Case Study - Designing a country style modular home for a country town

We believe that building your new home should be an easy and stress-free experience. To achieve that vision, we’ve put some serious effort into designing every one of our client’s homes so that they are smart, emergy efficient and comfortable to live in. Because a well-designed home is a happy home!

In this case study, we look at what the clients' required, the main features of the home and dig into the process we follow to make your new home build truly easy.

THE BRIEF

Craig and Sandra came to Westbuilt looking for a lovely, functional and aesthetically pleasing three-bedroom home with an office to put on their site at Cawongla in northern NSW.

The main features they were looking to achieve in the new build were:

3 bedrooms + study
Open plan living area
Formal entry
Well sized verandahs
Large rear multipurpose area
Timber windows

DESIGNING THE HOME

After working through their requirements, we soon found that a standard plan wouldn’t fit Craig and Sandra’s requirements. Jim Westerman, one of the Westbuilt design consultant, was able to meet with them both at their home and at their new site at Cawongla to discuss their requirements and create a custom design based on their feedback and sketches.

LAYOUT

The final design features a formal entry with the bedrooms across the front of the home. The two larger bedrooms have French timber doors opening out onto the front verandah which allow for additional airflow, along with easy access to the front verandah.

Placing the bedrooms at the front of the home allows all the living space to be at the rear of the house. The custom designed kitchen is located at the end of the living space allowing the ‘cook’ to feel part of the family area and have easy access to the large rear awning/entertainment area.

FAÇADE

Craig and Sandra chose a style for their home which is a blend of traditional country home and a touch of modern. The cladding is Weathertex Old Colonial Smooth painted in British Paint "Primal Instinct" colour. All the trims and roofing are in Colorbond “Surfmist”.

VERANDAHS & AWNINGS

The home, at the client’s request, features a hardwood deck across the front and two sides of the house. Along with the insulated panel roofing, these verandahs are enjoyable and functional at any time of the year.

An added benefit of the wrap around verandahs is shading. In the hot, humid summers of northern NSW, adding a verandah allows all the windows to be opened, promoting airflow & passive cooling.

THE PROCESS - MAKING IT EASY

Our belief that building should be straightforward has led us to create a three-step process that helps ensure that our clients can enjoy their building experience.

STEP 1: FACT-FINDING

Fact-finding is the initial step. We find out as much as possible about what your requirements are, what sort of home you want and most critically – what matters the most to you! However, this isn’t only about us finding out about you. You will be finding out about us – how we work, what sort of builder are we, how do we communicate, what are our prices like, and so on.

STEP 2: GETTING FACE TO FACE

Now let's meet up together. A design consultant will meet you at your site to dig deep into your requirements. At the end of your site meeting, you will have a pretty good idea of:

What the final price is going to look like; &
if Westbuilt is the right builder for you.

STEP 3: RECOMMENDATIONS

After this process, we should have an excellent idea of what you're looking for and the potential solution for you. The design consultant will have identified any potential site or design issues. In collaboration with yourself, we will prepare an action plan with a recommended next step – specially tailored to your unique situation.

GETTING STARTED

So if you're like Craig & Sandra and you need to incorporate some specific requirements into your new home build, you'll find the best way to get started is to take advantage of our custom design services. Click here to find out more.

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