Named after Nora Jones, the elderly lady who sold me the property after she lived in it for over 50 years. She sadly passed away soon after I purchased the home and I thought it would be a nice homage to her and her history with the place. With no air conditioning (in tropical northern Australia where winter temperatures average 25 degrees Celsius), very small rooms with very basic amenities, I made the commercial decision to demolish the original structure and build a beautiful 21st Century family home in honour of Nora Jones. I do need to point out that I LOVE restoration work, however, as the home had no historic features, was built in the 1960’s, extremely small, and was full of asbestos, I decided to start with a clean slate.
Market Research is the number one most important part of being a property developer (apart from buying well in the first place). This property is located within an inner-city suburb, 2km from CBD where market indicators show professional couples with young children are purchasing homes. Therefore, I needed to design Nora Jones House to accommodate numerous individuals, whilst providing multiple age appropriate break-out spaces for every member of the family, with the added benefit of designated entertaining areas.
I absolutely love designing a new home and is my favourite part of the home design process, because anything is possible. You just need to dream.
I always start with a large notepad with grid lines and simply start drawing boxes - each box representing a room with a purpose. With Nora Jones House I decided I needed to provide 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 public rooms, open plan dining / kitchen, and a double garage to meet my target buyer in this suburb. I then rearranged the ‘boxes’ into groups which ultimately gives me the different zones of the new home which included parents retreat, separate children’s wing of the home where all the toys and mess can live, and finally the family zone which includes kitchen/dining, and various entertaining areas.
Finally, I look at ‘wastage’ on the floor plan - remember every square meter costs money to build so there’s no point paying for extra space when ultimately it is not required. This is where years of experience and clever design practice come into play and ultimately separates the professionals from everyone else. For example, hallways are a waste of space. When you can have the same outcome by opening walls which make the home actually feel larger when it’s not, and you’re not wasting your money. However, space planning remains necessary for the requirements of a family home this size. All factors are considered carefully to ensure you allow enough space for the large sofa and other furniture necessities, the home is built for entertaining, and ample storage is allocated in appropriate zones.
Once our in-house architect has drawn the plans, we commence the build. It is exciting when the lines on the paper start to take form.
My local research told me buyers were looking for Hamptons-style homes currently in the property market - one of my favourite styles. My own beach house is designed this way. After analysing the space, I decided on high ceilings, large high-set glass panels to let the natural light in, indoor / outdoor living flow, and the use of natural materials throughout. This is the benefit of designing a new home rather than renovating an existing structure that may restrict your design goals.
The colour palette was inspired from a Bali beach holiday- thinking of sand, sea, resort-style relaxation, and natural products such as wood, stone, linen, and plenty of texture.
The colour palette was inspired from a Bali beach holiday- thinking of sand, sea, resort-style relaxation, and natural products such as wood, stone, linen, and plenty of texture.