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A home design that would fit easily into a relaxed country setting was just what this couple wanted. They turned to Sarah Homes to find their dream home

When planning to build a home in a country location, you want a design that will effortlessly blend with the landscape and simultaneously meet your needs.

For first home builders James Semola and Melissa Hamlyn, the design of their home needed to reflect the laid-back nature of their coastal Normanville location. "Honestly, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else, it is such a piece of paradise down here ," Melissa says.

"I have grown up down here and don 't plan on moving elsewhere." Melissa, James and their two dogs needed a design that would make the most of their block's panoramic views, which lead them to the Emily Two-Storey ( Garage) design by Sarah Homes.

The four -bedroom, two -bathroom design effortlessly flows over two levels and harmonises the feel of a holiday home with the practicality needed from an everyday residence. The two-storey design features a large ground level with one of the home's two lounge areas as the central hub. Downstairs there are three bedrooms, a large bathroom and long laundry plus a staggered double garage design complete with a store room.

Upstairs, the master bedroom and ensuite take up one end of the design, and an open plan comprising the kitchen (complete with walk-in pantry), dining and living room, which links to the spacious balcony. There 's also a separate powder room for guests.

'We knew that we wanted to build a two-storey home, with a free open plan," Melissa says. "The Emily Two-Storey by Sarah Homes seemed to tick all of the boxes and once viewing the display home we knew we had found our dream home." The couple were attracted to the design's ability to entertain friends and family, with a spacious open plan upper level focused on shared living spaces. Melissa says although this was an important aspect, they also wanted a home that would grow with them over the years.

"It's perfect for entertaining and large enough for our family to expand and grow in," she says. "We knew that when looking at home designs we wanted something that we can one day start a family in. "The Emily having four bedrooms was exactly what we were looking for, with the living room upstairs and family room downstairs, there is plenty of space to not be all on top of each other."

With a build process of six months, the couple were able to move into their home without any issues, which James says was due to a diligent site supervisor that made the process "relatively easy going". Having now lived in their home for almost a year-and-a-half, Melissa says the home complements their lifestyle with ease, providing a calm and peaceful haven for the couple to return home to each night.

The light-filled interior is contrasted with earthy tones, a deliberate choice by the couple to mirror the natural surroundings of their property. "We love the earthy tone that you get from using wood throughout the home and indoor plants give it such a clean, natural feel," Melissa says. Given the chance to go through the process again, Melissa and James agree they would make slight changes but overall are ecstatic with the finished look of their home.

"This is definitely the sort of lifestyle that we wanted, it's close enough to Normanville centre and the stunning coastlines that the Fleurieu Peninsula has to offer," Melissa says. "Normanville is certainly a holiday destination and we are lucky enough to call it our home." Whether a holiday home or coastal residence , the Emily Two-Storey design provides homeowners with a relaxed and peaceful environment - ideal for home buyers looking to make a sea change.

07-Apr-2019 - The Sunday Mail Home Magazine

For more information about the house in this story please look at the Emily 240.

A modification to the Emily two-storey design by
Sarah Homes was exactly what this family needed

Stunning ocean views were the top priority for Kerrie Cooper and her husband Tony, when searching for the perfect home for Kerrie's elderly parents. The Emily 2-Storey design by Sarah Homes was the answer - with modifications made to suit their needs. "We found that it fitted on our long, narrow block really well and took advantage of the views, which is what we wanted," Kerrie says.

She says building with Sarah Homes was a smooth process and the company made it easy to make changes to the original design. "We modified the two front rooms to move the main entrance to the front of the house, instead of the side, and made one room slightly bigger and one slightly smaller to accommodate the change. "We also modified the top level slightly and made the deck a bit larger.

"The builders were really good about the changes we made along the way. We found everyone at Sarah Homes really helpful." The home has four bedrooms, three on the ground floor serviced by a bathroom with a shower, bath tub and separate powder room with a toilet, and one on the upper level with a large ensuite comprising a shower and toilet.

"The ensuite bathroom has a lot of space to move around, and the way it's situated brings in a lot of light," Kerrie says. There is also an open-plan kitchen upstairs adjoining a dining and living area with sliding door access to a massive deck overlooking the ocean. Kerrie's parents live in the lower level of the home due to her mother's mobility issues after hip replacement surgery, and she says "they're more than happy." "It works really well for them.

The living area downstairs has been fantastic because they have the big outdoor area with a flat surface, and mum loves her garden, so she still gets that downstairs. "We also made some modifications to the laundry to include a kitchenette so they can cook down there as well." Kerrie says the layout of the home, with upstairs and downstairs living areas, lends well to entertaining and having guests to stay. "We live close by, so we often go over there and have dinner or cook for them, and they have their friends over as well," she says. "The times I've stayed there it has been really easy to live in, and I've enjoyed spending time upstairs because it's so spacious and airy with lots of natural light and a great view."

