Get It Right with Undercover Architect

Latest Episodes:

5 Money Saving Myths Busted - Episode 3 (Season 3) Jun 19, 2017

Show notes

There are 5 top money saving ideas Amelia hears homeowners use to explain how they’ll save big money in their reno or new build. In this episode, Amelia share why these can be in fact MYTHS. Huge mistakes that can actually cost you far more in the long run.

So what are these money saving ideas? They are …

Money Saving Idea #1:
“I can get cheap tiles … or paint … or timber … via a friend / family member etc, so I’m going to save loads of money”

Money Saving Idea #2:
“My friend / family member is a builder / electrician / plumber and will be doing the job for us at cost, or for free”.

Money Saving Idea #3:
“I’ll save money because I’m going to buy all my fixtures and finishes separate to the builder's contract. I’ll be able to find bargains, and avoid the builder’s margin on these items.”

Money Saving Idea #4:
“I’m going to project manage my renovation or new build.”

Money Saving Idea #5:
“I’m going to do my project as an Owner-Builder.”

For each of these 5 Money Saving Ideas, Amelia shares what can and does go terribly wrong. She also shares her main tips for each one, to help you avoid the pitfalls. And, she also shares with you what one big key is to saving money on your project.

If you’ve been thinking of any of these 5 Money Saving Ideas as the reason you’ll save money on your renovation or new home … or it being the reason you can actually afford your project, then listen to this episode now. Learn why these 5 Money Saving Ideas can actually be myths and cost you far more in time, money and stress.

This season, Undercover Architect has a podcast partner: Kiiko LED.

Kiiko LED is customisable, DIY, LED strip lighting, that you can order online to your specifications, for your needs and project.

Kiiko LED is founded by Craig Thomas, who Amelia has personally had the pleasure of working with for over 12 years now, in her own projects, and in client projects.

And so Amelia has been able to organise with Kiiko a fantastic UA Community only offer. If you head to their website at www.kiiko.com.au/undercoverarchitect you’ll be able to access a $25 discount to use on your first order.

Check it out, and start building your Kiiko LED strip lighting now!

FOR RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST CLICK HERE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Resources you can use - Episode 2 (Season 3) Jun 12, 2017

Show notes

Often when you’re starting to think about your project, and trying to determine the budget you need to set aside for it, you don’t to have to many public conversations about it.

This is for a few reasons.

One might be that you just feel clueless. You don’t know who to start speaking to, or the questions to ask.

And in feeling like that, you may be worried that you’ll look foolish. Say something you’re not supposed to, or give professionals and builders information that gives away too much.

It may be too that you don’t want to give too much away too soon. Show your hand and then be at the mercy of trusting everyone to not be taking advantage of you.

Amelia knows that one thing that many homeowners she speaks to fear, is all the unknowns. And whenever you’re in that kind of territory, feeling out of your comfort zone, it’s can be a hard place to be. And to admit that you don’t really know what you’re doing whilst you’re there.

Amelia would like to say this to you, though, if this is how you are feeling.

You aren’t supposed to know what you’re doing – especially if this is the first time you’ve renovated or built your home.

However, you’re sitting at home, and you’re thinking this whole renovation and building thing through. You’ve watched The Block, and House Rules, and Fixer Upper. And you’re thinking, I just want to get a handle on budgets, and how much things cost, before I start bothering anyone, or feeling like I’m wasting anyone’s time.

So, how can you do it? Let Amelia give you some places to start.

FOR RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST CLICK HERE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where to start - Episode 1 (Season 3) Jun 05, 2017

Show notes

Finding out what your renovation or new home will cost you is not a one-step exercise. In fact, in Amelia's experience, the best results come from approaching this question from various angles.

When you work out what your project will cost you in a more holistic way, using several inputs and types of information, you ultimately come up with a much more reliable answer. And can be more confident your project will stay on budget, PLUS create a great outcome for you as a finished home.

So, what does Amelia mean by this?

Over the course of this season, Amelia will be taking you through various strategies you can use to determine what your renovation or new home will cost. And what to do when it’s looking like it will cost more than you want to spend. What information to trust, and what not to. And how to stay informed and involved throughout. Because staying on top of your budget is one key factor to staying in control of your project overall.

So let’s start at the beginning. Where do you start when determining your budget? What are the first steps you can take when trying to work out what it WILL cost you to renovate or build your home. Or more to the point – what it COULD cost you and what it SHOULD cost you.

Amelia thinks that’s the key … we’re really looking at three costs here when it comes to setting your budget.

