Earlier I wrote an earlier article about three cardinal sins of home design. Here, I want to touch upon 3 more home design mistakes which should be avoided at any rate. Expecting that my readers have already gone through the previous article, I would number these mistakes as 4,5, and 6.
Home design mistake #4: Shying away from due research
Proper site inspection and Due Diligence are integral part of buying a property. Nothing can be more agonising than facing site constraints when you have already made your investment and there is no exit route available.
Ideally, you should choose a flat site. Flat sites are pretty economical to build. When I use ‘ideally’, I mean under ideal circumstances. Aberrations to the rule might include a low land where storm water effluents necessitate purchase of a sloping property site.
Even on the risk of being too perseverant, keep asking as many questions to the council as possible. You need to know all about compliances, council codes, easements (if any) and criteria for approval.
Geological hassles await you when you choose to buy in areas of abundant vegetation, clay substrata or in zones that have been declared bushfire-prone. The long and short of it is that you must conduct your research thoroughly.
Home design mistake #5: Designing with no thought to your family.
In terms of size, gender and age of inhabitants (if there are plodders or senile members) each family presents a different outlay. Moreover, family members may have uniquely different dispositions and preferences.
Thus, home designers must be prudent and observant enough to consider the people they are building for.
Children need vigilant eyes around them and hence for households comprising 2 or more children, the kitchen should be next to the play room.
Moreover, the play room should invariably open towards the north so that children extract maximum benefit from natural sunshine.
Similarly, lounge areas should ideally be proximal to kitchen; however certain soundproofing barriers must be enabled to minimise unwanted noises permeating from the kitchen area.
Home design mistake #6: Constructing large spaces where least required
Now that you are designing your home, it must have dawned on you that professionals charge money on the basis of per square metre. It is easy to assume then that big, unviable spaces dent your pocket without creating anything worth aesthetic or functional value.
It follows that you must reduce the area of your hall. They should be curtailed along their length keeping the width in excess of a metre. Cut down on the laundry room if the paraphernalia can be easily pushed into the bathroom corner.
By the same token, convertible lounges can substitute the need for an extra guest room. Well! These are among many more food for thoughts. Just chew on them.
Cumulatively, the two articles on this sub-niche (home design mistakes) will have alerted you and I am sure you will invest a little more time on the subject when you choose to design a home. After all, your home is your private cocoon under the sun.
Can you share a home design mistake which you corrected through renovations?