Home design help!!!
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
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Help!! We want to design a modern House in the Canaries!
Comments (10)Kirsty--I agree, let caution serve as your guide. There appear to be many unknowns. There should be a record of permits retained by the municipality, which I would get first, as part of your due diligence. Do not purchase this property without tying it up on a contingency feasibilty (design) study, which should be a minimum of 1 month, which is favorable for you to back out and retrieve your earnest money if you can't get what you want with this property. You may need to hire a translator to broker your dealings with the bldg dept and the architect, and later the contractor, unless you hopefully find a bi-lingual option. Dytecture is right, though, find someone who's ego is subordinate enough to explore the options of working within the confines of the existing structure. I hope that you can realize your vision. Happy Houzzing....See MoreFront of house design dilemma - help required.
Comments (6)Hi Ollie, lovely house congratulations. Do you know when it was built? I'm guessing late 1930's. With regards to your dilemma I'm probably not best placed to give an opinion as I have quite strong views about conservation of buildings. However bearing that in mind I would like to say please don't render it 100%, I think you could potentially devalue the house. Is the current render roughcast? If so this would be typical of the period. Regarding Windows I would be inclined to put in what was original to the house, presumably timber or crittel. Have the original windows already been ripped out, it's hard to tell from the photo? I think if you have a period home which is beautiful the frontage should be maintained, if you want to modernise by using aluminium windows for example apply this to the rear of the house in the form of any future extension you might do. So in summary I would not 100% render, I would repair the existing render if required using the same render type (ie. Not smooth if it is roughcast) and windows should probably be white timber. Sorry if that goes against the modernisation plan but it good to get other opinions! Enjoy your new home and good luck with it all....See MoreDesign help needed with area in front of house
Comments (2)Dear John Walsh, I attached a quick sketch for you. My suggestion is to keep the drive/paved area taking the majority of the front space to maximise the parking area. I would create a terrace at point A levelling - or achieve a gentle slope - from the car's entrance and the house's door. I would created a low containing wall by the house entrance door for the level's gap between the drive and the point A. Using plants and shrubs close to the entrance of the house will add interest and colours, softening the wall's edge. My advice is to plant shrubs with a low full growth height on the private share drive's corner and to keep them regularly trimmed to maximise the visibility for local traffic. The shape of the curved part of the drive near the house's entrance door will depend on dimensions of the overall parking area and if you are likely to park your car right by the door. Not sure how busy is the main road but an edge and a high fence will reduce dust and noise (Google: Acoustic fencing). Orientation and shading is to be considered before choosing to plant threes and/or shrubs that can grow over 2m H. I hope it helps, best of luck with your project! Elena Jackson at Interior & Design...See MoreDesign help for our new house
Comments (8)I would also think on what you possibly need in the future, my house has a similar floor plan and we have the kitchen diner as one across the back and the separate living room which works well but now the children are bigger we really need a better sized third bedroom. I have seen some houses that have put the bathroom in the front little room, then if you did the extension to the side as Jonathan suggests if is is two storey then the current toilet, bathroom and extra bit would make a good third room. I guess what I’m saying is work out the downstairs in conjunction with what you might do upstairs in the future as you may have to do it in stages but then you wouldn’t have to take out what you’ve already done later on....See More- 8 years ago
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Laura BetchetteOriginal Author