Thinking about your House Design

Most of you reading this probably have designs coming out of your ears…When we were renovating we started a file with magazine cut-outs.  It was nice to thumb through to gain inspiration   and it included technical aspects such as pics and info about hot water systems, dishwashers etc.

When you are building I think you suddenly see everything through house-building-coloured spectacles. And you find yourself doing odd things in the name of research…

These include:

• doodling indiscriminately on paper napkins
• scouring the web for hours turning up heaps of unuseful information that you read anyway
• taking photos of balconies that are “just what you are looking for” (even when they’re not)
• spending hours on powerpoint or Smartdraw drawing up would-be residential palaces that don’t fit on your block
• pontificating about the pros and cons of North South East and West-facing rooms
• googling bizarre phrases like”eco sustainable non-wood termite-resistant decking”, “hippie solar lamps” and “remote-control skylight over bed”
• knocking on doors of houses that you like the look of to attempt to wrestle information from the unlucky occupant / owner

We even ( I kid you not) took a measuring tape and a few balls of string to Hampstead Heath while we were on holiday to lay out the ground floor of our plans in progress.

   Lucky really because it was horribly wrong. (Only attempt this yourself if you have a pint of beer and a few packets of crisps handy to retain the sanity factor).Really though. Despite the fact that you will probably go through an architect, designer or draughtsman…the design factor is all about YOU.

You only get one chance to decide what is really important to you about your house.

Is it the master bedroom with that  ensuite that you have always dreamt of?

The lap pool lapping at the side of your house with designer surrounds?

The island bench?       

The double garage? The walk-in pantry? The wall of bifolds? The concrete floor? The photovoltaic panels? The grey-water recycling system? The chance to build sustainably?

There are a thousand options out there all crying me me me.

But it’s up to you.

Home