The trouble with that Tribble4152k7 Trek is that everyone reading who has not experienced it thinks its just a page of jokes. The trouble with many milennials is they want everything now and have 'tanties' thiking they are entitled to it then they compare themselves and their situation to others when they have no idea how those others got where they are. It doesn't drop out of the sky for anyone but it might gush up from the ground for some Oil rich people. Some have absolutely no idea of what "I can't afford that" means! A good starter home is one you can afford but unfortunately, when they have no idea what "afford" means its not going to work is it? From what I've seen some milennials can't even manage on two salaries...and good salaies at that, many times because they include in their budget too many things they consider are absolute necessities. Because some of them earn two salaries they believe they are entitled to certain luxuries...theres that word again...the two words that defeat the purpose of getting their own home...even with a mortgage.... "afford" and "entitled". Sometimes $5 is out of the range of affordability and sometimes a two salaried couple forget why they are working so hard and reward themselves for their efforts. Then there's the syndrome "keeping up with the Joneses"...must not lose face, must not appear underpriviledged, must be able to measure up and match the spending habits of friends....who, you never know, might be doing exactly the same thing. My maxim has always been...and I count it as the reason I survive on very little, is,,,"Old is not bad" - " Out of fashion does not mean its broken" - If it works and is safe don't discard it and if it costs little to fix...fix it.... recycle, repurpose and re-use. If you can pick it up at the Op Shop its somebody else's loss and your good fortune. Finally, ask yourself..."Do I want this or do I really really need it?'...that's a good one. I always maintain that if you have something that you had to work really hard and save scrupulously to get...then you are entitled to it...and that applies to small things and to getting a home of your own.

It was great to see a show that highlighted that good design is so important, and that good design doesn't necessarily mean bigger. I was also interested to see the egalitarian way design was shared with the 'masses' through project homes and DIY plans. A peculiarity of Australia. It seems such a shame that good design is now considered out of reach of most people. Having engaged an architect to design our renovation, I can understand why people shy away from the fees, however we're now about to embark on a renovation that keeps the best of the old, creates a space that is more contemporary and suited to our lifestyle, and flows so much better! The footprint of the house stays almost the same, so we will have a lovely big backyard. I'm tipping this may be a selling point in the future. Wouldn't it be great to see volume builders adopt these principles and start to offer better designed multi-functional spaces. Smaller houses are less expensive to run. So excited to see Pettit and Sevitt. I'd love to see Merchant Builders back in Melbourne, they were big on the entire concept, working with a hero of mine, Landscape Designer Ellis Stones. Oh to dream.....

