can create dramatic effects, especially when glassware is lit.

The Dining Room

• This is the room where decorative and accent lighting are most important. Nobody wants to each under intense lighting, so keep the mood soft.
• Dimmers are essential, allowing you to adjust the light level down to a low level when you are using candles, or to lift the luminosity for everyday meals with the family.
• An adjustable light over the centre of the table that can be raised up to spread light, or dropped down to focus it works well.
• Think more about lighting walls, than lighting the table.
  If you have a dark table, be aware that this will absorb a lot of light - while a glass table will reflect it.

The Bathroom

• Bathrooms, like kitchens, require good task lighting. The mirror must be well lit to make shaving and applying make-up easy.
• Many bathrooms tend to be over-lit and clinical. Don’t forget that you may want to relax in the bath in a more subdued light – or even candle light.
• Lighting around mirrors needs to be carefully designed to avoid glare and create a flattering light.

The Study

• One of the most important things to consider when lighting a study is the need to create good ambient light without creating glare – particularly when you are working at a computer screen.
• A good way to achieve this is by using a wall mounted up-lighter fitted with a soft reflector bulb. The lower the light is mounted the greater the area of ceiling that is lit.
• A good directional task light is also important to allow flexibility – an anglepoise lamp is ideal.
• Halogen lamps provide a white light which is the best light for reading, writing and working on the computer.
• Bookshelves and storage areas also require lighting – and can look dramatic with accent lighting.

from: http://www.lookhome.com.au/GetIntoIt/GetIdeas/InteriorStyle/RoomByRoomLightingConsiderations.htm

front gate - entrance

wooden gate

Budget

How much is enough?

Before you get to the exciting process of planning and building your new home, you have to go through the hard work of setting a budget. For most people this is not so much a question of costing what you would like, as it is about working out what you can afford.

The best place to start is probably with your bank manager, mortgage broker, or financial advisor. Developing a good working relationship right from the start with the person, or institution providing the money is a smart move.

A good advisor will always encourage you to allow some breathing space in your budget. Building a home is utterly different from buying an existing home. No matter how accurately you estimate the costs, there are always going to be unknowns and contingencies.

Take your time and do your homework: the best way to save money on your new home is to avoid having to make rushed decisions. The more time you put in up front, the better. Even when you are having your home built on a full contract, it pays to take the time to understand the building process, so you have enough information to ask your builder the right questions – and to accurately assess competitive quotes.

Break costs down and down and down: The more you break costs down, the more accurate it will be. Don’t just look at the overall cost of the bathroom, look at the cost of the taps. This process will give you a better idea of how much you should be spending and where your priorities should be.

Your time is money too: The more you undertake to do yourself, the more you need to know… and the more time it takes to get that knowledge. We’re talking whole weekends taken up with visits to hardware suppliers building suppliers, and appliance stores. One of the first questions you should ask yourself is whether this is the best use of your time. Know what decisions you want to have input into, and what is best left to your builder.

At some point almost everyone who builds a new home has to face the fact that there is a discrepancy between what they would like to have and what they can afford. So where do you draw the line?

How do you cut costs without cutting corners, or quality?

The golden rule, good planning and honest communication with your builder and designer right from day one.

It’s natural that everyone wants to achieve a little bit more than they have the budget for. That’s where you have to be able to sit down with a designer and builder who really know their stuff and talk honestly about what you’re trying to achieve to work out your priorities to establish where you can save some money without compromising the quality.

Good design doesn’t necessarily cost any more than bad design, In fact a poorly designed home often ends up costing more in the long-run.

There are, however, some basic design factors that will have a big bearing on the price.

• The more external corners, the more expensive your house will be.
• Rooflines have a big impact on price. Multiple rooflines add interest – and cost money. Gabled roofs are more expensive than hip roofs.
• Higher ceilings create a sense of spaciousness, but cost more money.
• The more windows and external doors, the more cost.
• Open plan spaces cost less than a series of rooms – the more internal walls and doors, the more expense.

Bearing that in mind, not many people want to live in a low-ceilinged, window-less box! A good designer will know which elements should be preserved and which can be sacrificed without sacrificing design integrity.

Good interior flow can certainly make a house seem bigger, “And good use of colour makes a huge difference. But the one thing that makes the biggest difference is choosing the right builder and developing a good trusting relationship with them. Going for the cheapest builder could cost you a lot more in the long run – stress-wise and dollar-wise.”

Kitchens and bathrooms are the areas of the house that really chew up money, but there are some great products available today that don’t cost a fortune and replicate the look of more expensive materials, for example:

• Vinyl plank flooring or interlocking timber veneer flooring creates a very authentic timber ‘look’ at a fraction of the cost of timber flooring. There is a great range of timber-looks available.
• ‘Granite bench tops are very up-market, but there are cheaper options – “Granite-look’ laminate bench tops are a good option.
• ‘V’ grooved melamine kitchen cabinets create a ‘country-style’ kitchen look without the expense of going to real Tongue'n'Groove timber finish.
• Melamine ‘timber-look’ kitchen cabinets give a very similar look to timber or timber veneer finishes.

from: http://www.lookhome.com.au/GetIntoIt/GetPractical/TheBuildingProcess/BuildingBudgets.htm