WHY?
Building and renovating can be daunting. Brave New Eco can move you towards realising the potential of your home’s design and help you get back on track when you are stuck.
Our consulting packages allow projects with all types of budgets to have access to good design ideas and ensure more of them reach the sustainable outcomes that are so important in this day and age. They allow us to bring our insight, technical expertise and creative problem-solving to your project; assisting you to create cohesive, functional and enjoyable spaces. They are not intended to provide you with fully resolved designs but with specialist expertise to use in your design process. Whether you are an owner-builder or working with a designer or builder, we can apply our design thinking to your project for you to realise with your team. BRAVE NEW ECO founding director and principal designer Megan Norgate has consulted on residential design projects for 14 years and worked with hundreds of households.
PROCESS
Our consultation services are priced on a set amount hours. The service includes gathering preliminary information, an initial phone chat, pre-assessing your project and planning feedback, a visit to your home and face-to-face meeting to explore ideas, a summary sketch plan and notes to communicate our insights and provide you with leads. We also offer the virtual option of online home tour meetings and video conferencing sessions that can cater to regional and interstate clients. Your project will get value from a single consult, however, a combination or 2-3 consults over time as the project develops through stages can be ideal.
FOR PRICING AND MORE INFO COMPLETE OUR CONSULTING SERVICES ENQUIRY FORM >>>
WHAT OUR CONSULTING CLIENTS SAY:
“I now feel like I have a resolved plan in my head! We can go ahead with our stage one renovation, and we have a clear idea of how the second stage would work - and know it would flow nicely. A problem that has been resolved was ensuring what we do now, will make sense with what we do later - with minimal things to be revisited and minimizing waste or extra costs along the way. We would have another consultation in the future to obtain further ideas- we found it very helpful and the team very knowledgeable!”
- Heleena Atlassis: Home and Site Potential consultation
“Brave New Eco worked with us to resolve how to take a small, existing footprint and respectfully and modestly adapt it to suit our needs. The information provided was clear, positive and intelligent. I appreciated the gentle advice and expertise in exploring our options and forming a clear view of where we were headed.”
- Nicole Bowman: Home and Site Potential consultation
“We are now thinking about our future home in a whole new way. BNE helped us with our concept to maximise our space and improve the functionality for a growing family- by reducing wasted space, improving functionality, maximising views and garden space, more storage. We feel so excited about the next steps in creating our home. The information presented was exceptional! The BNE team went above and beyond every step of the way. The concepts presented were so considered, and clear.”
- Ilka Tulloch: Concept design review consultation
“The information provided was easy to understand and interpret, a good starting point for further investigation with an architect/building designer. I now feel like I have a better idea of some of our options regarding renovation/ extension and efficiency upgrades.”
- Laila Christie: Home and site potential consultation
“The consultation was brilliant, and exactly what we needed: thorough and thoughtful advice on possibilities for our current home. Megan was happy to field any and all of our questions - and being new to renovating, we had a lot! We left feeling inspired and confident about the next steps in the design and renovation process, and can't wait to now get started. We're seeing our home in a new light, with potential we didn't realise it had!”
- Erin Milne: Home and site potential consultation.
“Megan is a pleasure to work with. She comes with a unique set of skills that are not common, sadly, in the marketplace of designers, architects, builders etc. I think having the Permaculture Design Course training is so important for people working in this area, and Megan seems to be deeply imbued in the permaculture way of thinking. As a result of her input, I have been able to reframe the project and incorporate each separate aspect into a more holistic vision, so that hopefully less energy input can create a more refined, useful and beautiful result. I would happily recommend Megan to other prospective projects.”
- Melissa Abrahams: Permaculture design consulting for a new family house/retreat centre
"With Megan's assistance we have drastically improved the (existing) design to include: improved layout, solar orientation, water harvesting and solar energy requirements. Megan is a good communicator and was very attuned to what we were trying to achieve."
- Mary and David Apps: Sustainable design consulting for new build - Surrey Hills, Melbourne
“It was great to work with Megan, who has such expertise in her field, which enabled us to simplify many of the decision-making considerations of the project”
- Veronica Obrien: Kitchen, bathroom and laundry renovation. Preston, Melbourne
“We wanted a fresh eye to oversee our renovations and to help us plan ahead for future projects. A builder recommended Brave New Eco and I immediately loved what your company was about. 'Minimum change for maximum benefit’ aligned with our values, as we also try to be resourceful by repurposing and giving things a second life. Plus I LOVE all of Megan's work - beautiful and purposeful! Megan really listened to our ideas and plans and I felt she understood what we were after. It was great to have a fresh set of eyes to oversee our project and broaden our ideas. We now have a clear picture of where we will add an additional room and loads of ideas for our garden. We hadn't considered opening up the north-east side of the yard and really like this idea. I feel confident knowing that we have considered many options and that our future plans have been well thought out and considered.”
