In this Design Workshop article from Sanctuary magazine, Matt helps a young family to see how they could improve the look and feel of their existing house, on a tight budget.

Perth homeowners Megan and Dwayne live in a modest three-bedroom, 1-bathroom house in Yangebup, with two kids and a third baby on the way (at the time of writing the article).

They love their home with its generous garden and pool, but would like to achieve better flow and connections between key spaces; create a new main bedroom and bathroom; bring in more natural light and improve comfort in summer and winter.

With a relatively modest budget for their proposed upgrades, Matt chose to address the brief by reconfiguring the existing space within its current footprint.

In a series of well-thought out moves, he proposed:

• reconfiguring several rooms and spaces into a new main bedroom suite, by pushing some walls out to the eave line;
• adding more windows on the north-eastern elevation, swapping out the al fresco area roof and relocating the carport, to bring in more natural light;
• slightly rearranging the kitchen to enhance connections with the dining and living spaces;
• boosting roof insulation to R5 if possible, and upgrading windows and doors for thermal performance.

Matt also flagged a possible longer-term plan – to add a fourth bedroom in future – if and when funds allow.

To see the before and after plans, and learn more about Matt’s suggestions, download a copy of the Design Workshop article here.

If you’re inspired to create a super-sustainable family home, you might like to explore our New House Plans. You can view our range of single and two storey homes – available as 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom options – here.

Or if you’d like to talk to us about a new project, visit the Contact page and fill in the submission form, and we’ll be in touch.