7 Fundamentals of Great Home Design

Regardless of size, room criteria or budget, any design that honours all 7 ‘Perth House Design’ - design fundamentals will always function well, feel good and result in an enjoyable living experience. Stand-alone, good design itself costs nothing and is achieved through skill in the application of these principles - Read on below.

1. Room Proportion

The size, shape and proportion of each room within the home should be consistent with typical and relevant furnishings. For example, the main living room will typically furnish a lounge suite, a coffee table, an entertainment unit and some occasional furniture. A dining room will furnish a dining table and perhaps a buffet cabinet - the family room should be aptly relative to the size and scale of the intended furniture and therefore proportionately larger than the dining area. The appropriate proportions will be applicable to all rooms in the home consistent with the intended furniture and the related use of the room.

2. Room Relationship

Rooms should relate well to each other based on their intended use, for example, the kitchen should relate well (be directly adjacent) to the dining area. A games room would ideally have direct access to the outdoor entertaining area for convenience and functionally when these areas are used for entertaining. The relationship and locations of different rooms and living areas will depend upon their intended use in context with desired lifestyle related outcomes.

3. Area Zoning

The creation of separate zones is essential for the effective separation of your communal and private living spaces. For example - a secondary bedroom wing, which would include a bathroom and toilet, will result in privacy and convenience for the room’s occupants. A theatre room in a separate zone from the main living area zone will result in minimal noise pollution to the main and separately located living area when in use.

4. Communication

The ability to communicate easily and to visually see between certain areas will be very important. The main living area in a typical home will serve as a good example, in this area we will want to be able to see and communicate from the kitchen to the family room, in addition to the dining and alfresco areas, unrestricted and uninhibited, collectively resulting in a practical, enjoyable and sociable living experience.

5. Furniture Fit

All rooms within a home should be able to comfortably accommodate specific and relative furniture. For example, a family room, or any room furnishing a T.V, should have allocated a specific space for the entertainment unit, this space should also relate well to the lounge furniture locations. Room sizes, room shapes, window sizes and window locations also need to be considered carefully and optimised in order to accommodate all applicable furniture with good practical and visually aesthetically pleasing outcomes.

6. Home Traffic Flow

Inconvenient pedestrian traffic flow can result in an uncomfortable living experience. Home traffic flow - or the routes in which people move from one part of the home to another, should be sub-concisely identified and not divide or split rooms that relate to each other. For example, an individual on route to the outdoor living area who is required to dissect the family room as a pathway - is a problem for someone who is watching T.V, or whose visual and verbal engagement with another is interrupted as a consequence.

7. Passive Solar - Orientation & Design

Consideration to ‘Passive Solar’ outcomes (the use of the sun's energy for the heating and cooling of living spaces) will be of great benefit with respect to the living experience and with regard to significant reductions in running costs.