00:00:04
Speaker 1: This is an R Media podcast. Could be a black and white themed Hampton style.
00:00:11
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:00:12
Speaker 1: So the husband gets his black windows and black roof, but the wife gets her Hampton's style home. So there's probably different ways to go about it.
00:00:21
Speaker 2: That's a good point. I think colour palette and materials, that's the key here.
00:00:26
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:00:28
Speaker 2: And the wife gets her Hampton's house. Happy wife, happy life.
00:00:31
Speaker 1: The wife's always right.
00:00:37
Speaker 2: I'm Elle Lovelock, editor-in-chief of Home Beautiful. Welcome to The Edit, where we bring you into beautiful homes with the people who create them. Today, we're starting outside because before anybody walks through your front door, they've already made their mind up about your home from the footpath. My guest has spent more than 35 years deciding what Australian homes look like from the street. Adrian Poppel is Metricon's National Design Director. So he's perfectly placed to advise how to choose a facade that makes you think, I can't believe I live here every time you come home. Adrian, welcome to The Edit.
00:01:22
Speaker 1: Thanks for having me, Al. We're excited to be here.
00:01:24
Speaker 2: I know, it's great to have you here because last time we caught up, I was in your space at your event.
00:01:30
Speaker 1: That's right.
00:01:31
Speaker 2: Which was incredible. That was the Love of Design Summit.
00:01:34
Speaker 1: Down in Byron or up in Byron, sorry, down from home, but up from Sydney. It was an amazing event. We, you know, again, it sort of exceeded our expectations, you know, the second one that we've done, um, over the last couple of years and they're really excited and it was great to have you, you know, as our host and MC. I thought that, that really worked well. And, gave it another dynamic, you know, I think people really enjoyed it.
00:01:58
Speaker 2: In a nutshell, how would you sum it up for people who are listening who might not know what it is and why do you do it?
00:02:04
Speaker 1: Well, it's really about, you know, bringing our creative people together. You know, we've got two teams that work out of different offices, one in Queensland and one down in Victoria and Melbourne, you know, so getting them out of the day-to-day, you know, routines and sort of we used a analogy around changing your chair last time and we sort of stayed true to that and it was about, you know, changing your chair to get a different perspective. So how better to do that than to get out of the office and spend time in Byron Bay, you know, and hear from people outside of our industry, you know, to challenge our thinking and learn about what's happening, you know, in other markets. And that was really.
00:02:45
Speaker 2: Exciting because you are a home builder. You build thousands of homes a year. Yep. You had architects, designers, futurists, experts from all different areas that people might not associate with a building company who is producing so many homes.
00:03:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I guess that's, you know, we really pride ourselves in trying to be leaders within the design industry, you know, within that volume space and, you know, to really try and drive innovation. You know, so how do you get that? You know, you obviously need to lean into other other areas and other markets and other expertise so um and just trying to find interesting people that are going to challenge your thinking not tell you about you know what a great job you're doing because yeah that's sort of self-fulfilling so yeah we want to be challenged and maybe told that we're not doing as good as we could or yeah you know we need to stretch and try you know these things so that's that's what we did you know and i think we were really fortunate around the the people that were able to get on board and, you know, generously offered their time to do that, you know, which is great. So, yeah, we're looking forward to obviously the next one. I know. In a few more years. But it's really good and our team really value it. You know, we get a lot of inspiration out of it, which is great.
00:04:03
Speaker 2: I did too. And in my own preparation for hosting the event, I was trawling through all the gorgeous home designs that you have. And, you know, I love a floor plan. Mm-hmm. But when you're looking through all the different homes, it's the facades you see. And I would love to get into that with you because the facade of a house, it's the first impression you have. When you pull up to a home that you live in, you want to look at it and think, I can't believe I live here. But also, I think people do want other people to pull up to their homes and go, wow, that's impressive. You want to impress people.
00:04:45
Speaker 1: Yep.
00:04:47
Speaker 2: Let's talk about the importance of creating a great facade. Is that something that you lead with or is this something that comes further down the track when you're designing homes?
00:04:58
Speaker 1: No, we lead with it. I mean, I'm like you, I love a good floor plan, you know, absolutely. And I think they're really important, but to me, you lead with the facade, you know, that's, that's, that is the first impression, you know, when you want people to to fall in love with that or be intrigued about what's actually behind that facade. If the facade looks great, well, then the plan behind it is going to be equally good. So it's certainly something we pride ourselves on. It's probably almost the most challenging part of designing a home. Is it?
00:05:29
Speaker 2: How come?
00:05:30
Speaker 1: Just to get it right, you know, just to get the balance and the proportions right.
00:05:34
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:05:35
Speaker 1: You know, we've got to think about buildability and cost and all those sorts of elements that come into it, you know, being a volume builder. So you've got to replicate these things numerous times in different states with different regulatory requirements. So there's a lot involved in it to get it right. And we tend not to compromise. You know, we really want to stay authentic, you know, to a particular style that we're sort of, you know, trying to create at that particular time.
00:06:02
Speaker 2: Let's talk about that because... People want to project their own personal aesthetic onto their home and they should. They absolutely should. What is the balance between getting a facade right, as you say, and adding in too many windows or decorative features? There is a point where it can start to look a bit weird.
00:06:25
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and, you know, we talk about, you know, getting that balance and proportion symmetry right. You know, it's a really critical element. and I think when it goes wrong, you can tell when it goes wrong, and when it's right, it might be hard to put your finger on, you know, but, you know, it makes you feel something.
00:06:43
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:06:43
Speaker 1: You know, there's something that just feels right about it, so getting that right is really important.
00:06:52
Speaker 2: Are there rules around where you put windows, how many windows you have, the front door, do you have a garage at the front or not?
00:06:59
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:07:00
Speaker 2: What are the rules around that?
00:07:01
Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, our homes all come with a garage. So you're always integrating that into the home. Yeah. So that's a critical element. It takes up a lot of real estate. Yeah, it does. So getting that balance right and offsetting that with other materials is really critical. There's no written rules, if you know what I mean. It's a feel. It's a gut feel. It's an eye for it. And I've been in the industry for a long period of time and You know, trying to– the designers we've got are super talented, you know, have really got, you know, a great eye for that type of stuff, you know, so they just kind of get it. But you've got to get that balance right between, you know, window proportion. Yeah. You know, how many windows, materiality, you know, getting that balance right. When's too many materials too much? Okay.
00:07:52
Speaker 2: I was just going to ask. Materiality, you're talking about the materials palette. So whether you're using– cladding or stone or render. Yep. What do you do to make it all work together? Like if you've got garage doors, how do you make that connect with the rest of the facade?
00:08:12
Speaker 1: Yep. We're starting to see a lot more of the garage door being integrated into the facade. So the clad, you know, there might be a cladding if it's a timber clad, you know, there's timber cladding on the home. You'll quite often see now that we're starting to clad the garage door and And if it's got a parapet above that, so that integrates into it. So it's tying those elements together.
00:08:31
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:08:31
Speaker 1: And, you know, getting away from the framed, you know, brick or render sort of thing and then just the Caliban garage door in there. Yeah, interesting. So we're trying to elevate that and lift that element.
00:08:41
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:08:41
Speaker 1: Now that comes at a cost, but we see that as a high value item, you know. Yeah, definitely. And it's difficult to change, you know, later on down the track. Yeah. if you're trying to get that seamless integration, which we feel is important, it's kind of worth spending, you know, spending the money on those types of elements.
00:08:58
Speaker 2: Are there timeless facades that you know will just endure forever?
