Thanks, angelaew. It sounds like I'm on the right track. I'm not sure what a concept planner does, Jonathan?

Hey,

I would say you who ever you get, get them in from the start so you can be on the same wave length through out the project and can work together to get the right design for you.

As angelaew points out, it's all about personality. They are designing your home and it needs to reflect you - if they don't understand (or click) for you then how will they get *you* and *your* ideas across in their design.

On Houzz you can collaborate with your designer/architect and create idea books to start exploring your style and design ideas in an easy and effective way for both parties. I find it an extremely useful tool with my clients.

Touching on what Jonathan said, it isn't always necessary for an architect. An interior designer can see your project through from start to finish helping with not only the initial looks at layout and with the later styling to ensure a beautiful and functional space but they can also pass on trade discounts to help you save where you can in a vital time for finances and saving!

In previous projects we have designed with clients, they have saved money using interior designers or concept planners for the project as a whole - then only needing an architect or architect technician to draw up final plans and getting planning permission sorted/structural engineers. (saving of the costs of reworks of plans as Jonathan said).

I hope this has helped you and really look forward to hearing more on your project. All the best, Gina

Thank you, Gina. I think this is where I'm struggling a bit. I *think* I need an architect, but I also know I'll definitely need creative input to pull my ideas together. I don't want to get an architect in, get building work done and then get a designer involved, only to find that I've got all my sockets in the wrong place, etc. Perhaps it would help if I shared the floor plans as Jonathan suggested. I'm not sure if this is the right forum for that, but here goes anyway. I'm downsizing to this house. Must haves are living room, kitchen/diner, two bedrooms, two bathrooms (either or both shower rooms. In an ideal world, one ensuite but fine if it's not possible), downstairs toilet (could be the 2nd bath/shower room). I'll need storage for books, bikes, sports kit, etc. That last bit is critical. Oh, and wardrobe space. In short, as much storage as possible. I'd love to turn the space above the garage into a roof terrace, but suspect I'll struggle to get planning permission as the house is in a conservation area. Lastly, I'm planning to knock through from the garage to the kitchen to increase living space.

So, do I really need an architect? All suggestions and ideas helpful, please!

Looking at your briefly - I'd say there's definitely scope for two ensuite bedrooms upstairs and a 'sports' store at one end of garage with the other part of garage turned into a living dining or kitchen area to increase your space downstairs
If making both bedrooms ensuite you would need a loo downstairs - without knowing full details of the existing plumbing routes it's a bit more tricky to say off the top of my head where that could go - also would be useful to know where any garden might be and any party walls and NESW aspects etc - structural alts to the interior walls etc and garage space will need building regs approval. Electrics, gas, wood burner etc all have codes to be met too . You may need a SE to work out calculations etc if taking walls out etc . Window changes will need to be FENSA or BR approved too - a design and build company could probably take care of that end for you and the CDM required - and may even come up with creative input ? Or you could engage someone who does concept planning (like us and Gina, above, for example ) to get the creative ideas going first with a bit more info and one to one time either online or onsite - then bring in a builder work through the organising of the trades and various approval procedures required.
There are some innovative Architects too on Houzz who'd also love to be involved in a project like this !
So to summarise - there's lots of options ! As long as it's all done safely and is approved by local BR and planning ( if exterior changes ) you can work this through in a number of ways !

hope that helps a bit ? :-)

Hi Sudanos17,

We have spent the last 6 months going through exactly the same process and I have to say I found it all very confusing at the start and quite daunting- I didn't know whether I needed architects, structural engineers, concept planners, interior designers... the list goes on!

Architects are superb if you need one but as Jonathan points out depending on what you need they might not be the most cost effective solution.

One question that really helped me when I started was 'are you 100% certain that you need to extend or is there the possibility you could rework the existing space to get what you need with the right help?

The answer to that question (even if the answer is you're not sure) makes quite a big difference to narrowing down your options :)

These comments are all so helpful, thank you. In answer to Michelle S, I will move into the property as soon as I can for all the reasons you suggested, but I don't think I can wait 6 months. The property was bought as an investment property by the current owners, and so, as well as being dated, it is not in the best condition.

