My Forever Home – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this episode, Frances explores how renovation TV shows impact our expectations and understanding of the design and build industry. She delves into the difference between the outcomes showcased and the practical challenges of real-life projects, and what is often missed that affect a good design result.

Tune in to gain insights into the reality behind the renovation glamour and learn how to better prepare for your own projects.

In this new episode, Frances explores the concept of adaptive home design for multi-generational living. Discover practical tips for creating flexible, adaptive spaces that can evolve with your family's needs over time, ensuring your home remains future proof if multiple generations live together, including designing for mobility issues and for when we age.

In this insightful episode, fellow interior designer James Treble joins Frances to discuss the art of creating timeless and functional homes.  

Covering topics such as budgeting, future-proofing design principles, and how to get ideas, Treble shares valuable insights for both renovation and new home projects. Whether you're embarking on a home improvement journey or planning your dream home, this conversation offers practical tips to help you maximise value and enhance your quality of living. 

In this Episode of the podcast, Frances discusses the key differences between Butler's Pantries, Walk in Pantries, Pull-out Pantries, Appliance Cupboards, Cupboard Pantries and Step in Pantries. She also walks through the key components of a well-designed walk in pantry, and discusses some key questions relating to pantries – doors, cabinetry fronts, sinks and windows.

SHOWNOTES:

A walk-in pantry has become one of the must-have features within a home. However, if you are trying to create a home that doesn't have a large footprint, perhaps a walk in pantry or butler's pantry is not necessarily going to serve you as much as you think.

Acts as a secondary kitchen that functions not only to store food but also serve as your food preparation area. A sink is the minimum for a Butler's pantry with other appliances an option.

• Sink + window
• 2nd fridge
• Sometimes dishwasher and oven – only if 2nd appliances not instead of kitchen

A space to store food and small appliances such as coffee machine, mix masters, blenders, and microwaves.

Usually a cupboard used for storing food but doesn't have enough space to store your appliances. Traditional pantries are a good solution when you don't have much space for a walk-in pantry.

Can be used instead of a walk-in pantry to store appliances when space is tight. If it's combined with your pantry space, it can reduce the amount of food you can store in your pantry.

• It can have roller doors, bi-fold doors, etractable doors that go back into the wall, or hinged doors

To make good use of corners, we often design what we call a step-in pantry. It creates the illusion of a walk-in pantry and gives a bit of bench space where you can place your appliances, and also your food

• Items are not easily accessible
• Sides are not always high enough to store tall bottles
• Items tend to fall over if not packed in, which can be annoying
• Wire frames not great to visibility and holding items fixed

For a better solution, use a pull-out system with specially designed hardware that is designed much better. Companies such as Blum or Hettich have specially designed pull out drawer pantry systems.

A Butler's pantry and walk-in pantry is an area where you can store things away. It is not an area that is meant to be revealed for guests.For this reason, I suggest the following;-

• Items are visible, accessible because of its open shelves.
• Drawers for cans, spices, small items – cake decorating stuff
• Sliding door – to keep the space out of view
• If doors are not possible, you may need to have cabinetry doors
• Open shelves for platters can get dusty, but still allows for clear visibility of everything you store.
• Allows you to store long and wide items or appliances that you don't use all the time.
• If you have the space, you may add a sink and a window for a natural lighting – really good for dumping dishes, coffee prep, baking prep
• It may also be an opportunity for you to create a different Splashback- only needs to be 500mm high
• Same benchtop as kitchen or opt for laminate top to save money

You can't really design something until you know what you need. The functionality, your lifestyle, how you cook, how you prepare food, how are you going to use the space drives the design.

White Pebble Interiors will let you complete a deep dive need assessment (Clear Clarity Design Worksheet) to understand what you need and where you will be storing everything as part of kitchen design.

• It allows you to think about what you need, instead of 'just want a WIP'
• That will determine if you need a WIP or butler's pantry
• What needs to go in one?
  • 2ndfridge – drinks fridge, entertaining fridge, overflow
  • microwave,
  • Daily appliance use: coffee machine, toaster, kettle
  • Dry good, appliances
  • Platters, entertaining items, cook books
• How many of you are using that space (cooking and food preparation)?
• How can you use that space in a better way?

A walk- in pantry can sometimes be as large as a bathroom – can you use that space in a better way in your home?

Available Services:

BOOK A CHAT

Ready to renovate or create your kitchen but not sure where to start?

Get the help of a property expert and save yourself from making costly mistakes with a free Forever Home chat. Click here to get access to Frances' calendar.

KITCHEN ONLINE COURSE WAITLIST

Ready to design and create your own beautiful kitchen?

Get all the interior designer insider knowledge in this online course to create your dream kitchen.

