Luxury Modern Small Home Built In Suburban Backyard

There are many reasons why people choose to downsize, sometimes it is financial and other times it is simply an opportunity to do something very fun and creative, that is exactly the case with this next inspiring family that we are about to visit and who has done something truly extraordinary with their

home

s

backyard

Hi Marnie, hello fights. How are you? I'm great. Thank you, nice to meet you. Good identification. Did it go friend? Very good. This house looks absolutely beautiful. Can you first tell me how you came to live in this space? So we bought the block about five years ago and there's a house at the front that we've lived in for three and a half years.

So it all started with a pool that we wanted to get out and then it became a pool in a cabana and then maybe a pool and some space for our parents to come and stay and then it became our own house. That's what we live in now as a family of four, what inspired you to make your house

small

er? I guess I was really interested and I like the idea of ​​minimalism. I guess I've been one of those people who always wanted more and one day it clicked. This doesn't make me happy. So I started going through all my stuff minimizing everything and decided that we didn't need a lot of stuff to be happy and therefore we didn't need two big hats to be happy.

That's why we are here now. And when she came to you and suggested that she wanted to do a

small

house project. What did you originally do? Think about it. Did it take a little convincing to get on board? Yes Yes, I finally saw the advantages of it. What was it that finally convinced you? Something different, something would be exciting and we had a lot of junk and getting rid of a lot of junk was good. Now, how big is the house here? 31.5 square meters and how big is the house you come from in comparison? It's probably three or four times the size.

Yes, and it looks like their pools are about the same size as their house. I'm a big fan of that. Yes, it's actually bigger Yes, yes, pools can be 2 square meters bigger than the house. So it surprises a lot of people I've been around, but especially in the warm climate of Australia, what a phenomenal way to do it. Yes I think so. . I mean, we spend a lot of time there too, so sometimes Dan and Ella can spend five hours straight driving around playing and then inside they collapse on the floor at the end of the day.

It's fantastic the way you've really connected the house with this outdoor area. Can you tell me about how everything is here? Yes, when we were doing the design, the idea was that we wanted to spend as much time outside as possible. So in the kitchen we have this big gas trap window. So we are often sitting here eating or just chatting. at the table We have a lot of outdoor table meals and then out here we are always relaxing on the big bean bags or having parties around the fire pit area and with the garden. I didn't want anything that was too formal or structured. .

So basically we went for an edible garden. So almost everything here is something you can eat. So a lot of our food comes from our house, so you can go outside and pick something up for dinner. And you

built

this? DIY project? Yes, we did it as an owner builder. We hired a friend who was a builder and he did all the site side and we did the project management, I guess he did the procurement of that kind of stuff during all the hard part. But then you definitely got your hands dirty too because of how it sounds.

Yes. We spend many nights and weekends here. So yeah, can you tell me about the materials you've used on the exterior? Yes. We used a sheet of cement for the ceiling in Strayer. It was very, very laborious. I mean, I think it turned out pretty good. We have also used raw recycled wood posts, which have quite a bit of character and you could say they have character. There is also a lot of raw wood around where the deck is converted into recycled wood. We have also been taken off an old bridge. So it's nice to have a little bit of history mixed inside you.

So what are you doing with the main house right now? So we rented it. The income we earn helps us pay off the mortgage a little faster. Which is helpful, and it was a plus when we were building that we were able to add some privacy details, so we just added some screens, tinted some windows and really have our separate spaces complete. There's a really good way to do it because of course Sydney right now is one of the most expensive property markets in the world so being able to create this kind of living situation gives you an affordable and really effective model of being able to own. of your own

home

without the burden of a tremendous mortgage.

Definitely getting that extra income helps us pay off a lot faster and like you said, Sydney is ridiculous. at the moment. No, it is difficult for young people to enter the market. Therefore, this could be an alternative for people. Well, I love the exterior of the house. The style is really great. I'm already ridiculously jealous of your pool, but can we come in and take a look? Yeah, I mean, thank you. This is charming and immediately enter here. I love the way this giant window completely celebrates the fact that the pool is there. Yes, definitely. The window was essential, right?

