Just like our projects, our process emphasises the joy and delight of good design.
We understand that creating a home is a journey.
Our holistic approach takes you through a thorough and thoughtful process. We investigate your requirements and recognize the importance of clear communication at every stage of our process.
Find out more...
What kinds of projects do you take on?
The projects we’re the most proud of are really about the great people we are lucky enough to work with. The projects we take on are for lovely families and individuals who want a welcoming, unique home to enjoy for many years, across varying stages of their lives.
We have a particular interest in homes that accommodate and support dignified ageing in place.
Our projects include interiors-only, heritage restorations, residential renovations, extension and new builds.
Where do you work?
We are based in Brunswick and work all around Melbourne and country Victoria.
How involved do I need to be?
Our process has been thoughtfully developed to be enjoyable and collaborative. We love working closely with clients so that our designs are highly personal. We can guide you through the development and decisions between initial sketches and the final building.
But we also understand that life is busy and will tailor our approach to suit. If you don’t want to be across every little detail that is not a problem. Just let us know.
No matter where you decide you land along the scale of involvement, it will take a level of engagement and commitment to be able to see the project through to a finished home. We will need timely feedback from you so that we can keep everything moving and meet the project milestones.
Is there a minimum value project you work on?
Our clients work with us because they enjoy the individuality and quality our projects embody. So, while we don’t stipulate a minimum project size, we want to be sure that we are working with people and budgets that allows us to create really beautifully crafted, bespoke spaces for you and your family to enjoy.
As a general guide, our interiors only projects start at around $400k (+GST), and renovations, extensions and new build houses fall between $1.5million – $2.5million (+GST)
How do you structure your fees?
Every project is unique and we do look at every proposal individually to see what will best fit each situation.
Usually at the start of a project the requirements, ideas and scale of a project aren’t completely clear. We begin with an initial, stand alone fixed fee Sketch Design stage. This is a great way to get to know each other. It allows us to spend time with you working through the initial design, brief and budget putting the overall project scope and costing in place.
At the end of this stage if you continue your journey, we will agree on a fixed fee for the remaining design and documentation stages of the project. We feel this is a fair way to make sure our costs are clear and you can factor them into your overall budget. If your project brief or scope significantly changes, resulting in additional work, we will discuss this with you and agree on the change in fee, or hourly rates work before getting started.
Once the project is on site, we are administering the contract and supporting you and the builder, we charge a monthly retainer.
How much does it cost to build one of your houses?
Understanding what a project will cost is something we take seriously. As part of our Sketch Design stage, we prepare a costing package for a Quantity Surveyor, giving you an early cost breakdown and we continue to discuss budget throughout the project.
There are many external factors that can influence construction costs – market conditions, rectification works to existing buildings or site specific requirements just to name a few. One big influence that we do have control over is the overall scale of your home. By working through your brief with you early on to identify what really matters, we can agree on a workable scale — one that meets your needs without compromising the quality of your home.
While it is not as straight forward as just applying a square meter rate, as a general guide, our most recent projects have cost around $6,000 -$8,000 (+GST) per square meter
How long does a project take?
The short answer is, quite a long time (like all good things).
There are many external factors the impact timing and every project scenario is different. Once we have discussed your brief and have a better understanding of your project we can give a more specific estimate of the project timeline.
But as a very general starting point:
For interiors-only projects allow 6-12 months including construction, depending on permits, complexity and scale.
For architectural projects allow 12 months for design and documentation and 12 months for construction. Planning permits can add around 6 months.
We are a small practice and really value getting to know you, providing thoughtful design and thorough documentation. We don’t rush though our projects. You can assist with prompt decision making and being available for meetings and reviews, so we can work as efficiently as possible.
I think I’d like to work with you, how do I get started?
The first step is to get in touch and have a chat with Mairead about your project, let us know a bit about yourself, how you live and what your hopes (and fears) are for the project. You can book for a video or phone call here
Before we speak we’ll send you our Enquiry Pack which will give you an outline of how we work and we also recommend signing up for the briefing worksheets to help you put together your design brief.