00:09:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, you know, classical type, you know, familiar, you know, styles that have been around for a long period of time, you know, are very enduring and still part of our product portfolio. We're constantly sort of creating new versions of that, you know, and we've just, developed a new facade called the Mossman facade, which is, you know, leaning into those classical styles, you know, Georgian, mock Georgian type stuff, you know, sort of English manor type homes. Yeah. So leaning into that, you know, and just putting a modern spin on it, you know, that just elevates it, introducing a nice little arched opening, you know, into the front portico that frames the front entry really nicely.
00:09:44
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:09:44
Speaker 1: So giving it a bit of a modern twist but still, you know, making sure that you've got those elements that, you know, you're familiar with and are classical just with a modern twist.
00:09:54
Speaker 2: We were talking before about classic car design.
00:09:57
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:09:58
Speaker 2: Because you've referenced that in the past. And I asked you, what is it that you think we can learn from classic car design and apply to home design? And you were saying familiarity.
00:10:08
Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, for me, that's what we're trying to design when we're trying to design a timeless facade, something that's going to last a test of time. You go back to it in I don't know, 20, 30, 40 years ago, you know, that still stands up today. Yeah. And that's particularly challenging for a volume builder like us. But it's really something that inspires us and motivates us, you know, to be able to do that type of, you know, to achieve that. And, yeah, I mean, there's homes that we've still got or built years ago that still resonate today. So there's, you know, something in that that I think works. Yeah.
00:10:45
Speaker 2: Adrian, that's a really good point, but it's not just about timeless facades, but how do they last? How do they endure in a neighbourhood, in a street for 10, 20, 30 plus years? How do you know the house you choose will still look good?
00:11:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you've got to obviously understand that environment, you know, and sort of existing homes within that area, you know, making sure you pick something that, you know, may not doesn't necessarily stand out too much, but I still think you can make a really bold statement. And, you know, you might have an area that's, you know, full of weatherboard homes or traditional homes and want to make an architectural, bold architectural statement. So, you know, but it's about picking the right facade, you know, and about making sure that facade's got authentic details and the balance of proportions right and the material side of things is right, you know. So you want to make sure that Whatever you do in that environment, you know, is authentic and, you know, the colour palette sort of blends in, you know, so that it's a, you know, it might be a sympathetic colour palette to what's already within that environment but it might be a bold and contemporary mid-century modern inspired facade, you know, which is unique to the area but that's also unique to you.
00:12:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely. Do people have much choice in changing facade designs when they design work with metricon is there are there options color palettes material choices how much yeah i.
00:12:17
Speaker 1: Mean the built form is generally you know we stick to that and encourage our customers to stick to that because as i said earlier we spent a lot of time and effort getting that proportion and symmetry uh right but there's a lot of there is a lot of color choice and material choice to be able to uh you know blend um blend those sort of materials into each other yeah when there's Elements that you can change and either change from face brickwork to render to stone clad, you know, to add a bit of an extra element to that. But it's sort of to sort of balance that out across the facade without, you know, changing the whole material sort of appeal of the home. So there's certainly flexibility in areas that customers can personalise.
00:13:01
Speaker 2: I didn't realise you could do that much. That's quite exciting.
00:13:04
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:13:05
Speaker 2: We get asked so often about colour palettes and especially for exteriors. Are there any go-to schemes that you know just work or what's popular? What do people gravitate towards?
00:13:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, again, it depends on the style of home, whether it's a modern home or a Hamptons type home. But I think those sort of, you know, colour, Australian colour palettes that's sort of more neutral than bright and sort of in your face. But I mean, I think, you know, still very much, you know, whites and, you know, really still popular in that Hamptons coastal type, you know, style. And then you're changing the accent colours from light to dark as well. It gives you that flexibility. Yeah, that's true. So you can have a white on white Hamptons or you can have a black and white Hamptons or, you know, mid-tone type thing. So there's that type of flexibility. And then with contemporary homes, again, the theme is still the same, you know, light with sort of, Oak-type timbers is quite popular, but then you can do the reverse of that where it's a bit bolder and darker.
00:14:08
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:14:09
Speaker 1: We might introduce, you know, darker elements. But, you know, that's what we're sort of seeing at the time. And it's fairly steady, you know, and it's been that way for a long period of time.
00:14:18
Speaker 2: I live across the road from a house that used to be purple.
00:14:21
Speaker 1: Yep.
00:14:22
Speaker 2: And then we saw one day that they had the painters and they were prepping it to paint. We thought, oh, yes, we're getting rid of the purple. You know what, they painted it. Right.
00:14:33
Speaker 1: Lovely.
00:14:34
Speaker 2: So it's, you know, they clearly love their strong colors. Don't know how they got that by council. But anyway, you know, at least it's more in the palette of nature. So that's one thing.
00:14:44
Speaker 1: It's a personal preference, I guess.
00:14:46
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:14:47
Speaker 1: That's your prerogative.
00:14:48
Speaker 2: Tell us about your house. So we do home tours here at The Edit. So take us on an audio tour of your own place. If we pull up to your house, what does the facade look like?
00:15:01
Speaker 1: Well, we're very fortunate. We were able to buy a block of land at Mermaid Beach and did a knockdown rebuild. So we knocked down an old 60s two-bedroom home and built a new home.
00:15:12
Speaker 2: A Metricon home?
00:15:13
Speaker 1: Metricon, based on a Metricon home. Obviously, being a design director, I had a bit more flexibility around what that may look like. I love it. Packs of a job. That's it. So, yeah, and we designed something specific for the site. And within the Gold Coast, there's a You know, a lot of people put carports on the front of their homes, so that sort of changes the dynamic. But we've gone for, you know, foolishly a very Melbourne-inspired sort of architectural, bold architectural sort of home.
00:15:41
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:15:42
Speaker 1: And probably, you know, having my time over and spending a bit more time in Queensland and understanding the climate, I probably would have approached it a little bit different.
00:15:50
Speaker 2: Aha. So are you not originally from Queensland?
00:15:52
Speaker 1: No, no. We're Melbourne born and bred.
00:15:54
Speaker 2: I see. Isn't that interesting that you took the aesthetic with you?
00:15:58
Speaker 1: Well, it was something we had in our mind for many, many years that we wanted to build. So we bought a property in Bow Morris in Melbourne and we're going to do something similar and then we decided to move to Queensland and sort of couldn't get past that, you know, sort of idea. So, yeah, it's very contemporary, very sort of boxy, flat roof, you know, cantilever projections, you know, sort of contrast between, a cement render and basalt brickwork.
00:16:30
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:16:30
Speaker 1: Which looks quite striking and sort of stands out from the crowd.
00:16:34
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:16:34
Speaker 1: And we sort of touched on people stopping and admiring the home. We get that quite regularly and people asking about who built it. That must feel good. And that type of stuff, which is always a nice sort of, you know, reinforcement that you've done a nice job.
00:16:45
Speaker 2: Especially as the designer.
00:16:47
Speaker 1: That's it. So, yeah, so the home's, yeah, stands out. Yeah. A lot of traditional homes around us, weatherboard home next door, an old 60s single storey, sort of low pitched roof next door. You know, it stands out, but it also blends in, you know, if you know what I mean. I don't feel like it's like, oh, you know, that's a bit random, you know, but you've got an eclectic streetscape, so it kind of works.
00:17:10
Speaker 2: What do you do with landscaping? Is that something that you can use to make a home blend in with its... literal environment.