What it COULD cost you.
What it SHOULD cost you.
And what it WILL cost you.

And each of those three figures might be entirely different from each other, and also impacted by many other factors.

In this episode, Amelia gives you tips to get started on determining each of these ‘costs’. And she also talks about cost vs value, and how you can use it to gain great clarity for your project.

Listen to the episode now, and learn where to start when determining your budget for your renovation or new build. It’s an important first step in any project starting well.

This season, Undercover Architect has a podcast partner: Kiiko LED.

Kiiko LED is customisable, DIY, LED strip lighting, that you can order online to your specifications, for your needs and project.

Kiiko LED is founded by Craig Thomas, who Amelia personally had the pleasure of working with for over 12 years now, in her own projects, and in client projects.

And so Amelia has been able to organise with Kiiko a fantastic UA Community only offer. If you head to their website at www.kiiko.com.au/undercoverarchitect you’ll be able to access a $25 discount to use on your first order.

Check it out, and start building your Kiiko LED strip lighting now!

FOR RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST CLICK HERE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to set (and stay on) your budget: Intro to Season 03 - Episode 0 (Season 3) May 29, 2017

Show notes

Over the years Amelia has been working with homeowners, she has often them asked this question …

“What are you most afraid of when renovating or building your home? What makes you most nervous, causes the most stress and brings about that feeling of overwhelm?”

The answer to this gets delivered in different ways. Sometimes with tears, and sometimes with hearty chuckles. Sometimes with quiet whispers like it’s something they don’t want to admit. But it always (and Amelia means ALWAYS) the response is similar.

There are a few main fears, and this one generally jumps out first. This is what you tell Amelia:

You’re nervous about what it will cost you to renovate or build or home
Can you afford to do what you want to do, this dream you have in your head (and heart) about your future home
How can you know you can start and won’t blow your budget along the way, and
How do you avoid being taken advantage of due to your lack of knowledge … being ripped off … being made a fool of … or making expensive mistakes.

These fears are understandable and totally justifiable. For every story of a successful renovation or building project, there’s a disaster story as well. One where homeowners have overspent by huge amounts sometimes. And we’re often talking about sums of money we’re borrowing from the bank, or have spent a long time saving or earning.

And, of course this fear is real because when you stuff it up at this scale, the consequences can be far reaching … financially, mentally, emotionally. It can impact so many areas of your lifestyle and your life – and those that you share it with.

In this podcast episode, Amelia shares the 3 main animal types (!) that homeowners can turn into when navigating this fear during their projects. And what goes wrong when they do.

And, she also asks you to flip your thinking about your project budget … in a way that can fundamentally change the journey, and the outcome you create in your finished home.

Listen to the episode now, and you’ll hear more about what’s coming up in this Season 3 of the “Get it Right” podcast, and how it will help you if you’re building or renovating.

And, for the first time ever, Undercover Architect has a podcast partner: Kiiko LED.

Kiiko LED is customisable, DIY, LED strip lighting, that you can order online to your specifications, for your needs and project.

Perhaps you’ve been looking for that integrated, designed lighting solution, and found it really hard to access as a one-off for your project. It’s expensive to get made to order, or requires your electrician to do a bunch of work on site to make it happen.

Previously this level of customisation and design was only accessible to those in the trade. Kiiko instead brings custom linear LED to you, from their headquarters in Brisbane, Australia.

You can order online via the Kiiko website. So you pick your design, your length, your LED light type. If you need help with designing your LED strip lighting solution, you can always jump on the phone or email to one of their team too.

Kiiko is founded by Craig Thomas, who Amelia personally has had the pleasure of working with for over 12 years now, in her own projects, and in client projects.

And so Amelia has been able to organise with Kiiko a fantastic UA Community only offer. If you head to their website at www.kiiko.com.au/undercoverarchitect you’ll be able to access a $25 discount to use on your first order.

Check it out, and start building your Kiiko LED strip lighting now!

FOR RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST CLICK HERE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Entries and Front Gardens - Episode 12 (Season 2) May 22, 2017

Show notes

Our homes’ front entries and front gardens are how our homes present themselves to the world.

This episode brings us to the front of your home – which is usually the most public face of it. It’s actually the side of your home that most people see. It presents your chosen aesthetic, personality or style to the street.

And it’s usually the first thing you see as you drive up each day and think “I’m home!”

Amelia has seen homeowners work very hard to decide how they want this side of their home to look and feel. The style to do it in. Design, materials and colour scheme.

