excellence by design

Every single project is unique and every client's personality, taste, project goals and aspirations are different. There are an infinite range of options, styles and variations for even the smallest of projects and therefore the critical first step in every design journey is the creation of a project brief. For the client developing a design brief should be a really useful and enjoyable process that really helps galvanize your ideas and bring your vision to life. This can be a daunting experience, however with so many decisions to make, it can be difficult to know where to start or even find the time! We're here to help however and are more than happy to spend time with you developing a brief, which will save you a significant amount of time and potentially money further down the line. 

The 5 critical points to cover in a design Brief

The key aim of the design brief is to shape the style, look, and feel of the design and outline really clearly what your project goals and aspirations are. It's about translating your vision for the project onto paper and it should be a really helpful process that enables you to articulate how the finished product will be and what success will looks like.  

Current Reality

- Thinking about your current home. What do you like and dislike about it? What is missing, what would you add and what would you take away and what would you change?

- What do you use your current home for? Is it exclusively your home or has it become part of your extended office?

- Who lives in your home currently and do they have specific requirements, needs or wishes?

- How many people will be living in your new home and do you see any new arrivals in the future, i.e. children or dependent relatives?

- Where do you spend most of your time currently when you’re at home? 

- What rooms or spaces are most important to you? 

- What aspects of your home really work for you at the moment? 

- What elements don’t work/don’t work as well? 

- What parts of the house would you like to change? 

- Do you have any specific accessibility requirements, for example is anyone in your family disabled or do you have any regular visitors that would have special needs?

- How much time and energy are you prepared to invest in maintaining your home?

- Is there anything specific about the plot that you particularly like or dislike? Are there any views or spaces on or around the plot that are particularly important to you?

- How do you want the house to benefit your lifestyle — do you, for example, need a work-from-home space, a playroom, a large boot room for muddy boots or pet beds, a downstairs bedroom, and a bathroom for elderly relatives?

- What do you do in your free time? Do have specific past times or hobbies that require lots of storage space, drying rooms for wet-suits, large wardrobes etc?

Goals & Aspirations

- Regardless of weather the space you want to create is a new build or replacement dwelling, an extension, renovation or remodel, think about home you want to feel in that space.

- Your reasons for building/extending or renovating. Perhaps it is to create a lifetime home that will take you comfortably into the next chapter of your life or maybe your extension is to provide a larger kitchen diner or you want to remodel in order to make the most of an amazing view

- How may rooms does the new home need to have and how would you like those rooms to be used, arranged and orientated?  

- How many storeys will the new home or extension be? It's important to remember that multiple storeys are always significantly more efficient to build than single storeys.

- Where will you spend most of your time in your new home? 

- What are the different ways in which your new home will be used - entertaining, working from home, children's playrooms, workshop, craft and hobbie rooms, guest accommodation and annexes, etc?   

- How important is your outside space and how would you like to integrate the two areas?

Your unique taste & style

It may be a cliche but a picture really does paint a thousand words in a design brief. In addition to text, any pictures or materials that you can provide will really help bring your vision to life. 

- Do you have any images from magazines or the internet that show us a style that you like? Are there any particular design features that are important to you or you really like or dislike? 

- What style, look and feel are you looking to create e.g. contemporary, traditional, industrial, elegant, minimal etc. 

- Do you have any specific materials, finishes or surfaces that you would like to see included in the project?

- Do you have a particular type of external finish in mind, i.e. brick, render, timber or stone cladding etc

Budget 

Having a clear budget from the outset will  make the decision-making process significantly easier and quicker. However, sometimes it can be difficult to define the project budget until you know what options are available and the likely cost associated with each. Therefore the below is a useful starting point when starting to develop an outline cost for the project and assessing what could and couldn't be achieved with the budget available. Please note, that the fee's and costs listed are intended to be a guide only and a more accurate figure would be developed as the project progresses.  

The 3 main elements of the project that need to be considered are:

- Professional fees and charges:

- Build cost

- Fixtures, fittings & soft furnishing

Professional fee's and charges:

- Legal Fees, Stamp Duty and Land Tax: (if applicable) 

- Design Fees: Architects charge 7-15% of the total build cost for a service involving design and supervision. Our guide prices for a design and drawing service are as follows:

- Small side extension £400 - £750

- Single-storey rear extension £900 - £1400

- Two-storey rear or side extension £1500 - £2000

- Internal remodel - £500 - £2000 (depending on scale and complexity)

- New build or replacement dwelling £2500 - £3500

- Structural Engineers’ Fees: £250 - £1200 depending on the scale and complexity of the project

- Planning Application Fees: £200 - Depending on region 

- Build cost - Visit our cost guide page to see a range of fee's and costs for most common projects.  

- Fixtures, fittings and soft furnishing

Fixtures, fittings and soft furnishing costs can vary greatly depending on the quality, purpose and style required and who will be completing the work. Some clients are looking for a turnkey project, others will be happy to complete the interior decoration themselves and both options have a significant impact on this element of the project cost. 

Contingency

Thank-fully the full budget doesn't need to be available at the beginning of the project and the outlay can usually be phased as the project progresses, it is really important however to allow a contingency for unexpected or unforeseen costs and we would advise in the current market to allow 5-15% of the build cost depending on the scale and type of project. 

Timescales

The most commonly underestimated aspect of a project is the timescale required from initial concept through to completion. Every element can be speeded up and different aspects can be run in parallel, however from our experience the more time allowed for planning and the creation of a reasonable timescale and project plan the quicker, smoother and more efficient the project is likely to be.  

The following timescale guide is a useful starting point when developing a project plan and draft schedule and based on a reasonably straight forward project of an average size family home extension or new build:

Design:

From the completion of the design survey to a finished, client-approved design can be anywhere from 3 weeks for a simple side extension to 8 weeks for a new build property or replacement dwelling. 

Planning application validation: 

2 - 4 weeks depending on the region and workload of the Local Planning Authority

Planning Application decision: 

8 weeks. In the majority of cases all decisions should be made within 8 weeks, however some applications are currently taking longer and the LPA will contact the client to ask for additional time if required.

Planning Application appeals: 

Planning application appeals are taking around 3 months for a standard homeowner application appeal to around 6-9 months for more complex cases depending on the type of appeal, how the appeal is dealt with, the type of evidence to be assessed and the current case time for the planning inspector. 

Structural engineer calculations and specifications:

Are taking around 4 - 6 weeks currently depending on the size and complexity of the job. 

Builder availability and lead times: 

The market is very buoyant at the moment and there are very few good builders that aren't busy with many requiring at least 6 months lead time before starting a project and the majority of builders aren't currently offering detailed quotes on projects that don't have planning permission approved (if required).