Home layout decisions
Single vs Double Storey in Adelaide: How to Decide
Quick answer
A single-storey home suits wide Adelaide blocks (usually 15 metre frontage or more) and is usually easier to age in. A double-storey home suits narrow infill blocks (under 10 metre frontage) where a full brief will not fit on one level. On Adelaide blocks between 10 and 15 metres wide either can work, so the deciding factor is family stage and how you want to use the garden.
Almost every new-build decision downstream (roof pitch, stair placement, plumbing layout, master bedroom position) starts from single or double storey. In Adelaide the answer is usually driven by block size, block price and how long you plan to live in the home. Here is how to work through it.
Public source: Your Home: passive design for climate (Australian Government)Watch: Homes By Homes podcast, episode 120
Top 5 Things You Need to Know Before Making Structural Changes
Storey count is a structural decision. This episode covers what actually changes when you push from single to double storey.
Section 1
When single-storey wins on an Adelaide block
You have a wide enough block (typically 15 metres or more of frontage on an infill block, or a generous greenfield block). You want the whole house on one level for long-term accessibility. Everyone shares one zone at night rather than being separated by a staircase. Construction is usually simpler and there is no stair void to design around. Adelaide has plenty of newer estates (Riverlea, Angle Vale, Roseworthy, Mount Barker) where single-storey homes are the norm and land supports the footprint.
Section 2
When double-storey wins on an Adelaide block
You are building on a narrow infill block (Prospect, Unley, Norwood, Rosewater, Kilburn) where getting four bedrooms and a real living zone on the ground floor is impossible. You want the primary living area to sit above street level for privacy or view. You are prepared to pay a premium per square metre for the second level, in exchange for keeping more of the block as garden or as a north-facing rear yard.
Section 3
The narrow-block calculator
On a block under about 10 metres wide, once you take out side setbacks, a driveway and a garage, single-storey design gets very tight. A double-storey plan lets you push the master and secondary bedrooms upstairs, keeping the ground floor open for living, kitchen and one guest bedroom. Most experienced Adelaide narrow-block builders default to double-storey on frontages of 6 to 10 metres.
Section 4
The over-55 or ageing-in-place consideration
Stairs are the single most common reason people move out of a home in their 60s and 70s. If you are building your last home, or a home you want to still live in comfortably in 30 years, single-storey with wider doorways and a hobless shower is a stronger choice than double-storey with a stairlift retrofit later. This is a bigger factor for downsizers than for young families.
Section 5
The kids-and-parents zoning point
Double-storey homes naturally separate parents downstairs from kids upstairs (or the other way round). Some families see that as the biggest layout benefit. Others hate it. Single-storey homes achieve similar separation with a wing at the far end of the plan, which works fine on a wide enough block.
Section 6
How to test the trade-off
Ask the designer for a rough single-storey concept and a rough double-storey concept on your block, both hitting your bedroom and living-area brief. Compare footprint, remaining garden, upstairs vs downstairs living, and how the block orientation works in each. Do not decide storey first and then jam the rooms in; decide from the block, the brief and the budget together.
What to do next
Keep reading
Find a building designer
Get a designer who reads floor plans the way you have to live in them.
Learn moreAdelaide climate design
Orientation and passive design decide which walls carry your living rooms.
Learn moreBlock check first
Overlays and setbacks shape the footprint before the layout starts.
Learn moreVerify your builder
Five free due-diligence checks before you sign with any builder.
Learn moreThis is general layout guidance drawn from public sources including Your Home (yourhome.gov.au). It is not a specific design or an engineering document. Always work with a qualified building designer or architect to translate these principles into a plan for your block and family.