Join the waitlist so you're the first to know about this course; https://www.whitepebbleinteriors.com.au/kitchen-design-online-course/

KITCHEN BLISS PACKAGE

Overwhelmed by the amount of decisions that need to be made when creating a stylish, functional and durable kitchen? What materials to select, what colours will co-ordinate together, what design is going to best suit the space, and your requirements.

We offer kitchen design packages that include joinery design and material selections for a complete kitchen design. Click the link here to find more: https://www.whitepebbleinteriors.com.au/new-homes-and-renovations/#kitchen

Related Resources:

Episode 47: Kitchen Design Essentials – Key Kitchen Measurements

Episode 45: Kitchen Design Essentials - Internal Elevations & Joinery Design

Read our latest blog on Internal Elevations and Joinery Design here.

Episode 43: Kitchen Design Essentials – Flatpack Vs Custom Designed Kitchens

Episode 41: Kitchen Design Essentials – Cabinetry Materials 

Episode 39: Kitchen Design Essentials – Splashbacks

Episode 38: Kitchen Design Essentials-Benchtop Criteria and Materials – Part 2 

Episode 36: Kitchen Design Essentials – Benchtops part 1 

Episode 14: Forever Home LIVE- Joinery Drawings and Why Do Them Early On

Episode 30: Kitchen Design Essentials -Kitchen Design Layouts and Location

Episode 32: Kitchen Design Essentials – The Builder's Insight 

How to Choose the Right Bench Top

Top 5 tips for selecting benchtops

Frances is not a fan of TVs being the focal point in a room. In this Forever Home Live, she walks through different options for TV placement, and how they do not necessarily have to be wall-mounted and centered on the wall. She discusses how to balance the TV with other items in the room so it's not all about the TV! Finally, she talks about TVs above a fire and why this is not ideal.

In this episode Frances outlines the essential measurements to ensure your kitchen is functional and workable. She discusses the kitchen triangle and the theory behind how this works in your kitchen, cabinetry size standards, appliances, splashbacks and also some of the regulations to check.

SHOWNOTES

Kitchen Triangle

You need to be able to access things easily and move between key areas for food preparation such as your sink, fridge,stove top and ovens. Ideally, it you need to have a maximum of 7 metres between all these areas.

The theory behind it is-;

• Have bench space near the fridge so you can put your items down
• Adequate space next to the stovetop
• Easily unpack dishes from the dishwasher
• Space on either side of the sink (i.e for handwashing, preparation, washing vegetables and etc)

• Check your local regulations with regards to how close a water source can be next to electricity– normally at least 500mm.

Splashbacks

Check with the local building regulations but as a guide.

• Electric - 600mm between the stove and overhead cupboards
• Gas - 650mm from top rivet of the stove to underside of the lowest point on overhead cupboards
• Induction – 650mm

The height of your splashback may impact the splashback tile that you choose.

Cabinetry

When we are doing deep dives with our clients, we consider how many people are going to use the kitchen so we can design it specifically on how many people are going to cook or prepare food in that space.

• Between benches - 1000mm minimum is allowable but ideally it should be 1200mm.
• If there are two cooks working together, we would recommend a minimum of 1200mm between benches
• Between the Island bench and dining area, minimum measurement of It gives you adequate space for chairs to be pulled out and still be able to flow and walk between the spaces.
• Ideally, you need 300 millimeters between the edge of the bench and the sink. You don't want to have your sink hard up against the edge of a bench as you have got nowhere to put anything down
• Ideally, the dishwasher should be 500mm from the corner – can also be placed at the end if need be.
• Ideally, 300-400mm bench space either side of stovetop
• Standard bench height is 900mm – go higher if you are taller
• Standard bench depth is 600mm
• Kicker/kickboard which is at the bottom of the cabinetry is generally anywhere between 90 and 150mm. Setback is about 50mm.
• Overhead cupboards are anywhere between 300-350mm deep

Island bench

• Ideally it should be at a metre But in apartments that may not be achievable, so then they would be between 800mm-900mm.
• For benchtop overhangs, 400mm is a good measurement as it allows you to tuck stools under. However, 300mm is also sufficient.
• Benchtop – 8-40mm thick is available in various materials.
  • Island bench can be a feature and be thicker than rear benches
  • Suggest 20mm -25mm – depending on material – 40mm for feature stone
  • Laminate benchtops 33mm as standard
  • Solid acrylic surface can be any thickness

Appliances

• From a functionality perspective, it's better to have your microwaves either on the bench or overhead rather than underneath the bench.
• Standard dishwasher size is 600mm but you can get a smaller size at 450 mm. Not so popular in Australia as they are in Europe.
• Standard wall oven size 600mm – free standing ovens can be 600, 750, 800, 900
• Fridge cavity – minimum 1000mm for a 900mm fridge & 1800mm high. If you want to future proof your space, measure your fridge cavity first so when you upgrade your fridge you will have enough space for the new one.
• Double sink allow about 800mm x 480mm deep

Available Services

BEAUTIFUL KITCHEN DESIGN MADE EASY

Ready to design and create your own beautiful kitchen?

