In the latest episode of Love It Or List It Australia, parents Mel and Macca McDonald are struggling with space for their nine children. Is it time to move or simply renovate?
And how do you design a house to suit the different life stages of all the children in this family?
The kitchen is a bit crowded. Picture: Love It Or List It Australia.
Andrew Winter and Neale Whitaker hosts of Love It Or List It Australia take a look at the property and offer their advice.
List it: Why now is a good time to sell in Park Orchards
The McDonalds have lived in this large home in the semi-rural suburb of Park Orchards in outer Melbourne for 15 years and the current median price for a four-bedroom home like the one they own is $1.48 million.
While the house has plenty of living space it’s not in the right places for a family of 11, plus cooking 33 meals a day in this kitchen isn’t easy.
“We’ve loved it for a really long time. But as we’ve added more kids to the family, it just feels like the walls are closing in and it’s not working for me anymore,” says Mel.
But Macca isn’t convinced that this home isn’t perfect for him, Mel and their nine children.
“The functionality of the house is the issue. It’s just not to the scale we need to fit everyone in it. To me, it’s nothing that can’t be fixed,” he says.
The main lounge and living area. Picture: Love It Or List It Australia.
If the family choose to sell now, they could get up to $1.35 million for this home, but Winter says they should ideally buy a bigger house in the same area with five to six bedrooms and a study, a pool and a lovely garden.
“I see a house that’s ready to be passed on, it’s ready for the next family. I see the McDonalds as ready for the next stage of life and a bit of a nice garden and pool.”
“The configuration of this accommodation is limited and the low ceilings – you can’t do anything about that,” says Winter.
Love it: Transforming this Melbourne home
Making the kitchen area bigger and providing more storage would transform this home. Picture: Love It Or List It Australia.
But given the space that the McDonalds already have, Whitaker thinks a smart renovation would give Mel and the kids the open-plan living they desperately need as well as extra bedrooms.
“To add two more bedrooms, I’m using one of the two identical living areas, creating a corridor with a dividing wall and building in storage space for both rooms.
“To make up for some of the lost space, I’m expanding the other living room and knocking down the old brick fireplace and chimney,” he says.
An open-plan living room suits this big family. Picture: Love It Or List It Australia.
Whitaker says redoing the floor plan could see the kitchen, dining and living areas flow into the one large open-plan space that this family of 11 needs.
“By opening up the living, dining rooms and kitchen the whole family can feel connected. They’ll all be together in the one space at the same time,” he says.
Watch Love It or List It Australia now exclusively on Foxtel’s Lifestyle to see what Mel and Macca did with this home.
