Material Things – Form and Function

Material Things – Form and Function

Your new home is made of material things. Concrete, bricks, timber, tiles, appliances etc.  Some if these things you can’t see and some you can.  For your house to be the best it can be, you need to find the balance between ‘form and function’ – or what we refer to as ‘how it looks and how it works’.

The materials that you don’t see usually comprise the more structural elements of your home.  Think the concrete slab, the timber roof frame.  For these materials, function becomes more important than how they look.  It’s important that these items are structurally sound so that your home is safe and to reduce maintenance in the future.  At Activa Homes Group, we work with professional engineers to ensure that the structure of your home meets, if not exceeds, Australian Standards.

The materials that you do see make up more of the finishing items of your home.  This is where form becomes more important, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of how the material works.  An example of this could be the floor tiles that you use in your ensuite.  Highly polished marble look tiles make your ensuite look like it’s straight out of a 5 star hotel.  However, high gloss tiles are a slip hazard in wet areas.  You can find the balance by using a matt version of the tile on the floors and them ramp up the glam with high gloss on the walls.

Another example are your appliances.  Unless you are a gourmet chef that cooks for groups on a regular basis, spending your budget on top end appliances that look amazing but you only ever use two functions out of eleven is false economy.  Instead, think of including a quality oven that meets your needs, leaving the rest of the budget to put towards more important items.