00:17:17
Speaker 1: Yeah no landscaping such a critical element of of how home presents yeah so um i think that's where you get the opportunity to personalize your home as well yeah maybe through through the front fence style or you know how to landscaping the style of the landscaping you know um you know a focused point of entry you know so you've sort of got that sort of sort of built into the design, you know, so it's a really important element. We're still working through our landscaping at the moment. It's a work in progress.
00:17:47
Speaker 2: It takes a long time, doesn't it?
00:17:49
Speaker 1: And it's evolving, you know. I think landscape does evolve, you know, over time. So, yeah, we're still sort of working on that.
00:17:56
Speaker 2: You alluded to maybe choosing a different facade if you'd had your time again. What would you choose this time around? And is there an existing... design that you would choose or adapt?
00:18:11
Speaker 1: Look, it'd still be a modern home versus something that's sort of more coastal because that just sort of suits our style. It's probably changing the material side of things is that we went for more of a, you know, darker monochromatic type sort of style. I think we'd sort of lighten that up and sort of, you know, sort of lean into still concrete because we like that sort of, you know, that style, but sort of probably more, you know, of a lighter, lighter brick, um, you know, lighter windows. We've got a, uh, automatic blind. It's sort of black. We'd sort of lighten those things up. So I'd lighten them up because that, that sort of works better with, with that environment. You know, I wanted to use more timber, but budget didn't allow. So there was a bit of a compromise around that. So if I could, I'd, I'd probably bring more timber elements into it, sort of just to, just to sort of soften it a little bit more and sort of, Yeah, dealing with that, the heat, you know, is something that's a little bit different to obviously growing up in Melbourne.
00:19:16
Speaker 2: In just a moment, Adrian tells us how to choose a facade you'll still love in 20 plus years. Back after this. So what sorts of things might people not be aware of in terms of materials? on exteriors that can impact how they live in the house.
00:19:39
Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, I mean, you've got to look at your orientation and understand that. Yeah. Where's the sun going to be the majority of the time? Yeah. And then obviously making sure that your shadings big walls. We've got a lot of big sheer walls because it's a modern home with parapets. It doesn't get a lot of shade.
00:19:57
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:19:58
Speaker 1: So the sun is on it for most of the day so that heats up. Yeah. And then at night, obviously, the heat transfers into the home and then Um, it becomes sort of an inefficient sort of design, you know, to live in. So you really want to make sure you're getting that shading. Yep. You want to have light colors, you know, so they're not absorbing the heat at that particular time and then getting your, your glazing balancing right, you know, and, and, and style, you know, for us, you know, at Mermaid, we want to, you know, um, encourage cross, cross flow ventilation. So having big openings, we've got a lot of louver windows, which are really great, you know, for, for, for doing that. Um, We probably could have done our windows a little bit bigger to get more of that and then increased our shading, you know, to offset that to sort of help. So, you know, and you think for someone that's been designing homes for a long period of time would pick up on those sorts of cues, but it's the environment, you know, is so different. Absolutely.
00:20:54
Speaker 2: I know exactly what you're saying. When I renovated our place, I thought I've been an interiorist and architecture journalist for 20 years. I've got this. I know what I'm doing. And well, I, I didn't, I mean, I did to a point, but there were so many things that I learned, so many things that you don't know because every site is different. Correct. Every location is different and you just never know what you're going to find.
00:21:27
Speaker 1: But no, I mean, I still love it. It's not like, you know, I sort of, you know, regret those decisions at the time, but I'd certainly do things differently. I guess that's, you know, being a designer, you're always going to do something different, right? So, um.
00:21:39
Speaker 2: Is this your forever home?
00:21:40
Speaker 1: Uh, at this, you know, this, you know, that was the dream, you know, to create that forever home. Um, I think at some stage we'll, we'll probably downsize, you know, to something a little bit smaller. I mean, we love the location. Yeah. Um, you know, this, this three of us, you know, in quite a big home, you know, um, We sort of maximised, you know, the size of the home to suit our lifestyle. Yeah. And it works really well. And having family coming up, you know, from interstate and staying with us quite regularly, obviously being able to accommodate them and still, you know, live our life and do our thing was really important to us. Definitely. So we sort of built that into the home. So we'll certainly be there for the, you know, foreseeable future. But I've got– there is a bit of a pull– to get sort of more into northern New South Wales, get a little bit more land. I've found gardening and I really enjoy gardening and, you know, I've got a small veggie patch, which is not big enough for me, you know, so there's a lure there at some stage that we might head a little bit further south and then someone else will get to enjoy this beautiful home that we've created that we really love and really proud of.
00:22:47
Speaker 2: And you can start again.
00:22:48
Speaker 1: There's some beautiful elements and details inside that we incorporated into it that you know, still today that, you know, make me feel good, you know, and make us feel good.
00:22:57
Speaker 2: What's your favourite thing about the home?
00:22:59
Speaker 1: It has to be the polished concrete floor, you know, like we find that hard to go past. It was, yeah, something we put a lot of time and effort into getting that right and getting the aggregate right.
00:23:10
Speaker 2: So what's an aggregate?
00:23:12
Speaker 1: It's the stones that you put into it, so the different coloured stones.
00:23:17
Speaker 2: Is that what changes the colour?
00:23:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, we sort of had, you know, rather than just the standard colouring blue stone type, you know, that you would get in a normal concrete floor. We've sort of got a mixture of whites and browns and the black sort of pebbles in there, you know, so it gives you a really nice contrast and then obviously balanced off with the concrete itself. So that's something we're really, really proud of, you know, and with those types of products, they naturally crack and move and, you know, pebbles come out, you know, and you've got a little hole that I rub my toe into and it's like, I kind of find that cool. A couple of leaves fell on the thing, on the slab during, you know, it was poured and they're still etched into the concrete. That's really cool. So I really like that uniqueness of it. It's not a pristine, you know, highly finished, it's highly finished but, you know.
00:24:07
Speaker 2: It's got patina. It's got character.
00:24:09
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. It's got that character which we really love. And the joinery is probably the other piece. Mm-hmm. My wife will talk about the lighting, but I love her joinery.
00:24:18
Speaker 2: What do you love about it?
00:24:20
Speaker 1: Just the detail in it. I think it's, you know, we removed a lot of walls and made joinery, you know, as the centrepiece. So I just think those elements are really nice to look at, you know, and then you're able to display all your keepsakes and your memories and those types of things and obviously good for storage. So we try to integrate as much as we could, you know, behind doors and behind walls. behind that joinery. So that's just a really nice feature and, you know, it's something I think you've got to invest in, you know, for the long term. But my wife loves her lighting.
00:24:54
Speaker 2: Was she heavily involved in the design?
00:24:58
Speaker 1: Yeah, very, very much involved in design and really about, you know, wanting to create that sort of, you know, natural sort of, you know, homely environment was really important. So that's where the floor was really critical to get that right and then you know, building up from that.
00:25:13
Speaker 2: And do you agree? Your design aesthetics, do they mesh well?
00:25:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, generally we do. I mean, there's obviously debate about some of the stuff. I've got obviously very set ideas in certain styles and Marie's very, you know, in tune with what she wants to do.
00:25:29
Speaker 2: Is she in this industry as well?
00:25:31
Speaker 1: She's been in the building industry for a long period of time as well, so she gets it but comes in from a different angle. That's good. more operations on site, you know, the building side of things and I'm sort of coming at it from a creative side. But, yeah, she's very in tune and very creative, you know, in her way.
00:25:47
Speaker 2: That's good.
00:25:47
Speaker 1: You know, got a great eye for style and, you know, sort of bringing all that side of it together so it sort of balances out nicely.
