A house is only as good as the design brief.
Get your design brief right and add maximum comfort and resale value and future proof your home. This month in the 101.5FM radio Morning Magazine show I introduce the key considerations in a design brief.
What is a design brief?
It simply means writing down your ideas and gathering images about what you want to achieve. For example, how your home will look and function, what rooms it will contain, and the budget you have available to spend.
Why is writing down your design ideas so important?
It’s critical to get your ideas out of your head so you can clearly understand them and share them with others for three reasons:.
- It’s important for you, so you can make sure your ideas make sense aesthetically and financially.
- A design brief also helps your family because you can make sure you are all in agreement about what you want to do and how much money you have to spend.
- And finally a design brief helps your project team. This may be your draftsman, architect, designers or other consultants and builder. The clearer you are about what you want, the better result you will achieve.
You mentioned changing family needs. Can you tell us what you mean by that and how they affect house design?
Families are made up of people of different ages and needs, all living together under one roof. And their needs are slowly changing over time. Changing needs are the main reason people move house or renovate. Family needs tend to fall into three stages:
The first stage is when you have young children. The design objective of this stage is togetherness. You want to supervise the kids and they want to hang around you. The key rooms that make a difference are:
- a second bedroom near the main bedroom for babies or young children,
- Kitchen that overlooks the backyard or pool
The second stage is when your children become teenagers. The design objective of this stage is separation. If you have a small house you may find that it used to be fine with little kids, but now everyone has grown up it feels cramped. Especially when their big friends come over and hang around at all hours of the day and night. Key rooms that make a difference at this stage are:
- a second living area,
- separation between the main bedroom and the kids bedrooms, and
- A second bathroom
The third stage is for empty nesters or those with no children. The design objective of this stage is all about you! Embrace your hobbies and live your best life! Often people move or downsize at this stage.
Understanding the design requirements for your family stage is critical for making the right design decisions for the long term. It always saves you saves you time and money.
NEED MORE INFORMATION?
Listen to the 101.5FM radio show episode HERE
In Course 3. Design Brief & Budget I guide you through the process of creating a design brief and all the critical information to consider. You will use the Design Brief you create when you start work in Course 6. Concept Design. This course will give you the professional information and advice you need to create a clear, well-structured design brief. Whether your project is big or small, you will start your design journey on the right track and create an excellent home and a great investment.