Brand new Industrial Modern house in Rosebud VIC

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

After more than a decade of building and renovating, we are finally building our 'dream home'. Its basically an industrial style double storey house with a 7m high void in the living/dining/kitchen area. We are stuck on lighting for the void and heating/cooling for the house. I originally looked at having three good sized pendant lights spaced evenly throughout the area but our electrician thinks it may not look too good aesthetically from the balcony upstairs. With the heating and given the massive void we are unsure what would be the best heating. We plan to put a wood heater in down stairs and my husband would like ducted heating and split system cooling and Id like hydronic heating and split system cooling.

Featured Answer

telperien

8 years ago

Hi Cindy, I have a cathedral ceiling which is different to yours, mine is a sloping ceiling. However, I would suggest:

1. Not pendant lights; they will need to have very long suspension cords to get them anywhere near to where the light is actually needed/ useful. These cords will attract spiders and cobwebs, and it will be hard to keep them clean and not get an accumulation of dust. They will also be relatively fragile, being so long. Think about how to change the light bulbs as well - how secure and safe will it be to change the bulbs at the end of a long cord/chain. I had to call an electrician in to change my very high bulbs , and waited until we were in near darkness (only one bulb left working out of five). Have your lighting close to where you will need it - either on the walls, or else area lighting such as floor lamps, or a combination of both

2. Heating and cooling : the hot air will rise, of course; It looks like you have a hallway open to the void, so your upstairs rooms will be toasty warm. However, the downstairs area will remain cool/cold. I have a wood burning heater with a long exposed flue, which helps, but any distance from the heater, the room is cold. As chook has said, these sorts of places often have fans to push the warm air down, but I have only one fan, and I'm not convinced that it works. I suspect that underfloor heating may be the best form, but I have no experience with that in this house. Remember fans will also attract spiders and cobwebs - invest in a very long extendable cobweb brush.

I would add that insulation is vital, and should obviously be installed at the time of construction.

Finally, I think you will love the space, it will look really spectacular when finished. Be aware that kids may desire to enact the latest superhero adventure and try jumping from the top level.

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Comments (37)

User
8 years ago
Please can you post photos of the area?
Cindy Sandars
Original Author
8 years ago
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User
8 years ago
In the winter you might need fans to push the warm air down.
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8 years ago
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8 years ago

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User
8 years ago
Need to click on the above to see lights, more at

http://www.houzz.com.au/photos/query/Void-photos/p/32
Cindy Sandars thanked User
User
8 years ago
Hope that helps!
Cindy Sandars thanked User
User
8 years ago
Thanks Telperien!
Cindy Sandars
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you very much everyone - you've definitely given me things to think about. I originally planned on three pendant lights (lounge/dining/kitchen) hanging on cables but our electrician said that from upstairs it wouldnt look very good and to go with just one pendant in the dining area, so my husband wants to use an exhaust pipe to hang a hand made light fitting off of (which would have about 6 actual bulbs hanging from it), so it'll be really industrial. Im not sure about just one pendant and Im not sure about how much light there will actually be. We also planned on pendant lights hanging from the walls in the kitchen.

Thanks Chook for going to the effort to post photos. It was interesting to see the height that their lights are hung. I hadnt noticed heights before. The majority had their light fitting sitting just at upstairs balcony height, I thought it should be lower. Hmmmm so much to consider.
User
8 years ago
You can do your homework now, lol.
User
8 years ago
Just a note, new generation LEDs need changing alot less often, for a dining room I would go for warm white.
Cindy Sandars thanked User
antonia_d
8 years ago
I think wall lights would look great. You could also consider recessing a led light strips in a diffused channel along the balcony
Cindy Sandars
Original Author
8 years ago
These are what we were thinking of hanging along the wall on the right hand side of the house
Cindy Sandars
Original Author
8 years ago
And something like this in the centre of the room, which is the dining area. Obviously given the height of the ceiling, the timber would also be hanging - this is the part my husband wants to attach to an exhaust pipe which will be attached to the ceiling
Cindy Sandars
Original Author
8 years ago
This is the angle from the other end of the room, where you would walk in the front door
User
8 years ago
Cindy, how are you going to

A. change those non Led globes.

B. dust and remove spider webs

read Telperien's real life experience with high up pendants again. IF you still go pendants, go simple shade and Led. (Long life globes that last the longest of any technology.)
Cindy Sandars thanked User
Cindy Sandars
Original Author
8 years ago
hmmmm, yes I know. I have read Telperiens post, and Im still not sure. To be honest, until i had read the post, Id never thought of spiders and webs etc on the cables. With regard to changing light bulbs, I asked the same question and my husband said, he'd change them via a ladder, "easy" was his exact word.

Its such a big decision....
User
8 years ago
Well, led will also save on your power bills. We have a saying on Houzz, function before form. Think of the practical, then find the aesthetic to go with that.
Cindy Sandars thanked User
jmm1837
8 years ago
Our last house had sloping ceilings which were about 4.5 m at the highest point. I eventually bought a 2.3 m extension handle, fitted a cheap cobweb broom head on the end and managed to control the cobwebs on the walls and ceiling. I also used it, very gently, to run down the wires holding some pendant lights over the stairwell. I too had to get an electrician in to change those light bulbs.
Cindy Sandars thanked jmm1837
telperien
8 years ago
Cindy, my hubby and I are not comfortable with heights, so teetering at the top of a long ladder has no appeal for us whatsoever! Your hubby may be a more balanced person who has no fear of ladders, in which case, problem solved. The main thing is to consider the practicalities, and make sure you have a plan for dealing with issues which may arise, such as cobwebs, dead bulbs, stray birds etc.