Get all the interior designer insider knowledge in this online course to create your dream kitchen.

Join the waitlist so you're the first to get the launch special offer!

BOOK A CHAT

Ready to renovate or build your kitchen but not sure where to start?

Get the help of a property expert and save yourself from making costly mistakes with a free Forever Home chat. Click here to get access to Frances' calendar; 

KITCHEN BLISS PACKAGE

Overwhelmed by the amount of decisions that need to be made when creating a stylish, functional and durable kitchen? What materials to select, what colours will co-ordinate together, what design is going to best suit the space, and your requirements.

We offer kitchen design packages that include joinery design and material selections for a complete kitchen design. Click the link here to find more.

Related Resources:

Episode 45: Kitchen Design Essentials - Internal Elevations & Joinery Design and you may watch our video for more info here.

Read our latest blog on Internal Elevations and Joinery Design here.

Episode 43: Kitchen Design Essentials – Flatpack Vs Custom Designed Kitchens

Episode 41: Kitchen Design Essentials – Cabinetry Materials

Episode 39: Kitchen Design Essentials – Splashbacks

Episode 38: Kitchen Design Essentials-Benchtop Criteria and Materials – Part 2

Episode 36: Kitchen Design Essentials – Benchtops part 1 

Episode 14: Forever Home LIVE- Joinery Drawings and Why Do Them Early On

Episode 30: Kitchen Design Essentials -Kitchen Design Layouts and Location

Episode 32: Kitchen Design Essentials – The Builder's Insight 

How to Choose the Right Bench Top

Top 5 tips for selecting benchtops

In this Forever Home Live Frances discusses ceiling heights and why you would opt for an optimal ceiling height of 2.7m at a minimum and why the investment is worth it. As you Forever Home, Frances is a strong believer in getting your building structure right, and ceiling height is one of those core foundations.

Frances is pretty passionate about internal elevations making or breaking the outcome of your home, which is definitely apparent in this episode of the podcast. She outlines what internal elevations are, what advantages they provide, and further, what can go wrong if you don't have proper internal elevations for your kitchen.

Without them, it's like asking your builder to navigate without a map!

In this episode, you'll get to understand why they are so important and how critical they are to you getting your kitchen design right.

SHOWNOTES

So often we see people not fully understanding the investment benefit in having detailed Internal Elevations and Joinery Design completed for their kitchen (and their home)

In today's episode, Frances outlines what you can achieve in completing internal elevations and joinery drawings before the build starts. She covers;

• What are internal elevations and how they make a difference and why they are critical for so many reasons
• How they serves you and your builder
• How not having them can lead to expensive mistakes and design disappointments
• The difference between cabinetry drawings and joinery design

Cabinetry Drawings vs Internal Elevations

Cabinetry drawings show the joinery only, while internal elevations show everything that you will see when facing the wall front on. Think, splashbacks, appliances, tap position etc.

While afloorplan gives you an aerial view of the design, Internal Elevations will show you the detail front on..  Typically, there are four internal elevations for each room showing each wall and what you can see on that wall, as if you are facing it.

• It provides specific details such as;
• Size and placement of cabinetry
• Design and construction notes
• Detailed joinery design- i.e Is it floating?
• Placement of taps
• Tile layout
• Accessory placement
• Handle details
• Anything else that is visible front on

When working from floorplans only,  you, nor your builder can see what is required.

Things that can't be seen in a Floorplan but ONLY shown in on Internal Elevations;

• Are you having cupboards, drawers, how deep, how wide, floating height of cabinetry
• Benchtop thickness, waterfall edges and shadow lines
• Extent of splashback, tiling, feature walls and skirting tile
• Any overhead cabinetry, or shelving, thickness and placement
• Fireplace detail, location, height, surround
• Location of heating and cooling ducts

• Some homeowners feel they can easily instruct the cabinet maker or builder onsite.
  • Cabinet makers are not designers perse. They have great ideas, but may not take into consideration your lifestyle and functionality requirements.
  • Can lead to lots of issues onsite, and miscommunication about what's actually wanted.