The price is real ... Project builders can build for approx $850/m2 and sell most project homes for around $1000-$1050/m2 (base price!!!!). Where you will need to shell out more is when you look into things like :- The kitchen package (laminex benchtop & Carcass) could be $3000-$5000 price difference just in the benchtop; The external cladding could be cheap masonite or vinyl cladding system which will be outdated before you've moved in or you could be looking for something classy like James Hardie SCYON cladding (Stria, Linea, Axon) cladding systems - add $10,000 - $12,000; The tiles in bathrooms - could be $1.000 to $5,000 difference in prices here; The type & quality of timber flooring (if any), the type and quality of carpet could be cheap $3,200 carpet package for entire home or it could be $8,000 carpet with quality underlay which is LOW VOC (important if you have kids and love your family) or $18,000 for timber floor or it could be $45,000 for european parquet flooring throughout if you have an aversion to carpet because of allergies; The type & quality of PC items such as taps, toilets, vanity, shower rail / head, kitchen sink, towel rails right down to the toilet paper holder - there could be $5,000-$9,000 price difference here; The type and quality of main kitchen fittings such as cooktop, rangehood, oven (could be $900 package for an unknown brand or it could be $2,200 for something decent 600mm wide or $3,500 for something decent 900mm wide or it could be Miele and cost $5,000. Then if you look at the windows and sliding / stacker / bifold doors ... these could be cheap aluminium with 4mm float glass or you could be wanting 100mm x 50mm commercial aluminium with 6.38mm laminated tinted glass with low-e glass to all your western windows or you could be more interested in PVC windows with a steel internal frame with double glazing and blinds built into the double glazed unit with tilt and turn doors and windows - price difference is at least $10,000-$30,000; That's about 75% of the major decisions that you might want to investigate further. The biggest factor you'll be hit with is a little thing called 'site costs'. This is where project builders get to charge like wounded bulls. Any land that you find which is not 'dead level' will incur additional fees (counted in the thousands) and any soil classification which is not 'M' class substrata will incur additional fees. You may find an additional $40,000 - $200,000 slapped on for these charges and it will be disguised as "i'm so sorry but your land will need piers and footings and some serious excavation - there is nothing that we or any builder can do about it" Then if you want to upgrade the tap and kitchen sink you will find their pricing regime is out of this world. I built a single level home for a pharmacist and his family in north sydney back in 2011 and quoted $750,000 (it was a big home - almost 300m2) and the client got a bit edgy with me after months of discussions and decided to approach a few project builders after seeing advertisements for single level home packages starting from $370,000. After they had gotten part way through their enquiry process and had a site inspection and soil classification test carried out they were presented with a quote for $610,000 and that was without any of the travertine or double glazing or spray foam insulation or acoustic walls and home theatre systems that I had proposed. I think the shock of a project builder jumping from $370k to $610k overnight scared them more than my initial quote of $750k. We finished up at $830k after the lady had made all her decisions including $100,000 joinery (cabinetry for kitchen, laundry, custom vanities, walk in robes, built in robes, study) and $80,000 of Miele appliances (including $3,600 coffee machine) ... strangest part was SHE DIDN'T COOK. There was a massive bbq area with built-in bbq and wine fridge and indoor and outdoor fireplace and custom landscaping and the list went on. My point is, I believe you will get much more value - both immediate value for you and your family to enjoy when you move in AND resale value (people do appreciate quality and will pay for it) if you build with a proper builder and architect / designer who designs the size, style, external finishes and internal products to be how you want them and a quality that will last. If, however, you do not have the capacity to invest somewhere around $700k - $800k for this monstrous 52 square home you are looking at, but need the room to accommodate your family, then by all means investigate further with the project builder. I've been doing a touch typing course lately to help with my report writing and it has been quite interesting just rattling away at the keyboard without looking and giving you the best of my experience over the last 10 minutes. Hope it's of some benefit to you and your family. Best regards, Steve.

You are most welcome, I have always said that I haven't been put on this earth to "Hug" toilets, so I'am wondering who is going to clean all of these Bathrooms. Our two kids a boy and a girl had the upstairs "apartment" which they and all their friends loved. I have added a timber stair case for fun, there's plenty of space but you will need to decide what you want to do in the attic and place the stairs to open up into a tall space. I have also turned one of the ensuites into a powder room. Your Jacaranda's only drop once a year!, you used to be able to trim them by 25% each year, you would need to check with your council, we were on the lower North Shore, I think you should consider the patio side of the house and make better use of that, is the front deck something you plan on adding because of aspect, and plant some tall growing hedge ready for the apartments. Our kids Attic desk/study space over looked our pool in the rear garden. With respect to using the formal rooms for bedrooms, you will find that once you have your large family/alfresco and the kids have their upstairs space if you still feel you need it, it would make a great office. You spend most of the time there only using only using the front room in the evening for watching movies etc. I have had another play with my floor plan, I think if your wife sees this you may be in trouble, it's a Master Suite, the free standing bath in the window alcove with white timber shutters for sun and privacy control..... Iam' adding a couple of photos of our old Federation which wasn't protected, when we sold it the new owners removed all of the Fret work & posts replacing them with simple timber posts. The front rooms which we didn't use very much once we opened up the rear rooms into a family area. The room with the Bay window had a Baby grand sitting there, we sold the piano before we took the photo. Cheers