I'm beginning to think that perhaps I don't need an architect as I don't have anywhere to build, other than up, and to answer Claire's question, I'm not interested in building if I can get everything I want out of the existing space. Claire's right, though. It's all so confusing.

To answer some of the questions asked above: the house is in the UK and there is no garden. The only downside for me about this house at present is the lack of a garden or patio, but as it ticks all of my other boxes, that's become a minor gripe. The house is semi-detached, but, the house next door has an identical garage (pitched roof), so much as I'd love one, I doubt I'll get planning permission for a flat-roofed terrace. I did think it might be possible to get permission for a sunroom over the garage, though. The garage is south facing, and the party wall is on the left side (i.e., the wall furthest away from the front door and stairs). I'm not really bothered about the shape of rooms - long and narrow for a living room works as well for me as much as square-shaped room does. I just really want a layout that's comfortable, flows, has plenty of storage and allows as much light into the house as possible. My thoughts were to leave the current layout pretty much intact, but knocking down the walls between the 2nd/3rd bedrooms, and between the kitchen and garage, however, I'm open to any suggestions for a better use of the space. As to the question of budget...I'm thinking c£75k should be adequate. I want this to be my forever home, and somewhere that'll be adaptable when I'm no longer able to ride my bikes or climb stairs, so I'm prepared to spend a little more if necessary.

We'd recommend obtaining a survey of this property and taking onboard an architectural designer, so that your needs and requirements can be fully explored and translated into a functional and contemporary dwelling that suits your family.

Taking onboard architects, structural engineers, surveyors etc. at the earliest stage will ensure that all parameters are explored in terms of viability and practicality.

We have a portfolio of work on our Houzz profile if you require ideas.

www.pwjarchitects.com

Hi. I am sure Claire doesn't mind me answering this one but when she first bought her property and really disliked the style and feel of the house (far from her normal tastes), she thought an extension would be the only way to go but wasn't sure on the size she needed.

Luckily she got me on board very early and after lots of discussions and getting to know her and property I offered a layout that used the exciting square footage but gave them everything they needed (and more hopefully!) :)
She then only needed an architect to draw up a few final plans for internal work we required (and the structural engineer) - who I am always happy to work alongside or sort on your behalf.

Whilst this was going on we could start looking at the finer details like lighting plans and individual room layouts which she stayed heavily involved in.

Things really aren't as difficult as they may appear, it just means finding the person you trust and can work with to help you get it all clear in your mind. A great starting point is to contact a few and maybe ask how they would approach the project and an idea of the fees involved?

Hi again,

That makes a big difference and if the budget is not limitless then I would definitely explore what you can do with the existing space before you look into extending. If you look into that and it doesn't work, then you know that you really do need to extend and you know it will be a great use of your budget. Extending will take up a large chunk of that budget (great breakdown suggestion by Jonathan!), so if you don't really need it then personably I wouldn't do it as it leaves you less for everything else

I know for us that looking at an architect for deciding on how to reconfigure the space would have eaten into a large chunk of our money! (He had about the same budget as you) we did explore this and got several quotes - which I hasten to add varied a lot!

Both a concept planner and interior designer will be able to look at the available space and come up with 3D images of how the space would look and suggestions to reconfigure what you've already got.

Put very simply a concept planner will give expert advice on the layout and an interior designer will do the same as this but in addition to that, work with you in all of the interior styling (electrics plans, colour schemes, lighting plans, all your carpentry specifications, furniture, soft furnishings and a lot more!). Clearly the second option is more costly than the first and it is very personal preference on whether you feel you're capable of pulling everything together and getting the 'look' you want without any professional help. I am rubbish at this and was scared to death I'd have spent all this money on the practicalities but would end up with something quite 'flat' if I didn't get help on how to style it all!!

There are a few different concept planners on here (Karen from OnePlan mentioned above certainly gets excellent reviews) and also interior designers (Gina from Create Perfect was who we used and we opted for the concept planning plus styling package due to my rubbish ability to pull everything together as a whole look!)

