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UndercoverArchitect-5StepsToDesignYourHome

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How to
design
a home
5 Simple Steps to
get started and
get it right
by Amelia Lee
What’s in this e-guide?
Introduction
Step 1: Find your blue
Step 2: Gather evidence
Step 3: Know your address
Step 4: Start the jigsaw
Step 5: Wrap it all up
What’s next?
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Hello! I’m Amelia Lee, from Undercover Architect.
So how do you design a home? Where do you start, and how do you get it right?
Introduction
Whether you’re renovating or building, this I know to be true:
Getting it right in your design, is where your home lives … or doesn’t. People worry
about regretting their tile choice, or getting it wrong in their paint selection. They
worry about not affording the light fittings or sofa they want. They worry about the
project taking 6 months longer than they planned it to.
But if you stuff up the layout, arrangement, size, shape … the design of your home …
it will bring far greater regret than anything else.
As an architect with over 20 years industry experience, I’ve helped countless
homeowners create homes that work, are beautiful, on all budgets, and that their
owners love to live in.
This E-Guide draws that experience together, with 5 simple steps. It will guide your
way to get started on your home design journey. And when you start this way, you’re
on the path to creating a great outcome.
A home that works. Now and always. That suits you, your site, your budget and your
life.
Let’s help you get it right in your future home.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
Your Secret Ally ....
Amelia, UA x
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
The idea of new beginnings, fresh starts, getting to choose, to create, the home you
actually WANT to live in … that’s big! It’s a great, big, hairy and audacious thing to do.
AND an amazing step in creating the kind of life you actually want to lead.
Introduction
Yes, believe it or not, you’re choosing to change your world. And you’re starting with
a really significant part of it – the home you live every day in. That’s SO exciting!!
However, after that excitement has danced itself off, there’s always the ‘BUT’.
• But, my budget is really tight.
• But, I am really busy – I’m not sure how I’ll find the time.
• But, I don’t really know much about design, building or renovating (except for
what I’ve seen on TV).
• But, I’m not sure if I have it in me to make all those choices and decisions.
• But, I’m really unsure about how to get started – there’s so much to think about.
• But, I just want to move in already and get on with my life.
Like accomplishing anything you haven’t had a lot of practise in, it can be daunting.
I have this to share with you though …
You will have a budget.
It may be fixed or loose, and you may meet it, go over it or under it. What you do here
is usually similar to how you manage money in other parts of your life.
Understand that budget is not the limitation here. It’s what you choose to spend it
on that has the greatest impact on the home you create. Many make the mistake
of thinking of their budget as a shopping list of what it can buy. Without fail, their
journey is full of frustration at what gets chopped off the list.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Instead, view your budget as an investment you are making in the future you are
building. Look for how you can invest to add value to your life.
Introduction
You will find a way to make time, because you always do for things that are
important to you. And you know that even if you don’t, the time will pass anyway.
You may not know much - but that’s only NOW. As with everything else you’ve not
known before, you’ve been able to learn, and be resourceful. And seek information
and advice. So you know you can and will this time too. You’re clever like that.
You will make choices. You might just make one choice. The choice to hand over all
the decisions to someone else. Such as your partner, the designer, the builder. Or you
might decide to take them all on yourself. Or somewhere in between.
I recommend you embrace that ‘choosing’ is a key part of creating a new or
renovated home, and the new life you will live in it.
What matters, is the first choice you make, and it is this: That you choose to care.
CHOOSE to CARE about your home. If you care, then you will make every choice
(regardless of how many you take on) with intention, purpose and conscious
thought.
And yes, you will get impatient. You will get frustrated and you will just want it to be
over. That is inevitable. But you know what? This is not just going to be a house. It
will be your home.
YOUR FUTURE HOME!!
Excited? I am ... I hope you are too.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
YOUR NEXT STEPS:
Introduction
This E-Guide is all about taking action, and making these first important
steps towards your future home. So ...
