Coveney Browne Design

In 2021 – 2022 I worked with Coveney Browne to successfully design an environmentally sustainable retirement cottage in the Witchcliffe Ecovillage with views over the water to the vineyard and native forest and sky beyond. Although I had previously renovated homes, I had never designed one from scratch and the prospect of a blank canvas was overwhelming. Nonetheless, I was committed to living in the new ecovillage and this meant designing and building a new home within rigorous sustainable building guidelines that met my ageing in place and aesthetic needs. I didn’t have a vision of what this home would look like – but I knew that I wanted it to function as a cosy but bright home with links out into the garden and rural landscape. You could say, I was particular but not very good at articulating my vision. After meeting with Coveney Browne, I felt relieved that they understood what I wanted to achieve. They took my project onboard and developed a detailed design that gave form to my vision. The concept had a simplistic wow factor and the design was finessed with special niches, materials and framed outlooks. Although simple in concept, the project was complicated by strict sustainability guidelines, COVID pandemic restrictions, the associated building boom and a shortage of building materials. Each challenge we encountered became an opportunity for further innovation. Irene’s professionalism and personal communication style successfully navigated these complexities and eased me through each decision point in the design process and the appointment of a builder. Before settling on the final design, Irene and Niall took me on a virtual 3D tour of my new home. It was at this point that I really came to appreciate the beauty of how the light and shadow would play through the internal spaces at different times of the day. I am thrilled with the outcome – my eco cottage design is all that I wanted with a few extra special nooks to enjoy the views into the garden and rural landscape. It has been my absolute pleasure and privilege to work with Irene and Niall at Coveney Browne – thank you both so very much.

Niall and Irene were approached in July 2020 to design a new home for us to be built in the Witchcliffe Eco village. They have been fantastic to work with - it is a definite partnership between client and designers. They ensured they had a really good grasp of what it was we were looking for in a home and far exceeded our expectations with their ideas and designs. Our wish for something 'barn like' has been realised beautifully. Communication has been excellent throughout the whole journey and we have met on-site several times (a trek for all of us). Soaring costs due to COVID has meant that budget has needed to be juggled and designs reviewed. Far from being disappointed by this we have continued to be excited about the design process and the creativity and problem solving abilities of Irene and Niall. Building is about to commence and we cannot wait to see the birth of our new home which we are sure will be a joy to live in.

We approached Coveney Browne to help us with designing our house and have nothing but praise for the experience. We believe that Irene and Niall complement each other and both bring separate skillsets that encompasses creative vision and practicality. With professionalism they listened to what we were trying to achieve and have created a design that has evolved and been honed to a home that we are very excited to build.

We hired Coveney Brown Designs for the renovation and extension of our period cottage. We could not have been happier with our experience to date. They created a beautiful and thoughtful design for our family that took into account all of our needs and desires. Communication has been fantastic despite the fact that much of it has been long distance. When the time came to deal with the council for approval they worked incredibly hard and dealt quickly and efficiently with any issues that arose. I believe they made the process much easier and quicker than it would have otherwise been. They provided invaluable advice when it came time to choose a builder and made it a much less daunting experience. We are about to start building and are really looking forward to working with them through this next phase and seeing their design come to life. We could not recommend them more highly!

Coveney Browne Design took our original floorplan and put together a modern design for our renovation project which inlcuded concept plans, construction drawings, building applications, and connections to the required professionals to progress our build. Irene worked with us to bring our vision to life, and her holistic approach to designing a liveable space, advice on finishes and fixtures, and willingness to work with us to develop ideas has resulted in a high quality build. Happy to recommend to others seeking design services.

We have had a great experience designing our new house with Irene and Niall. They visited our site and spent a lot of time discussing our vision, gaining an understanding of how we live and the experience we wanted to create for our family in our new house. Irene produced a number of cost effective designs and options and we are very pleased with the final design and looking forward to the build taking shape and continued relationship with Irene.

It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Irene and Niall on the renovation of our heritage home. They have done a superb job of treasuring our homes heritage, whilst also designing an infinitely improved living space. They are creative problem solvers, who have worked with us to understand and incorporate our style and priorities into our home. Admin has also been easy to navigate with a transparent and professional process. Highly recommend.

Irene designed a pool area and pavilion for our property in Parkerville. She is wonderful to work with as she relates well with clients and really listens. Irene had fantastic design concepts to enhance our ideas and worked within budget. She is highly professional and communicates with you through all the steps to make sure you are part of the process. She is very knowledgeable about the approval process and was able to resolve any issues promptly. She also has excellent business contacts to get all the necessary additional reports done promptly and to a high standard. We highly recommend Irene.

We hired Irene and Niall after 3 years of contemplating, comparing and ultimately rejecting various project home builders. Our brief was a simple family home that was truly solar passive, but also made the most of our western views in rural Beverley. We had realised we would not get a functional result by modifying somebody else’s plan, or worse, trying to do it ourselves, so it was with huge relief (not to mention excitement) that we discovered that Irene and Niall could provide exactly what we needed. Their vision and design response to the site and brief was incredible, and we are frequently awed by the clever design elements within our floorplan that we simply could never have imagined. We have had some very valuable meetings (both on and off site), and we have always felt our ideas/concerns/comments have been considered and responded to in a professional and respectful way. We are currently at the Development Application stage and are very excited to be moving forward with our build. Edit: June 2020 After a fairly bumpy start to this year, we are delighted to report we have moved into our incredible new home. It has surpassed expectation, and there are so many design elements both large and small, that give us daily joy. We've proudly taken many friends, family and curious neighbours through the house, and we are met every single time with comments of fascination and astonishment, as we demonstrate how warm and bright an entire house can be during the coldest, windiest days, using only the sun. This house has changed the way we live, and therefore our lives, and we couldn't be happier.

We commenced initially trying to get off the shelf ideas from different companies but they were more interested in just selling a product versus considering our needs. We engaged an architect (first time ever) and it was the best thing we every had done. We supplied Irene with a brief after our first meeting in November 2016 to use our Alfresco throughout the year and a cover over the pool to be installed as part of the project. Irene came up with ideas that my husband and I would of never envisaged. There was a lot of back and forth discussions with Irene (almost 200 emails), discussions regarding different products, meeting different suppliers, different options to come up with the final product. Without Irene advice and assistance I do not believe we would of made it though the process. Foot Note: We are at the stage where the retaining wall and the pool was completed in May 2018. Expecting be completed by August 2018.

We have worked with Coveney Browne Design over the last few months to design an extension and renovation for our three bedroom 1970s house. Irene has been extremely helpful, accommodating, professional yet friendly throughout the whole process, and we are thrilled with the design of our new home. We have also been very impressed with Irene's communication with us throughout the project- nothing has been too much trouble and she has kept us informed every step of the way. The guidance and insights she has provided have turned what seemed like a daunting process into a very enjoyable one, and we would highly recommend her to others. We look forward to proceeding with the next stage of our project with her.

We started working with Irene in May 2016, initially with the renovation design of our 1970's house in the Perth hills, this then led on to additional design and assistance with a secondary building on the block. The plans for the main building are very unique and make the most of the blocks surroundings and solar benefits. We are really looking forward to the next phase of the project and working with someone like Irene who clearly has a passion for designing both functional and inspiring buildings.