00:25:54
Speaker 2: Talking about balancing things out, how do you balance the facade of a home with the interior? Because I've been in some houses where it can be quite jarring because it looks one way on the outside, then you walk inside and it's just, it's not what you expect. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. How do you get that balance right?
00:26:15
Speaker 1: Well, I mean, I'm probably like you, I like, I like there to be some sort of connection between the outside to the inside and quite often, yeah, that doesn't happen. And we've even had those examples in our own home. Obviously, we've got an interior design style in mind, you know, that we can't move past. And we've kind of forgotten about the outside. And I think, you know, most times you get away with it. It's not completely jarring, but it may not be as sympathetic as it can be. So I think, again, it comes back to, you know, leaning into whatever that style that you're trying to whether it be coastal or mid-century modern or, you know, classical type stuff, you know. Yeah. You want to sort of be clear on what those themes are and sort of try and stay true to them to a degree.
00:27:03
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:27:03
Speaker 1: Obviously, you can put a contemporary stamp on all of them.
00:27:07
Speaker 2: Definitely.
00:27:08
Speaker 1: But I'm not going to put a mid-century interior inside a, you know, classic English manor, if you like.
00:27:13
Speaker 2: Yeah, it wouldn't make sense.
00:27:15
Speaker 1: You know, it's sort of a bit polar opposite. But, I mean, we do see that and obviously … old style buildings, you know, and it kind of works for some reason, but it sort of feels a little bit more jarring in a new home. But I think it's just, you know, identifying that theme and try and making sure there's some, you know, connectivity between the two styles, I think, I think's important.
00:27:36
Speaker 2: Yeah. How many different facades do you have on your portfolio? What do we do? Is it a portfolio?
00:27:45
Speaker 1: Is it? Yeah, you can call it a portfolio. We have, I mean, We have thousands of facades. I mean, we've got obviously multiple different ranges, you know, available, you know, from affordability, you know, all the way up to high-end, you know, type stuff. And within each of those categories, they have their own styles and themes. A lot of them share themes, but we're sort of trying to target different price points so that if someone's, you know, at the affordable end of the market, wants a Coastal or Hampton style, they can do that, you know, as can someone at a high end, you know, be able to do that. But obviously the level of detail and inclusions varies, you know, and complexity varies depending on the market. But we cover, you know, all those sort of those main themes, you know, from sort of coastal Hamptons, you know, classical, contemporary, and then sort of in between sort of styles as well, you know, because you're trying to, you know, balance that affordability aspect. piece as well, which is critical.
00:28:45
Speaker 2: So with that in mind, I want to relate this to a question I ask all our guests, and that is what makes a home beautiful to you? But what I would like you to answer is what makes a home facade beautiful?
00:29:00
Speaker 1: Well, what makes a facade beautiful to me is that symmetry and balance and proportion, getting those elements right, spending time and and effort and money on the detail is really critical. Authentic materials. Yeah. There's so many materials available these days, a lot of composites, a lot of, you know, imitation type stuff. We don't sort of go for that imitation look, I think. I mean, sometimes obviously budget leads you that way, but I think ultimately in the long term it cheapens what, you know, could be a beautiful facade. So, yeah, authenticity around that and those materials, not overdoing it, not trying too hard to be different, you know, I think is really important. So getting that balance right, you know, is a really critical element. Obviously, depending on what style you're leaning into, you know, if it's a modern home, obviously, you know, parapets and flat roof lines are really important. if you're leaning to, you know, coastal style homes, obviously steeper pitch and gables start to come into those. So getting those proportions right, you know, is really an important element, which I think, you know, makes or breaks, you know, the facade, whether you fall in love with it or not, you know. So, you know, we love facades. I particularly love facades. And when you see a really cool one, it stops me in my tracks and in my car and I'll get out and you'll sort of stand back and try and understand what is it that, is really nice about it and take those elements and then try and sort of implement them into, you know, our future homes. So, yeah.
00:30:36
Speaker 2: Well, Adrian, this has just been an enlightening chat because I love what you've said about the balance of symmetry and proportion and not overdoing it, but that you can still personalise and the best ways are usually through material choices and and colour palette rather than really overworking the design. What's something that you wish that people who are looking to build their dream homes, what do you wish that they would know about choosing a facade?
00:31:13
Speaker 1: Well, I think it's such an important element, you know, and I think sometimes, depending on budget, it gets forgotten in a way. And it's an easy compromise sometimes. So I would just say, I would say put some money aside, get some room in your budget to make sure that you, you know, invest in a facade because it is such an important element. It will add value long term, you know, and it will give you satisfaction and great pride long term because it is the first thing that you see. Yeah. You know, so it's a really important element. Obviously we touched on the landscaping piece is really critical to bringing that that whole vision together as well. So understanding how the landscape works or is going to work with your facade, you know, is critical to the overall presentation.
00:32:03
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:05
Speaker 1: And, yeah, just as you said, Al, not overwork it. Yeah. You know, work with your designers, work with our designers.
00:32:11
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:12
Speaker 1: You know, they know what works. You know, they're specialists in their field. Yeah. And have trust in that process.
00:32:19
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:19
Speaker 1: That you're going to get the right outcome.
00:32:21
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:21
Speaker 1: And– you know, as we touched on really those familiarity, you know, that familiarity styles that we're sort of used to seeing, you know, like leaning to them and try and stay authentic to that. And I think you'll get a great outcome.
00:32:34
Speaker 2: Now, Adrian, we have our listeners sent in dilemmas, the design dilemmas that they're experiencing, and we try to pair them up with our guests. And I think I have the perfect one for you today. This one is from Margie and she's written in, she says, We're building our first home and we've been stuck on the facade for a month. I want Hamptons. My husband wants render black windows, flat roof. We're in a new estate where every second home is one or the other. I don't want to spend the money and then feel like it's not distinctive enough. So how do we actually decide? Does this happen a lot where you get couples in with different ideas of what they want And how do you get them on the same page?
00:33:25
Speaker 1: Well, look, I'm sure it happens all the time.
00:33:27
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:33:29
Speaker 1: So it's certainly an interesting dilemma. Poor buggy. Obviously talking about sort of two distinct styles there. But if you're looking for something that's going to stand out, you know, from the crowd, maybe you need to look at an alternate facade altogether that fits somewhere in between those two styles. Or potentially there's a compromise, you know, between the two where it could be a black and white themed Hampton style.
00:33:55
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:33:56
Speaker 1: So the husband gets his black windows and black roof, but the wife gets her Hampton's style home. So there's probably different ways to go about it.
00:34:05
Speaker 2: That's a good point. I think colour palette and materials, that's the key here.
00:34:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think so.
00:34:11
Speaker 2: And the wife gets her Hampton's house. Happy wife, happy life.
00:34:15
Speaker 1: The wife's always right.
00:34:16
Speaker 2: Adrian, as always, it's been a joy.
00:34:18
Speaker 1: Thank you, Elle.
00:34:20
Speaker 2: And I can't wait to catch up again.
00:34:22
Speaker 1: Likewise.
00:34:23
Speaker 2: Awesome. First impressions really do count, especially when it comes to the front of your home. A facade sets the tone for the interiors that sit beyond it. And as Adrian says, the most important thing is to get the symmetry and proportion right. As for the style, well, that's entirely up to you. Thanks for joining us on The Edit. If you enjoyed this episode, follow us on your favorite podcast app. or search for Home Beautiful on YouTube. Subscribe and leave us a comment because it genuinely helps more people find the show. I'm Elle Lovelock. We'll see you next time. This is an R Media podcast.
