Designed for ageing in place to passive solar design principles this home is comfortable and accessible for us, our family and friends. In recent years we have had our son and his family come and stay for extended periods of time and our home worked well for everyone, three generations living under one roof. Our home can be zoned off so the kids and grandkids can live in the front of the home whilst we lived in the rear, the main kitchen, living and dining area, along with two separate outdoor areas gave us options for being together. We can see the grandkids in the tv room and playing in the garden from the main living area.
We have a minimum 870 wide doors throughout with wider hallways and flush thresholds which make manoeuvrability in and around our house very easy.
Site constraints with north to the street provided an opportunity to add an internal courtyard, allowing for the family/meals area to access the winter sun and be located at the rear of the property. Cross flow ventilation and ceiling fans keep the home cool in summer; no air-conditioning has been installed as the temperature does not fluctuate too much throughout the seasons.
The garden is made up of mostly edible plants and trees, providing enough produce for us and extra to share with family and friends. We had originally planted natives however they did not grow as well and were gradually replaced by increasing the vegetable garden.
We have recently replaced our old roof top hot water system for a new heat pump, this was one of the best things we have done. We have also replaced our old PV’s with a new 6Kw system, we thought about getting a battery but decided that it would not be worth it for us as we use the washing machine and appliances when the sun is out and reduce our usage at night where possible without impacting our lifestyle.
