Have you ever wondered why some homes fly off the market while others sit unsold for months? The answer lies in the design.
In this post, I’ll share my top 12 tips that have consistently impressed my clients and led to quick sales.
Let’s get into it.
Before You Design
1. Understand Your Product
A house is a product. Did you know that? Well, if you didn’t know that before, now you know.
So, before you design, do a little research about the house(product) you want to design.
What will the product be used for? Personal or for sale?
The brief from your client should state this clearly. But if it doesn’t, ask questions.
2. Know Your Target Audience
Until I started designing for developers, I didn’t know what designing for a specific target audience looked like.
Your target audience to a large extent influences everything about your product; from design to finishing.
You cannot design a regular three-bedroom duplex close to a market and expect to sell it at the same price you’d sell the same size of a three-bedroom apartment located in a highbrow area.
So in addition to every other thing you’d do before designing, knowing your target audience is key.
3. Begin With The End In Mind
Approach the design as if you’d be the one to live in it.
What features and spaces does it need to have to attract you as a prospective buyer?
What spaces would the house have for you to live in comfortably?
At the same time, how would you make the design flexible enough for the real homeowner to tweak things as they desire?
4. Consider The Location
Visiting the site where your proposed design will be built is one of the best things you can do before you design. It will give you a lot of information you’d never get anywhere else.
So go to the location and do a little case study and observation.
Is the measurement the same as what you have in your document?
Study the existing building types/ designs in that area. What unique features do they have? How can you make your design stand out?
5. What’s Your Client’s Budget?
Every line you draw has a cost implication. Yep! You can take that to the bank.
Cost determines whether the house is low-budget, affordable, luxury or high-end.
A terrace of 1.2m x 2.4m is not the same as 4m x 8m. So you need to know your client’s budget to know how best to approach the design. You don’t want to finish designing only to discover your client doesn’t have the money to complete the project.
A lot of clients will not tell you exactly how much they budgeted for a project but they sometimes communicate it verbally.
When you’re told money is not a problem then it means outdo yourself.
But when a client says I want something unique but affordable, or I don’t have all the money in the world or I’m just starting etc, it means applying caution when designing.
So ask all the necessary questions that you think might affect your design.
6. Consider Building Laws And Regulations In Your State
Every country has building laws and regulations that differ from state to state. While some are the same, you’d find exceptions that are only peculiar to a specific state.
So, approach every new design differently.
If possible, go to the right department to ask questions relating to the plot you’re working on. You just may save your client a lot of stress and money.
I’m writing from experience. The only time I didn’t ask questions from the right authority regarding a client’s site I was working on — turned out to be one I regret.
So ask.
Once you wrap up your findings, it’s time to put your data together and get to work.
When You Design
7. Function First — Focus on the most important
I am an advocate of the form follows function. I design from the inside out (interior). And from my experience, this is the best way to design livable spaces.
A lot of Architects and Designers can marry the two, interior and exterior. If you’re one of them, congratulations!
For me, I have a general picture of the exterior (3d) but I develop the concept in 2d first and then work to marry the two later. But with 3d modelling software like Revit and ArchiCAD, you can work on the two at the same time.
What am I trying to say?
There are too many aesthetically pleasing structures with living spaces that are too disappointing to describe. Don’t be that type of architect.
- Think of how the prospective owner would live in the house
- How they move around( movement/circulation)
- How they’d set up their spaces (furniture arrangement)
- How they’d store things (storage)
In short, think of how they would live in the space you provide for them
Note: You may not be able to meet all their needs 100% but your design should meet a good percentage of these needs and give them options to alter a few things.
This in itself can be a challenge because of the many constraints we face as Architects/designers.
So, in a nutshell, design with the client in mind by focusing on function first.
8. Be Generous In Assigning Spaces
Assigning sizes to spaces can be very tricky.
3sqm may look big on paper but downright small in reality. So when in doubt, try checking the sizes on the ground using a tape measure or any other method that works for you.
Don’t just assign sizes to spaces, you need to know the dimensions of the furniture pieces that would be used in a space to specify the right size of space.
9. If It Looks Funny On Paper, It Will Look Funny In Reality
Experienced architects and designers can attest to this. If your floor plans look funny, something’s not right and it still needs work. I really can’t explain it better than this. So what I do is print out my plans on a sheet to get a good look at it.
10. Be Mindful Of Doors And Window Placement
They are notorious for disrupting your design and making it less functional.
For Doors
- Always ensure your doors hit the closest wall if it’s a swing door. Where it’s impossible to do that, ensure it’s not obstructing movement or disturbing circulation.
- There are different styles and designs of doors these days, keep your design bank updated so you know the best type/style to use at any given point in your design journey.
- For small spaces, swing doors are not always the best option. Try bifold, pocket sliding or other door type that’s more suitable.
For Windows
Windows play a huge role in the overall function and aesthetics of a building. Here are important design considerations for window placement
- Consider your interior space when placing your windows especially areas where you have storage like shelves, wardrobes, racks etc.
- One of the main functions of windows is lighting and ventilation, so be generous when designing.
- Do not flood your design with various sizes of windows. For balance and to minimize cost, having only a few window sizes is the best especially if you are designing to sell.
11. Consider Privacy
This is one area a lot of designers do not take into consideration or completely ignore.
Be strategic with zoning when placing your rooms.
For example, if you are designing terrace units, do not place one living room wall close to the living room wall of the next unit. Use zoning to ensure adequate privacy is provided within your spaces.
12. Provide Adequate Parking Spaces
Imagine seeing a house you want to buy, you go in for inspection, everything is great; the spaces are generous, and the finishing is great but only one thing is missing — there are not enough parking spaces.
So if you’re one of those architects who doesn’t think parking is important, please have a rethink. Parking can make or break a design.
Final Thoughts
No matter the type of building you’re designing, you should think of how people will park their cars and move in and out of the estate. Your design should accommodate the different sizes of cars we have and not pose limitations.