Having a professional on board for all of the interiors finishes was a must have for me but this isn't something everyone needs and is a very personal decision!. The cost difference was far less than I expected between the two options, so somehow I even convinced my hubby it was worth a bit extra :)

It is definitely worth noting that not all concept planners only offer just the space planning so make sure when you are looking at quotes etc that you get quotes for the different options they offer. I know Karen from OnePlan pointed earlier this week that she can also offer all of the interior design services. They key here is knowing what you're getting for each quote so you can truly compare like for like and don't end up wasting any of your hard earned money :)

Also make sure you ask about Trade discounts! Gina passed all of hers onto us so we saved a fortune (thousands not hundreds) on ordering all the things we needed! I'm not sure everyone offers to do the same but it really does add up, so make sure you ask the question when you're comparing quotes.

You can do all of the above very early on and I know we started doing this before we even moved in! As it definitely all takes longer than you would think!

The next key question to answer if you do go down the concept planner or interior designer would be:

Does your new use of the space involve changing any structural walls etc (opposed to just stud walls)?

If you are changing structural walls then it is very likely you will need a structural engineer to provide the calculations to your builder for any steels etc (you would also need this for building regs).

Our costs for this element were around £1,500.

Coming back to your original question on an architect the one thing to keep in your mind is that you will need a basic set of drawings for giving to your builder and also buildings regulations (if there are structural changes) as it will form the contract between you.

Because we worked with an Interior designer who did the concept planning for us first, we were just able to tell the architect what we wanted for the drawings so our cost was just £500 for the drawings in comparison to the quote of over £5,000 when we were looking at them doing the design too!

A lot of architect's will also recommend (as already seen above) that you have a architectural survey done first- this is so they know what they are working with in the first place and in very simple terms is a version of a floor plan that they can then use for designing from. This can be an expensive option so again, just be certain you would need this (our quote for one of these was £1200 on top of the architect's design fees)

I guess one of the early decisions you'll need to make is whether you do want a concept planner or interior designer on board and if you do go down that route you can start very quickly to look at the different layout options they can give you.

Clearly if you decide against that then just going straight to an architect will be your first step and I agree with a lot of the comments above about the sooner the better and going for someone you really 'click' with.

From a personal perspective I found having an Interior designer on board from day 1 has been the best money we spent through the whole project- this was quite new to me and just having someone there every step of the way was a lifesaver. It also ensured we made all the right decisions at the planning stage!

All the trades (not to mention kitchen companies etc) ask you so many questions both beforehand and actually as they're going along and there are so many decisions to be made- it astounded me! Having someone available 24/7 (and this is why getting the right person on board is so important!) just took all the stress away for me. Any decision or thought or panic I had along the way I would just send in real time (WhatsApp!) to her and have a reply in minutes! Having Gina there gave me the advice (and in some cases reassurance) that we were making the right decisions and I know it's saved us a lot of costly mistakes! It's also made what could have been a very daunting process a lot of fun and really quite enjoyable.

I take my hat off to anyone who can do this all on their own but for me, spending a bit of money upfront and having someone 'holding my hand' so to speak all the way through was the best money we've spent out of anything! I also secretly know I couldn't have made it look how it looks now on my own in a million years!

Hope it all helps, it is only my experience but if it can be of any help to anyone else in a similar situation then all the better.

Claire

Thank you all so much. Claire in particular, thank you for taking the time to type such a detailed response. It's incredibly helpful. I'm beginning to see the wood for the trees now. Also, Jonathan. I now have an idea of what to expect cost-wise. And no, I'm not interested in a super-expensive aga! Susan

Hi Susan, it's no problem at all, I was lucky enough to find people to help me on here and start getting an understanding of what my options were when I was in your position and I know how much it helped me before I got a professional on board, so feel retuning the favour so to speak is the least I can do :)

If the cost side of things is helpful I am super happy to share the breakdown of what we've spent in what categories and share a few pics so you can see what we've achieved for the money- don't want to bombard you with info so just shout if you'd like me to share them.

Otherwise, don't forget to keep people updated and ask lots of questions along the way- be lovely to hear how things progress for you :)

Best wishes,

Claire

This is brilliant! Thank you, Jonathan. Of all the ideas that went through my head, the only one here that occurred to me was turning the 3rd bedroom into a dressing room. I really like this. Thanks again.