Your second living space: Do you really need it, and how to get it right - Episode 3 (Season 2)

Hello, this is episode three of season two. This episode is about the second living space in our homes. Now, this space goes by a lot of different names, but most own homeowners who are planning a renovation or a new home, they definitely want to create one. So, let's learn more about how to get it right. Welcome to Get It Right with the Undercover Architect. This is the podcast all about designing, building, or renovating your home. I'm your host, Amelia Lee. Think of me as your secret ally. I am on a mission to help you create a home that makes your life better, whoever you're working with and whatever your dreams, your location, or your budget. Together we'll uncover the nitty-gritty of how to get it right and how to create a home that works, feels great, and that you feel great in. So, join me now. This episode is about the secondary living spaces in our home. So, that second living room that we often renovate all builds specifically to create. And it goes by many names, some of which include a lounge or a family room, a rumpus, a play room, a media room, a home theater, a games room, a snug, a library. Look, the list goes on and this is really just to delineate it from the main living space of our home, which we talked about in the last episode. And you can tell by a lot of these names that I've listed out, many of them will actually indicate a specific use for that room or space. Now, this secondary living space, honestly, it's the thing that many homeowners, I speak to, are looking to add or create in their new or renovated family homes. Because many of us live in houses that only have one living space, and we long for that second living space in our home, just to give us a little bit more room and sanity for family life in our homes. In this episode, I'm going to help you understand more about designing this space so that you can get it right for your home. We'll dive into the four Fs and look at how to use them in your secondary living space for great success. And I'll give you some mistakes to avoid and tips to aim for as well. But first, I'm actually going to ask you if you really need this second living space at all. And whether it needs to be a whole other room in your home, or perhaps it can just be a different kind of separated space. Look, I know it's a little controversial to start the episode about a specific room by asking you if you actually needed it at all, isn't it? I will let you know this, though. Most homeowners that get in touch with me, they're looking to renovate or build their home. And so they end up with this as their desire. They want a home that suits their family now and always. And this is often seen as a comfortable, relaxing home that they can really enjoy sharing together and that they can share with extended family and friends. And of course, that meets their budget and their timelines as well. And what happens is that that generally for them looks like four beds with a family bathroom and ensuite, two living rooms and a two car garage or car port. And honestly, this has become the default and the norm for how we in Australia choose to size and design our homes. Now, I'm not suggesting that there is anything wrong with it at all. Please don't misunderstand me. When designed right, you know, this combination of rooms, they can really make a fantastic family home. However, what happens if your budget won't stretch that far? Or perhaps your block of land isn't big enough. Or your existing home that you're trying to renovate just presents far too many constraints to create this outcome. And yet, you're really dreaming. You're really attached to this idea of having two living rooms because it seems like the answer to giving your kids a separate space to you and your partner and for buying you some sanity overall. Or perhaps it's somewhere for hubby to go to to watch his sports. Or for the family to actually have a great movie watching room that's not your big light-filled open plan living area. Or perhaps it's about having a room that you can just fill with all the toys that the kids play with. And you can just shut the door on it so that the mess isn't in your main spaces. Look, I'm not here to crush that dream. Trust me, I'm not. And if you want it and you can afford it, go ahead and create that secondary living space. And I'm going to show you how to make it work and to be great in your home in this episode. But first, I just want to share some interesting statistics with you. Realestate.com.au published an article last year that quoted and I'll read the quote. It says, "In 2016, the Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed that 43.6% of Australian homeowners were dissatisfied because their homes are too small." And this compared with 5% thinking that their homes are too large. So that's almost half of us as homeowners thinking that our homes are too small. However, did you know that the average size of a new home in Australia beats most in the world? Pretty much all other averages in the world are beaten by the homes that we build in Australia. And in the last couple of years, our home areas have actually been on decline for the first time in decades. At their peak size, at their largest size about eight years ago, our Australian average home size got to almost 250 square metres in size. However, we've actually recently dropped to an average of around 230 square metres. So it's good to see we are getting a little bit smaller. And look honestly, most of the clients that I'm