Living / Dining: How to design a great space for your lifestyle - Episode 2 (Season 2)

7 snips

Mar 13, 2017

Practical design choices for your living and dining spaces are explored through research-backed priorities. Four key design goals — feel, functionality, flexibility and furnishability — guide where to spend effort and budget. Common pitfalls are highlighted, including seating layout, TV dominance and lack of storage. Actionable tips cover room location, choosing furniture early and prioritising views over screens.

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ANECDOTE

Family Movement Mapped In Red Dots

Amelia describes a 2013 UC study tracking family movement with red dots to show which rooms get used.
The example family concentrated use in kitchen, meals and family room while formal spaces stayed mostly unused.

INSIGHT

Flexibility Maximises Value

Investing in flexibility stretches your budget by making one space work hard for many functions.
Flexible rooms adapt as family needs change and reduce the need for many specialised rooms.

ADVICE

Plan Furniture To Scale Early

Draw your furniture to scale on the floor plan during the design stage to verify space and circulation.
Measure existing or intended sofas and tables so rooms are sized and arranged correctly before construction.

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The question we’re asking today is: How do we make our living and dining rooms, great spaces in our new or renovated home?

We spend a huge amount of our time in our homes in our main living and dining rooms. In fact, these spaces, along with our kitchen, get prime use in our homes. So, getting it right in these rooms can and will have a significant impact on how our home feels and functions overall.

In this episode, Amelia shares some amazing research that will help you understand where to place the lion’s share of your effort, energy and budget in your renovation or new home. It’s a game-changer.

She also shares detail about how to achieve the four “F’s” in your main living and dining space. She'll uncover how to tailor this learning to your own design, so you can create a great living and dining space in your home.

There’s 3 key mistakes Amelia sees many homeowners make when creating their living and dining rooms. She’ll go through these in detail so you can avoid them in your design. What are they? You’ll need to listen (!) … but avoiding these mistakes will help you …

Mistake #1 Avoiding this will help you enhance the relaxation of your living space

Mistake #2 Knowing this one will mean you don’t create a modern problem in how you use this room

Mistake #3 Not doing this is a sure-fire way to build in flexibility and comfort into your main living room

Amelia will also provide 3 design tips to help you get it right in these spaces. She goes through them in detail, how to execute them, and give you some action steps.

Design tip #1 Tells you where to locate your living space in your home

Design tip #2 Gives you tips about what you should be doing early on in the design process

Design tip #3 Outlines how to arrange the room so you see certain elements first

(There’s also key tips about your dining room – and how to avoid a big mistake many homeowners make in where they position it in their reno or new home design).

Listen to the podcast now. You’ll be on the way to getting it right in your design for your main living and dining spaces.

FOR RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST CLICK HERE

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