1. Grab something to write on, write with, and get busy.
Don’t constrain yourself to should and shouldn’ts, or how you think
things are ‘supposed’ to be. Feel with your heart, don’t think your head.
2. Try not to worry about how you’ll pay for it.
I know this is challenging, but if you begin with limitations, you’ll
get a limited outcome. Creating a home isn’t about ‘having more’ or
‘spending more’. This is about ‘optimising’ – about being more, and
making more with what you have.
(You might find you actually save money by approaching things this
way, by determining what will really create the best home for you.)
3. Get stuck right into the core of you, your hopes, dreams and
aspirations, and really uncover them.
This is the fun bit. Where anything is possible. Where you create YOUR
home.
Here we go …
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Step 1: Find your blue
How to get and
maintain clarity
with all those choices
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
This may sound obvious to some of you who know the power of dreams, establishing
visions, setting goals and making action plans. Or to others, may sound a little bit
silly and woo woo in the process of designing a home.
Step 1
However, the first mistake most homeowners make is skipping this step.
It is the most essential step. Let me explain it like this.
I once went to a seminar to hear a business consultant speak. He had us do an
exercise to illustrate the concept of clarity and focus. He said to the thousand-odd
people in the room:
“Look around you and find all the BLUE things you can. Just for a minute, look
around, take them in. Then, close your eyes.” (We all complied).
“Now …. Tell me about the GREEN things in the room.”
And for the life of me, I couldn’t. I snuck a peak, and sure enough, there was some
green right in front of me - I just hadn’t seen it.
When you figure out your “blue” – ie the vision of your home, and life you will live in
it, as you want it to be, then you have given your search a focus. And it’s a focus that
has clarity and tangible qualities.
When you figure out your
“blue” – ie the vision of
your home, and life you will
live in it, as you want it to
be, then you have given
your search a focus.
And it’s a focus that
has clarity and tangible
qualities.
Right away, your search immediately becomes simpler.
You now have a core framework against which to check your decisions. You have a
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
foundation that sets in place the launchpad for all other choices.
AND whilst you make choices in alignment with your “blue” ... you will create a
holistic, well-designed outcome that gels with you, and your dreams for your home.
As well as the vision you have for the life you want to lead in it.
This is the big picture stuff that will set your goals, aspirations and the framework.
It is also how, if you’re doing this with a partner, husband, children or colleague, that
you can get on the same page.
Step 1
Ask yourself these questions to find your BLUE ...
How do you want to feel in
your home?
How do you want to feel in your new home?
Invigorated, peaceful, contented, safe, energetic, organised, rejuvenated, clean, spacious,
creative, inspired, authentic, honest, dynamic, calm, proud - or something else?
How do you want your home
to feel?
How do you want your new home to feel?
(This is slightly different to the above question). Like a sanctuary, or like a exciting hub, or
having an expansive openness, or an intimate, cosy haven - or another way?
How does this home fit into your overall goals?
What are you seeking to achieve by building or renovating this home?
How long do you think you’ll be living here for? What stage of life will your family be in
during their time in this home?
How will your home help
you achieve your overall
goals for you and your
family?
How do you enjoy spending your time?
Entertaining, having lots of friends casually dropping in, spending time gardening, hanging
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
out with your family, cooking, reading, or not being home much at all - what else?
Ideas about style and aesthetics can come into this idea of “blue”, but this is bigger
than what trend or fashion you like.
Step 1
Remember that trends change, as do your tastes. Given how long homes last, it’s
wise to choose timeless elements and design for the permanent parts of your home.
Then bring on-trend items in through finishes and soft furnishings. This will enable
you to replace them as fashions and preferences change, or others buy your home.
The answers to these ‘find your blue’ questions may not come straight away. And
there’s no ‘wrong’ answers either. (Sometimes the ‘how long will you live here’ is a
prickly one to answer, for example.)
In my experience, when you start thinking about your home in this way, it unfolds
something in you. It gets the frills and fancy out of the way, and brings you to the
core ideas that will make your home uniquely yours.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
Thinking of your home in
this way gets the frills and
fancy out of the way.