speaking to and helping, they're creating homes that are in the 300 to 450 square metre mark. So, you know, 230 square metres is actually small compared to that. And remember, we're talking averages here. But it's worth realising that our current homes, they're so much bigger than they used to be. At 230 square metres, there are 100 square metres bigger than they were in the 80s. You know, that's not long ago. That's the house that I grew up in. And compared to other countries, you know, we're bigger than the United States. Their average sits at 200 square metres. And Canada sits at 180 square metres. So we're sitting at 230 square metres. We're significantly bigger. Why do I mention this? When everybody building or renovating their home aims for that four-bed, two-bar, two-car, two-living room house with a cover-out door area? Well, it's because of this. Look, the homeowners that I regularly speak to, they arrive with that default brief of the four-beds, two-bar, two-car, two-living room house. And they've decided it's what their family needs. But they're also super stressed about how they're going to afford to build or renovate. And whether their budget will stretch that far. And this is coupled with a really big challenge. You know, in my experience, over years and years of working with so many homeowners, I find regularly that the budgets that people start with are generally 50 to 75% of where their desires and aspirations are for what they want in their home. There's this great expectation mismatch between what people want and what they expect to pay for it. And I'm not entirely sure what feeds this mismatch. I don't know whether it's reality television and it's DIY programs or we're watching a lot of American stuff where things cost a lot less to build and renovate. Whatever it is, it's there. And, you know, people say, look, you've just got to expect that renovating and building will cost you twice as much as you expect it to. And it will take twice as long. However, I actually think that homeowners expect their renovation or build to cost half as much as it actually will. And what inevitably happens is that at the beginning of a project, there's this really challenging re-adjustment period that everyone goes through. When they start to actually get a handle on how much it costs to build and renovate and what their money will actually buy them, compared to what they really want. Now, I know all of this sounds like total doom and gloom, doesn't it? Have I lost you? Have you switched off already? Look, don't switch off just yet. What if you didn't have to build or renovate as much? What if you didn't have to double your budget in order to get a home that really works for you? Look so much of the information that I share on undercover architect is about how to do better with less, how to get bang for buck, how to make decisions about your home that will really serve you and not stress and stretch you financially and emotionally, and where to invest to get the biggest impact. What will make the biggest difference to your life and to the lives of your family? So yes, never fear, I'm going to give you lots of great info in this episode about secondary living spaces. However, I'm also going to challenge you to think about whether you and your budget need this extra living space. And perhaps consider what you can do to give yourself the sanity and separation that comes from having this extra room without necessarily creating the extra room itself, especially if your budget isn't going to stretch that far. Okay, so after that intro, let's get going. Let's talk about your second living space and how to get it right. Now remember, the first thing that I suggest is that you think about the feel, all right? So you picture this room in your home and you get a handle on how you want it to feel. Write some words down, you know, and have a look, are they different to how you felt and wanted to feel about your main living space in your home? You know, perhaps it's more important that this space feels more private and intimate and cozy than your main living space, which by contrast it may feel comfortable but open and light filled an airy. You know, spend a little bit of time doing this first, wrapping some words around those feelings because they're a really great barometer and a good reference to come back to as you create and develop your home design. Now, let's look at functionality. In my experience, the main reason that home owners create a second living space is to create a room or a place that is separate and different to their main living area. Now, you can do different jobs in how it performs, which then start to dictate how it should be designed and fitted out. However, it's real main reason for being is about separation and choice. So it gives people in your home a choice about where to go and chill out. That's not a bedroom, basically, you know, that it's not escaping into a room with a door on it. And that those people in your home that they're not just all competing for one living space. Now, if we look at the basic function of choice and separation, so it's somewhere different to go that's not our main living room or a bedroom, I really believe that's the primary function of this second living room. And in being separate, that then obviously requires some design treatment. So, you know, it's its own room or it's a different part of the house and potentially being able to close doors on it to shut it off acoustically can also be helpful. So these design treatments, of course, will enhance the separation. There's then