Blog

What happens in a session?

Usually when I go to visit my clients as session works like this:

Let's stop our homes killing us in winter

This blog post has been a long time coming which you can easily tell if you look at the published dates.  Things have been rather busy lately.

This post will be part information and part rant.  I apologise for this in advance but I am quite passionate about this topic.The issue is this: Our poorly designed homes are killing people.  Sounds rather extreme doesn’t it?  It is true though.

The first 10 things I look for (and can see) in a house plan

Over the years, I have looked at literally thousands of house plans, some over and over again.  My customers have often been surprised by what I can see in a plan after just a few minutes as many people do find it hard to visualise in three dimensions what is shown on a floor plan.

So what can I see and what do I look for?

Seeing past the styling - What really makes a comfortable home

This blog post was originally going to be called “What I love and loathe about The Block”.  I started writing it and then realised when I was half way through that what I was writing about wasn’t necessarily only about The Block but how we are presented with homes that we may be considering buying or building.

So what can a Homecoach do for me anyway?

This is an update of a blog post that was posted a few months ago. Things have evolved slightly since then but I still think it helps to explain exactly how I can help people. For a couple of months now I have been prattling on, working away on stuff for Our New Homecoach. I have been posting items on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and creating the odd blog post. I have also been talking to a lot of people about my new business. No doubt if you have seen me in the last couple of months I would have mentioned it in one form or another.

Exactly what is air tightness in a passive house?

Last night I attended a talk and documentary presentation by Ben Adam-Smith (twitter:@BenAdamSmith) about the Future of Housing and how air tightness can help. The talk was hosted by the Australian Passive House Association. 

Ben is a podcast producer for House Planning Help (twitter: @Houseplanhelp) a UK based organisation that offers people all sorts of information to assist them in building a better home.  We all know this is something very close to my heart...

What the papers won't tell you about the Oxley 26

,

Yesterday I grabbed a copy of the Daily Telegraph’s Home lift out included in the Saturday paper. I hadn’t looked at this for a while so I thought it might be useful. Upon browsing I found all sorts of fun stuff including how to deal with a slopey backyard, a New York apartment decorated to the nines and a little piece on being at home with Jules Sebastian. Then there was the review of a new home design where what's left out can make a big difference...

How to recover from #houseporn overload

This is the time of year where we are on holidays or have just finished our holidays. We are just waking up after recovering from the Christmas madness and working out what we really want to achieve this year. If your goal for this year is to buy or build a new home then you have probably started looking for inspiration. Whether it is going and visiting display homes and new communities or just spending time on Houzz and Pinterest, there is so much to look at...

Why do I need my plans to scale?

Whenever you visit a display home or inspect a home that is for sale, builders or real estate agents will often hand out a floor plan. For most people this is quite helpful as it gives them a better overall picture of what they may be buying. The problem, though, with most of these plans is that they are not to scale. “Why is this a problem?” I hear you ask...