Your home should fit your lifestyle and vision of comfort.. so it’s no wonder why reverse living has been embraced by so many Perth locals. While traditional homes feature primary living areas on the lower level, reverse living flips this design so that the kitchen and main living areas are upstairs, and the majority of the bedrooms are placed on the lower level. The flipped floor plan trend started in Nordic countries but soon gained admirers in Australia by those enamoured by the potential to showcase the landscape surrounding their home. We believe these are the key reasons you should consider this alternative style of design..
Views
The biggest benefit of reverse living is having a home that takes full advantage of your surrounding views and environment. Reverse living home designs are suited to many different locations, such as coastal living, open country spaces, and even bushland. Having your main living space upstairs means your family and house guests get beautiful views of your landscape from the best possible point.
Choosing this style of design will mean your home is filled with natural light during the day when your family is most likely to be in these spaces for longer amounts of time, reducing the need for excess electricity consumption. We recommend incorporating floor to ceiling slider doors and larger windows on your second storey to take full advantage of your views.
Energy Efficiency
Reverse living provides a modern lifestyle option that will improve your homes overall energy efficiency. You can save money on your power bills by naturally cooling your home throughout the day. When living in the Australian climate, putting your bedrooms downstairs is a great way to shield your bedroom from heat, reducing the need for air conditioning on those hot summer nights.
When your entertaining space is higher up, more natural light will flood in throughout the day reducing the need for artificial lighting. With this style of configuration, your living quarters can be lit up better at a lower cost, increasing your guest’s comfort. Depending on its orientation, a skylight can also provide more natural light and air, giving you much more freedom in optimizing energy savings.
Family Zones
Choosing a reverse living design is a great way to create zones in your home that allow for both the adults and children to have their own personal space. Separating the bedrooms from your common area will give you a designated spot to come together and spend quality time. With bedrooms and a cinema room located downstairs, the kids can entertain their friends without creating too much noise and then come upstairs at the end of the night for dinner in your shared dining space.
For those who are empty nesters and receive frequent visits from friends and family, we recommend having a downstairs retreat with a kitchenette, ideal for guests who stay for a few days at a time. Reverse living designs create collective shared zones as well as giving everyone a private space to retreat and relax.
Entertaining
When dreaming of your ideal home design, it’s important to consider how and where you plan to entertain your friends and family for dinner parties, drinks, and special occasions. As a result, open plan living and large kitchens have become increasingly popular and take on a whole new charm when you have sweeping views to work with.
The upstairs balcony is the place to be when flipping your floor plan. Your landscape will form the perfect back drop to any special occasion and with the addition of a balcony, you will have multiple seating options to choose from both indoors and outdoors, making reverse living a particularly attractive design option.
