Planning for a successful renovation or new build - The course
Our main focus in our design business is to provide our clients with a professional, creative, high quality design service that takes the stress and overwhelm out of a new build or renovation. How do we do this? By providing fully documented architectural plans, elevations & detailed schedules which enable our clients to bring their new home dreams to life.
We have a true passion for what we do and a wealth of knowledge and design experience that goes with it. Our project success stories come down to our preparation, meticulous planning and documenting every little detail from the very inception of each project. It's the work we put into what we call the 'pre-planning stage' that ultimately sets the project up for success.
Over the years we've had quite a few clients who are already well into their project, sent our way. They've either been encouraged to give us a call by Builders that we've worked with in the past, or referred onto us by past clients or friends. To be honest mid-project is not the ideal time to engage a Designer. We will however jump in when we're needed and work the project from that point on.
For us, picking up a project that is already underway is a missed opportunity...not for us but for the homeowner. Quite often we see areas that could have been improved on, layouts that could have been re-worked, spaces that could have flowed better. Unfortunately, we see details that were overlooked and finishes that just aren't sitting quite right. At this point in the build process, the opportunity to be it's very best has been missed.
Having seen this time and time again got us thinking. As a Design team we know what it takes for a project to be successful. It ultimately comes down to planning and preparing even before you engage the professional services that are required for the design and most definitely prior to construction commencing.
As the homeowner, you want your build to run smoothly, you want to avoid the stress and overwhelm that you often hear about. You also want to be build savvy. Meaning you want to be aware of the build process, the stages that take place and the professional services you will need. You will also want to be clear on your building budget, nail your design style prior to meeting with a Designer and finally you need to know how to effectively do your due diligence when selecting the right Builder for your project.
When a new client engages our services we sit down and walk them through all of the above. We call it the 'pre-planning phase'. The process we take our clients through (in the pre-planning phase) enables them to gain clarity with their design intentions, needs and budget limitations thus forming a solid foundation. This sets their project up for success rather than failure. Just a little over 2 years ago we packaged this pre-planning process into a six week online live course, we have further developed it into a self managed course that is available all year round to complete when you need it!
The course is broken up into 6 easy to follow modules covering the following;
Module 1 - Avoiding costly mistakes
This module gives an insight into the reasons why things go wrong and goes into the importance of preparation and planning in order to avoid the proverbial 'horror story'.
Module 2 - Never underestimate the extent of your renovation or new build
In this module we look at the full extent of your project in order to manage your expectations. We introduce you to our extent of works checklist in order to avoid any nasty surprises mid-project by creating your own 'list of works'
Module 3 - Budget / Guest expert hosted session
You need to talk dollars from the very inception of your project ... Is your budget realistic?, are you able to stretch your budget if required? Are you aware of all the professional fees that are associated with a building project? Our guest expert, a Builder with 20 + years experience joins us and discusses what you must consider when it comes to your building budget and how you can avoid blowing your budget during the construction phase.
Module 4 - Defining your style / Guest expert hosted session
We're joined by our guest expert Interior Stylist Tara Solberg. Tara and her husband Danny are the owners of the internationally awarded furniture and homewares stores Few and Far Home and Indigo Love. We discuss with Tara how to go about defining your home style in order to have a cohesive look from the exterior to the interior spaces. And there is a bonus !!...Tara shares a series of videos with us giving tips on decorating specific areas of your home.
Module 5 - The design brief
This module is broken into 2 parts as we need to cover a lot of ground to ensure your projects' success. By the end of this module you will walk away with a personal project brief template. This brief will be a detailed document that you can hand to any Designer, Architect or Builder. The brief will outline the specifics of your property, and outline exactly what you intend to achieve with your build, and covers a huge amount of other relevant information that your Architect/Designer and Builder will require (and thank you for), prior to stepping into the design and construction phase.
Module 6 - Due diligence when selecting your Builder / Guest expert hosted session
This module is worth it's weight in gold !!
We have a construction Lawyer and Adjudicator walk us through all the things you can do and should do in order to check the Builder you have selected is all that they say they are. The advice our Lawyer imparts is priceless !!
All this knowledge and advice comes with videos, downloadable templates and checklists that will have you tackling your project with clarity and confidence. It will also have you saving time and money as your Builder will be well informed to put together a well structured building program that he/she can stick to. You will also have the ability to make informed decisions along the way should unforeseen circumstances arise.
If this is something you may be interested in and would like more information, click on the link to the course
Or if you have any questions in relation to the course please feel free to send us an email at [email protected] OR [email protected]
