Square metres are a budget input, not a design brief. Two homes the same size can feel completely different depending on whether the layout suits the people inside them. A family with three teenagers, a home office and a grandparent who hates stairs needs a very different floor plan to a couple downsizing with the dog. Same square metres, totally different homes.
So before we even start drawing, I get clients to do a proper brainstorm with everyone in the household. No filtering, no "we can't afford that" — just write the whole list down. Mum wants a study tucked away from the kids. Dad wants a proper shed and an alfresco that handles a humid Bundy summer. Teenagers want their own bathroom (or, at the very least, not to share with mum). Mum's mum doesn't fancy stairs. Get it all on paper.
Then we sort it into "must-have" and "love-to-have-if-budget-allows". That second list isn't wishful thinking — it's what we trim first if costs start creeping. Nothing gets thrown out without a conversation.
The other piece people forget is the block. A great floor plan on the wrong orientation will fight you every day of the year. In Bundaberg the sun, the breeze and the summer heat all need designing for, not against. Bedrooms east, eaves on the west, a verandah that pulls air through the living areas — small calls, big difference to how the house feels and what your power bill looks like.
A good custom design is a conversation, not a catalogue pick. Bring me your wishlist, your block and your budget, and we'll work the rest out together. Have a yarn at inh.com.au/bundaberg.
