What’s the most common mistake people make when choosing a builder? “Not doing their due diligence and checking things such as the quality of a builder’s work, how they run their business, and previous client reviews,” says Neil Turrell, director of Turrell Building Services. “Some clients don’t ask enough questions as they want to avoid looking like novices. This makes it easy for the builder to take advantage of them,” he says. “Finding a builder you trust and get along with is so important on a renovation or new-home build,” says Melissa Woodcroft, project manager at Investwell Group Builders. “We often work with clients for up to 12 months prior to renovating or building, so it is definitely a long-term relationship. You should also make sure the builder and their team have great communication and are positive and friendly.”
Judges’ notes: “Staying within the confines of the existing single-storey home, this extension manages to transform a tired brick veneer. Combining improved thermal performance, a freeing up of spatial planning, and providing views to both the natural environment and city views from the first-floor extension, the original house is almost unrecognisable.”
The central cube brings form and utility, and divides the space into places. Inside the box are bathing and laundry facilities, and a dressing room – a luxury not many have in much larger abodes! A staircase leads to a private mezzanine for sleeping, and there’s a desk and sofa bed built into one side of the structure.
Maintain a small footprint This hilltop house in country New South Wales has living spaces – supported by exposed cantilevered concrete slabs – that extend out over a corrugated Colorbond steel skirt. The house has been designed with the local climate in mind. As if pivoted on the smaller base, the interior spaces of the house capture the daily sun. And being raised above the ground, the lightweight house, clad in vertical weatherboards and with an economical timber frame, is protected from grass fires
… and your insider advice? Always look for ways to add something ‘opposite’ to a space – it’s a great way to add visual interest to a room and bring it to life. For example, in a room with clean, modern lines, add an artisan-style print, tactile soft furnishings or a round mirror. Or if you have a lot of print and colour in a room, neutralise it with a few classic pieces with simple lines. If you have an industrial-style dining table, soften it with a textured runner or place mats.
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