And I feel like that's our artwork now. We have no room for any other art. So looking outside makes you fuck up. I love the way the light from the pool here reflects off the ceiling. Yes, it's really beautiful. So we put a lot of effort into the roof we used to call that when we were building the little house for giants. So we made the roof with V-groove and made sure it is connected perfectly. to the whole so you get that really nice flow from Into house and it looks like you've done some really interesting things with the furniture.

Can you tell me about that? Yeah, I guess it was Dan's idea. We have made the seats

built

in, which also serves as storage. So the captures are many and we can move them as our needs change. So the girls can play on the carpet. or we can put them together if we want to watch a movie. So it works very well. Excellent. So these are like beanbags or something? Yes, they are bags. What a great idea and I also love the versatility it brings to the space. Yes, it's definitely nice to see that you've really prioritized entertainment and relaxation in this space and I can see that you have a really wonderful place to watch your movies and everything that stands out from your TV, don't you?

Well, not really. We don't watch much of that, but it's important that we have a TV and that it's at the right level. So you can also see it from so far away. No way. Yes. And you can too. If I had this pair of Bluetooth headphones or used the pool speakers and watched a movie, or you know, tennis or whatever was under construction in general, I would have found myself sitting in the half-built pool and trying to get the correct angle and height in the pool. wall here fortunately What a great idea And now tell me about the kitchen here, yes, with the kitchen Because we have a family and I'm cooking all the time I wanted to make sure it had all the functions of a normal kitchen. kitchen So we have the two burner stove.

The combined microwave oven. We also have a dishwasher drawer here. And that's the perfect size to take us all day and I turn it on every night. It works very well. It is a smaller size refrigerator. It probably took a little getting used to, but it works fine now. Fantastic, and it seems to me that you have hidden everything very well, but you have a lot. of storage in this kitchen Oh yes, plenty of storage probably even more than we need. We have our long pantry here and it was probably four times the size in our previous house.

But honestly, I don't have things there now. but with expiration dates of about four years ago. That's how it works. Well, we've tried to keep it functional. You can see under the upper cabinets. We have outlets and light switches and things like that so they're on the wall in front of you. Hidden, but still there. So the space is functional. I guess what a great way to do it. And what's in the next room? So we have the bathroom, come and look great. Oh, this looks great. I love the mosaic work in this room. Yes, thanks.

We tried to do something a little different here, not too much out there. It still goes with everything. But yes, we like it a lot. And can you tell me a little about the layout of the bathroom? originally in the design We had an exterior door on the outside of the bathroom that would also be used for the pool at the end We got rid of the door and put a living window in there, the architects made the design as a standard design that Originally had a concrete bathroom in the design, but it turns out that with the plumbing it was going to be quite expensive, as well as the routine and everything, so we scrapped that idea too and the kids making cubes from time to time, is this your bedroom? ?

Yes, he has come and taken a look. Oh, this is lovely. I really like what you've done with the side tables here because yeah, obviously you couldn't have a proper viewing table. So that's a great alternative, right? Yeah, my dad made them for us, custom made and then it looks like you've built storage space in here too. Yeah, so we have a lot of storage space here. That's probably more than we really need, so it's a clothes iron. We also have our laundry basket underneath and behind us is our closet and we also have closets up to the ceiling.

I've really tried to make sure everything has its place and being a small space, you don't want things lying around. Otherwise it gets dirty very quickly. So we also have this cool storage underneath initially, when we first moved in, it was actually used as storage. But how the needs of girls have changed. Our oldest daughter needed a place where she could play. So we did this. in a really cool place for girls. No way. That's a great idea, yeah, Ella must love this thing she does. It's like a little play cave. I really love what you've done and I love the way that even though this house is so small, it really is a family home and you've really given a lot of consideration to the kids and what's going on in the space.

