Few things in life compare with the excitement of building a new home. Unlike buying a house designed around the tastes and lifestyles of other people, a new house is your opportunity to build a home that addresses your preferences and speaks to who you are.

A new house, moreover, can answer your most pressing needs by allowing you to prioritise features that are most important to you.

The Necessity of a Good Design Brief

One of the most crucial stages in the entire process comes at the very beginning: the development of the design brief with your residential architect of choice.

A good residential architect will take the time to get to know you. All your ideas, aspirations and priorities can only be realised if your architect truly understands what it is that you have in mind.

Different residential architects will have differing methods, but they all have the same goal – to turn your vision into reality. To get the development of the design brief off to as good a start as possible, a client needs to prepare three things beforehand.

• Spend Time Doing Research

At this stage, you have to do your research: architectural digests and magazines, bookstores, and the Internet are all great resources. Take your time browsing, consider exploring the works of specific architects, and, importantly, let your imagination run free.

Ask yourself questions like, “Why do I like this?” or “What interests me about this house?” This will force you to articulate and really hone-in on what you would like to see in your own project. Once you understand what appeals to you in each image/building, you’ll be able to communicate your ideas more effectively. Bring all the visual aids you’ve collected with to the meeting.

• List Your Requirements

In terms of functional priorities, your residential architect will need to know about occupancy (who will live in the house) and lifestyle. Do you love to cook? Then you’ll need an adequately sized kitchen. Do you like to entertain? Then you’ll need spacious living and dining rooms. Are you a young family planning on having another child? In short, your house has to answer to all your functional requirements, so have them at hand when developing the brief.

• Know Your Budget

The third item needed for the meeting is a budget constraint. After you’ve established your functional needs and aesthetic preferences, an experienced residential architect will be able to guide you to the best possible solution given your budgetary constraints.

Establishing boundaries at the outset will avoid frustration down the line. Unfortunately, banks often lend less money to finance new homes than they do to purchase existing houses. It is essential that you know, without doubt, what your funding allowance is. Without this information, your residential architect won’t be able to guide you to a realistic appraisal of your ambitions.

The JK Designs Pre-Meeting Fact Sheet

For your convenience, JK Designs has developed a comprehensive pre-meeting fact sheet that can be filled in when it best suits you. It addresses all the above in detail, thereby ensuring that your needs, preferences, and constraints are all considered from the outset – making life much simpler. Download the pre-meeting fact sheet here.

As a premier provider of architectural services, the residential architects at JK Designs have the necessary expertise and talent to bring your dreams to life. Feel free to get in touch and start a conversation.