A relaxed modern home for a growing family, this Ringwood build makes the most of the sloping block to capture big sky views.
Why did you sign with Destination Living?
Chris
We did a bit of research and spoke to a few building companies and as soon as we met the team at Destination Living, we felt that they were really a nice bunch of people.
We had an instant good rapport with them, they were professional and they just really sold themselves to us.
Janelle
We also needed somebody that helped us along the way. We needed somebody that gave us the complete package basically and that was what Destination Living provided to us.
Landscaping features such as large rocks, feature plantings, dams, ponds and creeks are also exciting opportunities to maximise views.
What were the main challenges in your old home that made you decide to do a knock down rebuild?
Chris
We’re a family of four and our kids now are growing up fast, and we just felt that the design of our house wasn’t quite right for us as our kids transition into their teenage years.
Janelle
We love this area. We love this block of land. The house just got too small and it was a bit dated.
Chris
We just wanted to upgrade to something that we could see ourselves living in for many, many more years as we expand as a family.
What were the main challenges in your old home that made you decide to do a knock down rebuild?
Chris
We’re a family of four and our kids now are growing up fast, and we just felt that the design of our house wasn’t quite right for us as our kids transition into their teenage years.
Janelle
We love this area. We love this block of land. The house just got too small and it was a bit dated.
Chris
We just wanted to upgrade to something that we could see ourselves living in for many, many more years as we expand as a family.
What were the key features of the block that you wanted to retain?
Janelle
My one thing was the light, I just needed to see the sky, because the sky here is amazing.
The main living space being open and family friendly, making sure that we can be together but also close it off if you need to.
Chris
I think with us being on a sloping block our house always had that view.
We were really pleased to engage Destination Living, to design this house where the main living area is upstairs to make the most of that light, and the view.
How do you feel that the team at Destination Living captured your lifestyle and vision for your home?
Janelle
They did an amazing job. There was a lot of collaboration between us, a lot of lists that we made of non-negotiables and things that we wanted in the house.
We put everything we wanted down, and it all got put together into this beautiful house.
Chris
I think they knew all the right questions to ask us to make sure that they created the spaces that would really work for us.
How has the Destination Living design and build process worked for you?
Janelle
It’s been amazing again because we knew nothing about building the house and having the builder on site been astronomical.
The whole concept of Destination Living, project managing the design, and the builder together has just it’s just worked really well.
Chris
It’s been really good how seamless it’s been in terms of the team and how they worked with us. I think for me the key thing was the communication, and really informing us where we were up to and what decisions we had to make, and keeping an eye on the timeline.
Janelle
The lines of communication have always been open so if we’ve ever had to speak to them, any time we wanted to we could just get on the phone and I have a chat through anything. They are very approachable.
Are there any areas of the house that have worked better than what you anticipated?
Janelle
It’s bigger than what we anticipated. We wanted the big house and this is a big house. It’s amazing, we will fill the house and it will be amazing and it will it will do us forever.
Chris
I feel like I could mention so many different things, but I really like the downstairs. I had in my mind that it was going to be a bit dark and yet the use of light coming from the stairwell has filled downstairs with light. And it feels like a nice area down there.
What three words would you use to sum up your experience with Destination Living?
Janelle
Easy, Amazing!
Chris
Damn, I was going to say that.
Stress-free, as stress free as it possibly could be.
How would you describe Destination Living’s service to anyone who is considering a design and build project?
Chris
Very, very impressive. Very professional in terms of every aspect of the journey we’ve been treated with respect and with very clear communication, and just, with great friendship and warmth as well.
We’ve come away from this with only positive relationships.
So many people say about how disastrous building a house is, and we’re not coming away from this thinking that at all. It’s just been amazing.
“We’ve now got our dream house. Kudos to Destination Living and their team, because it’s been amazing.”
