A relaxed consultation, in your home or online, followed by an in depth respectful review of your architect’s plans, with thoughtful consideration given to your design brief.
We’ll meet to walk through the proposed design and you’ll receive a proposal for design amendments & additions to meet & surpass your brief.
Why people come to me when they’re working with an architect:
Some clients have a gut feeling that something just doesn’t feel quite right on the plans even if they can’t quite work out what that is, whilst others can pinpoint specific areas of the design that they want me to work on. Some feel they have been looking at their plans for so long, that can no longer reach a decision.
If you find yourself holding off from approving the drawings, and you have already tried to work through your queries with your architect, I am here to listen and offer a fresh pair of experienced eyes & ears to enable you to progress your project.
This internal window was added to my clients’ design following my review of their architectural plans.
By positioning an internal window here, we were able to borrow natural light, warmth & views through their landing sky light to flood the room beyond with light, which didn’t have any other means of natural light on that side of the house.
It’s a big step to decide to redesign your home, engage an architect, consider multiple designs, sign off plans which will become your home and all the consideration, time, money and emotions which come with that.
If you have found yourself putting off approving the plans, Thistle & Wild Design can help.
The project below is a good example of how my design input helped this family:
Not every project needs major design amendments to make a big difference to the way you live & feel in your home.
Clients come to me for a second opinion, before they approve their plans, to make sure they’ve not missed anything and to see if the design can be improved upon.
A client (testimonial on the right & plans below) describes the impact a review & design proposal has had on their family home:
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+ We begin with a relaxed consultation in your home, or online if you live more than approx. 20 minutes drive away from M14 in Manchester. We talk through your original design brief and consider how it may have evolved.
+ With your brief fresh in everyones’ mind, we walk around your home to gain a greater understanding of your existing home; the current layout and current limitations, its potential and to appreciate the aspect so we’re working with, and not against, the natural light and discuss the architect’s plans.
+ Following the consultation, you’ll receive a fee proposal. This is informed by the specifics of your project which we will take our time to discuss during your consultation.
+ If you would like to go ahead, you’ll receive a request for 50% payment, payable before review work commences with the balance due following the proposal presentation.
+ In the studio, work begins by reflecting on our conversations and taking an in depth review of your architect’s drawings, with thoughtful consideration given to your updated design brief, budget and existing house footprint. I work on the drawing/s you have provided and develop a proposal.
+ We’ll come together and I’ll walk you through the design proposal to help you visualise yourself in your home. We can tweak the design if needed.
+ Following our meeting, you’ll receive a payment request for the balance and when this has been received, you’ll receive your proposal by email.+ You can then arrange to meet your architect and share and discuss the proposal and enable them to update your drawings. Thistle & Wild do not provide updated architectural drawings.
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The proposal includes:
+ Your updated design brief+ Digitally marked up drawing/s. This means I annotate and digitally sketch onto the architect’s drawing/s which you provided to show the proposed design changes. Thistle & Wild do not provide updated architectural drawings. The ‘After’ drawings shown in the project above were updated by the architect.
+ A written document which explains each amendment and addition to the design.+ You can then arrange to meet your architect to share and discuss the proposal and enable them to update your drawings. NB: Thistle & Wild do not update your architect’s drawings.
+ How long the process takes really depends on the scope of work you have asked me to consider & how much design work is required and also your & my availability to meet. On average clients receive their proposal within two weeks.
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+ Please do have a friendly & courteous chat with your architect before booking your consultation, so they know you’re asking Thistle & Wild Design to take a look at the drawings, and you can gauge if they’re receptive to the idea. This is a good opportunity to ask if there will be an additional fee to update the drawings.+ Architects usually respond positively to design changes as long as they’re expecting them! If for any reason your architect is difficult, I’m afraid the relationship will be yours to manage.
+ I work solely within the footprint of the architect’s proposed design and I do not extend beyond this.
+ My experience is in interior spatial design and my focus will be on the interior and not the exterior design of your home. However, if my proposal includes amendments to windows or external doors, I do of course consider the exterior design.
+ Thistle & Wild Design is not an architecture practice nor do I have knowledge of planning permission regulations. You are engaging Thistle & Wild Design as an interior design practitioner.
+ Any planning permission questions you have will need to go through your architect.
+ Design changes Thistle & Wild have implemented have saved people a considerable amount of money but some design changes will add to the cost of the build. Part of the review process is to consider if savings can be made and I will explain in the proposal document if a design change is likely to incur an additional build cost. I wouldn’t propose it if I didn’t consider it worth the cost but I also appreciate there is (nearly always) a budget cap and decisions have to be made.
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+ I appreciate we all like to have an idea of cost. The payment is in two phases. The first payment of £265 includes your consultation and preparing for your consultation; reading & considering your design brief, studying your existing house plans & the architects’ drawings, considering initial ideas and, if you’ve booked an online Consultation, studying your photos and videos too.
+ Following our consultation, you’ll receive a fee proposal. This is informed by the specifics of your project which we will take our time to discuss during your consultation. As a guide, a review & proposal for the ground floor of a two-three bed home and one room upstairs, the fee is approximately £595. If your focus is on a smaller area, the fee will be less and if you would like a whole house review, the fee will be more. This is in addition to the consultation fee. -
+ If you would like to book a Consultation, please click the button below & complete the form.
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When I have received your completed form, you’ll receive a welcome email to complete the booking and a guided request to share the following information before your consultation:
+ Your architectural plans and elevations which include your existing house plan and the proposed design.
+ If the architect has provided 3D renders of their proposal, please share these.
If you need any help sending them, don't hesitate to ask.
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When I have received your completed form, you’ll receive a welcome email to complete the booking and a guided request to share the following information before your consultation:
+ A video walk through including views of the garden and looking back at the house.
+ Clear photographs of :
~ The room/s you’d like to review
~ The view from the windows
~ The view into any adjoining rooms or hallway.
~ Go outside & take photographs looking back at the house from the front/back/side depending on your home.
Please put the photographs into folders or title each photograph.+ Your architectural plans and elevations which include your existing house plan and the proposed design.
+ If the architect has provided 3D renders of their proposal, please share these.
If you need any help sending the images and pdfs, don't hesitate to ask.
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