the secondary functions that will add layers to how this room needs to perform. And to be honest, look, some of these may feel like primary functions because you need them for the room to perform this way, but this will be about what your priorities are for this room and how you need this room to be in your home. So let's have a look at things that I mean. Now, if you have very young kids, you'll often want this room as their playroom. So it's where you can store their toys and you can have them playing nearby you and that you can close the doors on it for an instantly tidy home. If you have older kids, you'll probably want this room as a space for them to hang out in and not make a mess of the main living space or monopolise the main living space, but to be out of their bedroom so that you can keep an eye on what they're up to and having their friends over and how they're hanging out. The same can go for teen ages and especially having them in a space to entertain their friends, all right, so that they can feel comfy and fairly unsupervised as they hang out, but you feel safe in the knowledge that they're at home and that you have an idea of who they're spending time with and what they're getting up to. And if you're a family that loves their movies, look, this space can be dedicated to a TV-oriented, any TV-oriented activities. So your main living space may not be your main TV watching space, but your secondary living room is and it's where you can make it dark, you can get the sound right and it can be purely about watching a beautiful big screen for a really great family movie night. And it frees up your main living space to be more light and airy and open. Look, there's other reasons that families will put this second living space in, some will flip it. They'll want this to be their more formal living space where they have their adult friends over whilst their kids run a mark in their main living area and use the kitchen and the outdoor areas. You know, some people love books and they want a library and a space that they can go and read and have quiet time and space to be out of the main living space. There are so many different reasons for this for this second living space and why people create it. And an actual fact, if it often feels like that main living area, that open playing kitchen living dining, that's just the one size fits all design solution in a home, but this second living space is the personalized one and the one that suits, you know, specific needs for specific families. So when you think about all of these jobs that I've listed out, you know, which ones are you needing your second living space to perform? Do you know for certain and do you know how you see this room being in your home? Is it something that I've mentioned or is it something else? And will that role change over time as your family grows and changes as well? I'm going to share some mistakes and tips this time as we go rather than save them all to the end, okay? And the first thing to realise is that creating the best functionality comes through creating flexibility. This especially applies in this room. So I'm going to get more into that in a minute. But I want to tell you about what mistake number one is that I see homeowners do and this is not being strategic about where you put this room in your floor plan. And of course this is the flip of this is this design tip number one as well. You have a great opportunity with this second living space to actually change the way your whole home feels, all right? So don't lose sight of that. When we think about how the room will function in the feeling of your home, one of the reasons that we create an open plan living kitchen dining area that flows to outside, it helps all of those areas feel much more spacious and light filled and our home feel much more spacious and light filled as a result. It's a win-win situation for the performance of these rooms and for our home overall. We can also get this win-win happening with the second living space as well. So it can be located and designed in your floor plan in a space that will deliberately allow more light into your house, okay? Or create more openness where you need it as well. So sometimes this might be by the entry as you arrive into the home. You may have currently a house that has a very narrow entry point or you may be building a home and you feel like you're just creating this tunnel through to your big open plan living kitchen dining area. Having that second living space by near the front door will help you have an open plan space that you can close off but it makes that whole entry space feel much larger. You can also locate this space at the top of your stairs in a two-story home and that by virtue of how you arrive at the top of the stairs and see a larger open plan room will make that upper floor feel a lot more open and spacious and will potentially allow natural light through down the stair void and into the guts of the house where the stair might be landing downstairs. It can also be used to help zone the home into kids part and parents part. So arranging the kids bedrooms and family bathroom with their dedicated second living space that helps actually give them a zone or section of the house that they can feel ownership of and that they can enjoy. One last word about functionality of course is related to orientation. Now the benefit of this being a second living space is that it's orientation can actually work in a complimentary way to the main living room or you can also use it to deal with a challenging home orientation. So for