Instead, it brings you to the
core ideas that will make
your home uniquely yours.
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Take action:
Step 1
TIME TO GRAB YOUR PENCIL ...
Here’s a little bit of woo woo that works.
Close your eyes. Picture being in your finished home.
Visualise yourself sitting in a favourite spot … be it a chair in the corner, or
in your kitchen, or on your sofa, or outside.
The sun is just the way you like it. The temperature is just the way you like
it. There’s a beautiful light breeze.
What can you see? How does it make you feel? What words can you use to
describe it?
Write this down. This is how you start finding your blue, and simplifying
every choice from here on in.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
a. Find your blue:
How do you want to feel
in your home, and how
do you want your home
to feel;
b. Get on the same page
about your blue as
anyone you will need to
be co-deciding with;
c. Focus on big picture
goals and ideas first.
Bring personal tastes
and preferences in after
you’ve developed these.
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Step 2: Gather Evidence
What does your
current reality tell
you about your future
home?
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
This is where you really assess how you live now, what works for you and what
doesn’t. It’s also where you have fun testing out your blue.
Step 2
Be a detective in your own life and home. Ultimately, this is what architects and
other designers do. They read, research, learn and study how people live and use
spaces. So, put your interrogation goggles on, and start collecting.
Think about the house you live in now, and other houses you’ve lived in. The places
you live always make lasting imprints on your memory.
Think also about other places you’ve spent time in. Friends’ houses, holiday
accommodation, favourite places you’ve been to.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
What did and do you love about them?
And what did and do you hate?
What about them makes life easier, more fun, simpler, more beautiful?
And what gets in the way of you easily living your everyday life?
What must you have - can’t live without?
What would be nice to have, would make things easier, simpler, more beautiful?
And what can you definitely live without – or better still – would detest living with
ever again.
Become a design detective
in your own life and home.
Study, research, learn and
watch how you, and your
family, live.
What works? What could
work better?
Some of these things will be practicalities
One bugbear for a lot of women is this: the trek from the car to the kitchen with
bags of groceries and all the other paraphernalia you lug out of a car. I’ve known
homeowners, who’ve focussed efforts on streamlining this in their new and
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
renovated homes. They know that weekly frustrations with a carload of groceries
will start to impact how they feel about their home. And then how they feel in their
home.
Step 2
Another homeowner measured how much storage space (in lineal metres) that she
needed for exactly what she wanted to store. She knew getting this right would help
her feel organised and calm in her home. And hence help her feel organised and calm
in her life. So she took some time to study it and plan it out.
Some of these things will be emotive.
I’ve had clients want to replicate bathrooms they particularly enjoyed during a great
holiday.
Or they’ve determined the size of a room to accommodate a particular piece of
furniture or artwork. One they can’t imagine being without. So they can celebrate it
fully.
Record it. Write it all down. Create a scrapbook. Use pictures where words don’t work
for you. There are some great online resources for this. Whether you’re renovating or
building a new home, this will become a useful communication tool to show others
your aspirations for your new home.
Use words, pictures or
whatever way works for
you.
Collect your ideas. Use this
as a communication tool, to
show others on your team,
what you want from your
future home.
Remember to check these choices against your blue as you go.
Does it fit? If not, why not?
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Are you really being honest about your blue, or are you holding onto something when
it really doesn’t serve you?
Step 2
We have a lot of sentimentality wrapped up in how we think about our homes, our
experiences in them, and the objects they contain.
We also tie up ideas of status and identity in things that don’t actually bring meaning
to our life.
At some point, even with all the money, land and time in the world, there will be a
constraint. You’ll have to choose and prioritise. If you get your priorities straight
now, that choice will be simpler to make. It actually won’t feel like a compromise. It
will feel like the best choice for you.
Ultimately, this is about liberating yourself from what you think in your head you
should and shouldn’t want, and feeling in your heart what you really need.
