Oz Home & Family Life

  Milo enjoying his favourite warm spot beside our new gas fireplace From Underfloor Heating to a Gas Fireplace: How We Made Our Sydney Home Cosier Winter in Sydney may be mild compared with many parts of the world, but uninsulated brick homes and chilly mornings can still leave living spaces feeling surprisingly cold. When winter arrived, we wanted our main living area to feel warm, welcoming, and comfortable without having to plan our heating hours far in advance. Before renovating our home, we relied on underfloor heating throughout our main living spaces. While the gentle warmth beneath our feet was lovely on cold mornings, using it as the main heat source for a large living area wasn't practical for our daily routine. It lacked convenient manual control, took hours to warm up the room, and retained heat for so long that turning it off didn't cool the house down when needed. Finding the Right Spot for Underfloor Heating This doesn't mean underfloor heating is a poor sys...

  T he same view after the renovation. A brighter, more functional home designed for the next chapter of our family's life.   Why We Decided to Renovate Our Family Home After 20 Years: Lessons & Reflections After more than twenty years of raising a family in our house, time was beginning to show its age. The timber floors had been worn down by years of wet feet running in from the pool. Our bathrooms felt tired and outdated, and the exterior had lost its fresh, vibrant appearance after two decades under the harsh Australian sunshine. Then came 2020. Like many families around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic changed our daily lives almost overnight. Instead of rushing between work, school, and weekend activities, we suddenly found ourselves spending nearly all of our time inside the house. Spending so much uninterrupted time at home gave us a completely new perspective. Rather than noticing only the things we loved, we began noticing everything that no longer worked for our...