example perhaps you found that it's really hard at your place to get northern light into your main living space. So think of your home seasonally you know perhaps you can create your main living space as it doesn't get all the northern light but then you can use your second living space to get and grab all of that northern light and then you can look at how these rooms relate to each other in how you juggle the orientation and then where they're located in your home and then look at the different times of the day and the year that they'll each be used then to make your whole home work beautifully overall. When you think about your room your house like that and think about your home seasonally then that can do wonders for getting your home to work together as an overall functioning place. Remember this second room is really about choice and separation so make the most of it. Let's move on to flexibility you want it okay so basically the more flexible you can make this room the better. Mistake number two is that I see homeowners getting fixated on this room performing a specific function all right I've had one homeowner tell me that a friend of theirs they had a theater room built as their second living space in their home so they had the terrorist seating the stepped floor and they had big movie chairs all facing the same direction towards a big screen which is awesome for watching movies don't get me wrong but not a lot else all right and yet you've given maybe 20 square meters of your house over to one fixed activity that you might get to do together for a few hours each week and you've basically set up a room for just solo kind of involvement I mean you're sharing it alongside each other but you're it's not really a collective activity you're sitting in a chair looking at a wall now don't get me wrong one of our family's favorite favorite things to do together is to watch a movie and it's an event in our home you know we negotiate or work about what movie we're going to watch on a Saturday night but I still want a living room and space that's going to be comfortable to use for other things so design tip number two is to remember this family homes are for sharing their for sharing experiences space growing together memories celebrations highs and lows and a terrorist movie room as I see it it's one of those things that you see in celebrity homes where seriously they'll have 18 living spaces and to me this type of space it's an aspirational one that seems like a good idea in theory but not so great in everyday family life it's a big dedication of space in a family home and more importantly of your budget as well so instead look at creating a flexible room and investing in a good sound system you know and good block out blinds and really comfy seating this will serve your lifestyle much better than I think what's a gimmick of terrorist floor and theater style seating with cup holders the next flexibility killer is that this second living room is designed to be too closed and this is what I see as mistake number three so in a family room you'll generally have as I said your big open plan living kitchen dining area which then extends to outside and then as you work to design efficient spaces and privacy you'll have hallways leading to bedrooms bathrooms and other service areas so they're all closed spaces and rooms generally and a big design tip which is my number three design tip is to use this second living space just to bring breathing space and room to your home all right now I talked a bit about this in tip number one where I talked about being strategic about where you locate it this is really about how do you get that sense of spaciousness and openness in another part of your home besides that living dining kitchen area so design the room so it can be opened up quite generously and then closed when required you know choose a set of double sliding doors or something similar that helps you close and open up the space more generously now let's move on to furnish ability in my experience the second living space it will be it'll be the bean bag room it'll be an L shape lounge or a big comfy sofa type it may also be carpeted so it's a very different treatment to our main living space the same lessons apply with furniture though as I talked about last week for your living room so think about what furniture you want in here and how you want it laid out make sure you draw it on your plans to scale arrange it so that you can see the seating area first and not the television and make storage that holds a variety of items not just the electrical gear you know this room it may also be where the musical instruments get stored or the craft tables need to go some families want to play room for all these types of activities so design for them and look at how they can be arranged often choosing loose furniture such as bean bags with low tables you know in those types of things that can work really well when your kids are little and it doesn't matter that they destroy that staff will put texture on it or all those kinds of things and then you can you can then upgrade to beautiful comfy sofas and built-in storage when your kids are older and you've moved past all of those you know little bits of furniture that you have with small people in your house this is really about thinking about different functions and the furniture that you'll need to support them and so then consider how flexibly you'll choose these things and how you arrange it to make this space work now lastly let's have a look at flow now again compared to your main living