That’s really the only way to create a home that makes your life better.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
Check that your ‘musthaves’, ‘nice-to-haves’, and
‘definitely-don’t-wants’ fit
with your blue.
Be honest. Feel what you
really need and want.
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Take action:
Step 2
TIME TO GRAB YOUR PENCIL ...
For the next week (or longer if you find it helpful), aim each day to write
down in a notebook:
• in your home, what task or activity was particularly inconvenient today
and why? (cooking dinner, getting kids out the door, finding your keys,
getting a restful sleep, unpacking the dishwasher ...)
• in your home, what task or activity happens seamlessly and why? (Look
hard. Even with the most frustrating of homes, there’ll be something).
• in a friend’s home, cafe, local library, workplace, identify something you
love that would make your home work better ...
• and something you don’t love and want to avoid.
Write it down ... that’s 4 points each day, for 7 days ... so 28 points in total!
You’ll be amazed at what you start to notice, and what it tells you about
your future home.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
a. Put your interrogation
goggles on and analyse,
research, study and
collect;
b. Create a record – a
scrapbook or online
pinterest board is a
good option;
c. Determine your
priorities.
Ask yourself “does this
align with my blue?” If
not, why not? Feel it.
Don’t think it.
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Step 3: Know Your Address
How to maximise what
is freely available for
your home
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
In my experience, this is what I know to be true. The best homes ... the ones that
have that secret wow and magic you can’t quite pin down ... have been designed to
uniquely suit their site.
Step 3
By ‘suit their site’ - I mean they haven’t been simply plonked on their land. The
inherent and unique qualities of the site have been studied and understood.
The home has been designed to maximise the site’s advantages and dimish its
drawbacks.
It’s something we intuitively pick up on when we’re in these homes. It’s the design
we don’t intentionally notice. We can’t always put our finger on it, but we respond to
anyway.
So how to get this ‘wow’ into your home? Here’s how.
The most important thing to know when designing your home is ... Orientation.
What on earth is orientation?
When it comes to design and architecture, orientation is what compass direction
your home ‘faces’.
Part of the secret ‘wow’ is
that these homes uniquely
suit their sites.
It’s the design we don’t
notice. Yet, we respond to it
anyway.
The beautiful thing is, that once we know the orientation of our home, it’s possible
for us to know how the sun will move across our home. On any given day of the year,
at any time of the day. And then design our homes to make the most of it.
But why does this even matter?
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
According to research by CSR, a leading building products company in Australia and
New Zealand, research has found:
•
•
•
•
•
Step 3
Natural light benefits mood and mental health
Natural light aids recovery from illness
Natural light has positive impacts on building occupants
Natural light aids in connection with the local environment
Natural light increases the sense of space in a building
It also saves money in the long-term heating and cooling costs of your home. A win
for your wallet and the planet!
Designing for orientation is the single biggest thing you can do to make your home
work, feel great and you feel great in it.
This means it can and should be the first choice you prioritise. This then makes
every later choice simpler and faster. That helps streamline design.
This, in turn, makes your project simpler, and your life less stressful.
Natural light benefits our
mood, our well-being and
has significant and positive
impacts on how we feel in
our homes.
Trust me, it rocks.
•
•
•
•
You save money.
You help the planet.
Your home feels great.
You feel great in your home - and beyond it.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Once you know and design for the movement of the sun, we can also look at the
other natural features of your block of land (or site).
Natural assets and features include:
• Sunlight
• Shade
• Breezes
• Landscape
• Views
• Privacy
Understand these assets for your site. Where are they working for you? Where are
they not? Then maximise or minimise them in the design of your renovated or new
home. Connecting our home to its environment this way helps it feel great, and us
feel great too.
Getting this right is the stuff that adds value for free. This is what’s already on your
site and in your home. If you can unlock the potential of it in your design, it will
seriously add value to your home. Both financial value, and lifestyle value.
