Designing Your Build

Building a house is a long process. That’s a fact. Watching reality tv may lead you to believe otherwise, but it’s simply not true. It takes blood, sweat, tears, money, planning, more money, and wine. Lots of wine.

Which is exactly why it’s super important to get your plans right! Remember, good design is a smart investment.

So before you close this window and go back to Pinterest, read a little further because I am hoping that some of the things we have learned along the way will help you in your future build or renovation.

Tip #1: Find an architect/designer that you love

Choosing the right designer for your project is one of the most important steps on the path to your new home.

It’s important when you are meeting with your designer that you find one that, ‘gets you’, you want the process to be natural and enjoyable so find one that you think will bring an even better version of your vision to life and lock them in.

Tip # 2: Know your brief

Your prioritised wish list, or brief to the designer, should be an evolving document that notes your compulsory items, preferences and ‘must avoids’.

For Orton Haus, we wanted single storey, high ceilings, three bedrooms, two living areas, a laundry/mudroom, a pool, a lot of texture, batten walls (cue: NHS), exposed bricks (PGH), Vgroove joinery (Urban Joinery), curved edges (Orton Building) and a lot of light from Velux Skylights and Great Lakes Windows.

In order to visually articulate your vision, it is super helpful to create a mood board (stay tuned for our next blog post on that very topic!)

Also finding examples of design elements that you like in magazines and Pinterest helps. I had links from Thomas Archer Homes, Three Birds Renovations, Byron Bay holiday houses and pictures out of Real Living, Inside Out and Home Beautiful magazines (research nerd much??). See some of our inspo photos below.

You should also note the feeling you want from your house, we wanted to create something grand and spacious and didn’t want to feel like anything was squashed in.

Living busy lives running a business, raising two children and trying to stay social, we wanted the house to also have a holiday vibe. Like a mini-retreat from the craziness of life.

Figuring out what you and your family really value is a huge part of this process. We value entertaining, the ocean and relaxing and our home is going to reflect that. For you, it might be completely different. My main tip is to find out what you value and build your home around that.

Tip #3: Let your designer handle the creative process

Once you have your “must haves” in order, let your designer get creative from there. Over involvement from you can limit their ability to deliver you your best home.

Your designer will address issues such as orientation, lighting, views, slopes, neighbours, council requirements, access, services etc etc all the things that you don’t have time to worry about, so sit back, and let them run wild.

Remember: The role of the architect is to create something specifically for you. Trust them to create something amazing and be sure to let them use their creative flair! That’s what you’re paying them for.

Tip #4: Have a clear budget and get your builder involved early

It’s important to clearly articulate your overall budget to your designer and your builder. Often your builder will be more realistic about cost which is super helpful so get them involved early in the process.

We generally recommend getting a budget estimate off your preferred builder prior to lodging your plans to council. This allows for changes to plan to be made early on if required.

Be sure to always refer to your budget throughout the planning stage with your designer, if you make amendments to the initial concept plans along the way (which is bound to happen) be sure to ask ‘will this change effect my budget’ over and over again, you don’t want to be disappointed when you realise your dream home is completely out of reach, so always work within your means.

Tip #5: Have fun

Enjoy the process! Being able to build your own home is a rare opportunity and one that we feel very blessed to do.  It is amazing to see your hard work paying off and it is incredible to see your vision coming to life. Visualise your future house filled with laughter, entertaining, wine (have I mentioned wine?) and memorable moments. This my friends is what it’s all about.

Anyway, that’s all from me for now!

Remember you can always dm me on Instagram. Oh and sign up to our mailing list to receive the updates first!

<span style="background-color:green">Mrs. Robinson</span>

Love,

Jus x