space which is really the hub of your home and associated with your kitchen and your dining area this space this second living space it will often be more reclusive so for me this is thinking about zoning and connection and it looks back to that idea of that tip number one with the strategy about where you put it in your floor plan so it functions the way that you need it to and it opens up your home where you need it as well okay so thinking about those visual connections through your home too now I would recommend that given that there's it's usually a tv or video gaming or noisy space especially if it's that kid gathering zone that you make really good acoustic choices for it so for example as I said sliding doors to close it off you know look at really good carpet plush rugs comfy sofas they'll all help to deaden the noise and to soften the noise overall even consider upgrading the plasterboard in the room to a sound resistant one or adding sound insulation it's surprisingly affordable if you're creating this room for scratch in a renovation or build and it'll make a big difference to the performance of that room and then your home overall okay so I'm just going to go over those mistakes and those design tips again because I peppered them in amongst our four F's so mistake number one is not being strategic about where you locate this room in your floor plan mistake number two is about creating a design for your second living space that's too fixed in how the room needs to be used and mistake number three is about closing up this room too much design tip number one is to use this second living room to zone the home and to improve improve the functionality overall by creating seasonal spaces with how it's oriented and what it's connected to design tip number two is design for flexibility and how you fit out the room so that it serves lots of different functions for you over the lifetime in your home and design tip number three is to use the room to provide breeding space to open up the home where it's needed for spaciousness and for light now my final tip is to consider whether you need this room at all look I know a second living room sounds amazing however you need the budget to pay for it and the space to provide it and stretching your budget to pay for two poorly designed poorly sized living spaces it's never better than investing in one great living space okay now as a room this space will be anywhere between 15 and 25 square meters depending on you know and it can get even bigger than that honestly based on your square meter rates you could seriously be looking at anywhere between 30 and 30,000 and a hundred thousand dollars to build this depending on your home and your budget and your taste you can spend so much less on looking at your main living space and putting awesome built-in joinery into it that helps you put away all the toys and the books and the kids stuff and that you could actually make that main living space a little bit more generous to accommodate all of that and then that will help you tidy that up in an instant when someone's coming out by to drop in and you'll have less rooms to clean and less rooms to buy furniture for as well so consider also how you can create other smaller areas for separation and choice in your home you know could it simply be a little small landing at the top of the stairs that gives room for a comfy single chair that somebody can sit next to a window with a book or with a device and get a moment away from the main living area just to be sort of on their own okay or could you look at creating a built-in window seat somewhere that you can stretch out that's got some drawers below it and lovely view to outside you know whilst it's really lovely to have the space to be a part in our homes it really it often doesn't take an entirely different room to make this happen and investing our budget in creating great spaces to be together that's what can really make family homes awesome to live in now next week i'm going to be talking about all things kitchens and i'm going to talk about pantries too walk in pantries butlers pantries appliance cupboards all those types of things look the kitchen seriously it's super important space in our home and it's usually a big chunky investment of our budget as well so i'll be sharing what you need to know to get it right i'll see you then thank you so much for joining me here at get it right with undercover architect if you're wanting to learn more about how to design a home i've actually created a special five step e-guide to get you started it's free and you can get your copy now it's called how to design a home five simple steps to getting it right and you can head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/homedesign to get your free copy emailed straight to your inbox and i'll put that link in the show notes if you've enjoyed listening to the podcast please head to iTunes and subscribe because that way then you'll be the first to know about new episodes and you'll also help others like you find out about this podcast i'd really love it if you could leave a review to please because it'll tell iTunes to share this podcast with other homeowners like you and if you have friends or family planning their future homes please let them know about the podcast as well everyone who is renovating or building can then get support in getting it right this has been Amelia Lee from undercover architect thank you for tuning in and for letting me be your secret ally looking forward to next time bye check rapid FM for your ease who is that? i put past