Shortest day of the year today – June 21 is the winter solstice, which means the shortest amount of daylight hours.

In Melbourne this also means one of the coldest days as well.

When assessing property, one of the most important criteria I believe is rear orientation. Due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis, in Australia we prize a north –facing rear orientation. Why is this? There are multiple reasons……..

1. Light from the sun is direct and powerful into rear open plan living areas and backyards - this is where we live and entertain
2. Warmth from the sun helps tremendously with passive solar gain – how often do we as humans sit by a table near a window on a cold day that is bathed in light?
3. Shadows are minimised in the rear yard, gardens grow better and pools are not in shadow
4. Due to building regulations assessing energy efficiency, houses with north facing windows score much better (and are cheaper to build) than those with south facing windows.

Now some people (particularly skilled real estate agents) will defend houses with south facing rear orientations, claiming that that the light is good in the rear living areas – while this may be partially true, what about the warmth and also the shadows?

Against the trend of the market, I attended two auctions on the weekend (51 Murray Street Prahran and 77 Page Street Albert Park) and they both flew, selling well over reserve. Three common factors with these properties –

1. Pretty, original facade (one was Victorian, the other Edwardian);
2. Great location;
3. North facing rear orientation – the back areas even on cold day were light filled and uplifting – areas that you subconsciously gravitated to.

The rear orientation of a property is really important – our James Rating system gives additional points for properties with north facing rear aspects and rightly so.

Design Smart

Adam

 

 

 

 

77 Page Street Albert Park (Michael Coen, Hocking Stuart)

 

 

Here is a property that prospective buyers will be thinking long and hard about – and they need to.  Although livable it is need of serious renovation – the original house / facade must remain as this is protected by a statutory planning department  Heritage Overlay.

Golf Links Estate is a much loved area by many – it is pretty and it has a strong unifying architectural style. Although a good land size here a lot of it is unprivate (taken up around the corner aspect). Big plus is access to north light and logically the rear extension should built along the south boundary to take advantage of this.

Sam Macaluso from Jellis Craig expects buyer interest to exceed $1.3m for 3 Orrong Crescent Camberwell, which is scheduled to auction May 1 at 10.00am

Design Smart

Adam

A modern extension to a period home in Swallow Street Port Melbourne - space and light in abundance here!

Are ceiling heights important? Most people would agree that they are very important, for a variety of reasons.

Generally, most marketing campaigns for houses for sale will highlight tall ceilings and for good reason: quite simply, the rooms are more spacious and feel better. Tall ceiling heights  are nearly always found in old period or high-quality contempary homes. One house we recently visited (which sold quite strongly) was a renovated period home in Swallow Street, Port Melbourne. The original rooms had tall ceilings (these were now used as bedrooms) and the extension toward the rear was modern and had even higher ceiling heights. This combination created such a powerful effect, and was a real key to the success of the house.

Why do most 1970-80-90 builder spec. homes  have low ceiling heights? The answer is generally related to cost cutting. The houses are cheaper to build while the footprint of the room size remains the same.

Low ceiling heights do have a place  in house design. Often they work well in utility areas and also in transition spaces like hallways. Walking through an area with a lower ceiling into a larger space with tall ceilings helps to accentuate the sense of space and this is a very effective architectural design trick.

A quick and easy test (for most people of average height) to ascertain ceiling heights when walking through a home is to simply raise your arm straight above you. If you can (or almost can) touch the ceiling, then the ceiling heights are probably about 2.4 metres. In living areas and bedrooms, most people will not like this as it is just too low.  As a rule, 2.7m is OK and 3m or higher is best.

In summary:

Tall ceiling heights (say 3m or more):

Pluses

• air circulation (particulary important in bedrooms)
• space!
• more opportunities for light via highlight windows
• house feels grand
• can always be lowered in time if need be

Minuses

• heating cooling costs can be higher, as the room volume is greater
• acoustics can be a problem, as noise reberation (or echoes) is longer

Lower ceiling heights (say 2.4m) –

Pluses

• spaces can be more intimate (particularly over dining room tables)
• areas are cheaper to heat and cool, as the room volume is smaller

Minuses

• rooms feel cramped or small
• can be stuffy, due to limited opportunity for air flow
• house feels cheap

Ceiling heights in houses can make or break the design but is often overlooked by buyers. It is a key facter we use when rating houses and rightly so.

Design Smart.

If you are a lover of the English Architectural style (which suits leafy Kew quite well), then you will be drawn to this house, built in 1934. Architect Victor Dumbrell got the facade proportions right here and it has stood the test of time. This is a very pretty house from the street and it is timeless.