This will help you create a home that is enjoyable to live in, and works.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
Step 3
Getting this right adds value
to your home for free.
Unlock the potential of it in
your design.
This will help you create a
home that enjoyable to live
in, and works.
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Take action:
Step 3
TIME TO GRAB YOUR PENCIL ...
Draw your block of land on a piece of paper. Or print it off Google Maps!
Mark out where north is. (On Google Maps, this will be vertically up the
screen, at 12 o’clock).
Then start marking on the block what your natural assets are:
• where is your best winter sun?
• where is your harshest summer sun?
• what views to you love? and not love?
• where do you need to protect from overlooking?
• where do the main breezes come from?
• is there landscaping you’d like to protect if you can?
• is your land flat, or sloping?
Create a little sketch plan to show these. What does it tell you about your
future home?
How can your home make the most of the land it will be sitting on – to
create a great design overall?
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
a. Look at the orientation
of the site. Where’s
north? How does the
sun move?
b. What are assets does
the site have? Views,
natural features,
favourite places
c. What are the features
you need to design for?
Sloping land, rocky
areas, trees, protection
from privacy and
overlooking.
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Step 4: Start the jigsaw
Putting the pieces
together to create your
future home
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Ultimately what makes up a house, in its physical sense, is a collection of rooms and
spaces.
Step 4
These rooms and spaces are then arranged so that they can perform a certain way,
and then also connect and relate to each other as they need to.
There are a few great questions that always help with the arrangement of spaces
and rooms.
How do rooms need to feel?
What role do they need to perform?
And so what type of natural light should they have access to? Not sure? My "Get it
Right with Undercover Architect" Podcast is a great resource for this.
Then think about all the things you use each room for. We need rooms in our houses
to be versatile, flexible. We don’t live anymore in a way where there is a dedicated
room for every single activity we undertake (and nor do most of us have the
inclination, budget or space to do so).
How do the rooms in your
home need to feel and
perform?
How will they be versatile
and flexible?
And what is the connection
between them?
The connection and relationship between spaces is also important. Some
relationships are obvious. Others will be your personal preference.
Ask yourself some questions:
1. How do you want to move into and through your home? When you get home, get
up the morning, go to bed at night ...where and how will you move?
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
2.
Visualise the spaces you sit in now, and what you see. How would you like that
to be the same? And how would you like it to be different?
3.
How will you furnish these rooms and spaces? What will be loose, and what will
be built in?
4.
What do you want to be close to in a space or room, and what do you want to be
away from? Proximity (or not) enables great function, as well as a lovely feeling
of ease, contentment, relaxation and peace in how you live.
5.
How can the people you share your home with be close to each other, and also
have space away from each other (with some acoustic and visual privacy).
Whilst feeling connected to each other and to the home?
Putting the spaces and rooms together is like getting a jigsaw puzzle to fit. But just
like putting that last jigsaw piece in - when the planning comes together, the picture
is suddenly there. It’s revealed itself to you as a whole. One that is far more than the
sum of all the little parts, rooms and spaces that make it up.
Step 4
Ask yourself these
questions to understand
requirements for the rooms
and spaces in your home.
It’s your beautiful home that seamlessly integrates with your lifestyle … and makes
your life better.
And you know what? You may not be able to do this step all on your own. That’s ok.
We’ve all watched Survivor – everyone has different skills and strengths. Some of us
are not so great at the jigsaw puzzles! Or it may bore you to tears to try and put all
these pieces together. That’s when you call in the experts.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
If you understand what the puzzle pieces you want to include, and what you’re
seeking in how they go together, you are miles ahead of most people when they start
their search for their future home.
Step 4
Getting your head around this process, identifying what makes a great home and
what you need in YOUR home ... This will be the launchpad to whatever method you
choose to create your future home.
And now you have the tools to explain it to someone who IS good at puzzles.
Now you can know that they’ll understand, see, feel, design and build your blue.
And you’ll have the tools to keep them on track with your blue whilst they do.
You may need help putting
the puzzle together.
