Working with Architects: A 7-Step Guide to Achieving Your Dream Home

Making the decision to work with an architect isn’t an easy one. Architectural input into a home renovation is an extra outlay that could potentially be spent on fixtures, fittings and furniture. Or on practical elements like plumbing, rewiring or joinery. Nevertheless, unless you have a degree in architecture yourself, you’re never going to have the same level of expertise it takes to turn your house into a truly beautiful home as a qualified professional who designs buildings for a living will.

So, with that in mind, here’s the Riluxa 7-step guide to working with architects.

1. Decide if an architect is absolutely necessary

Obviously, this is the first thing you should do. If it’s just a case of putting up a prefabricated outdoor office or something else that could easily be achieved with a few well-honed DIY skills, then there’s not a lot an architect can help you with. Architects become necessary whenever there are structural changes to be considered.

If you’re planning to re-arrange the floor plan, extend the building, significantly change the exterior look of your home or add a new building to the plot, then an architect is pretty much essential. However, if you’re thinking about an extensive interior design makeover, you might also want to consider having an architect draw up some plans. Want to rip out that old, boring staircase and put in something more dramatic and spiralling? An architect will not only tell you how viable that is, but also how best to achieve the impact you want.

2. Get creative with your budget

Allocating money for an architect might mean doing what you can to make savings elsewhere. If you have a few DIY skills, what could you safely do yourself without negatively impacting on the finishing of your renovation project? Do you have friends or family members (with trade discounts) who could help with any jobs?

The thing is, employing an architect is an investment that will deliver on many counts. Architects will make sure your building ticks all regulatory boxes. They’ll make sure it’s designed with quality and longevity in mind. An architect will make your home feel connected from space to space, rather than just letting imagination run wild on a room-by-room basis. Great architecture means a higher re-sale value for your home, ultimately, so it’s worth freeing up the money, if you can.

3. Choose the right architect for your taste

Don’t just type ‘Architects in Covent Garden’ into Google and call the first one to come up. A high Google ranking is actually a pretty good thing and usually an indicator of a quality provider, but do a bit of research into architects from far and wide and see whose work really ticks your boxes.

Some architects will specialise in rural architecture. Others will be focused on green architecture and sustainability. And others, yet, will be focused on luxury, opulence and magnificent high-end design. It’s all about making sure you know what you want from your home renovation and what your budget will stretch to and then matching the two as closely as possible.

4. Go into the relationship with both strength and an open mind

Architects, it’s no huge surprise, love designing buildings. So, if you give them free reign to do what they like, they will really go for it. There aren’t many homeowners who won’t want to have an input into the way their home looks, so be strong. Go into the relationship with a full brief of what you’re looking to achieve. Take drawings and written ideas and whatever you have. Really let the architect know and understand your taste before you let them loose on your building.

At the same time, try to keep an open mind. Being sure of yourself doesn’t mean that you have to be closed-off to positive influence. Architects are experts in the design of buildings so they will come up with ideas you might never have dreamed of without them. Listen to their ideas, spend time poring over their schematics and see if they work better than the ones you had before rejecting them.

5. Maintain an on-going dialogue

Once all applicable permits have been received and construction has begun, you will see the architect’s CAD drawings come to life and, at this point, you should be able to decide if what was put in front of you on a screen (in the old days, a blueprint) is being represented in the real life version. The earlier you spot concerns as a design is rolled out, the easier it is for the architect to take your feedback into consideration.

The last thing any professional needs is a client breathing down their neck while they work – that kind of pressure can result in a poorer execution than if they’d been left to their own devices. However, it is important that the architect gives you the home you want, so schedule feedback during your architect’s site visits (which should be regular) and, if ever you have a moment of panic when you see something that really doesn’t meet your expectations, count to ten and then calmly call your architect to discuss.

6. Dealing with disputes

Once in a while, a situation occurs where communication between architect and client breaks down. Sometimes a build project may come to a standstill while disputes are resolved. Other times, they may occur after the building is finished and legal teams will be brought in to bring matters to their conclusion. Whatever the circumstances, it’s never pleasant and should be avoided at all costs, which means doing all of the above to the best of your ability.

If you’re experiencing issues with your architect, RIBA (the professional body for architecture in the UK) offers excellent, comprehensive guidance on how to file and deal with disputes.

7. Leave a recommendation

If you knew what you know now, having gone into a particular project you’ve completed, would you still have done it? Would you have been even more likely to have done so because it was so well executed? Well, think about other people in your position and make sure to leave recommendations on Trustpilot and Google once your architecture project is complete.

You’re going to be relying on just such reviews to some degree when you choose the architect for your building renovation or remodel, so it’s definitely good to get into the habit. Your words could be the difference between someone ending up with the home from hell or the building of their dreams.

Good luck with your project!

Want to read another article about architecture? Check out our interview with one of the UK’s most respected architects, William Smalley, here.

Photo credit: Main picture by freepik.com