Working with your builder
Your living areas
Here's your chance to create your ideal living space, somewhere you can relax, entertain and spend quality time with family and friends. This is the most lived-in part of your home so it deserves some extra-special attention.
It's a good idea to face your living areas north or close to north if you can. This way you'll get loads of winter sun and easy shade in summer if you have eaves. Anything within the range of 20 degrees west to 30 degrees east of north is good. In tropical climates you're best off facing living areas to capture cooling breezes.
Open plan living is popular and can create a wonderful flow of space. But when living areas are too open, especially if they have mezzanines or high ceilings, they can be difficult (and expensive) to heat and cool. They can also be noisy. Some designs give you the flexibility to open up or divide up the space as you need.
'We put in two extra doors, making our living areas easier to heat and cool. This also helps keep the house quiet when the baby is sleeping.'
Clever design of space is crucial in a living area. It's the feeling of spaciousness rather than the amount of space that matters most - and how well the spaces function. Look for practical, well designed areas that use space cleverly and don't waste it - after all, you're paying for it! You could also talk to your builder about modifications that allow you to use space flexibly, like room dividers or sliding partitions. This way you can also adapt space to suit your family's changing needs.
To keep living areas cool in summer make sure you have windows or openings on more than one side of the living area. This allows cooling breezes to flow through. High windows or skylights work well to get rid of hot air as it rises. Just make sure they can be closed in winter and the frames have good weather seals. Double glazing will also help to keep heat in during winter - handy in cooler climates.
Your kitchen
Kitchens are said to be the heart of the home, where everything happens. It's often the kitchen and living areas that people fall in love with and that's important if you're thinking about resale value. A well designed, functional kitchen can really add value to your home.
A good kitchen gives you room to move but compact enough to allow easy reach between different activities, like preparing food, cooking and rinsing. It's a good idea to leave generous bench space between the sink and the cooktop as this tends to be the most useful space for food preparation.
Locate dishwashers close to sinks to allow easy loading - this also concentrates your plumbing needs in one place and saves money. Multi-bin sorters under kitchen sinks are a great idea - you can separate your rubbish for recycling straight away.
Did you know that the fridge typically uses more energy in a year than any other appliance? It's responsible for about 13% of the average family's electricity bill. It pays to buy an efficient and appropriately sized fridge - see Selecting fitting and appliances for some handy hints. Make sure kitchen cabinets allow a decent air gap around the fridge (especially at the back) as it needs good ventilation to work efficiently.
Checklist
Our living areas and kitchen
- The living areas we need are:
- Can our living areas be divided up as needed, for economical heating and cooling?
- Will our living areas get plenty of sunlight in winter?
- Will our living areas be shaded in summer?
- Can windows be opened on more than one side of living areas to let cooling breezes through?
- Comments, things we'd like to change:
- Is our kitchen set out so there is easy reach between different activities?
- Do our kitchen cupboards use low emission particle board and finishes?
- Comments, things we'd like to change: