When you finally get the home of your dreams, it feels good to be able to share it with others. Whether it’s a casual BBQ with close friends, formal dinners to celebrate important milestones, or Christmas with extended family, it’s nice to have a home in Mornington Peninsula that makes entertaining easy.
But it can’t be all about entertaining. Your home must enhance your family lifestyle with functionality that makes everyday tasks (like cooking and cleaning) quick and easy, styling that reflects your personality, and spaces to both come together as a group or retreat for privacy.
Sadly, too many new homes on the Peninsula get the balance wrong (especially when it comes to integrating inside and outside). As a result, they are neither comfortable and convenient for everyday living, nor suitable for entertaining.
This article provides tips to help you design the ultimate entertainer’s home (both indoors and outdoors), without compromising your family’s comfort.
Use Open Plans To Create The Heart Of Your Home
An open plan kitchen, dining, living area creates the heart and hub of your home both for everyday living and entertaining. It’s where you and your guests will spend most of your time — preparing and eating meals, having important conversations, and unwinding together. Whether you’re cooking, dining, or relaxing, an open plan layout gives your house a homey atmosphere and facilitates a sense of togetherness for both family and guests.
An open plan design can also maximise use of space, eliminating single-use areas like hallways and corridors, giving you more space for relaxing and entertaining.
A good designer will customise your open plan design to suit the way your family lives, providing the perfect blend of comfort and convenience for midweek living and weekend entertaining. Things to consider when creating your open plan design include:
Butler’s Pantry: If you’re concerned about keeping your open plan kitchen clean, consider a butler’s pantry. This not only gives you loads more storage, it provides a second area for messy things like meal prep and cleanup.
Furniture And Floorcoverings: An open plan design has few permanent structures. But this doesn’t mean you can’t create different visual zones. Placement of rugs and furniture can help to separate areas while maintaining connectivity. And because they can be moved, you have the flexibility to change the size of zones according to your needs.
Ceiling Height: There’s no rule that says you must maintain the same ceiling height through your open plan area. Different ceiling heights not only help to create different zones, but they can also connect inside and outside. For example, a higher ceiling over the living area can fill your home with light from your outside entertaining area, giving the two zones an even greater connection.
Lighting: A mix of different lighting styles can help with both function and style. The bright ceiling lights you need in the kitchen for meal prep can be tempered with softer pendent lights over your dining table. Add some table or floor lights in your living area for ultimate lighting control for relaxing or entertaining.
Seamless Indoor-Outdoor Transition
The best entertainer’s homes on the Peninsula use clever integration techniques to connect all entertaining zones – especially inside to outside – so everyone feels part of the action. Some considerations include:
Folding Doors: Wall-to-wall folding doors provide the ultimate in flexibility. Fully opened, they can create one, large indoor-outdoor living and entertaining area. Partially closed, they allow you to create connected zones. Fully closed, they offer total protection when the weather is less than perfect. Team them with retractable fly screens for protection from insects.
Choice Of Colour: Consider the colour or your door frames carefully. A dark colour will tend to disappear allowing you to enjoy the view more. Continuity of colour scheme (outside and inside) and the addition of plants can also help to form a seamless transition.
Roofline: Too many outdoor areas feel cramped and claustrophobic because the roof is too low. A low roof can also make your home feel darker inside. At the same time, a roof that is angled incorrectly can leave your outdoor area (and even your home) exposed to the wrong sun at certain times of the day / year. A good designer builder on the Peninsula will help you assess the direction of the sun in different seasons and design your outdoor area to optimise use and comfort.
Posts And Beams: Posts can visually distract and interrupt your view. A good designer builder can show you how to use extended beams to decrease the number of posts, giving you a more open view.
Year-Round Liveability
Too many entertainer’s homes have impressive (aka expensive) outdoor entertaining areas that rarely get used because they are only comfortable a few months of the year. Here are some simple things you can do to ensure you can enjoy your outside entertainment area all year round:
Cooling: External fans bring welcome breeze in any weather. When choosing ceiling fans for your outdoor entertaining area, be sure they are rated for outdoor use. Where possible, opt for larger fans that push more air at lower speeds, so they are quieter. And if you find the summer heat unbearable, choose a misting fan. The refreshing water vapour will keep your entertaining area cool on the hottest of days.
Heating: The crisp air of winter not only becomes bearable, its enjoyable when you’re bathed in a blanket of warm, radiant heat. While portable gas heaters can be effective, you may like to consider more permanent heating options. Radiant heat strips provide instant, no-mess warmth at the flick of a switch.
Sun and Wind Protection: If your outdoor entertaining area faces west, consider adding a screen or retractable blinds you can easily adjust to stop unwanted sun. Blinds can also help to keep out biting winter winds (and keep warmth in), so your family and guests are comfortable all year round.
Free Guide for Building Your Dream Home on the Mornington Peninsula
Whether you’d like to enjoy regular time with a few friends, host formal dinner parties, or simply relax as a family, an entertainer’s home with integrated indoor-outdoor areas is a great choice. But as you can see, there are many things to consider.
That’s why we invite you to download our practical guide to building your custom dream home on the Mornington Peninsula.