“All good things start with a plan” or in my world “every successful design starts with a solid set of plans” & I’m a sucker for a good plan.

In design & construction, plans act as a roadmap to execute a new build or renovation project. Without them there would be a lot of miscommunications & expensive mistakes. But it isn’t just miscommunication that can lead to mistakes, as with most things, design & build is a collaboration of several trades & expertise, which means plans should be reviewed by all parties involved. 

Many clients come to us with their plans already drawn up by the architect. This means that an architect has considered how the home sits on the area around it, the style of architecture, & what the new construction or development will look like from the outside. Often, but not always, an architect will lay out the interior of necessary rooms with space & traffic flow in mind. BUT these are very general plans & are usually only a loose interpretation of how the home will be used. For the most part the suggestions are based on industry standard & are not necessarily customised to how you will use the new space. 

I’m not saying this is always the case, there are some architects who have an eye for design, or who have interior designers are part of their team. But I’m sharing this blog to explain the differences & to share my experiences of how we have spotted missed opportunities & added value to existing plans. 

I shared in another blog post about the misconception that an interior designer is not needed once an architect has drawn up the plans. This is a mistake because at the point an architect’s plans are shared is the perfect stage to have a designers second pair of eyes review all the details, the possibilities, & relive the plans as you would live in your home & make any changes before construction even begins. It’s a small price to pay to get it right, rather than live with regret.

So where do we start with a plan review?

We take a designer perspective view of your current plans, considering your personal lifestyle & functional needs, making sure that the new space will perform as intended to achieve your goals.

To do this we have to determine your requirements. What do you want to achieve overall? Who will be using the space(s)? How are the areas going to be used? How long so you intend to stay in the home? We spend more time on the most used rooms used such as bathrooms & kitchens as typically these are the most important rooms in the home. 

As we review & develop the plans, we may consider things such as flipping parts of a plan, making certain rooms larger, relocating, removing or adding doorways, using a different furniture layout to make more room or optimise space. This may also mean changing electrical points as we plan for artwork & furniture placement. 

We rework the plans until we arrive at the best solution for you. We of course bear in mind that any structural changes may be costly or may not be possible due to planning or building regulations, but we also want to highlight the full potential & possibilities & then reverse engineer from there.  

Are you in the process of a residential or commercial new construction or refurbishment? Talk to us about how we can help spot missed opportunities, maximise possibilities, & add value to your investment.