Howard Street is an underrated one in Kew -  it is not within a ‘known’ precinct, yet is just off Studley Park Rd and close to the junction.

This concept does not seek to overhaul the house in a major way; rather it makes a few basic tweaks internally and adds a  small extension to the rear. This will serve to adapt the house to 21st century living. While in some people’s minds this house will require a serious renovation ( a lot of people walk in and out of houses too quickly, without giving them a chance), I must say this all seems straightforward and maybe not all that hard. Access is not too bad for building work and any extension work may not necessarily affect rooflines (therefore minimising impact on original structure and planning rules). Many will see challenges here with the flow (particularly in the central part of the house) and also a limited living room area toward the rear of the house.  The main bedroom lacks an ensuite and, like most old houses, the utility areas are antiquated and small.

One thing one would be silly to do here is break from the original style and proportions. In essence, the aim should be to get the rear facade to look as pretty as the front. This should be achievable, and would not necessarily compromise a modern interior.

Philippe Batters from Williams Batters  expects your interest to exceed $1.8 million for 21 Howard Street Kew, which is scheduled to go to auction on March 27 at 11am.

Design Smart

Adam

Here is a property that prospective buyers will be thinking long and hard about – and they need to.  Although livable it is need of serious renovation – the original house / facade must remain as this is protected by a statutory planning department  Heritage Overlay.

Moorhouse Street is one of Camberwell’s best – close to Camberwell Junction, leafy and a no-through road which minimises traffic. This is an ideal location for a modern family.

This concept seeks to re-develop and extend the rear section of the house to create a modern open plan area, while taking full advantage of natural north and western sun. Flow will be dramatically improved, and the first floor extended to the rear, unaffecting the facade. The key to a project like this is to make the rear extesnion or new building works discrete from the street – in short a old house which is new inside. This will make the approval process from council as seamless as possible and your captial investment will be protected as much as possble – no one likes an edgey modern design dominating a cute period home. First impressions, particularly in real estate – really count.

This project is a serious one, but the end result if done right will be a successful one.

A question we get asked all the time from our clients  – how does one even start to think about such a project?

In order, here are some basic tips  -

1. Before scribbling on a floor plan or even star-gazing,  get some advice upfront (best to be done on-site) from an architect, and/or an independent heritage adviser/town planner;

2. Have a pre-application meeting with council’s Planning Department and Heritage Adviser;

3. Consult with your architect / quantity surveyor or your preferred builder to get some ball-park costings.

Heather Elder from Marshall White expects buyer interest to exceed $1.6m for 8 Moorhouse Street Camberwell. which is scheduled to auction March 20 at 11.30am

Design Smart

Adam

33 James Street Surrey Hills is a property that may not immedidately impress you -  in fact, you might walk straight in and then straight out.  But give this one a chance: it does have a lot going for it and it would suit a young family very well.

Big pluses here are that it is located in a quiet street wthat is within walking distance to the Union Road shops and Chatham Primary School. While the backyard is not overly big, you do have Grovedale Park across the road, with plenty of room to kick the footy or fly a kite. The house itself is quite good, with original 1920s facade,  double carport, private backyard and the arrangement of rooms is not too bad.

The front appearance of this house understates this property and a high fence, large trees and an abundance of brick paving does not help. A new picket fence, some careful landscaping and a cosmetic update to the facade would do wonders here.

The concept design would address the rear of the house to incorporate a larger rear open living area. At present, this does not work well and the rear studio is not all that well sited, taking up too much of the backyard.  The master bedroom would be improved, sacrificing the bedroom beyond for a walk-in robe area and an ensuite. The end of entry hall would also be widened. A modern trend in houses today is the need for small ‘study’ areas as often mum, dad and the kids have their own computer – two of these small areas are incorporated in this design and that would be beneficial.

33 James Street Surrey Hills is scheduled for auction at 11am on March 13. Sue Wooldridge from Noel Jones expects $1.4 million plus here.

Generous land size and a home with and genuine house charm.

That is what is on offer here at 35 Essex Road Surrey Hills. Listing agent Clayton Smith of Jellis Craig suggested a lot could be done with this – moving the carport forward will make use of some dead driveway space and extending on a single level (because you have the room to do it) makes a lot of sense.