In this episode, she specifically talks about the front entry of your home, and the design of your front garden. And she talks about some big design concepts to help you determine how to create the best front entry design for your place. So it’s a chunky episode, but packed full of lots of useful ideas for your place.

Amelia takes you through the four F’s to help you think about what will work for your new home or renovation. She also shares 3 mistakes to avoid, and 3 key design tips to consider for your project.

The top 3 mistakes Amelia shares are:

Mistake #1: is hiding your front entry from the street

Mistake #2: is not putting ‘eyes’ on the street

Mistake #3: is to ignore your front garden as a valuable outdoor space for your home

There are also lots of design tips. Here are the top 3:

Design tip #1: use different levels to achieve privacy and specialness for your home

Design tip #2: be aware of whether your design works with a front door or not

Design tip #3: separate where people and cars move

And, because this is the last episode of Season 2, Amelia shares some final tips to remember as you design your home.

Listen to the podcast now, and learn how to get it right.

FOR RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST CLICK HERE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Outdoor living spaces and swimming pools - Episode 11 (Season 2) May 15, 2017

Show notes

This episode is about your outdoor living spaces … so your alfresco, or deck, or patio, or terrace, or outdoor room. Amelia will also be talking about swimming pools.

In so many parts of the world – and especially here in Australia – we’re blessed with a great climate. This helps us really expand the interior of our homes into the garden around them. So let Amelia share some great tips with you to get it right in planning your outdoor living spaces.

Whether you live in a large home on a big block of land, a compact home on an urban block, or in an apartment, this much is true. Having a great outdoor living space can do wonders for how your home feels.

Adding a deck on, or improving your outdoor area to create a space to live outdoors and entertain, is one of the more common renovations that people do to their home. And getting it right when you’re building new is one of the keys to helping your home flow, and to making the most of your home and your site.

Many places around the world, including Australia, have a great climate where outdoor living is a big part of enjoying our homes. Maximising the use of our outdoor spaces is a great way to expand the experience of your home – to make it feel larger and more spacious – and help you feel better in it.

Research shows that connection with nature is fundamental to our wellbeing too. So it makes sense on lots of levels to create outdoor spaces for your home that are useful, functional and enjoyable to be in.

Amelia takes you through the four F’s to help you think about what will work for your new home or renovation. Amelia also shares 3 mistakes to avoid, and 3 key design tips to consider for your project. And she talks a little about swimming pools to help you if you’re planning one for your place.

The top 3 mistakes Amelia will share are:

Mistake #1: choosing high maintenance materials for your outdoor living spaces

Mistake #2: making the connection to the garden difficult

Mistake #3: thinking that bifold doors are the best way to get a great indoor / outdoor connection

There are also lots of design tips. Here are the top 3:

Design tip #1: provide spaces other than a table to sit at in your outdoor living spaces

Design tip #2: don’t compromise your indoor living spaces to accommodate an outdoor one

Design tip #3: remember to design in privacy

Listen to the podcast now, and learn how to get it right.

FOR RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST CLICK HERE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stairs and Garages - Episode 10 (Season 2) May 08, 2017

Show notes

Stairs and garages. Whilst it may seem odd to put these two items together, there’s a few things they have in common.

Firstly of course, they don’t need to go into every home. If you’re renovating or building a single-storey house on perfectly flat land, there’s going to be part of this podcast not relevant to you! And not everyone wants to or needs to build a garage.

Secondly, stairs and garages need to be a certain size to actually work – to even be worthwhile including.

And thirdly, and this is probably the most surprising – how they are designed and where they’re located, can be the starting point for the rest of your home design.

So, in this podcast episode, Amelia tackles stairs and garages separately. As Amelia normally does, she takes you through the four F’s. And she also provides you with some mistakes to avoid and design tips to help you get it right.

Amelia's big mistake to avoid with stairs is this:

Not designing the stairs accurately at concept stage. If you fudge the size and layout of them, it can get you into serious trouble as you resolve your design, and don’t have sufficient room for the stairs.

Amelia's big design tip to get it right with stairs is:

Play with the location and design of the staircase and see what it helps you change overall in your home design.

And Amelia's big mistake to avoid with garages is this:

Don’t size them to be too narrow (this happens a lot in new homes, especially project homes).

Amelia's big design tip to get it right with garages is:

Be careful about designing your layout so you’re walking from your garage through pantries and other similar spaces to get into your home.

Listen to the podcast for more tips, and also for great information about your garage space (and there’s a bonus in there for carports too!)

FOR RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST CLICK HERE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Study nooks, studies and home offices - Episode 9 (Season 2) May 01, 2017

Show notes

Listen to this episode to learn how to get it right in your study nooks, studies and home offices.

