The Beauty of Opportunity
A home is what you make of it, and no room in a house is more dynamic and versatile than a multifunctional one. Often the most communal areas of a home, a multifunctional house is a room that can have many various functions to keep homeowners stimulated and entertained. These are often the places where memories are shared. Where parties are hosted and families bond. For some, these rooms in the house are the most significant in terms of their ability to provide opportunities for experience and quality time. Sydney Home + Design Living’s Robin Harper sits down with David Walter, co-founder and director of Walter Homes, to discuss the versatility of multifunctional homes and the challenges that come with them.
A home is a place of comfort and magic, where every corner can be customised so that there’s a spot of you reflected throughout. With a world of possibilities at your fingertips, the multifunctional room is yours to style and furnish to your heart’s desire. Whether you settle for the classic kitchen, dining and lounge room, or want something a little more eclectic and unconventional to lighten up your space, you are never short of options when it comes to creating your home to suit your needs and preferences. Remember, dear readers, as these spaces are where you will spend most of your time with others, it is crucial to aim for something that is equal parts stylish and comfortable. You want your guests to be welcomed into your abode and feel allowed to relax and enjoy themselves. Similarly, you want all occupants of the home to appreciate and use this space, so adding touches that they will appreciate can do wonders to help that.
SPACE FOR EVERYONE
The multifunctional space is a place of relaxation, a place where you can breathe and forget about the woes of the week. As such, the structure of a multifunctional home must be created to allow for this ambiance and freedom. That means lots of light, lots of space and lots of freedom of movement! According to Walter, what elevates the multifunctional home to a statement piece is it’s “free flowing” layout. “Multifunctional rooms are typically devoid of walls, so you’ve got this open area that’s outside-inside, inside-outside,” says Walter. Many modern homes often emphasise this sense of flow. As Walter points out, this effect is characterised by large doors and windows that open out into alfresco-style areas that can connect the indoor and outdoor spaces. In a way, what is structurally split into two separate spaces can be opened up and combined into one, thus creating what was once singularly functional to multifunctional.
“Typically, this style often combines the kitchen, dining and lounge area with an outdoor alfresco area and pool so that it’s open and free flowing,” says Walter. This allows for a mixture of possibilities when it comes to hosting guests and for personal entertainment. The combination offers a variety of places for dining, whether the dining experience is for entertainment in the formal dining room or a casual affair in the outdoor alfresco area. You also have the choice of a more laidback experience in the lounge or a quick meal at the kitchen island bench. Either way, the freedom of choice means less stress when it comes to organisation and planning.
WHAT TO CONSIDER
Imagine that you’re in the process of planning your dream home and have come to the daunting task of figuring out how to structure your multifunctional spaces. Do you have the couch facing the windows, or away from the windows? How many light fixtures will you need for the lounge area? Should you have a kitchen island or a wraparound bench? These are just some of the questions you’ll likely be asking yourself, and it’s easy to get wrapped up and overwhelmed at just the thought of it. However, don’t stress. Everyone faced with the task of creating their home experiences these anxieties. A lot of time, organisation and planning goes into making a multifunctional room work seamlessly and cohesively. There’s no use assigning the function of a space without first understanding its foundations after all.
According to Walter, “Some of the challenges faced in these areas is that there’s a lot of furniture but not many walls to put them up against, so it creates a bit of a challenge for the interior decorator and also for the people who are trying to wire up the power points and electricity,” he says.
Often, something as simple as where a power point should go can be easily overlooked by homeowners who are swept away by the romanticism of envisioning their dream homes. You may want an inbuilt control table with matching shelves, but that might dominate wall space and create issues for where the power points should go. Suddenly, you might find you don’t have appropriate access to power the TV you have hooked up to the wall, forcing compromises you may have wanted to avoid. To prevent things going awry, especially when building a new home, start thinking about how you will use your space well before construction starts. That way, your builder, designer and interior decorator have an easier time conceptualising your vision from the get-go
PERSONALISED AND PRETTY
For Walter, who has had decades of experience building homes in Forster and Sydney, every client has a different preference when it comes to the function of their multifunctional homes. “Everyone’s tastes are different,” says Walter. “What you think is a good concept, the next client might not like it … They want their own piece of uniqueness,” he explains. It is exactly this uniqueness that can be highlighted in the multifunctional space. It’s where you can really show off your own brand of creativity and personalisation through how you choose to design, build and furnish everything. According to Walter, everyone wants their home built differently. “They want to put their signature on it and say: ‘This is what my house is. This is my home,’” says Walter. Remember, my dear readers, to carefully consider your multifunctional spaces when drafting, building and furnishing your home. It isn’t just about the glitz and the glamour. For a multifunctional space to work, it must be functional!
Images courtesy of Walter Homes