No doubt this property will appeal to families and my design concept aims to respond to this accordingly. While you could extend on one level, perhaps going up will work better for an older family when bedroom separation and multiple living areas are important. Also a two-storey home will minimise the building footprint  – allowing for plenty of room down the track for a pool or shed – from our experience most families still want a good sized lawn / entertaining area (backyard cricket is still alive and well!).

Another  thing I liked about this property from the start was the way the house positioned itself on the block – well set back from the street (which is important as Essex Road does some through traffic) and also away a bit from the northern boundary – this is very important in terms of capturing natural light and positioning outdoor areas where you ideally want them.  So often we see great houses which are just so poorly positioned – that is not the case here.

Although not brick the facade is pretty and will only improve with restoration.  Original formal areas were in good order and will underpin the capital growth of this property.

35 Essex Road Surrey Hills is scheduled for auction 12pm on February 27. Agent sstimated price $1.8m plus.

Design Smart

Adam

Peppin Street sits up nicely on the hill, a stone throw or two from Camberwell Junction. No. 3 is currently on the market, an honest double-fronted timber Victorian in dire need of some work.

This property has many future options – bulldoze and build again (no heritage overlay helps with this), or work with the charm of the original house and renovate. With an east facing rear, potential city views from a second storey, a cul-de-sac street location with a park close-by, this should well suit a family. Unfortunately the house is not ideally sited, with minimal setback to the northern side meaning that access to natural daylight is a little compromised, yet car access to the south is quite good.

At over 600m2 the land size is OK here and that is essentially what you are buying. There have been many sales in this precinct and the maths should not be too hard to calculate. With fine Camberwell streets such as Waterloo and Fermanagh close-by, Peppin Street is in very good company.

If choosing the renovation/extension option, rather than just extruding through the house floor plan in simple form back to the rear yard, a better option may be to offset the rear extension to the south a little which would afford some primacy back to the northern side. This area could then feature a sun-drenched pool, deck or alfresco area, which would also provide generous opportunity for good amounts of north-facing glass to informal open-plan living areas.

3 Peppin Street Camberwell is scheduled for auction Saturday, the 24^th of October at 3.00pm and is listed by Seamus O’Brien and Richard Earle of Jellis Craig.

Design well.

Adam

105 Stanhope Street Malvern is a good example of Italianate (or late Victorian) residential architecture, and while it is been updated many times over it’s lifespan, time has come again for change.

House has plenty of positives – grand formal front rooms and solid brick building bones, a corner location and a prized north-facing rear aspect.

At over 800m2 the land size is quite good here, yet most of that area is allocated to the front and to the sides of the property, instead of where most people like it – the rear yard. For this reason it makes sense to use the eastern side for car access / covered parking and a service yard area. The western side would return as great area for formal landscaping, serving a dual purpose of beautifying the property and also creating some privacy.

Building up here is a real possibility. This will maximise floor plan area while minimising the building footprint. Two-storeys often work very well for families – providing much needed accommodation and separation.  The rear yard is very important, and more and more people are looking for as much space as possible – pools and outdoor entertaining areas are often high on the wishlist.

This property really does provide a great opportunity for a family to create a modern home with timeless period charm in one of Melbourne’s most prized family suburbs – if done properly, it would be hard to go wrong here.

105 Stanhope Street Malvern is scheduled for auction Saturday, the 24^th of October at 11.30am and is listed by John Manton and Andrew Hayne of Marshall White.

Design well.

Adam

With Melbourne’s population exploding, townhouses are becoming more and more prevalent in our suburbs. Like everything, some are good, some not so good. 35 Yeovil Road is one of the better townhouses I have seen this year.

Designed by well-known Malvern architect Gary Catt, this townhouse has suits very well modern living and captures city views and coveted northern light internally where it is needed most.

The floor plan works really well. and has important modern touches like a home office computer station area behind the kitchen, a free-standing bath in the main bathroom, downstairs bedroom with ensuite (ideal for guests of people with limited mobility), large bedrooms (who wouldn’t want those?) and a spacious open-plan living area linking to an alfresco area.

This has built to a very high standard and the level of finish and fixture/fitting appointment is first rate. The style is classy one, and less likley to date than a period reproduction style. For a young professional family wanting to live in their money and very, very comfortably in a good modern house located in a family friendly Modern suburb this property will suit well. There are obvious no cheap shots or cut corners here.

Property does lack some street presence (it is the middle one of three here ) and has a limited rear yard area, however being so close to Hartwell Sports Ground this may not be such an issue.

35 a Yeovil Road is scheduled for auction this Saturday, the 5^th of September at 3pm and is listed by Rae Tomlinson of Marshall White.

Design well.

Adam