From the Riverland to the Hills…
Jess and Jack shared their story with us of moving from Loxton to Aston Hills with their twins Charlie and Isabella…
Lanser: Hi Jess and Jack! Welcome to Aston Hills. What made you decide to build in the Adelaide Hills, were you from the Hills originally or did you move here?
Jess: After making the move down from Loxton in the Riverland region of SA we were keen to keep a semi-rural lifestyle for our young family. I had previously lived in the Adelaide Hills before plus we also had family living in the region which made the decision to purchase and build a house in Aston Hills a no-brainer.
L: How did you guys decide on Aston Hills?
Jess: Our move from Loxton to Adelaide was pretty quick and we were lucky enough to stay with my Mum who lived in Mt Barker. We stumbled upon Aston Hills when looking for an Early Learning Centre for our twins Charlie & Isabella to attend. Once they had settled in at Where We Grow ELC at Aston Hills, we realised that this would be an ideal place for us to live. We found a block that had a rural outlook & fell in love with all aspects of the development!
L: Tell us about your home build. What tips would you give to people building their dream home?
Jess: We previously owned a 1950s home in Loxton which we sold when we moved down to Adelaide but this was our first time building.
Once we had purchased our block we had a few minor set backs with the first builder that we had chosen & we ended up going with SA Housing Centre (a subsidiary company of Hickinbotham). Nicola at SA Housing Centre who was absolutely brilliant! She walked us through the display home in Aston Hills & showed/told us about every little detail (what was an standard, upgrade etc). We were able to map out all of our selections before we even signed the build contract which gave us a great idea for our budget.
In terms of tips, our advice would be to be as organised as you can be, get multiple quotes for absolutely everything under the sun you can think of (fencing, retaining, external flooring, blinds, concreting, etc.), don’t go with what is cheapest, do your research, go with your gut & ask questions if something doesn’t feel right.
L: What are your favourite features of your home? Would you change anything if you did it all again?
Jess: Our favourite feature of our home is how spacious, light & free flowing it feels. The only thing we would consider changing if we were to do it all over again would be to create a bigger outdoor entertaining area!
L: How did you select your builder and home design/block?
Jess: We chose SA Housing Centre as they had affordable designs that fit the requirements of our young family. Our ideal was to have 4 bedrooms, 2 living, 2 bath & enough space to keep us comfortable while our twins grow which we were able to achieve with SAHC.
We chose our block because of its amazing location – towards the end of a cul-de-sac & across the road from a paddock with cows which our kids absolutely love!
Charlie and Isabella love the outlook from their new Aston Hills address…
L: How did you find finishing your home eg landscaping and decorating?
Jack: We did all the landscaping (apart from retaining & concreting) ourselves plus a few members of our family. Jess drew up designs to scale for the front & back yards so that we could work out how much turf, plants, underground watering system, etc we required. This allowed us to save a lot on costs & gave us a great sense of reward in doing it ourselves! We also had the added pressure of getting it all down before our new puppy arrived 2 weeks after handover!
Jess: In terms of decorating, our home is quite contemporary. We love neutral colours and natural light & were able to style our home mostly with pieces of furniture that we previously owned with the exception of a few new items!
Jack & Jess did most of the landscaping at their new home themselves with the help of family…
L: How did you find the team at Lanser and would you recommend living at Aston Hills to friends?
Jess: The team at Lanser were exceptional from the get go. Karen at the land sales centre was fantastic – from showing us the master plan for the development to working with our mortgage broker on the sale of our land. Our experience of living in Aston Hills has been brilliant & we would absolutely recommend living at Aston Hills to our friends.
L: What do you love most about life at Aston Hills?
Jess: One of the things we love most about life at Aston Hills is how serene it is!
L: Where are your favourite places to go in the Hills?
Jess: Some of our favourite places to go in the Hills would definitely be Sazons, Lot 100, Sidewood & Green Valley Strawberries Cafe.
For more information about making Aston Hills home please call Karen on 0452 136 091.