My Little House

A PERFECT 10

The Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia (REBAA) recently posted a list of ten things that make up a perfect home.   These results were obtained via survey and are titled The Top Ten Property Wish List.

I was a little nervous about reading any further.  What if I got it all wrong?  What if the changes made at my little house were not what others would perceive as necessary let alone perfect?

Lets dissect it a little further…

Open Plan Living; make your space conversational, kitchens need to connect with the rest of the house. At my little house we opened up walls from the entrance to the rear of the house to make one large space.

Butlers Pantry; possibly a trend, but its not going anywhere soon.  An area removed from the visual side of the kitchen allows appliances to remain benched and more storage space.  A laundry located off my kitchen has become the scullery/butlers pantry and this leads out to potager vege gardens.

Natural Light; light houses sell quicker than others, its a fact.  For spaces that are naturally darker use paint to lighten up, floor boards reflect light whereas as carpet absorbs it, the lighter the floor the better, replace heavy drapes with floaty fabrics or roller blinds.  We used Resene BlackWhite for the walls and ceiling, light oak overlay on the floor and we have a mixture of roller blinds, shutters and sheers as our window dressings.

Bathrooms; an ensuite is pretty standard these days and should include a decent sized shower, your main bathroom should include a bath and a double vanity if you have room.  A third toilet with a sink should be fitted in somewhere.  Initially we had only the one very basic bathroom and we gradually added the other two with each renovation.  Bathrooms are expensive but they are essential to get right.

Covered outdoor areas; we recently added a louvre roof onto our pergola, though pricey they are great for the summer and winter and they block little light into your home.

Two plus living areas; the rule usually goes somewhere informal attached to the kitchen and dining area, somewhere for grownups and somewhere for children.  We added a formal living area with one of our renovations, additional to our open plan kitchen, living, dining, the area separates with cavity sliders to give privacy.  We are also lucky enough to have a mezzanine floor which is our third living space.

Good storage;  Wardrobes that are professionally fitted make a difference to how much you can get into them no matter what size.  Include a large hall cupboard and if you can use an attic or under the stairs as extra space.  A couple of my cupboard spaces actually dual as study nooks with built in desks and storage, its easy to achieve if you have a small amount of unused space like a wide hallway.  We added easy access to the attic space for extra storage.

Parking and lawns; We are lucky enough to have a large level grass area that flow from the decks and living areas.  We also have a double garage and studio space that is linked to the house via a covered walkway.

And so that gives us a clear 9/10.  Phew!  The only thing my little house didn’t get the tick for was no.5, and well that’s what you get for semi rural living; you are a little off the grid which is why we came here in the first place.  How does your home rate?

Photography by My Little House.  Interior Design by Crush