"Architect-designed houses are not accessible to all." This is a myth championed by the building industry. Alternatively, why not focus on the key benefits architects bring to a project. Here are a few for you: • Appoint an architect to your project and you’ll gain a home designed for the way you want to live.The alternative is a builder-designed home that suits what the builder is used to building. Quality builders will ask for plans and specifications to be thoroughly documented so that they can go ahead and do what they do best, which is build. Working out with the owner what you’re going to build and why is the architect’s role. • An architect manages planning approvals. This process is complex, often arbitrarily applied by many Councils, fraught with pitfalls for the novice and is ramped up every year with new hoops to jump. If you want a professional on your side who knows the territory, will go in to bat for you and will forge a way through this minefield, you need an architect. • If you’d prefer to put the works to tender to a number of builders rather than having to accept the quote of the builder you started the process with, you need an architect. • If you’d prefer to protect yourself with a proper, architect-managed ABIC contract that works equally for both parties and is legally enforceable, you need an architect. • An architect will minimise costly changes during construction as he or she will produce a proper level of drawings (expect 20 x A3 pages for a new home, rather than the 1-2 pages you’ll receive from a drafting service.). The reasons for this are that you have on paper exactly what you want to build. Without this, you are entering a contract with a builder with none of the details resolved. You wouldn’t do that if you were buying a house, so why do it when spending an equally significant amount of money? Unfortunately, some builders see this approach as an opportunity to happily accept constant changes from ‘project managing’ owners because it’s just another variation that he can charge for. The longer he is there, the better for his margins, particularly when there’s no contract to speak of. Finally, an architect is a specialist with a professional duty of care, irrespective of financial gain. In other words, they’re there to support and protect you, without benefit to themselves. No one else in the building industry can provide this.

the plants on the back fence will give good impact once grown. The rug is more of a pain. This would be a cleaners nightmare. Gives the area impact but not a suitable design choice near a pool. The mirror looks good but near a bbq you are always going to have to wipe the grease from off the mirror. The plant will also have to be removed once you start cooking. The chair is to close to the bbq and the fridge. So this would have to be moved to be able to work in this area or open the bar fridge fully. I do not mine any of the furniture but not a suitable out come for the area where the design seems not to be workable. Vision is important but design area must also be hassle free.

Congrats on the new home. Very exciting. As an experienced unpacker (we move every 2-3 years), the trick for organising is to stand in the space, consider how you will do things (ie imagine you’re cooking dinner, cleaning up, getting a drink etc) and, using sticky notes, decide where the easiest placement of kitchen utensils will be. You might, at this first stage, have six items that would be best in one cupboard. That’s normal. Choose the one(s) that you use most often, then with this in mind, redo the process. And be prepared to throw the whole system out after you’ve been in the house for a month or so Houses have a strange way of encouraging us to adapt to them no matter how intellectual/consistent/prepared we think we are

How exciting for you to have such a clean clear slate to work with. Your room a somewhat like mine in a house we have just renovated and I had some great advice from our project manager/designer. We also have a huge window with an amazing outlook, one we didn't want to hide but needed covering at night. She helped us choose full sized curtains in a sheer texture that softened the room but even when the curtains are closed, still allow the outside view and colours to show. They stack back to either side of the window. Of course the roller blind is ideal for privacy and it is so well hidden when retracted. When your curtains are open it looks like you have the beautiful piece of art with that view. When our curtains are open we have a lake and huge jacaranda outside so I placed a piece of Indigenous art on the opposite wall which bought in colour, particularly the mauve of the jacaranda, to the room. Not sure what your fourth wall is like but would there be room to put your existing green based art on that wall, to reflect the outside green. The chair in the room is probably a little large but there is no sense putting it in the other corner unless your are ready to drag it across the room when you want to watch tv (when everyone else is watching something on the other tv). What about moving your plant into the corner beside the tv on a raised stand. With a smaller chair and the plant moved then two large freestanding lamps would look great. Can't wait to see your new artwork and where your room goes from here. I hope my photos help with my explanation, note the jacaranda was at the end of its flowering. We have since finished the room and introduced a little more colour.