Isn't that exactly the case? I mean, not everything has been built specifically for children. But we've really tried to make the spaces work for them. So it's a fun house too. And then what do we have next to us? So it's the girls' room next door. Alright. Can we check it? Yeah, I guess this changed from the initial plans and then one night we came up with this fantastic idea so that the girls could enter their room in their own special way, so initially, we had a ladder to climb, so Dan created these stairs to go up to their little secret door in their beds, which is ridiculously cold and you've even built a little fairy door for them.

That is so cute. Yes, and it's really cute. So Ella has gone through a lot of adjustments moving into the house and having a new sister. So, in fact, we have fairies that come to visit us and change spaces as things need to change. Then Frankie moves into her house. room, etc. So it's a really fun way for her to get excited about new spaces. Brilliant. Then the fairies created the place under the bed. Yes Yes, and it looks like you've built a lot of storage into this space too. Yes, we have built some functional cabinets to store things like your children's school bags, a place for everything.

So I think you are not coveting. . It's the vacuum cleaner and the broom, but you're not sure they'll ever see you inside. And then the children's bedroom, yes, come on, let's see it. This is so clever that you actually have three levels here. Yes we do, it's a vertical medication bedroom and play space that is now actually Frankie's nursery, but you also have the second bed on top. Yes, that is correct. What inspired you to make space like this? I think when you're short on space and you're limited, you actually become more creative, and so what's in a normal bedroom?

It usually has a bed in a small play space and a closet. We were able to do that and you know something that maybe could have been unusable. Yes, in a fraction of the size of the normal space. You've created something really special here. That's great. Yes, and when Frankie climbs into one of the beds, her intention is to turn the ground floor into a play space. Yes, that is correct. We can move some things and put her toys here. So this will also be a play space for the girls. We put some fun stuff in there too.

There are some talking tubes. And then the children can be downstairs in the play space and talk to other children upstairs in the beds. I have the feeling ofthat you're having as much fun here as the girls. Hello, wake up, I'm awake So how long? Have you been living in the house now? It's been about 16 months now and how are you adjusting to life in the new space? We love. We wouldn't change anything about it. So I have no regrets. Everything is working very well, so I think living in a small space has completely changed the way we move.

Oh really? Everything has worked better than we had imagined. I spend less time cleaning, you spend less time maintaining a home, and we just spend time together as a family. We are outdoors a lot more, it works very well. We are happy. Is there something here that's not working for you? I think there's something that's not working right now. Everything is working very well. Yes, probably in the future, when the girls get a little older, the bedroom could become a problem. You know, enter through the small door and the bunk bed. beds and the small play space.

But we'll deal with that as it comes up, so we're constantly evolving and changing things. Yes, can you tell me about the cost involved in creating this house? It was a little difficult because there were so many things involved that we went way over budget on the excavation. We had a lot of problems from the beginning, everything in their custom made everything difficult. Very laborious. We actually worked on the house too, so we're still trying to break it all down, including the landscaping, the pool and everything. There must be around 400, huh? Yes, but at the end of the day, we could never build a house to this standard or quality on a large scale.

So that was the advantage that we saw: being able to have something really beautiful and functional that works and was affordable I guess you hit the nail on the head when you said that part of the trick with these spaces is that everything has to be personalized. Nothing here is mass produced, everything here is high quality. And I think what you've done here is absolutely money. Well spent. Thank you. We agree that construction has given us options in the future. Yes. We have a larger mortgage, but we look at it as if we had spent approximately four hundred thousand additional dollars to purchase an investment property in Sydney that is positively geared.

So there aren't many opportunities in Sydney. We can buy a positively oriented property worth that amount of money. Here's how we look at it from a financial point of view. I think you've created such a beautiful home here, the idea of ​​downsizing by moving into it. your

backyard

, saving money on the mortgage and living in a small house with a huge pool is absolutely brilliant. Thank you very much for sharing your house with me. Thanks brother. Thanks rice. This is a very intelligent Architectural II design. It is

modern

. It's lovely. It's functional, but what I like most about it is that it doesn't forget to be fun, the way the kids are honored in this space and family life is prioritized as is evident throughout, and ultimately, That's what makes it a home.