Speaker 1: This is an R Media podcast. Could be a black and white themed Hampton style.
00:00:11
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:00:12
Speaker 1: So the husband gets his black windows and black roof, but the wife gets her Hampton's style home. So there's probably different ways to go about it.
00:00:21
Speaker 2: That's a good point. I think colour palette and materials, that's the key here.
00:00:26
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:00:28
Speaker 2: And the wife gets her Hampton's house. Happy wife, happy life.
00:00:31
Speaker 1: The wife's always right.
00:00:37
Speaker 2: I'm Elle Lovelock, editor-in-chief of Home Beautiful. Welcome to The Edit, where we bring you into beautiful homes with the people who create them. Today, we're starting outside because before anybody walks through your front door, they've already made their mind up about your home from the footpath. My guest has spent more than 35 years deciding what Australian homes look like from the street. Adrian Poppel is Metricon's National Design Director. So he's perfectly placed to advise how to choose a facade that makes you think, I can't believe I live here every time you come home. Adrian, welcome to The Edit.
00:01:22
Speaker 1: Thanks for having me, Al. We're excited to be here.
00:01:24
Speaker 2: I know, it's great to have you here because last time we caught up, I was in your space at your event.
00:01:30
Speaker 1: That's right.
00:01:31
Speaker 2: Which was incredible. That was the Love of Design Summit.
00:01:34
Speaker 1: Down in Byron or up in Byron, sorry, down from home, but up from Sydney. It was an amazing event. We, you know, again, it sort of exceeded our expectations, you know, the second one that we've done, um, over the last couple of years and they're really excited and it was great to have you, you know, as our host and MC. I thought that, that really worked well. And, gave it another dynamic, you know, I think people really enjoyed it.
00:01:58
Speaker 2: In a nutshell, how would you sum it up for people who are listening who might not know what it is and why do you do it?
00:02:04
Speaker 1: Well, it's really about, you know, bringing our creative people together. You know, we've got two teams that work out of different offices, one in Queensland and one down in Victoria and Melbourne, you know, so getting them out of the day-to-day, you know, routines and sort of we used a analogy around changing your chair last time and we sort of stayed true to that and it was about, you know, changing your chair to get a different perspective. So how better to do that than to get out of the office and spend time in Byron Bay, you know, and hear from people outside of our industry, you know, to challenge our thinking and learn about what's happening, you know, in other markets. And that was really.
00:02:45
Speaker 2: Exciting because you are a home builder. You build thousands of homes a year. Yep. You had architects, designers, futurists, experts from all different areas that people might not associate with a building company who is producing so many homes.
00:03:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I guess that's, you know, we really pride ourselves in trying to be leaders within the design industry, you know, within that volume space and, you know, to really try and drive innovation. You know, so how do you get that? You know, you obviously need to lean into other other areas and other markets and other expertise so um and just trying to find interesting people that are going to challenge your thinking not tell you about you know what a great job you're doing because yeah that's sort of self-fulfilling so yeah we want to be challenged and maybe told that we're not doing as good as we could or yeah you know we need to stretch and try you know these things so that's that's what we did you know and i think we were really fortunate around the the people that were able to get on board and, you know, generously offered their time to do that, you know, which is great. So, yeah, we're looking forward to obviously the next one. I know. In a few more years. But it's really good and our team really value it. You know, we get a lot of inspiration out of it, which is great.
00:04:03
Speaker 2: I did too. And in my own preparation for hosting the event, I was trawling through all the gorgeous home designs that you have. And, you know, I love a floor plan. Mm-hmm. But when you're looking through all the different homes, it's the facades you see. And I would love to get into that with you because the facade of a house, it's the first impression you have. When you pull up to a home that you live in, you want to look at it and think, I can't believe I live here. But also, I think people do want other people to pull up to their homes and go, wow, that's impressive. You want to impress people.
00:04:45
Speaker 1: Yep.
00:04:47
Speaker 2: Let's talk about the importance of creating a great facade. Is that something that you lead with or is this something that comes further down the track when you're designing homes?
00:04:58
Speaker 1: No, we lead with it. I mean, I'm like you, I love a good floor plan, you know, absolutely. And I think they're really important, but to me, you lead with the facade, you know, that's, that's, that is the first impression, you know, when you want people to to fall in love with that or be intrigued about what's actually behind that facade. If the facade looks great, well, then the plan behind it is going to be equally good. So it's certainly something we pride ourselves on. It's probably almost the most challenging part of designing a home. Is it?
00:05:29
Speaker 2: How come?
00:05:30
Speaker 1: Just to get it right, you know, just to get the balance and the proportions right.
00:05:34
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:05:35
Speaker 1: You know, we've got to think about buildability and cost and all those sorts of elements that come into it, you know, being a volume builder. So you've got to replicate these things numerous times in different states with different regulatory requirements. So there's a lot involved in it to get it right. And we tend not to compromise. You know, we really want to stay authentic, you know, to a particular style that we're sort of, you know, trying to create at that particular time.
00:06:02
Speaker 2: Let's talk about that because... People want to project their own personal aesthetic onto their home and they should. They absolutely should. What is the balance between getting a facade right, as you say, and adding in too many windows or decorative features? There is a point where it can start to look a bit weird.
00:06:25
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and, you know, we talk about, you know, getting that balance and proportion symmetry right. You know, it's a really critical element. and I think when it goes wrong, you can tell when it goes wrong, and when it's right, it might be hard to put your finger on, you know, but, you know, it makes you feel something.
00:06:43
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:06:43
Speaker 1: You know, there's something that just feels right about it, so getting that right is really important.
00:06:52
Speaker 2: Are there rules around where you put windows, how many windows you have, the front door, do you have a garage at the front or not?
00:06:59
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:07:00
Speaker 2: What are the rules around that?
00:07:01
Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, our homes all come with a garage. So you're always integrating that into the home. Yeah. So that's a critical element. It takes up a lot of real estate. Yeah, it does. So getting that balance right and offsetting that with other materials is really critical. There's no written rules, if you know what I mean. It's a feel. It's a gut feel. It's an eye for it. And I've been in the industry for a long period of time and You know, trying to– the designers we've got are super talented, you know, have really got, you know, a great eye for that type of stuff, you know, so they just kind of get it. But you've got to get that balance right between, you know, window proportion. Yeah. You know, how many windows, materiality, you know, getting that balance right. When's too many materials too much? Okay.
00:07:52
Speaker 2: I was just going to ask. Materiality, you're talking about the materials palette. So whether you're using– cladding or stone or render. Yep. What do you do to make it all work together? Like if you've got garage doors, how do you make that connect with the rest of the facade?
00:08:12
Speaker 1: Yep. We're starting to see a lot more of the garage door being integrated into the facade. So the clad, you know, there might be a cladding if it's a timber clad, you know, there's timber cladding on the home. You'll quite often see now that we're starting to clad the garage door and And if it's got a parapet above that, so that integrates into it. So it's tying those elements together.
00:08:31
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:08:31
Speaker 1: And, you know, getting away from the framed, you know, brick or render sort of thing and then just the Caliban garage door in there. Yeah, interesting. So we're trying to elevate that and lift that element.
00:08:41
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:08:41
Speaker 1: Now that comes at a cost, but we see that as a high value item, you know. Yeah, definitely. And it's difficult to change, you know, later on down the track. Yeah. if you're trying to get that seamless integration, which we feel is important, it's kind of worth spending, you know, spending the money on those types of elements.
00:08:58
Speaker 2: Are there timeless facades that you know will just endure forever?
