West Pymble New Build

Located in West Pymble, this knockdown/rebuild project is designed for a young family and their parents, embracing a Modern Cottage style with a focus on creating a warm and functional home. The clients expressed a love for classic cottage elements, including picture rail details, wallpaper, deep warm timber flooring, coffered ceilings, and textural features, which guided our design approach.

To initiate the project, we met with the clients to discuss their key requirements, including style preferences, functional needs, budget, layout, and specific details such as window treatments. The design incorporates a grandparent's wing equipped with a kitchen and two bedrooms for the clients' parents, allowing for close family connection. From our discussions, I created a Look and Feel board presenting three key style options: Modern Cottage, Modern Aussie Coastal, and Classic. Each option featured inspiration images for various spaces, including the living and dining areas, kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms, complemented by a materials board to illustrate proposed materials. This presentation facilitated client feedback, confirming their preference for Modern Cottage throughout the house, with the Modern Aussie Coastal style in the bathrooms for ease of cleaning.

Based on this feedback, I utilised Revit to develop detailed plans, elevations, and sections for each room, using the existing Revit file provided by the architect. Given the clients' preferred design elements, meticulous attention to detail was essential to fulfill their vision. Hand-sketched drawings from my architect colleague guided the design, starting with the kitchen. The kitchen featured multiple finishes to create a striking focal point, making detailed elevations and plans critical for accurate communication. Similar attention was paid to the bathrooms, ensuring that the varying joinery designs reflected the clients’ goals while aligning with the architectural drawings. To accommodate the significant storage requirements, I also created joinery detail drawings, showcasing features like adjustable shelving, drawers, hanging rails, hooks, and GPOs. Once all rooms were precisely drawn, I applied material tags, dimensions, fixture and equipment tags, notes, and annotations to each drawing, including 1:5 scale joinery detail drawings for elements such as the kitchen island and rangehood to provide the construction team with clear design and structural guidance.

Concurrently, I developed the FF&E schedule for each room, documenting all fixtures, finishes, and equipment for the project. This schedule was regularly reviewed with the clients, allowing for adjustments to ensure alignment with their vision for the home. Clients were encouraged to select their preferred appliances, such as fridges, dishwashers, and ovens, leaving those sections of the schedule blank for their input.

These drawings and selections were presented to the clients alongside rendered images of key spaces to gather further feedback. Once the clients finalise their selections, we will proceed to the construction phase, which involves the complete demolition of the existing property to make way for the envisioned Modern Cottage home.