20 Apr Briefing the Designer
When embarking a home renovation or new built, the brief to your designer is a crucial step. It’s the roadmap that sets out what you want and need in your house, your budget, and the style you aspire to.
Communicating these aspects effectively ensures you get the best response to your brief.
Style and aesthetics are deeply personal, often challenging to articulate until you see them.
Define Your Style:
Gather inspiration from magazines or online platforms like Houzz or Pinterest. Create a scrapbook of images that resonate with you to define your preferences in materials, forms, and spatial arrangements.
- What materials you like?
- What forms you like?
- What kind of spaces you like? Open plan or a more formal arrangement of rooms?
Every family is different. Your values and needs are highly individual.
Consider Your Lifestyle and Family Needs:
- How many in your family? Do they all need separate bedrooms? Will you want separate living areas?
- Do you have extended family members (perhaps older parents or teenagers) who may need/want their own facilities?
- How long do you intend living here? Incorporate design elements to cater for your future needs.
- Where will children play? Is it possible to incorporate sight lines into your design so you can see them outside while you’re inside?
- How many bathrooms do you need?
- Ensure adequate storage for each area of your home – kitchen, clothing, sporting equipment, tools and gardening equipment, laundry, extra items not needed but wanted to be kept, etc.
- What are your audio-visual needs? Music outside and in different rooms within the house? Home Theatre – in a specific room or incorporated into your living spaces? Internet and Satellite TV access?
Think about your long-term plans for the house and incorporate design elements that will adapt to your future needs.
There will always be constraints of the site and building structure.
When it comes to your site, pay attention to practicalities.
- Where is the sun?
- Where does water flow through your property?
- Where are neighbours situated and what kind of privacy do you have from them?
- How do you gain access to your house?
- How steep is it? Do you need to level any areas for living/carparking/garden areas?
Ultimately, your home should reflect your values and desired way of living. It should be a place where you feel comfortable and can envision your future.
By providing your designer with detailed information and clear direction, you can ensure that the design will match your dreams and create a space that truly feels like home.