00:09:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, you know, classical type, you know, familiar, you know, styles that have been around for a long period of time, you know, are very enduring and still part of our product portfolio. We're constantly sort of creating new versions of that, you know, and we've just, developed a new facade called the Mossman facade, which is, you know, leaning into those classical styles, you know, Georgian, mock Georgian type stuff, you know, sort of English manor type homes. Yeah. So leaning into that, you know, and just putting a modern spin on it, you know, that just elevates it, introducing a nice little arched opening, you know, into the front portico that frames the front entry really nicely.
00:09:44
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:09:44
Speaker 1: So giving it a bit of a modern twist but still, you know, making sure that you've got those elements that, you know, you're familiar with and are classical just with a modern twist.
00:09:54
Speaker 2: We were talking before about classic car design.
00:09:57
Speaker 1: Yes.
00:09:58
Speaker 2: Because you've referenced that in the past. And I asked you, what is it that you think we can learn from classic car design and apply to home design? And you were saying familiarity.
00:10:08
Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, for me, that's what we're trying to design when we're trying to design a timeless facade, something that's going to last a test of time. You go back to it in I don't know, 20, 30, 40 years ago, you know, that still stands up today. Yeah. And that's particularly challenging for a volume builder like us. But it's really something that inspires us and motivates us, you know, to be able to do that type of, you know, to achieve that. And, yeah, I mean, there's homes that we've still got or built years ago that still resonate today. So there's, you know, something in that that I think works. Yeah.
00:10:45
Speaker 2: Adrian, that's a really good point, but it's not just about timeless facades, but how do they last? How do they endure in a neighbourhood, in a street for 10, 20, 30 plus years? How do you know the house you choose will still look good?
00:11:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you've got to obviously understand that environment, you know, and sort of existing homes within that area, you know, making sure you pick something that, you know, may not doesn't necessarily stand out too much, but I still think you can make a really bold statement. And, you know, you might have an area that's, you know, full of weatherboard homes or traditional homes and want to make an architectural, bold architectural statement. So, you know, but it's about picking the right facade, you know, and about making sure that facade's got authentic details and the balance of proportions right and the material side of things is right, you know. So you want to make sure that Whatever you do in that environment, you know, is authentic and, you know, the colour palette sort of blends in, you know, so that it's a, you know, it might be a sympathetic colour palette to what's already within that environment but it might be a bold and contemporary mid-century modern inspired facade, you know, which is unique to the area but that's also unique to you.
00:12:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely. Do people have much choice in changing facade designs when they design work with metricon is there are there options color palettes material choices how much yeah i.
00:12:17
Speaker 1: Mean the built form is generally you know we stick to that and encourage our customers to stick to that because as i said earlier we spent a lot of time and effort getting that proportion and symmetry uh right but there's a lot of there is a lot of color choice and material choice to be able to uh you know blend um blend those sort of materials into each other yeah when there's Elements that you can change and either change from face brickwork to render to stone clad, you know, to add a bit of an extra element to that. But it's sort of to sort of balance that out across the facade without, you know, changing the whole material sort of appeal of the home. So there's certainly flexibility in areas that customers can personalise.
00:13:01
Speaker 2: I didn't realise you could do that much. That's quite exciting.
00:13:04
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:13:05
Speaker 2: We get asked so often about colour palettes and especially for exteriors. Are there any go-to schemes that you know just work or what's popular? What do people gravitate towards?
00:13:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, again, it depends on the style of home, whether it's a modern home or a Hamptons type home. But I think those sort of, you know, colour, Australian colour palettes that's sort of more neutral than bright and sort of in your face. But I mean, I think, you know, still very much, you know, whites and, you know, really still popular in that Hamptons coastal type, you know, style. And then you're changing the accent colours from light to dark as well. It gives you that flexibility. Yeah, that's true. So you can have a white on white Hamptons or you can have a black and white Hamptons or, you know, mid-tone type thing. So there's that type of flexibility. And then with contemporary homes, again, the theme is still the same, you know, light with sort of, Oak-type timbers is quite popular, but then you can do the reverse of that where it's a bit bolder and darker.
00:14:08
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:14:09
Speaker 1: We might introduce, you know, darker elements. But, you know, that's what we're sort of seeing at the time. And it's fairly steady, you know, and it's been that way for a long period of time.
00:14:18
Speaker 2: I live across the road from a house that used to be purple.
00:14:21
Speaker 1: Yep.
00:14:22
Speaker 2: And then we saw one day that they had the painters and they were prepping it to paint. We thought, oh, yes, we're getting rid of the purple. You know what, they painted it. Right.
00:14:33
Speaker 1: Lovely.
00:14:34
Speaker 2: So it's, you know, they clearly love their strong colors. Don't know how they got that by council. But anyway, you know, at least it's more in the palette of nature. So that's one thing.
00:14:44
Speaker 1: It's a personal preference, I guess.
00:14:46
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:14:47
Speaker 1: That's your prerogative.
00:14:48
Speaker 2: Tell us about your house. So we do home tours here at The Edit. So take us on an audio tour of your own place. If we pull up to your house, what does the facade look like?
00:15:01
Speaker 1: Well, we're very fortunate. We were able to buy a block of land at Mermaid Beach and did a knockdown rebuild. So we knocked down an old 60s two-bedroom home and built a new home.
00:15:12
Speaker 2: A Metricon home?
00:15:13
Speaker 1: Metricon, based on a Metricon home. Obviously, being a design director, I had a bit more flexibility around what that may look like. I love it. Packs of a job. That's it. So, yeah, and we designed something specific for the site. And within the Gold Coast, there's a You know, a lot of people put carports on the front of their homes, so that sort of changes the dynamic. But we've gone for, you know, foolishly a very Melbourne-inspired sort of architectural, bold architectural sort of home.
00:15:41
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:15:42
Speaker 1: And probably, you know, having my time over and spending a bit more time in Queensland and understanding the climate, I probably would have approached it a little bit different.
00:15:50
Speaker 2: Aha. So are you not originally from Queensland?
00:15:52
Speaker 1: No, no. We're Melbourne born and bred.
00:15:54
Speaker 2: I see. Isn't that interesting that you took the aesthetic with you?
00:15:58
Speaker 1: Well, it was something we had in our mind for many, many years that we wanted to build. So we bought a property in Bow Morris in Melbourne and we're going to do something similar and then we decided to move to Queensland and sort of couldn't get past that, you know, sort of idea. So, yeah, it's very contemporary, very sort of boxy, flat roof, you know, cantilever projections, you know, sort of contrast between, a cement render and basalt brickwork.
00:16:30
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:16:30
Speaker 1: Which looks quite striking and sort of stands out from the crowd.
00:16:34
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:16:34
Speaker 1: And we sort of touched on people stopping and admiring the home. We get that quite regularly and people asking about who built it. That must feel good. And that type of stuff, which is always a nice sort of, you know, reinforcement that you've done a nice job.
00:16:45
Speaker 2: Especially as the designer.
00:16:47
Speaker 1: That's it. So, yeah, so the home's, yeah, stands out. Yeah. A lot of traditional homes around us, weatherboard home next door, an old 60s single storey, sort of low pitched roof next door. You know, it stands out, but it also blends in, you know, if you know what I mean. I don't feel like it's like, oh, you know, that's a bit random, you know, but you've got an eclectic streetscape, so it kind of works.
00:17:10
Speaker 2: What do you do with landscaping? Is that something that you can use to make a home blend in with its... literal environment.