That’s ok ... find a design
professional who can help
you.
You’ll know the pieces that
need to go into your puzzle,
which will help make your
home great.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Take action:
Step 4
TIME TO GRAB YOUR PENCIL ...
This is a great exercise to do one room at a time, as you unravel what you
want in your home.
Start with one room in your future home. For example - your kitchen.
What type of sunlight should this room get?
What do you want to do in that room?
See from it?
Have it sit next door to?
Here’s some ideas to get you started:
Kitchens are great on the eastern or northern side of your home.
Of course, your kitchen is for cooking. However, is it also for homework?
For casual conversations? For eating certain meals? Do you need to get
outside quickly? Get to the laundry? The garage (for unloading shopping)?
What does this exercise tell you about each piece of your home’s jigsaw
puzzle? You’re starting to put the pieces together.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
a. Listen to the UA
podcast for where to
locate rooms based
on orientation
b. Consider the
movement between
and through rooms,
and how it will work
c. The pieces might not
all fit straight away,
but remember your
blue. Arrange the
spaces and rooms to
align with it.
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Step 5: Wrap it all up
Getting volume (shape)
and light (life) into
your home
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
This last step is about creating the third dimension of your home, which brings
everything together to create the home you live your best life in.
Step 5
This is what takes our jigsaw puzzle to the next level. Because design simply isn’t
the process of re-arranging squares on a page, and then applying finishes and
furniture.
Great design … the design that makes your home functional, feel great, and you feel
great in it … requires more than this. It requires us to think in 3D.
This third dimension can significantly impact how the space or room feels, and how
we feel in a space. Volume can do amazing things to create this in our homes. And
when we bring light in, then that brings the space to life.
So as we create volume, let’s think about the holes we’ll cut in it to bring light in.
Where do you place the doors and windows to get the best light, best views, capture
breezes, prevent overlooking, put something on display, let people in and out?
How do you connect the interior to the exterior? These holes don’t always have to be
in the walls. One of the most beautiful surprises you can have in a room is the light
that comes from above you, and gives you a view of the sky.
Designing our homes is
more than rearranging
squares on a page.
Remember the third
dimension. It brings shape
and life to our homes.
Then, how can you create drama – that ‘wow’ factor that brings excitement in how
you live in these spaces – with volume and light?
Do you want some spaces to feel big and expansive? And other spaces to be cosy,
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
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intimate, private? Light and volume enable us to create these feelings.
Also consider the materials you’re wrapping your volumes in.
Step 5
It may seem strange leaving this until last (given the materials will strongly impact
how your home looks visually). And to a certain extent, you will have created some
idea of this as part of identifying your ‘blue’.
However, there is a reason I’ve placed these steps in this order.
For me, design is NOT about aesthetics, or how ‘on trend’ something is, or how it
looks. These things are far too subjective when it comes to design.
Design is about how your home FEELS, and how YOU FEEL in your home. Great
design supports you living your best life.
One thing I recommend is to think about the durability and longevity of the materials
you choose. Maintaining a home is a big job, and you will need to (or pay someone
to) maintain it over the years. So choose materials with this in mind.
Seek recommendations from experts and professionals, and pay attention to the
homes around you and how they look after a few years in the sun and weather.
Design is not about
aesthetics, or being ‘on
trend’. These things are too
subjective.
Design is timeless. Great
design supports you living
your best life.
If you want to relax in your home and find it peaceful and restful to be in, I don’t think
that looking around at all the jobs-you-haven’t-got-around-to will help you live that
way!!
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Of course, aesthetics and tastes do come into play when creating a home. Everyone,
and I mean everyone, likes and doesn’t like certain things.
Step 5
Think about your attraction to particular aesthetics. Do you want it to look historic
because that means something specific to you? (Heritage and tradition translating
to permanence and stability). Or do you want a contemporary, modern house
because it’s new and fresh and a complete departure from your past and the houses
you’ve always hated living in?
