The Architects brief

Surprisingly for us, Mike and I actually agreed on a couple of things. One was to get an architect involved in the revamp. Secondly, which architect. Maybe we've grown up?

So I got in touch with Shane Blue from Bourne + Blue Architecture (www.bourneblue.com.au) whose work we've admired for some time. He specialises in eco friendly homes, with lots of timber, louvre windows and northern orientation featuring in most of his designs. Right up our alley.

We decided to rent the Redhead place out for 6 months to allow time to complete the finishing touches to our current house (prior to selling it) and get the plans through Lake Macquarie City Council. Apparently the LMCC phase could take a while.

First up Shane said don't wait until the house purchase settles - he and a surveyor should both get in there asap to take all the necessary measurements and photos for the concept and DA.

Not long after the house settled we had our first face to face meeting with Shane, and we also met Claire, one of the project architects working for him. At this meeting we handed over a combined wishlist with mandatory and preferred items. Basically Shane needed a packed lunch to get through it. This is what it looked like:

Key targets

Strong connection with the outdoors

Warmth, light, privacy

Solar passive design - northern orientation, eaves, cross ventilation etc

Cohesian between existing house and additions

Low maintenance

Things we love:

Clever design

Creative use of inexpensive materials

Polished concrete

Asian style/way of living (see pics attached)

Window highlights

High ceilings

Louvre windows (with flyscreens)

Large sliding doors preferred over bifolds to outdoor area (like boomerang house)

Recycled timber accents

Ply eaves/ ceiling / wall panels

Fibre cement / weathertex / corrugated iron cladding

Mandatory

4 bedrooms incl. master

Open plan living/dining/kitchen

Master with ensuite incl. bath

Bathroom close to kids rooms

Multi-purpose room to accommodate desk/book storage / tv / sofa bed

Fans throughout

Covered outdoor entertaining area

Outdoor shower

Preferred

Skullery/pantry area and separate laundry off kitchen

Plenty of light in master bedroom, WIR, shower separate to bath in ensuite

Ensuite with outdoor outlook (maybe can open to outdoors somehow)

Skylights in areas where don’t need blockout - laundry/skullery/bathrooms

Separate loo near main living area

Kids rooms not visible to visitors entering

Kids bathroom to have separate WC

No need for air conditioning (in extension)

Concealed clothesline

Big laundry

Lots of storage

2 car garaging

Outdoor area adjacent to living area

Few as possible levels

Storage considerations:

Kitchen - primarily for entertaining and cooking

Some cooking ingredients eg sauces/herbs

Appliances etc - sink/stove/oven/fridge/coffee machine/kettle

Good storage for waste & recycling - concealed sliding bins

Plasticware, serving platters, cutlery, glassware, bakingware

Freestanding bench with room for 3 barstools

Skullery/pantry - primarily for storage and preparation

Most cooking ingredients and bulk food

Small appliances eg toaster, griller, breadmaker, dishwasher

Good crockery & cutlery

Wine storage

Storage for paperwork - file drawers, corkboard

Cleaning equipment, drawers for medical, sewing, giftwrap etc

Linen eg tablecloths napkins, tea towels

Don't like:

Sameness

Stacked stone/aubergine/curved roves

Too many different roof lines

Houses that show off - complicated design for sake of it

Flies/mossies

Big/lots of rooms that don’t get used

Low ceilings

And we also handed over a collage of inspirational images, including our favourite from Shane's prior projects. Here it is:

Modern asian street appeal

environmentally friendly aspect / connection with outdoors

lots of timber accents

warm industrial aesthetic

Outdoor shower a must!