Write about your dream home.

Just over 2 years ago sitting in a pub in Penola, in the Coonawarra wine region of South Australia, I mused with my favourite persona about sorting out the spiral staircase in our beach house.

Our spiral staircase has been the bane of our regular visits. All of us have fallen off the last step, with my mother needing stitches from her fall. My youngest daughter said all of her friends had stories about their falls; presumably after a couple of drinks. It has also been a safety hazard for our young grandchildren.

So we started planning.

Initially thoughts of building into the garage with a walkway to the main house. It would give us a big bedroom, open up new views, and give me a place to put a big screen TV to watch sport!

Our first designs from the architect incorporated this plan. It was quickly dismissed, not just because of the cost but the design encroached council property.

The architect then set about new drawings and working through the numerous council building regulations. We don’t have water or sewerage and our septic which has never caused a problem other than when the drought caused pipes to crack was according to current regulations not big enough. We also needed a dedicated fire water tank. These were unanticipated requirements and with it significant additional cost.

Across the next 2 years our plans have taken shape, and the costs mounted. I was fast coming to understand why building was just so expensive. Still we love our beach house and where it is located. The house is great and the views fabulous.

So here we are, just over 2 years since we started planning approval has been granted, a builder is in place and we. Are ready to start renovating what we hope will truly be our dream home.

A new staircase linking the three levels. A new kitchen to replace the IKEA one which has served us well for the last 10 years, an additional bedroom, a room suitable for a bigger TV and a new wider verandah to entertain on.

The costs are about 4 times what I’d hoped, but this will be our dream home – we hope!