Thinking of a home extension in Perth? You’ve come to the right place.
For many Perth homeowners, buying or building a new house is the natural next step when you feel like you want a little bit more out of where you live. But there is a third option – one that can save you thousands of dollars, improve your quality of life, add value to your existing home and let you stay in the area you know and love – an extension, of course!
Home extensions are the ultimate choice when it comes to flexibility, comfort and value. They are a particularly beneficial choice when it comes to Gen X homeowners, whose family circumstances may be changing now or in the future. When you want to design a better space for teenagers, adult children or even the grandkids or if your children have left home and an older parent is moving, there are countless benefits to rethinking the way your home works.
So, without further ado – here are five clever ways to extend your home!
1. Adding another floor
Perth historically had such large block sizes (quarter-acre, anybody?) so there was never really any reason to build upwards but that’s changed in recent years. Today, the average block size is around 383sqm – a whopping 628 sqm smaller than the old quarter acre. This is when adding another floor to your existing home is a great idea. You can move all your bedrooms upstairs and enjoy a vastly expanded kitchen, lounge and dining area on the ground floor – or even knock out a rear-facing room and convert it to an alfresco space!
2. Converting a garage
For a more modest change, you could consider converting an unused garage. Garage conversions are popular with families who are able to park their vehicle on the driveway or in the street – and it’s easy to see why. With a quick and easy conversion, you can enjoy a whole extra room in your home. This could be something as luxurious as a brand new master suite or as simple as a home cinema – the choice is yours!
3. Extending above a garage
If you still need your garage to park your car in, you could consider extending above your garage instead. This option is best suited to homes that are already two storeys, so the new room above your garage can link up with the rest of the second floor. However, above-garage extensions can also work well as standalone rooms to function as a guest suite, a home office or a studio space.
4. Building a side extension
You know that long, narrow, useless exterior side part of your house? Best known for storing bins and fold-out clotheslines, these staples of Aussie homes are actually a great little option for an extension. If your building code allows for parapet wall extensions, you might be able to extend several rooms by about a meter along that side of the home. For example, your kitchen abuts your side area, you could pitch the roof over the extension and opt for a conservatory-style glass ceiling instead to flood the area with light. It’s only a small extension, but it could make a huge difference!
5. Extending into the yard
Last but not least, the old faithful – a rear extension. This one is the most popular choice, likely because it’s where the most space is and it also has the lowest impact on the neighbours. There are so many brilliant examples of modern rear extensions in Australia, jutting out from Federation cottages and established bungalows. These are the perfect option if you’d love a modern space but you still adore your character home.
Feeling inspired? Have a look through our gallery of extensions to see what we can do for you, or reach out to ARG to chat about your ideas today!
