How can you make your home design future-proof? First, ask and answer honestly as many questions about how you live now, and how you foresee living in the future. This will provide your designer with a vision of what needs to be created. You then need to consider carefully how much you’re prepared to invest in the design.
Australian families are growing. In June 2013, the national estimated resident population had risen by 1.8% to 23.1 million people according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and a growing population means growing families, and with growing families comes growing homes. So how do you ensure a future-proof home for the years to come?
There are certain steps that you can take to accommodate a growing or a changing family. Steps that mean your home is versatile enough to stand the test of time and still serve you as well as when it’s still newly built. Not only will a home built or purchased with your own growing family through the years, but it will be a great investment that caters to Australia’s growing population should you decide to sell.
When thinking about the future, here are the questions you should ask yourself now:
- How many children do I have and what are their ages and genders?
- How many children do I intend to have in the future?
- Do I have any older relatives that are likely to live with us?
- Will wheelchair access required?
- Are overseas relatives likely to visit for extended periods?
- Does one partner watch late night TV?
- Do I want our home to be hub for our children and their friends?
- Do I prefer single or two-storey?
- Do I want to live upstairs or downstairs?
- How long do I want to live in this home?
- What can I do to provide future flexibility in order to add or extend the home later?
- How does my family live in a typical week? (This will help determine what design characteristics may facilitate easier living.)
- How much entertaining do we do now or intend to in the future?
- Do I like to cook?
- What is my parenting style? Are my kids independent or closer to home?
- Do I want technology in bedrooms or outside of them?
- How can I facilitate a creative space for my children; a room that can be messy?
- How will different times of the day and year impact on where we will want to be in the home?
With these questions, you will have a clear picture of your family’s future. If you will start building your dream home, seek the help of the leading building services in QLD today.