Altereco Design

We engaged James and his talented team to design a renovation and extension for our 1950’s brick home in Yarraville. Altereco’s design aesthetic, environmental bent, transparent fee structure and approachable manner meant a lot to us. From the beginning, the design process felt upfront and inclusive. Regular meetings with James and the team, both at the altereco office and off site (including at stone and lighting suppliers), efficiently produced a detailed and comprehensive building design and fixtures and finishes list that we loved. Mel and Sam were particularly helpful here offering targeted options and product that helped us figure out our personal style and exactly what we wanted for our home. This was our first renovation and we really had no idea what and how to go about it. We had a jumbled wish list that Altereco patiently and methodically incorporated into the final design. After a 10 month build (by Black Door Building) we are left with a stunning, light filled home that is perfectly designed for us. We genuinely could not be happier.

Upon our journey to find an architect to design our home, James’ work always stood out to us. His use of large windows, timber feature work and aesthetic kept drawing us in. Our initial meeting was on site, which for James was over an hours drive - that in itself was a highlight as he then got a feel of what we were trying to capture. Our entire process from the initial meeting, through design and then documentation was seamless. Which also then made our building process also much easier for quoting and specification for the builder to read, due to the incredible detail of our plans and documentation. We are so incredibly happy with our home, the layout and the way he has captured all the elements to work perfectly together. We thank James and the Altereco team and highly recommend them for designing beautiful homes.

Altereco were great to work with during the renovation of our heritage listed property. We loved their design, their use of space and materials was beyond expectations and their work with council to assist with heritage restrictions made the process seamless for us. Our project required underpinning and support of the house next door and their expertise and work with our builder in this area was invaluable.

James designed my extension in Barwon Heads. I was given 4 design ideas ans we agreed upon the best one. It is glorious and we love the space he created. It fit the brief absolutely. I had lots of photos and ideas and James pretty much accommodated all of the thoughts I had around heights, light, aspect, layout and finishes. Since then James has also helped with design ideas and with Claire on board they make a wonderful team. I cannot recommend James highly enough for his ideas, professionalism and as a truly great guy.

Absolutely love our design by James & his team at Altereco. He listened to what our needs were and transformed our tired Californian bungalow into free flowing, warm, functional, light filled home providing us with a better quality of life. Being north facing, the renovation captures the sunlight in winter reducing the need for heating and cools quickly in summer due to sliding doors & bi-fold Windows. Even our 3 & half y/o boy says everyday “Mum & Dad, I love our new house!” along with the many compliments from friends and family. I really couldn’t recommend James & his team highly enough. I will be using Altereco for any projects undertaken in the future.

When asked to renovate a very dull, boring office into something with style and statement I contacted James at Altereco. James and his staff came in to the office, and listened to what was required. A week later, we were presented with an outstanding and innovative design. Altereco took care of sourcing the tradesmen, planning permits, landlord permissions, fire personnel inspections and the only thing I had to do was select the wallpaper and furniture. The renovation took 3 weeks. The "wow" impact on anyone who walks into the office is forever.

James and his team at Altereco did a fabulous job on a particularly complex build! The results show their attention to detail, problem solving ability, and knowledge about sustainable materials and options. The Altereco staff were really easy to communicate with and clearly showed their passion for what they do.

Great to work with, always thinking about ways to improve the concept and never a hassle if you change your mind (eeek!!!).

Altereco Design were a great crew to work with. James certainly had an eye for design and detail, was engaging, professional, approachable and respectful. James and Mel worked really well with our building team, and answered all the questions that I just didnt have the skill to do. Our home is amazing and is a true reflection of Altereco Design.

We've now worked with Altereco on 2 projects. The first was a renovation of a small terrace house which had a bad 1970s renovation in the back half of the house. James came up with some great ideas about how to maximise light and space within the narrow site. He was also very willing to listen to our ideas and took all of our needs into consideration when coming up with the final design. Several years later we engaged Altereco again for a renovation of a larger, Edwardian house. James again developed a wonderful design for a complicated site. His design beautifully tied in the heritage features of the front part of the house with a modern, spacious extension at the back. Both projects were in heritage listed areas, and James' technical knowledge was invaluable in negotiating through council regulations and neighbours objections. We wouldn't hesitate to work with Altereco again. James is a creative designer who really listens to clients and is very responsive throughout the whole process. He was also very helpful during the building phase, and had a good working relationship with our builder. This was extremely important as we relocated overseas during the last part of the second renovation, and it was a great relief knowing we could trust James to work with the builders in our absence. Highly recommended.

We used Altereco to draw up our home renovation plans. James was great to work with, he understood what we were after and had great ideas. The job was done quickly and professionally - he really knew what he was doing!