What is the perfect family home and does it in fact exist? and how can we create it?

What is the perfect family home and does it in fact exist?

We look at steps you need to take to ensure your family home works. We can’t list absolutely everything here in one go but we will make a start of the first things you should consider when remodelling your home.

The family home has to be a versatile space that can be flexible enough to adapt the changes a family face over the years.. If you're looking to create the "perfect" family house - whether you are designing a new one from scratch, or renovating - it is a great opportunity to ensure your new home matches the needs of your growing family.

The best place to start in creating this "perfect" space is the space planning. The two key factors when looking at space planning particularly if you have small children is visibility and connection.

While children are small, you need to be with them the majority of the time, yet you still need to carry out your daily routine like cooking a family meal. As children get older they have that little bit more freedom and often like to venture outside alone. Having a living or kitchen area leading out to the garden is ideal.

We're not huge fans of "open plan living" but done properly a percentage of ground floor "open plan" living space with other private, quieter rooms too is a great start to creating the "perfect" family home.

The recommended open plan environment is Kitchen, informal dining and family living. The idea that you can work, play and eat within an open plan space often with direct access to outside is most successful.

Storage Storage Storage..

So important I’ve said it 3 times!

Children don’t come empty handed, these little bundles of joy in-fact come with some of the biggest toys known to man! The key is having a space for everything. This includes dedicated built-in storage which is flexible to adapt when needed and if you can, carve in a dedicated utility room too and you can't go wrong - extra points if your utility room can also have direct entry from outside!

Having a utility room in your home might seem a little excessive but to have a space to be able to discard those pesky dirty boots and a dedicated area to do all your laundry out of the sight of your living area is worth every square metre and more!

A Space for Calm.

Even though you have children it’s important in every family home to have some adult space. As a parent you need to treat yourself away from the day to day living area after the children have gone to bed.

This could be a formal living room or a snug. A place that you find calming, perhaps a nice fireplace with soft lighting and natural finishes, adding those rich deep colours work well to create a relaxed environment.

Bedrooms

Now we can never expect the kids bedrooms to be magazine perfect and anyone that suggests they are isn’t being truthful! What we can do to make those sometimes messy rooms more bearable is to give the room point of purpose. Consider different types of storage for different uses. Do you want the room to be something to last and your little one will grow into or are you happy to splurge on nursery furniture and redo the room after a couple of years? We believe there is a balance.

The location of the bedrooms are key; for younger children you want them to be closer to the master suite but as little ones turn into the teenager years, you’ll likely want a little distance, particularly if they take up a musical instrument like a saxophone or something. True story I did exactly that at 12 years old EEK.

Master Bedrooms are your real opportunity to splurge on luxury finishes for you to enjoy, your master suite is your safe haven. Treat yourself.

Bathrooms

Aim for at least 2 bathrooms and add an extra bathroom for every 2 bedrooms in a family house. In an ideal world one of these is an ensuite for the Master Bedroom, then a separate family bathroom

Family Bathrooms should try to include;

Plenty of storage, towels, bath toys, sensible flooring which is not only slip resistant but able to withstand ooodles and ooodles of water.

Consider both a shower and a separate bath too

If you're not short on space then consider an activity room where as a family you can socialise and "hangout" this could be a pool table, table tennis or a cinema screen.

When we start a project, we always have a collaborative session to work out the goals of the family. What is the most important thing for you to have in your space?

The key to a successful home is for it to be functional and adaptable, but most of all it should be fun and bring happiness. - We thrive on the challenge that this brings us!