00:17:17
Speaker 1: Yeah no landscaping such a critical element of of how home presents yeah so um i think that's where you get the opportunity to personalize your home as well yeah maybe through through the front fence style or you know how to landscaping the style of the landscaping you know um you know a focused point of entry you know so you've sort of got that sort of sort of built into the design, you know, so it's a really important element. We're still working through our landscaping at the moment. It's a work in progress.
00:17:47
Speaker 2: It takes a long time, doesn't it?
00:17:49
Speaker 1: And it's evolving, you know. I think landscape does evolve, you know, over time. So, yeah, we're still sort of working on that.
00:17:56
Speaker 2: You alluded to maybe choosing a different facade if you'd had your time again. What would you choose this time around? And is there an existing... design that you would choose or adapt?
00:18:11
Speaker 1: Look, it'd still be a modern home versus something that's sort of more coastal because that just sort of suits our style. It's probably changing the material side of things is that we went for more of a, you know, darker monochromatic type sort of style. I think we'd sort of lighten that up and sort of, you know, sort of lean into still concrete because we like that sort of, you know, that style, but sort of probably more, you know, of a lighter, lighter brick, um, you know, lighter windows. We've got a, uh, automatic blind. It's sort of black. We'd sort of lighten those things up. So I'd lighten them up because that, that sort of works better with, with that environment. You know, I wanted to use more timber, but budget didn't allow. So there was a bit of a compromise around that. So if I could, I'd, I'd probably bring more timber elements into it, sort of just to, just to sort of soften it a little bit more and sort of, Yeah, dealing with that, the heat, you know, is something that's a little bit different to obviously growing up in Melbourne.
00:19:16
Speaker 2: In just a moment, Adrian tells us how to choose a facade you'll still love in 20 plus years. Back after this. So what sorts of things might people not be aware of in terms of materials? on exteriors that can impact how they live in the house.
00:19:39
Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, I mean, you've got to look at your orientation and understand that. Yeah. Where's the sun going to be the majority of the time? Yeah. And then obviously making sure that your shadings big walls. We've got a lot of big sheer walls because it's a modern home with parapets. It doesn't get a lot of shade.
00:19:57
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:19:58
Speaker 1: So the sun is on it for most of the day so that heats up. Yeah. And then at night, obviously, the heat transfers into the home and then Um, it becomes sort of an inefficient sort of design, you know, to live in. So you really want to make sure you're getting that shading. Yep. You want to have light colors, you know, so they're not absorbing the heat at that particular time and then getting your, your glazing balancing right, you know, and, and, and style, you know, for us, you know, at Mermaid, we want to, you know, um, encourage cross, cross flow ventilation. So having big openings, we've got a lot of louver windows, which are really great, you know, for, for, for doing that. Um, We probably could have done our windows a little bit bigger to get more of that and then increased our shading, you know, to offset that to sort of help. So, you know, and you think for someone that's been designing homes for a long period of time would pick up on those sorts of cues, but it's the environment, you know, is so different. Absolutely.
00:20:54
Speaker 2: I know exactly what you're saying. When I renovated our place, I thought I've been an interiorist and architecture journalist for 20 years. I've got this. I know what I'm doing. And well, I, I didn't, I mean, I did to a point, but there were so many things that I learned, so many things that you don't know because every site is different. Correct. Every location is different and you just never know what you're going to find.
00:21:27
Speaker 1: But no, I mean, I still love it. It's not like, you know, I sort of, you know, regret those decisions at the time, but I'd certainly do things differently. I guess that's, you know, being a designer, you're always going to do something different, right? So, um.
00:21:39
Speaker 2: Is this your forever home?
00:21:40
Speaker 1: Uh, at this, you know, this, you know, that was the dream, you know, to create that forever home. Um, I think at some stage we'll, we'll probably downsize, you know, to something a little bit smaller. I mean, we love the location. Yeah. Um, you know, this, this three of us, you know, in quite a big home, you know, um, We sort of maximised, you know, the size of the home to suit our lifestyle. Yeah. And it works really well. And having family coming up, you know, from interstate and staying with us quite regularly, obviously being able to accommodate them and still, you know, live our life and do our thing was really important to us. Definitely. So we sort of built that into the home. So we'll certainly be there for the, you know, foreseeable future. But I've got– there is a bit of a pull– to get sort of more into northern New South Wales, get a little bit more land. I've found gardening and I really enjoy gardening and, you know, I've got a small veggie patch, which is not big enough for me, you know, so there's a lure there at some stage that we might head a little bit further south and then someone else will get to enjoy this beautiful home that we've created that we really love and really proud of.
00:22:47
Speaker 2: And you can start again.
00:22:48
Speaker 1: There's some beautiful elements and details inside that we incorporated into it that you know, still today that, you know, make me feel good, you know, and make us feel good.
00:22:57
Speaker 2: What's your favourite thing about the home?
00:22:59
Speaker 1: It has to be the polished concrete floor, you know, like we find that hard to go past. It was, yeah, something we put a lot of time and effort into getting that right and getting the aggregate right.
00:23:10
Speaker 2: So what's an aggregate?
00:23:12
Speaker 1: It's the stones that you put into it, so the different coloured stones.
00:23:17
Speaker 2: Is that what changes the colour?
00:23:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, we sort of had, you know, rather than just the standard colouring blue stone type, you know, that you would get in a normal concrete floor. We've sort of got a mixture of whites and browns and the black sort of pebbles in there, you know, so it gives you a really nice contrast and then obviously balanced off with the concrete itself. So that's something we're really, really proud of, you know, and with those types of products, they naturally crack and move and, you know, pebbles come out, you know, and you've got a little hole that I rub my toe into and it's like, I kind of find that cool. A couple of leaves fell on the thing, on the slab during, you know, it was poured and they're still etched into the concrete. That's really cool. So I really like that uniqueness of it. It's not a pristine, you know, highly finished, it's highly finished but, you know.
00:24:07
Speaker 2: It's got patina. It's got character.
00:24:09
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. It's got that character which we really love. And the joinery is probably the other piece. Mm-hmm. My wife will talk about the lighting, but I love her joinery.
00:24:18
Speaker 2: What do you love about it?
00:24:20
Speaker 1: Just the detail in it. I think it's, you know, we removed a lot of walls and made joinery, you know, as the centrepiece. So I just think those elements are really nice to look at, you know, and then you're able to display all your keepsakes and your memories and those types of things and obviously good for storage. So we try to integrate as much as we could, you know, behind doors and behind walls. behind that joinery. So that's just a really nice feature and, you know, it's something I think you've got to invest in, you know, for the long term. But my wife loves her lighting.
00:24:54
Speaker 2: Was she heavily involved in the design?
00:24:58
Speaker 1: Yeah, very, very much involved in design and really about, you know, wanting to create that sort of, you know, natural sort of, you know, homely environment was really important. So that's where the floor was really critical to get that right and then you know, building up from that.
00:25:13
Speaker 2: And do you agree? Your design aesthetics, do they mesh well?
00:25:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, generally we do. I mean, there's obviously debate about some of the stuff. I've got obviously very set ideas in certain styles and Marie's very, you know, in tune with what she wants to do.
00:25:29
Speaker 2: Is she in this industry as well?
00:25:31
Speaker 1: She's been in the building industry for a long period of time as well, so she gets it but comes in from a different angle. That's good. more operations on site, you know, the building side of things and I'm sort of coming at it from a creative side. But, yeah, she's very in tune and very creative, you know, in her way.
00:25:47
Speaker 2: That's good.
00:25:47
Speaker 1: You know, got a great eye for style and, you know, sort of bringing all that side of it together so it sort of balances out nicely.