Do things have to actually LOOK a certain way to FEEL a certain way?
Understand the attraction you have to particular styles if you can.
Rather than thinking your home has to be in that style, understand what you like
ABOUT it, and HOW THAT ALIGNS with your blue.
It will help you make choices that aren’t just cut-and-paste-copying. And you can
bring your own identity to them.
That way, you will create a home that will give you a sense of belonging and joy
through its authenticity. You will feel this way, because it is authentically you.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
Make choices that aren’t
just cut-and-paste copying.
Bring your own identity.
Create a home that is
authentic. And authentically
you.
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Take action:
Step 5
TIME TO GRAB YOUR PENCIL ...
This step is where you might shake off some of your preconceptions about
how your home has to look. It will also help you create your style more
authentically, as you dig inside the ‘trend’ to find what it is that you love.
What aesthetic style are you attracted to? Have a look in your Pinterest, or
Houzz, or physical scrapbook.
Is there a consistency to what you like? Is it all mid-century modern?
Scandinavian? Hamptons? Australian coastal? Don’t worry if you can’t
‘name’ the style. Describe it as best you can. This is about wrapping ideas
and words around your preferences so you can understand them better,
and communicate them to others.
Write down 3 reasons you are attracted to these aesthetics.
What is it exactly that you love about these styles? (“I just like it” is not a
reason!)
For example ... Hamptons style feels fresh. It’s traditional but still feels
a little new. And it’s coastal so feels a little holiday-ish and relaxing. The
texture and patterns make a home feel natural, cosy and comfortable.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
a. What volumes
(shape) and light
(life) do you want
your spaces and
rooms to have?
b. What do you want
your home’s edges to
look and feel?
c. How do you want to
bring your identity
to your home?
Remember your blue
and you’ll build a
better future.
www.undercoverarchitect.com
What’s next?
Think of
Undercover Architect
as your secret ally ...
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Your future home ...
It’s where you’re going to wake up every morning, and go to sleep
every night, and celebrate Christmases, and birthdays and read
to your kids, and have a quiet coffee in the morning sun over the
paper, and worry about the school report you just read, and cook
your favourite meal – or eat your favourite takeway!
Whether it’s for 3 years or 30 years.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could head out from a place that is
heaven and haven to you? Where you felt safe, secure, at ease and
peace. Where you could relax and restore? So that each time you
do head out into the world, you can be the best version of you?
That’s how you change your world.
So, take the time, do the work, because your home is worth it. You
are worth it. You deserve to create a home that makes your life
better. I can’t wait to see you bring your future home to life.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Getting it right can feel impossible
With so much at stake, you don’t
want to stuff it up. Or be done over by
professionals you mistakenly trust.
OVER THE NEXT LITTLE WHILE ...
I’ll be popping into your inbox with more useful information for
your reno or new home.
I’m on a mission to help you be more informed and empowered
when designing your future home. And be confident and in control
along the journey.
So there’s some more free resources coming your way. Keep an
eye out and I’ll see you on the ‘inside’.
And don’t forget to tune into the “Get it Right” podcast. 'Season 2:
How to Design a Home' especially, will help you design your family
home, so it works now - and always.
Your Secret Ally ....
Amelia, UA x
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Who is Amelia Lee,
and Undercover Architect?
I’m a registered architect with over 25 years industry experience in over 250
projects. And I’m also a wife, a mum to 3 young kids and a serial renovator.
I know, personally and professionally, the challenges, fulfillment, stress and joy,
that renovating and building can bring. What a ride hey?
Undercover Architect exists to educate, inform and empower homeowners. To
simplify designing, renovating and building your home. To help you create a
home that makes your life better. Whoever you’re working with, and whatever
your dreams, your location or your budget.
You can find me at www.undercoverarchitect.com. Think of me as your secret
ally.
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
Thank you!
See you online at
www.undercoverarchitect.com
© Undercover Architect | Amelia Lee
hello@undercoverarchitect.com
www.undercoverarchitect.com
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