I don’t think I am really the target audience for this course. I live in rural Australia, in a forest. We are fairly isolated (but most people standards anyway). We can’t hear any neighbours or see any traffic. I can not imagine living in an environment like the one you showed on the screen.

Our main limiting factor is the need for fire safety. We have to be careful what materials we use to build.  For example we are not able to have any external or exposed wood. 

The take away fro me is that we are not too bad overall. Definitely got the environment right and lots of air and light.  I am not a big fan of indoor plants (I've got plenty outside) I could explore that a bit. Also textures in the house.  I Like easy care and keep it simple but perhaps it's time to explore a bit more.  We are not going to do anything major like reline walls but I could improve the cushions and rugs. 

As far as views out the windows go the garden needs work for sure but that is a slow process. 

The picture with this project shows a visitor to our bird table. 

 

My checklist is below.

 

Nature

Views of nature from windows

Yes. Lots of trees from every window.

Views to water

Yes. The east side of the house looks down to our largest damn and we can watch the wild ducks swimming.

Easy access to parks

No. We are quiet a way from any parks or facilities. It doesn't matter to us as our “backyard” is basically a huge wild park.

Access to green spaces

Yes, we have the yard area around the house (no trees due to fire risk) and there is a a creek flat nearby as well.

Access to outdoor recreational facilities (like tennis courts, volley ball courts etc.)

No. The only recreational facilities are the ones we have made such as the archery range.

Spaces that improve ecology and biodiversity

We strive to do this. I suppose the place this is seen is in the bird tables. There is one near each of the two windows we see out of the most.

Roof garden or the space to make one

Not an issue.

Green walls or the available surface to make one

Not an issue. I like these when I see them when I am in a city.

Possibility to keep pets

We could but we don’t because of the wildlife and also we keep ducks. They are not really pets but they need to be protected .

Possibility to place window plants (indoor or outdoor)

Not really on our windows. I prefer to keep them clear so I have the view.

Opportunity to place indoor plants

We have a couple of indoor plants but I have such a lot outside I don’t tend to have many inside. I am looking into a rack for seedlings on the kitchen bench as we have the space and its the warmest room with lots of light so we could use that in lieu of a green house to start seedlings.

 Light

The home is located on the higher floors of a building

We are not overshadowed so not an issue

Southern Hemisphere North facing windows

We are in Australia so its North for us.

Tall ceilings

Not much I can do to change the ceiling height.

Open plan

Semi open plan. I really like having the kitchen a bit separate and be able to close a door if I want. Partly for mess, partly to look after any small humans (aka children) visiting us. We have double doors so its still quite open.

(High level) windows in bathrooms

Its one room I am not happy with I’d love more windows in the bathroom.

Roof lights (in bathrooms, corridors, auxiliary spaces)

Not feasible unfortunately.

Glass Partitions and doors

Not needed

Light colours

Unfortunately there is a limited range of colours available in the LED lights available to us. We do what we can.

Mirrors

Actually I do not have much wall space in living areas where we can put a mirror on. I’ve got plenty in other rooms.

Reduced number of furniture elements

This is an aim. Hard to balance needs and not liking having stuff. Its not “furniture” but the exercise things are hard to store. I use them all the time so they have to be accessible but a mini trampoline is hard to ignore as is a gyms ball and weights.

 Air

Low air pollution

The main issue we have is the wood fire and the resulting air pollution.

Location of the apartment close to a park or generally a green area

In a forest!

Possibility to place plants

I am thinking of getting some plants into the kitchen. First I need some shelves to go on the bench top.

Cross ventilation: 2 opposites facades

We have good ventilation and non-polluted air to so that’s a plus.

Stack ventilation : connection upwards to the sky (like a roof light)

I think we have enough air flow without this. Also I am a bit worried about roof leaks. I’ve seen some bad things happen with skylights.

Natural fragrances (nearby gardens, Flowers, trees)

This is a problem. A family member is very sent sensitive and it's a migraine trigger so no scented anything at our place. I do not even wear perfume at home.

Noise

Location of the apartment (no big traffic, construction sites, industrial buildings, loud dance studios, large cooling devices attached to the facade etc.)

Our location is very nice. We look out over a damn. The down side is because of the forest we do not have any distant views.

Windows with a high STC (over 40)

Unfortunately we have plain glass. Double glazing is out of the question as all the glass here has to be fire rated and that adds hugely to cost.

Well-insulated apartments (can’t hear noisy neighbour)

The only noisy neighbours are our ducks. They are surprising noisy!

Solid core doors

Got them. It for the fire rating rather than noise.

Building Quiet Hours

Not a thing for us.

 Texture

Solid wood (Timber floorboards, furniture, exposed beams etc)

We don’t have much variety in texture in the house. The garden is another matter.

Exposed brick

No

Stone

Outside

Bamboo

No

Clay plasters

No

Copper

Like it but do not have an. I’ll keep a eye open for the opportunity.

Other (f.ex. cotton, hyacinth, non-toxic wallpaper, etc)

Our walls are fairly plain and the art provides the texture. Definitely an area I can work on.

 

Taste

Enough counter top surface

Counter tops are good. I hate anything on the counter top so I keep them clear.

Large Fridge

Got one that is plenty big enough.

The kitchen triangle

Not perfect but workable.

 

This is a photograph for the sunrise as seen from our living room.