- Katherine Marsh: Home and Site Potential consult. Fawkner, Melbourne
PROJECT STAGE:
YOU HAVE A HOUSE AND WANT TO KNOW ITS POTENTIAL FOR SUSTAINABLE RENOVATION
SUITABLE FOR YOU IF:
You want some ideas about what is possible, what needs to be done and where to start.
QUESTIONS YOU MAY BE ASKING AT THIS STAGE:
- What could we do to make our house a great place to live?
- How could we better configure our space?
- How do we best meet our families’ needs?
- What could we do to make our home more sustainable?
- What might the process and costs look like?
WHY?
At the meeting we first inspect the home and property to gather the information we need in order to outline the potential of your home. We take into account your short terms problems, your long term goals, what resources are available and help you plan what changes are going to be the most effective and practical to achieve the best outcome. This package helps you understand the steps you need to take to create the best possible home.
HOW IT WORKS:
- You send us all relevant property information, titles, real estate plans, property photos, pinterest boards etc
- We have a preliminary phone chat and ascertain what you are wanting to achieve out of the consultation process.
- We assess your project and plan our meeting.
- We meet for approximately 2 hours to inspect the home (or the equivalent process via a video conferencing service) and outline your project.
- We email you any relevant notes we made on your site plan to summarise our discussion.
FOR PRICING AND MORE INFO COMPLETE OUR CONSULTING SERVICES ENQUIRY FORM >>>
PROJECT STAGE:
YOU ARE WORKING WITH YOUR EXISTING HOUSE OR HAVE FLOORPLANS FOR YOUR PROJECT
SUITABLE FOR YOU IF:
You want to upgrade your home’s efficiency, comfort and technologies for the future.
QUESTIONS YOU MAY BE ASKING AT THIS STAGE:
- What are the best technologies?
- What are the most important aspects?
- What changes are suitable for this property?
- How can I make the house more comfortable?
- What costs are involved?
- When should I make these changes?
WHY?
The majority of Australians live in housing stock that was built with little or no consideration of energy efficiency. The average home over 10 years old would rate at between ZERO to TWO stars. In a rating system that now states that new buildings should be a minimum of SIX stars you can see our existing housing stock is in a sad state and is going to become increasingly expensive and uncomfortable to live in as energy prices and temperatures continue to rise.
Any renovation or change you make to your home is an opportunity to improve the thermal efficiency. With appropriate updating and retrofitting, older and existing homes can be brought up to their full potential and be very comfortable and economical to live in.
The complexity of this task is that there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution as all houses are different and are often made up of a variety of materials. We aim to remove the confusion about where to start, what to do, what to use and in what order and then provide you with a summary of what you are working towards and a pathway forward. We are able to outline the potential of your home from a sustainability perspective, and what is going to be relevant, practical, feasible and effective for your particular situation.
HOW IT WORKS:
- You send us all relevant property information, titles, real estate plans, property photos.
- We have a preliminary phone chat and ascertain what you are wanting to achieve out of the consultation process.
- We assess your project and plan our meeting.
- We meet for approximately 2 hours to inspect the home and existing conditions (or the equivalent process via a video conferencing service).
- We email you summary notes we made on your site plan to summarise our discussion.
FOR PRICING AND MORE INFO COMPLETE OUR CONSULTING SERVICES ENQUIRY FORM >>>
PROJECT STAGE:
CONCEPT DESIGN PROCESS IS IN PROGRESS
SUITABLE FOR YOU IF:
You have some designs and plans but feel they are not yet fully resolved or want some guidance about possible directions.
QUESTIONS YOU MAY BE ASKING AT THIS STAGE:
- Has this design answered you brief?
- How functional will the layout be on an everyday basis?
- How is it going to feel?
- Will our home function sustainably?
- Have we realised the potential of our spaces and site?
- What have we missed?
WHY?
This consulting package provides a review of the potential of your existing concept designs from a suitability, functionality and sustainability perspective. We work with you to assess your project plans to ensure that the design is going to fulfil your needs and be the best possible outcome. Whether you are an owner-builder or working with another designer/draftsperson, we apply our design thinking and expertise to your project. By assessing your plans to ensure resources are maximised, design problems are solved, and that diverse design objectives are met. You may be concerned that the designs you have ended up with have not met your brief or were not what you hoped for. Sometimes you can be stuck not knowing how to move forward with a lack of new ideas, or feel that the design needs more consideration. This consulting package can be delivered more than once at different stages of your design development; however, ideally, we meet at the schematic design/ concept stage.
HOW IT WORKS:
- You send us all relevant property information, existing conditions, concept designs and your original brief.
- We have a preliminary phone chat and ascertain what you are wanting to achieve out of the consultation process.
- We assess your project and plan our meeting.
- We meet for approximately 2 hours at your home (or the equivalent process via a video conferencing service)
- We email you any relevant notes made on your plan to summarise our discussion
FOR PRICING AND MORE INFO COMPLETE OUR CONSULTING SERVICES ENQUIRY FORM >>>