She says the home offers "the best of both worlds" with the view and decked area upstairs and the garden downstairs. The home is decorated in a mix of both Kerrie and her mother's tastes, as they divided the decorating duties between floors. "I left it to mum to decorate downstairs, so she went for more of a cosy, woodsy-type look with darker colours, whereas upstairs I went for more of a beach style with lots of light colours and pops of colour with cushions," Kerrie says.

The home is fitted with light-coloured bamboo floorboards from Planet Timber. "We decided on bamboo floorboards in a strand-woven type, which makes it really strong and hardy," Kerrie says. "They're also more sustainable and hard-wearing and easier to clean which is why we went for it in the end." Kerrie chose the lightcoloured floorboards to "make the most of the natural light" and complement the paint used on the walls.

Carpet features in each of the bedrooms to give a "warm and cosy" feel. "It was always on my mind to have carpet. I've always been one of those people who loves carpet in the bedroom," Kerrie says. "It was actually a free addition as part of a promotion Sarah Homes was running at the time we built, so it made it really easy for us – all we had to do was pick a colour."

22-Feb-2015 - The Sunday Mail Home Magazine

For more information about the house in this story please look at the Emily 240.

Words by John Merriman. Photography by Nick Clayton

A holiday retreat, just six metres wide that had to cater for a family of five, needed specialised treatment. The Gibbs family found their choices were quite limited. "We looked around at a couple of designs but there wasn't a huge range," Phil says. "But once we found this design from Sarah Homes it was perfect for what we wanted and needed.

"We always liked the ideal for having a family home. We had one at Carrickalinga but we found it hard to find the time to get there. My wife Cathy and I run a business that is open seven days a week and, with three children, there is often sport on weekends or other commitments. So we decided to look for something much closer to us. In the end we found a block at Moana, which was ideal because it is just over a 30-minute drive for us, using the expressway. Now if feels worthwhile making the trip, even if it's just for a Friday night and we have to go back for Saturday morning sport."

Faced with building on an extremely narrow block of just over six metres, the family found the ideal design with Sarah Homes. The design has two bedrooms on the ground floor, with a large bathroom and staircase separating them from the large rumpus room. Upstairs houses the main bedroom at one end, with living and entertaining areas covering the remaining space. The main bedroom has a spacious walk in wardrobe and an adjacent bathroom, with corner shower, is close enough to double as an ensuite.

The galley kitchen includes an island bench with double sink, dishwasher and underbench storage. Behind is a stainless steel oven with electric cooktop, while a large walk-in pantry is located at one end. "We had to make some changes to the design as the council wouldn't allow us to have parking for three cars at the front of the home," Phil says.

"So we extended the rumpus room by three metres and paved the remaining area for an outdoor space. "The extra space in the rumpus allowed us to include a table tennis table and it has just become a much more liveable area. On the top level we added large glass windows either side of the sliding glass door, to make the most of the great sea views we have." he says. "We spend a lot of our time sitting on the veranda watching the world go by. There is always something interesting happening."

18-Jan-2009 - The Sunday Mail Home Magazine

For more information about the house in this story please look at the Emily 210.

Timing was everything for this young family making a sea change with Sarah Homes

A home with sea views was always on the horizon for Matt Wadewitz and Sarah Moore. The married couple bought a block of land near the sea a number of years ago and the plan was eventually to knock down the existing building and rebuild at some stage. "The block we bought had an old run-down transportable home on it," Matt says. "We had been renting it out for most of the time we owned the home when, eventually, it got to a stage when it was going to cost a fair bit of money to keep it up to scratch. That's when we decided the time was right to bulldoze it and build the family home."

The couple, along with their two children, Harry 4, and Eve, 3, chose the two-storey Emily by Sarah Homes. "With lovely sea views, we recently wanted to exploit that aspect," Matt says. "A large deck on the second level is a great place to look over the water and this has lots of space to entertain people out there as well. We spend most of our time on the deck in the warmer months. "A skillion roof also opened up the available views for us. From inside the home you can also enjoy the views through the large glass windows and sliding doors."

A galley kitchen, overlooking this open space, includes overhead cupboards for extra storage, breakfast bar, Essa Stone benchtops, stainless-steel oven, cooktop and rangehood and a large frosted-glass window to allow in natural light while still providing privacy. The main bedroom, which has a built-in wardrobe and ensuite, is behind the kitchen. A powder room with a separate vanity is nearby, allowing visitors to wash up for dinner. The ground floor includes three bedrooms which open on to the central living area.