Our lives are busy. And whilst we do what we can to bring intention and quiet into them where possible, and focus on one thing at a time … sometimes we are juggling. Often we are juggling. And this seems to be most true in how we balance work and family life in our homes.

We find the edges can be a little blurred. So that means that we’re bringing work home. Or we’re building businesses from home.

And with kids growing through school and university, they’re also studying at home and needing space to do it.

As parents, and often working parents, trying to combine all these activities with everyday family life can be challenging. And it can be critical to give everyone the space and quiet to focus on their work when needed, in order for our homes to work well.

So creating spaces and rooms where this work can occur in a semi-uninterrupted way, can help with family sanity overall. Amelia knows personally. She's run businesses from her dining table, and it’s not fun for general family life. So if you’re renovating or building, it can be a simple inclusion to provide a space or room for work in your home, and improve your lifestyle overall.

Amelia will start with the four F’s and how they relate to study nooks, studies and home offices.

The top 3 mistakes Amelia will share are:

Mistake #1: poor furniture planning in the study
Mistake #2: forgetting storage and space for all the other things that need to go in a home office or study
Mistake #3: forgetting a place for a printer

There are also lots of design tips. Here are the top 3:

Design tip #1: your power points don’t all need to be down at skirting board height
Design tip #2: provide seating alternatives to your desk chair
Design tip #3: if sound separation is a big issue for you and working from home, consider extra insulation in your home office.

FOR RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST CLICK HERE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Secondary bedrooms for your kids and guests - Episode 8 (Season 2) Apr 24, 2017

Show notes

This episode is all about secondary bedrooms. “Secondary bedrooms” is the terminology Amelia uses to refer to any bedrooms that aren’t the main bedroom. These can include:

Nurseries for infant babies and toddlers
Kids’ bedrooms, for kids as they grow into their teenage years and beyond
Guest accommodation for friends and relatives that may come to stay
Bedrooms for elderly family members who may move in at some point – either temporarily or permanently
Bedrooms for any other people you may have live in your home – such as a nanny or au pair

Of course, Amelia will be sharing the four F’s and how to use them to get it right in these bedrooms. And, she'll also be identifying key mistakes and big design tips to help you design great bedroom spaces.

You’ll probably find too that this podcast episode will pose a lot of questions to you.

When it comes to family homes, some choices are really personal, and about how you need to live in your home. These choices will be about who lives in your home now, and who might be living in your home in the future.

So, Amelia will be taking you through the various things to consider when determining how to include these bedrooms in your home.

And she’ll share mistakes to avoid and key design tips for all types of secondary bedrooms.

Listen to the podcast now, and learn how to get it right. It’s a chunky episode so Amelia hopes you find it super useful!

FOR RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST CLICK HERE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wardrobes, linens, laundries - Episode 7 (Season 2) Apr 17, 2017

Show notes

In this episode, Amelia will be talking about wardrobes, linens, laundries and mudrooms.

She'll also cover walk-in robes and other storage. These spaces can be important to get right for a home to work well, so let’s learn more.

In this episode, Amelia talks about the four Fs upfront and gets through them quite quickly.

Then, she tackles each of these spaces individually, and shares some key mistakes and design tips for each. And in each she talks about where to locate it in your home, and how to connect it to other spaces and rooms so it works as conveniently as possible.

Because convenience is what these spaces are ALL about. When you get it right in these rooms and spaces … when you nail how they work functionally … then it not only assists you in your home. It makes life simpler for everyone, and is a serious sanity saver in family homes.

This is the list of rooms and spaces Amelia talks about in this episode.

Firstly, wardrobes. So these are built-in robes that are a fixed object in a room – and usually a bedroom.

Then there's walk-in robes. These are little (or big) rooms for storing clothing. They’ll sometimes be more like a dressing room, with an ottoman or something similar in the middle.

Next, there's linen cupboards. So these are for storing sheets, towels, blankets, and other types of items required for our beds and our homes. They can also be general storage for other things.

There’s also broom cupboards. These are generally similar to linen cupboards, with less shelving in them, so you can have space for vertical items such as brooms and mops.

Then, Amelia talks about two rooms … mud rooms and laundries. These rooms can be two separate ones in different parts of your home from each other. They can also be right next door to each other, or combined into the same space. Another name for a mudroom is a boot room.

Listen to the podcast now, and learn how to get it right in your wardrobes, linen, laundry and mudroom.

FOR RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST CLICK HERE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.