Hello Anthony,

Your Option 1 is similar to what we follow for all our clients. Although, we would recommend selecting a builder before the finalisation of your plans.

Option 2 can be more expensive. Some companies outsource their designs, which might mean their prices are marked up. Also, a few of our clients have found they prefer the 1-on-1 relationship with their designer, rather than liaising through a builder/salesman.

Hope everything goes well for you!

Thanks,

Atria Designs

Hi Anthony,

I think that getting the design right is the most important step so I would start with identifying your budget for your project.

Once you know your budget this will give you an idea as to how you should proceed. Depending on your budget an Architect Designed home may not be an option.

If you go down the path of engaging an Interior Designer, a good interior designer will be able to assist you with designing room layouts much better then a builder would. Something to consider is that a Builder is not an Architect or an Interior Designer (although a lot of builders think they are :-) ) and they have not had the training a designer has had, such as years of university study.

An Interior Designer will also save you lots of time and money, they can source all the finishes, fixtures and fittings, Provide your builder with a Scope Of Work for your Project and also a Schedule for Finishes, Colours, Flooring, Joinery, manage your project and basically provide you with everything you will need to complete your project without headaches and cost blowouts.

In my opinion planing and the final design are the first step but you can engage a builder once you have the scope of your project finalized.

As my husband always says "Fail to plan, plan to fail"

Good luck with your project!

MKG

thank you for your input! I had not considered an interior designer before. I was assuming that there would be people with knowledge in both (at least to a small degree).

would a designer have an idea of how to create a design to meet a set budget? if we only have day 200k, how could they design something that is within this?

Hi Anthony,

There are always ways to stay within a budget by selecting materials and finishes in line with that budget.

One thing to keep in mind is that any budget will only stretch so far and the cost of labour is not something you can save on if you want things done right.

There are ways to make the project look high end but not at the cost of quality.

Something to remember is that the basic structure must be done well as this is where most of the money goes and even though you may not see it on a daily basis, it’s what costs the most if you need to go back and fix it.

One thing that I have observed time and again is that clients don’t have an accurate understanding of how much things actually cost.

Don’t be fooled by TV shows like the Block and House Rules. Contestants on the Block get huge discounts from retailers, in most cases 50%. Where as you may have to pay retail for everything. If you work with a designer they can source at trade prices and pass that saving on to you so this will keep your costs down. But not all designers do that so always ask.

I hope this helps.

MKG