I would add that we have a long pendant light over our dining area, which, to add insult to injury, has a coiled cord - even more of a problem to keep clear of cobwebs! At least for that one I can stand on the dining room table.

I have attached some photos of our space . You can see the wall light placed ridiculously high on the wall, which casts very little usable light; the fan; the long flue; and the pendant light in the upstairs hallway - my eldest son (191 cm) has to stand at the top of a normal ladder to take off the shade and replace the bulb - unfortunately, he has inherited our fear of heights, so it takes some serious bribery to get him up there!
User
8 years ago
Standing on the top step of a ladder is dangerous.
PRO
User
8 years ago
Hi Cindy

I see you mentioned you are interested in hydronic heating? after seeing the size of your void I believe I may have the suitable product for you, I attach a link to our website for you to check out if you wish.

ThermaSkirt is a great option for you as it is radiant heat therefore we will be heating from the ground up meaning that in your void area the heat will be where you need it not wasted up in the void.

We offer a free quoatation so really you have nothing to loose by getting in touch but maybe a warm house to gain.

www.thermaskirt.com.au 1300 866 911
Cindy Sandars thanked User
Cindy Sandars
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you for letting me know, I wish Id found it months ago. We've since put in a wood heater, reverse cycle A/C and ducted heating plus winter/summer ceiling fans in the void. The house is so well insulated, that we havent even needed to use cooling or heating.
PRO
User
8 years ago
Not a problem Cindy maybe its something you can think about for the future if you decide to upgrade.
scottevie
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Just to add to discussion about led globes... It is possible to purchase LED versions of vintage style Edison globes eg. from here http://vintageled.com.au/collections/light-bulb or http://edisonlightglobes.com/Shop/product-category/globes/led-globes/.
Vy
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
We had a big void in our last house the ducted heating and AC had vents with a switch so in Winter we'd close down the upstairs vents as the heat would rise..in Summer we'd close down the downstairs vents as cold air sinks worked quite well..
Cindy Sandars thanked Vy
Ruth BT
7 years ago
I understand that the work is done but for anyone else...friends have a very large house by the sea, several split levels but almost all living spaces are double height voids. House is tiles but with underfloor heating. As a cold person I have always been toasty warm there and their heat is super efficient. Just my 2 cents worth.
Cindy Sandars thanked Ruth BT
LesleyH
7 years ago
Wow - aleady looking good. Well positioned wall lights give a lovely soft glow. Look also for an industrial style standard lamp. Keep us posted .
Cindy Sandars thanked LesleyH
Cindy Sandars
Original Author
7 years ago
Ruth, as a cold person also, heating was very important. I originally preferred underfloor heating, I think it would have been great but was talked out of it. We now have a wood fired heater, ducted heating and a commercial sized split system and still Im cold. Next time I will fight harder for radiant heat ie heated slab, hydronic or that Thermaskirt
Cindy Sandars
Original Author
7 years ago
Here are a few more photos taken today of the main living area and entrance - so far so good, still have some finishing touches to add, ie, art work, soft furnishings

The entrance to our house is through our huge zinc clad 2.4m high front door

The entrance to the main living areas

The book nook - so cosy and comfy - my favourite place

Our table is one of the original trestle tables used at The National Galley of Victoria

The kitchen complete with an industrial mobile island bench

The entrance to our media room which will have elevated seating

A panoramic view of the living area
telperien
7 years ago
Cindy, that looks really wonderful. Congratulations on such a marvellous result, I especially love the book nook!
LesleyH
7 years ago
Congratulations on a wonderful home.
annb1997
6 years ago
Wow! Fabulous design beautifully executed.
Cindy Sandars thanked annb1997
Cindy Sandars
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you annb1997

It was a fantastic house that I loved, but we ended up selling it last year. This year we are doing a modern house with a scandi/industrial theme then selling that mid year with the plan to, hopefully, build one more house that will be authentic industrial with second hand red brick walls, concrete floor and exposed timber beams in a cathedral ceiling - fingers crossed!
annb1997
6 years ago
That's a lot of planning and work, building then selling - would be fun. Will the next one be where you will settle?

I read your comment on a diff post about fitting out and living in a shipping container. Did you do all the work yourselves, wiring, plumbing, windows etc?May I ask what you did with it? I'm quite interested in for outdoor rooms, sleepout for grandchildren, and my daughter is enamoured with the idea of building a small home with a few of them (in future).
Cindy Sandars
Original Author
6 years ago
The next one - the Scandi/Industrial one is to build and sell. The one after, 'should ' be the last one - the forever house.

Re: the shipping container. We did do all the work ourselves - well my husband fitted out the container and an attached caravan in two weeks! At the conclusion of the build of the house pictured, we put the whole lot up for sale and ended up selling it to a family that was doing the same thing in country NSW.

We've started a business called Container Homes R Us with the plan to make little homes for people, not so much houses made of shipping containers - cause in our opinion, that costs more than just building a standard home but making it look like a container. We probably couldnt start anything till next year though, which gives customers time to think about their design.