I’ve had lots of conversations with homeowners this year who are realising that their current homes are no longer supporting the kind of lifestyle that they want to lead – they may need more space, smarter upgrades, improved functionality or they’re just ready to start living in a “nicer” home (instead of putting it off for some future, unknown point in time). For other people, this year has triggered bigger conversations about where they want to live, what role they want work to play in their lives and what impact their homes are having on their financial security.

I wish I could say that I can answer all these questions with great design, but the reality is that a truly great home – one that is perfect for you and how you want to live – can only be created if we put YOU at the centre of your project. So that you can plan the kind of home that is going to support you to live the kind of life you wan to live.

My job as an interior designer over the last 10 years has put me in a position where I’ve been able to hear hundreds of stories of families building and renovating their homes. I’ve been privileged to share in all the great experiences that come with building a new home, but I’ve also learned from alot of the challenges that go with it.

Whilst people usually reach out for help with their projects because they believe that they need help with the design, what has become very clear to me is that design is only a small piece of the puzzle.

The challenges that many people face when it’s time to make big decisions about their homes (or even when they need to make small decisions about what they want) usually stem from bigger questions that haven’t been answered in the planning phase… and if you haven’t spent the time to work out a clear vision for your home and some objectives for what you want to achieve, then jumping in and hiring a designer first can leave you with :

A set of expensive designs that never get implemented
– there might be a range of reasons why this happens, but some of the most common ones are that the costs of building the design isn’t financially viable or don’t present you with the solutions you need.

…or worse

A freshly built “dream house” that doesn’t match YOUR dream
– this is far more common than you’d imagine… once construction starts, it can be hard to take back control when it starts heading in the wrong direction and it can be hard to abandon professional plans that you’ve spent so much time and money on, even if you’re not convinced that they’re right.

The work that happens at the start of a project (before you start making design decisions or hiring designers, builders and tradespeople) is the work that will have the biggest impact on the success of your project and whether it is able to stay on budget, on schedule and ultimately, whether you end up with the kind of house that you’ve always dreamt of living in.

So, I’ve decided to create some brand new training to help homeowners in the Pre-Build phase of their projects. This is such an important stage, because we have the opportunity to really set things up the right way and avoid alot of the mistakes that many people make (and often don’t realise they’ve made until much later in the project, when it’s too late).

This training is going to be jam packed with all the things that I wish every homeowner had access to… everything that would allow them to understand the process before it begins, so that they know when to ask for help and how to communicate what it is that they really need help with.

…because I know that this would save a huge amount in design fees, but also because this would mean that these projects are driven by informed, confident decision-makers that understand what it is that they want… and that’s the only way to be sure that you’re going to be happy with the home that you’re creating.

We will be focusing on how to :

+ Get a clearer vision of what you want to build so that you can communicate this clearly to your team (even if you’re still figuring it out yourself)

+ Understand the design and construction process so you can get ahead of what you need to do, start your planning early and maintain control of the project

+ Get a better understanding of how costs are calculated to help inform budgets, compare quotes and allow you to make informed decisions about where to invest your money

+ Break down all the decisions that you need to make into a simple, step by step process that makes selections quick and easy (well, as easy as they can be!)… and avoids the last minute stress purchases that you might regret

+ Identify what specific areas you need support with so that you know the right people to hire and at what stage of your project

Registrations are open now and I’d love you to join me…

Read all about the workshop here

Spots are limited and filling up quickly, so what are you waiting for?

Talk soon,
Amanda x