We are weeks away from breaking ground on a build that has nearly taken a year to get to this point. My best advice is to look very closely at every little design feature that relates to liveability. These include things like where you turn your shower on (nothing worse than spraying yourself with freezing water), one downlight in a bathroom or kitchen (we went from one to 5)and how many power points are in a bedroom. The problem mainly lies in that building companies will not guide you in any way, it's totally up to you some of their designs beggars belief how they think is appropriate. I'm just glad I do it for a living and enjoy the game but I imagine large building companies could be quite intimidating, especially if you have trouble reading a plan. Ask as many people as you can because after pre start, $500 for every variation could get expensive or you could be living with the unliveable.

The new kitchen looks amazing!

There are quite a few changes I see, very pleasing to the eye. I never imagined a two material bench-top was possible. This is some next level joinery by the looks of it. How is it done, can we have a close up photo if possible, I'd love to know. Thanks

much as i enjoy building and renovating we usually employ a professional to take overall responsibility for big jobs..if time is an issue then this is where the professional builder can organise everything for you and make sure the trades turn up on time, follow agreed plans and consult when things go wrong or suggest alternatives..in our experience tradespeople and suppliers are much more reliable when they know you (or your builder) are recommended by a known source and know that you'll pay on time...our regular plumber, electrician and carpenter can be relied upon to be available on a weekend or public holiday to help keep our jobs moving and because they are in the business will introduce other vital trades like water proofers and tilers etc.....there would be no reason for a stranger to do that ...if you only plan to do one renovation on your own home i strongly recommend that you employ a builder and then you need only worry about the budget and fine details but, even an experiences professional would hesitate to give a fixed time as weather and delays with supplies or unexpected illness can slow everything down as only one step needs to be delayed to interrupt the best plans but you can help make the process much easier by taking time, researching options, pricing fixtures and fittings, posting questions on HOUZZ to help with ideas and consulting with several builders to clarify what you want to achieve and they should be able to recommend a designer to finalise plans and help guide your progress