"I think as the children get older they will be spending more of their time downstairs while the adults live and entertain upstairs," Matt says. "That's a few years off but is something we thought about when we chose the design." A three-way bathroom is also downstairs, near a staircase that includes handy understair storage. The laundry, which has outdoor access, is on the other side of the staircase.

06-Mar-2011 - The Sunday Mail Home Magazine

For more information about the house in this story please look at the Emily 240.

Needing an escape from the daily grind, this couple chose the Emily two-storey from Sarah Homes for their ideal weekend getaway

With an extended balcony for alfresco entertaining and two kitchens, this home was designed to party. For Christina and Gavin Repetti relaxing on weekends and holidays with friends has always been appealing. "We wanted a holiday home so we could find a place to get away from hectic life for a while and enjoy the company of friends," Christina says. "Building on a block that was slightly raised, we wanted to make the most of the sea views to one side and hills views to the other so the two-storey design was ideal for us."

The couple wanted a modern beach house with open-plan living and a large decked balcony to enjoy balmy summer evenings. "After looking at a few different builders we were very happy to go with Sarah Homes," she says. "They were exceptional to deal with and super flexible when it came to making alterations to the design and reorientating the floor plan." Some of those changes included expanding the downstairs living area, adding a kitchenette and moving the double garage to the rear of the home.

"Having the home the way it is really lends itself to separate families sharing the house at the same time," she says. "Quite often we have people staying over and if they want to make themselves a cup of coffee in the morning or have some breakfast they can do that in their own privacy and without having to disturb anyone else. "It will also be appealing if we use the home as a rental property, allowing two families to co-exist in comfort. The ground floor also houses the three minor bedrooms, all with built-in wardrobes, laundry with overhead cupboards and extra storage under the staircase. "We moved the double garage to the back of the home which has an entry to the home via the laundry," Christina says.

"This is really handy when we come back from the beach because we can dump our sandy things and give ourselves a quick wash off before entering the home and dropping sand everywhere." The top level includes the main bedroom with built-in wardrobes and an ensuite with twin basins and a spa bath. "I think it's a bit of luxury for us to have the spa bath," Christina says. "While the two basins are just much more practical." Adjacent is a powder room for guests. A galley kitchen has overhead cupboards for extra storage, an island bench with breakfast bar, glass splashback and a quick-clean induction cook top. The kitchen looks over the dining room with the casual lounge to one side. Sliding glass doors afford excellent sea views and lead to the large, decked balcony.

20-Nov-2011 - The Sunday Mail Home Magazine

For more information about the house in this story please look at the Emily 190.

Enjoy a relaxing weekend in the Emily 2 Storey by Sarah Homes

A weekend away is all about spending time with family or friends, catching up, laughing, enjoying anecdotes and hopefully, drinking good wine or craft beers. If it's warmer weather, you'll want to relax around an outdoor table on the deck, but in mid winter as it is now, it will be the indoor comfort of a spacious lounge that you'll be seeking. The upstairs of the Emily 2 Storey design by Sarah Homes has the space and open-plan styling for these types of occasions, where you can all gather but still have room to stretch out as you relax into the evening festivities.

Friends will enjoy the combined kitchen zone, dining space and lounge which covers most of the upper level and opens out to a huge deck which wraps around the front, easily doubling the space on the first floor for entertaining. Being able to keep the conversation flowing as dinner is made or drinks are poured is just what you want when friends are over, while the opportunity to have a view over the landscape supremely adds to the feeling of getting away from it all and escaping the usual humdrum of life.

The second-storey living takes advantage of any potential views should you choose to buy a coastal block, riverside block or in a hillside area, with large windows opening up the views on three sides. The deck also can be customised to suit the owner's block, as well as personal taste and requirements. Four spacious bedrooms, each worthy of queen-size beds, or two lots of bunks each, means there's enough space for couples to share the house with several sets of friends, or two or three families can stay at once.

Three of the bedrooms are downstairs, where it will tend to be quieter, and the ground level also has a second lounge area, ideal for the children or teens wanting to watch a DVD while you are upstairs socialising. The ground level also houses the handy three-way bathroom, plus a laundry and the home's entry, which is off the lounge. A laundry may not be a high priority for a weekend stay, but it will always be valuable for those staying longer in school holidays or over holiday periods.

Upstairs, the Emily 2 Storey has two more conveniences: a powder room with a separate toilet, and the ensuite off the main bedroom. With the space inside, it's surprising when you learn this home is only 7.5m wide, so it suits a variety of blocks including slim ones. Its modern angular design with pitched roof, and timber and corrugated cladding, gives it that chilled-out holiday feel, suited to both rural and beachside locales but no matter where it's built, it's a design you'll be wanting to escape to at weekends.

29-Jun-2014 - The Sunday Mail Home Magazine

For more information about the house in this story please look at the Emily 190 product page.