It may seem obvious but the floor area of a home is one of the key components to the cost - the larger the house, the more materials and the more labour involved to build it. Even before building costs escalated, we’ve always been mindful of the size of the homes we design from a sustainability perspective - the more materials, the more waste, the more energy required to heat and cool, not to mention more area to clean!
Designing spaces that are flexible to your family’s needs as they grow and change, and creating spaces that can double up in use are key ie. guest room/second lounge, or a well-designed nook rather than a separate room for an office. Or spaces that can seamlessly open up to increase the living area for parties and entertaining, or close down to enable different functions to occur independently, for example, watching TV in one space while someone is studying in the next.
There are many ways that smart and flexible spaces can be designed into your new build or renovation, and that can save you significant costs.
Keep an eye out for our next ‘Cost of building’ instalment that looks at how different construction methods can have a significant impact on your build cost.
And reach out if you’d like to chat further - we always love to hear from you!
Sincerely,
Fiona and the Sanctuary Design Team