My Forever Home

In this Facebook Live, Frances outlines the key differences between using engineered timber flooring and timber tile flooring. She walks through the advantages and disadvantages of each and discusses criteria for when you may use one over the other.

Health and wellbeing are important now more than ever, as we all navigate through the Covid 19 pandemic. In this episode of the Your Forever Home podcast, Frances outlines different ways that we can incorporate wellness into our homes – through connection to the outdoors, bringing the outside in, use of colour and materials on our homes, and more permanently – designing for wellbeing.   Sit back,...

In this Facebook Live, Frances discusses the buying criteria for a ceiling fan as not all fans are the same! She outlines why they are worth installing (so many reasons), and the controversial question of fan Vs pendant light in a bedroom. She also runs through why spending a little more on your ceiling fan provides so much more than a standard fan and is worth the investment.

In this final episode of the Bathroom Design Essentials Season, Frances outlines some of the key take-aways from each episode as an easy reference tool for you to know where you need to listen next.

 In this episode of the Your Forever Home Podcast, part of the Bathroom Design Essentials Season, Frances outlines some of the major mistakes she sees people make when designing their bathroom. Expensive mistakes that can be avoided, which she outlines in this episode, so you're not having to live with a less than desirable outcome. This is a must listen if you're designing your bathroom. SHOWNOTE...

In this episode of the Your Forever Home podcast Frances covers off the topic of creating a bathroom that is accessible for when you get  older, or are less able-bodied. She outlines design elements that can be incorporated now that will make a big difference  later on , and some that can simply be provisioned for and installed later. Through her passion for creating 'Future Proof' homes, this is...

In this Forever Home podcast episode, Frances outlines how to get the most out of your Powder room -whether it's the family powder room, or one for guests, she provides design suggestions on how to get the most out of both of these spaces. From injecting personality into your guest powder room, to adding lots of storage so the main powder room can be utilised as an 'overflow getting ready' space w...

In this episode of Your Forever Home, Frances outlines several decorating tips on how to create a warm and inviting bathroom. She offers plenty of insight and advice to allow you  to  make  the finishing touches to your bathroom  to create a space  you can be proud of . There's nothing worse than a sparse bathroom with no soul, so this episode will give you confidence to try her  creative and insi...

Frances is super passionate about this topic, and it clearly shows in this episode of Bathroom Design Essentials. Frances outlines the importance of internal elevations so you can create a well designed bathroom that allows you to be involved in the design process, make informed decisions, and mitigate expensive mistakes. Internal elevations also provide the builder with details of exactly what th...

Frances welcomes guest James Lambrou from Est Lighting to the podcast for this episode of Your Forever Home. Together they chat about Bathroom Lighting and key considerations to think about  to ensure  your bathroom not only looks fabulous,  but is   also functional. They also discuss functional and aesthetic lighting, and how to use both to light  up  a space   -  including  colour ,  temperature...

Frances is joined again by  Cathryn  Matchett   and Trisha  Narde  from Reece Bathroom Life ,  to discuss the options available for showroom vanities. They also outline some of the comparisons with  customised  vanities, and why one  would  be better  suited over another. SHOWNOTES Showroom Vanity Vs Customised Vanities  Showroom v anities  are  the  vanities that  are on display at stores . It  a...

In this episode of Your Forever Home, Frances has guests  Cathryn Matchett  and Trisha Narde from Reece Bathroom Life to discuss different types of basins available and when one may be more suitable over another. They chat through different material types along with what to look for in a quality basin. Lots to learn to make good basin decisions.   SHOWNOTES   Types of Basins   Above counter - A po...

In this Forever Home Live, Frances discusses the options available to you if your solid timber floors are looking tired and yellow. Frances provides sound advice on what CAN be done that prevents you from laying down a brand new floor and outlines limitations with going over the top of a current floor. This is a great episode if you're looking to save money and want to achieve the best aesthetic a...

Description: Not sure how to choose the right bath? T hen t his is the episode for you.  Cathryn Matchett   and Trisha Narde are back from Reece Bathroom Life to chat with Frances about all  things  baths. They discuss the different bath finishes, along with key considerations for free standing baths, opposed to hob or  inset  baths. Why choose one bath type over  another ,  buying criteria and ho...

In this Forever Home Live, Frances walks through an example of a floorplan she reviewed with a client, and how really examining the clients core objectives for their home to meet their lifestyle questioned some aspects of the home. The discussion lead to a massive improvement on the use of the space, enabled better privacy for everyone, and saved them heaps of money by not renovating unnecessary w...

In this episode of the Bathroom Design Essentials Season, Frances welcomes back Cathryn Matchett and Trisha Narde from Reece Bathroom Life. Together they discuss all there is to know about choosing the right toilet. There is a lot more the buying a toilet than you may think, like height, pan type, rimless design and self cleaning. There is plenty to learn in this episode so you can select a toilet...

In this episode of the Bathroom Design Essentials Season, Frances welcomes guests Trisha Narde and Cathryn Matchett from Reece Bathroom Life. Together they discuss basin mixers Vs individual taps and why you may consider one style over the other. They also talk about the different  type s  of bath taps and spouts available. Finally, they cover the  ever important  discussion on showers and what yo...

Grout  is often an afterthought  and not even considered when making bathroom selections.  O ften  it's  left to the tiler to decide on  type and  colour , which is not ideal . I've seen some  less than desirable outcomes  when the grout  colour  is not carefully chosen  with the tile . The overall look can be compromised by the wrong  colour  tone of grout  and can ruin the whole aesthetic in you...

In this episode of the podcast, Frances walks through the different types of vanity options available, along with custom Vs off-the-shelf designs discussing what may work best for your requirements. She also looks at material types and what to consider when specifying for wet areas.     SHOWNOTES:     Vanities  are  a  strong focal point  that can make or break the overall design and functionality...

Choosing tiles is a main consideration in your bathrooms. It's the main material that will be used and impacts functionality as well as aesthetics. Not all tiles are the same, so it's important to know the buying criteria so you can choose the right tile for the right application.   In this episode of the podcast, Frances is joined by  Tiling expert,  Richard Earp from Earp Bro s .  Richard shares...

In this Forever Home Live, Frances answers a query on having a Mixer Tap Vs conventional taps, and outlines her reasons for specifying mixer taps more frequently than normal taps.

In this episode of the podcast, Frances walks through what is possible when renovating your bathroom at various price points. She covers off options at $1,500 to freshen up a dated bathroom. What can be achieved for about $10,000 and then what you can look at when you're creating a high end bathroom. She provides plenty of examples of what can be done at each budget level.   $1,500- $2,000 Freshen...

In this podcast episode, Frances outlines how to find the style you're after for your bathroom. She gives tips to help you determine the style and feeling you'd like to create in your bathroom. Further, she outlines how to start pulling your design scheme together, and how to incorporate colour into your bathroom (if that's what you want). This episode gets into the nitty gritty of pulling your ma...

 In this episode of the Bathroom Design Essentials Season, Frances outlines why starting with your storage requirements is critical to getting your bathroom designed properly. She outlines the main storage solutions available and what solutions are better for storing certain items.   Frances outlines how functionality is critical in a bathroom, as the space can be tight, and without adequate stora...

In this episode of the podcast, Frances is joined by guest Fabieli  Fontana, Senior Interior Designer at White Pebble Interiors. They discuss some key considerations to think about, such as privacy and windows, when designing your bathroom, along with thinking about flow and space planning. They cover some key mistakes they have seen people make, and how to not make the same mistakes yourself.   S...