00:25:54
Speaker 2: Talking about balancing things out, how do you balance the facade of a home with the interior? Because I've been in some houses where it can be quite jarring because it looks one way on the outside, then you walk inside and it's just, it's not what you expect. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. How do you get that balance right?
00:26:15
Speaker 1: Well, I mean, I'm probably like you, I like, I like there to be some sort of connection between the outside to the inside and quite often, yeah, that doesn't happen. And we've even had those examples in our own home. Obviously, we've got an interior design style in mind, you know, that we can't move past. And we've kind of forgotten about the outside. And I think, you know, most times you get away with it. It's not completely jarring, but it may not be as sympathetic as it can be. So I think, again, it comes back to, you know, leaning into whatever that style that you're trying to whether it be coastal or mid-century modern or, you know, classical type stuff, you know. Yeah. You want to sort of be clear on what those themes are and sort of try and stay true to them to a degree.
00:27:03
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:27:03
Speaker 1: Obviously, you can put a contemporary stamp on all of them.
00:27:07
Speaker 2: Definitely.
00:27:08
Speaker 1: But I'm not going to put a mid-century interior inside a, you know, classic English manor, if you like.
00:27:13
Speaker 2: Yeah, it wouldn't make sense.
00:27:15
Speaker 1: You know, it's sort of a bit polar opposite. But, I mean, we do see that and obviously … old style buildings, you know, and it kind of works for some reason, but it sort of feels a little bit more jarring in a new home. But I think it's just, you know, identifying that theme and try and making sure there's some, you know, connectivity between the two styles, I think, I think's important.
00:27:36
Speaker 2: Yeah. How many different facades do you have on your portfolio? What do we do? Is it a portfolio?
00:27:45
Speaker 1: Is it? Yeah, you can call it a portfolio. We have, I mean, We have thousands of facades. I mean, we've got obviously multiple different ranges, you know, available, you know, from affordability, you know, all the way up to high-end, you know, type stuff. And within each of those categories, they have their own styles and themes. A lot of them share themes, but we're sort of trying to target different price points so that if someone's, you know, at the affordable end of the market, wants a Coastal or Hampton style, they can do that, you know, as can someone at a high end, you know, be able to do that. But obviously the level of detail and inclusions varies, you know, and complexity varies depending on the market. But we cover, you know, all those sort of those main themes, you know, from sort of coastal Hamptons, you know, classical, contemporary, and then sort of in between sort of styles as well, you know, because you're trying to, you know, balance that affordability aspect. piece as well, which is critical.
00:28:45
Speaker 2: So with that in mind, I want to relate this to a question I ask all our guests, and that is what makes a home beautiful to you? But what I would like you to answer is what makes a home facade beautiful?
00:29:00
Speaker 1: Well, what makes a facade beautiful to me is that symmetry and balance and proportion, getting those elements right, spending time and and effort and money on the detail is really critical. Authentic materials. Yeah. There's so many materials available these days, a lot of composites, a lot of, you know, imitation type stuff. We don't sort of go for that imitation look, I think. I mean, sometimes obviously budget leads you that way, but I think ultimately in the long term it cheapens what, you know, could be a beautiful facade. So, yeah, authenticity around that and those materials, not overdoing it, not trying too hard to be different, you know, I think is really important. So getting that balance right, you know, is a really critical element. Obviously, depending on what style you're leaning into, you know, if it's a modern home, obviously, you know, parapets and flat roof lines are really important. if you're leaning to, you know, coastal style homes, obviously steeper pitch and gables start to come into those. So getting those proportions right, you know, is really an important element, which I think, you know, makes or breaks, you know, the facade, whether you fall in love with it or not, you know. So, you know, we love facades. I particularly love facades. And when you see a really cool one, it stops me in my tracks and in my car and I'll get out and you'll sort of stand back and try and understand what is it that, is really nice about it and take those elements and then try and sort of implement them into, you know, our future homes. So, yeah.
00:30:36
Speaker 2: Well, Adrian, this has just been an enlightening chat because I love what you've said about the balance of symmetry and proportion and not overdoing it, but that you can still personalise and the best ways are usually through material choices and and colour palette rather than really overworking the design. What's something that you wish that people who are looking to build their dream homes, what do you wish that they would know about choosing a facade?
00:31:13
Speaker 1: Well, I think it's such an important element, you know, and I think sometimes, depending on budget, it gets forgotten in a way. And it's an easy compromise sometimes. So I would just say, I would say put some money aside, get some room in your budget to make sure that you, you know, invest in a facade because it is such an important element. It will add value long term, you know, and it will give you satisfaction and great pride long term because it is the first thing that you see. Yeah. You know, so it's a really important element. Obviously we touched on the landscaping piece is really critical to bringing that that whole vision together as well. So understanding how the landscape works or is going to work with your facade, you know, is critical to the overall presentation.
00:32:03
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:05
Speaker 1: And, yeah, just as you said, Al, not overwork it. Yeah. You know, work with your designers, work with our designers.
00:32:11
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:12
Speaker 1: You know, they know what works. You know, they're specialists in their field. Yeah. And have trust in that process.
00:32:19
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:19
Speaker 1: That you're going to get the right outcome.
00:32:21
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:32:21
Speaker 1: And– you know, as we touched on really those familiarity, you know, that familiarity styles that we're sort of used to seeing, you know, like leaning to them and try and stay authentic to that. And I think you'll get a great outcome.
00:32:34
Speaker 2: Now, Adrian, we have our listeners sent in dilemmas, the design dilemmas that they're experiencing, and we try to pair them up with our guests. And I think I have the perfect one for you today. This one is from Margie and she's written in, she says, We're building our first home and we've been stuck on the facade for a month. I want Hamptons. My husband wants render black windows, flat roof. We're in a new estate where every second home is one or the other. I don't want to spend the money and then feel like it's not distinctive enough. So how do we actually decide? Does this happen a lot where you get couples in with different ideas of what they want And how do you get them on the same page?
00:33:25
Speaker 1: Well, look, I'm sure it happens all the time.
00:33:27
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:33:29
Speaker 1: So it's certainly an interesting dilemma. Poor buggy. Obviously talking about sort of two distinct styles there. But if you're looking for something that's going to stand out, you know, from the crowd, maybe you need to look at an alternate facade altogether that fits somewhere in between those two styles. Or potentially there's a compromise, you know, between the two where it could be a black and white themed Hampton style.
00:33:55
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:33:56
Speaker 1: So the husband gets his black windows and black roof, but the wife gets her Hampton's style home. So there's probably different ways to go about it.
00:34:05
Speaker 2: That's a good point. I think colour palette and materials, that's the key here.
00:34:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think so.
00:34:11
Speaker 2: And the wife gets her Hampton's house. Happy wife, happy life.
00:34:15
Speaker 1: The wife's always right.
00:34:16
Speaker 2: Adrian, as always, it's been a joy.
00:34:18
Speaker 1: Thank you, Elle.
00:34:20
Speaker 2: And I can't wait to catch up again.
00:34:22
Speaker 1: Likewise.
00:34:23
Speaker 2: Awesome. First impressions really do count, especially when it comes to the front of your home. A facade sets the tone for the interiors that sit beyond it. And as Adrian says, the most important thing is to get the symmetry and proportion right. As for the style, well, that's entirely up to you. Thanks for joining us on The Edit. If you enjoyed this episode, follow us on your favorite podcast app. or search for Home Beautiful on YouTube. Subscribe and leave us a comment because it genuinely helps more people find the show. I'm Elle Lovelock. We'll see you next time. This is an R Media podcast.
