Melbourne Home Builder
Melbourne Home Builder
The kitchen is most assuredly the heart of the home, and investing in premium kitchen appliances and benchtops can definitely enhance the value of your home. According to Simon Croft, HIA’s executive director of building, in an article by Domain, “The kitchen is most often the heart of the home, and it’s where you’ll spend a lot of your time,” he says. “For this reason, it can be a good idea to spend a little extra on this space. Kitchen benchtops are a large feature of any house, and therefore it’s wise to choose a material that’s hard-wearing and timeless.” Fortunately all Granvue Premium series homes come with quality Ilve appliances and stone benchtops included as standard.
Timeless bathroom designs with high quality finishes and fittings can also add value to your largest capital asset and enhance re-sale value. Frameless and semi-frameless shower screens are well worth the investment and it’s also important to consider your future needs, accessibility for cleaning and the durability of the materials used.
Considering sustainable options often rewards home owners with a double return on investment. All new Australian homes are constructed to meet minimum standards for energy efficiency, however there are options that you can add to your build that will pay for themselves in no time at all through reduced energy costs as well as enhancing the capital value of your home.
Many customers are opting to purchase solar power systems, such as the Bristile Solar Tile system that is on display at our Bloomdale Estate Display centre in Diggers Rest. This system allows households to generate their own electrical power to reduce electricity costs or even sell surplus power back to the grid. LED downlights are extremely energy efficient in contrast to traditional lighting and products like double glazing and sarking help keep homes warm in winter and cool in summer, to reduce heating and cooling costs.
According to Chelsey Quartermain, General Manager of houseandland.com.au. “Our research tells us that sustainability is becoming an increasingly important aspect of owning a home… Ninety-five per cent of millennials and baby boomers consider sustainability to be an important feature, so anything that keeps your house sustainable and environmentally friendly is going to be of big value.”
Thinking about your heating and cooling needs upfront can save you a lot of time, effort and money down the track. Ducted or split-system systems are tricky to retro-fit and are best installed during the build. They are also a great selling point as well as a family necessity with Australia’s increasingly extreme weather.
Gas feature fireplaces are also very popular and much easier to add to a home during the build phase rather than later. Modern designs emit much greater radiant heat than their predecessors, which were largely for aesthetics and heating in close proximity. You’ll see a variety of fireplace designs featured in our display homes and in our online galleries.
The “great outdoors” is a quintessential aspect of the Australian culture, and with our mild climate, we are fortunate to enjoy great weather for most of the year. Extending the indoors-outdoors with a covered alfresco protects from sun exposure or rain and allows you to create larger and highly desirable additional living spaces.
According to Domain, “all-weather outdoor entertaining areas are highly regarded by buyers” with more and more home owners looking for a dedicated area to entertain and socialise outdoors and maximise the usability of their backyard. It’s best to try and consider how you will utilise this space prior to building. Think about upgrading access doors to open up the view from your living area to the alfresco, or choosing stacker doors that will neatly tuck away behind each other to open up the space.