• Allows you to have an understanding of how the proposed spaces and rooms will look.
• Helps you visualize, and assists you in making decisions on the location of cupboards, windows, doors, and power points.
• By knowing the position of all the critical items in the room, it allows you to make other dependent decisions such as wall finishes, doors, and windows.
• Lack of good internal elevations leads to unnecessary guesswork on-site for the builder, owner, and contractors. Everyone is looking for answers on how to build and detail certain elements of your home.
• Fair too often we see people with only floorplans showing the aerial view of their cabinetry layout, or internal elevations with minimal design detail which opens up so much room for error, misinterpretation, and misunderstanding about expectations on the final outcome.
• Cabinetry to fit a space without any design consideration around functionality and needs for space is also not design.
• It's a costly exercise to get wrong.

1. Allows you to manage, assess, tweak and finalise exactly what is being built before it is built.
2. Gives you visualisation to make a sound and informed decisions.
3. Fixed price quoting – The builder can quote a fixed price because he can see exactly what's going on.
4. Build accuracy – The builder knows exactly what he needs to build and he knows exactly what is expected of him. He can see the detail and not have to guess or assume anything.
5. Less stress – All details are finalised at plan stage so you're not being rushed to make decisions and being asked things you don't know enough about. 
6. Minimise overwhelm – It's all been decided well before the builder starts.
7. Manage costs – Able to make changes if needed, before the building starts, minimizing variations
8. Mitigate mistakes – Everything is detailed on the drawings which means all parties know what is required of them. And you've had time to explore options  to make the right decisions.
9. Saves you time – Minimise the amount of calls from the builder to seek clarification.
10. Holistic  approach – All the people that are working on your project are working together according to your master plan. When done well, internal elevations may show impacts on spaces or other rooms and being able to have conversations up front to make tweaks and changes for the best overall outcome.

• Some believe that they can instruct the builder and cabinet maker on all the joinery details
• • Think they will save money by not investing in elevations
  • Instructing them at build stage, often with the frame already completed, has a knock on effects of joinery design on others areas such as windows, or doors which  are generally too late to change.
  • Compromises are already occurring 
  • Increases cost when variations occur on site

1. Briefing Session

• What's important to you,
• What functionality requirements you have
• What's the look and feel you want

• Detailed Deep Dive Needs Assessment Allows us to understand your lifestyle

• How you use your kitchen
• What you need to access to
• What you need to store

1. We analyse the Brief and Deep Dive documents. We consider the space, and set about designing with functionality and flow in mind, and how that will meet your needs.

1. We think, collaborate and consult with you so we design something that will fulfill your functionality requirements and your vision.

1. We discuss our Design Rationale with you, highlighting why the design is the way it is, what factors were considered in our approach, and how certain aspects may work better in some layouts than others.

1. It's easy to fill a space with cabinetry, but it's the thinking behind the design that sets homes apart and make them function in the best way possible. Design can look amazing but if it does not work it is a waste design-- Functionality is KING.
2. This arms you with the information you need to make informed decisions. The right decisions for you and your lifestyle.

Available Services

BOOK A CHAT

Ready to renovate or build your kitchen but not sure where to start?

Get the help of a property expert and save yourself from making costly mistakes with a free Forever Home chat. Click here to get access to Frances' calendar; 

KITCHEN ONLINE COURSE WAITLIST

Ready to design and create your own beautiful kitchen?

Get all the interior designer insider knowledge in this online course to create your dream kitchen.

Join the waitlist so you're the first to know about this course;

KITCHEN BLISS PACKAGE

Overwhelmed by the amount of decisions that need to be made when creating a stylish, functional and durable kitchen? What materials to select, what colours will co-ordinate together, what design is going to best suit the space, and your requirements.

We offer kitchen design packages that include joinery design and material selections for a complete kitchen design. Click the link here to find more.

Related Resources:

Read our latest blog on Internal Elevations and Joinery Design here.

Episode 43: Kitchen Design Essentials – Flatpack Vs Custom Designed Kitchens

Episode 41: Kitchen Design Essentials – Cabinetry Materials

Episode 39: Kitchen Design Essentials – Splashbacks

Episode 38: Kitchen Design Essentials-Benchtop Criteria and Materials – Part 2

Episode 36: Kitchen Design Essentials – Benchtops part 1 

Episode 14: Forever Home LIVE- Joinery Drawings and Why Do Them Early On

Episode 30: Kitchen Design Essentials -Kitchen Design Layouts and Location

Episode 32: Kitchen Design Essentials – The Builder's Insight 

How to Choose the Right Bench Top

Top 5 tips for selecting benchtops

In this Forever Home Live, Frances has just been onsite and runs through the type of things she was checking on site, and why you need to negotiate with your builder to get access and be on-site at certain stages of the build to check what's going on.

Feature walls do not necessarily mean a bold colour on one wall in a room! In this Forever Home Live, Frances chats about elements you can use to create a feature wall in your Living Room, with a big emphasis on not having the TV as the focal point. She highlights the use of texture through various materials such as wallpaper, textured paint, Unitex and stone to create impact and layers in a room.