Four ways to reduce design costs

1. Be clear on what you want
Know what sort of home you would like to achieve. The more research you can do and the clearer you can be with your ideas, the faster your ideas will come to life. A home with high specifications, energy efficient or high performance elements will cost more than the same size home built to minimum building standards. The size of your home is important to establish — is that extra bedroom or bathroom essential? Or would you rather invest in higher quality materials?

2. Be up front with your budget
This is your total build cost. This way the design can be built to accommodate a ‘complete’ package. Open communication between all members of your ‘team’ will ensure the design remains within your budget from concept to completion.

3. Select the right team for you
The key here is to find a builder or building company that will collaborate with a designer. Find a designer who will work closely with a builder. Choosing the right team to design and build with can be as important as knowing your budget. Choose a team who shares your vision and most importantly who you feel most comfortable with.

4. Be a little flexible
A good design team will put forward ideas on how you might be able to save a surprising amount of money with clever planning.