STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO DESIGNING YOUR DREAM HOME

Every self builder has their individual expectations and ambitions in terms of the final result of their Self Build project. The process of designing a home is very demanding and challenging, as it is a crucial stage that is responsible for making your vision a reality.

This is our series called ‘Home design: A step-by-step guide to designing your dream home’. It is based on a talk created and delivered by Allan Corfield for Homebuilding & Renovating Magazine, at the 2018 shows. The series will take you through the three main stages in developing an empty plot into a well-organised construction site equipped with experts who can successfully build your dream home.

Before starting to create your project brief you need to think simply: “why?”. Why do you want to build your home instead of buying it directly from a mass home builder? Every self builder’s reason can be different. Some of them want to build a safe and joyful environment for their children. Others may want to build a house to then sell on, to gain maximum profit.

Throughout the whole project, it is important to remember ‘why’ you want to build your own home. By doing this it will help you get through the most challenging moments. There will be a lot of them.

At first, we need to answer the question what is a brief and what is it used for? The brief sets out all of the crucial requirements for your project and needs to be created before you engage with your design team. The brief will help you obtain accurate fee proposals from your design team and will be an evolving document throughout the life of the project.