Design Plus Drafting Ultimate Home Renovating Guide
What is the Design Plus Drafting Ultimate Home Renovating Guide? The Design Plus Drafting Home Renovating Guide is a compilation of...
I Built a Net-Zero House
Glenn Robinson is an electrician and former firefighter who, along with his wife, Lee, decided to embark on the challenge to build a carbon net-zero...
Carbon Net-Zero Revolution is Here
After a smoke-filled summer and now a pandemic, we’re all spending a lot more time at home. You might be thinking of ways you can reduce your home’s...
While You’re at Home: The Renovation Design Challenge
The coronavirus has pushed many of us indoors — like it or not. If you had plans to build a new house or to renovate, we feel your pain. But this is...
Building Must Match the Design: New Act Says So
New Draft Bill Promises to Clean Up the Building Sector In the last few years, there have been a number of structural disasters around the world. We...
Suburb Feature: Stanmore’s Architectural Design Details
You know you’re in a good place when you go for a walk and find a little library on a fence.little libraryThen you see a rope ladder dangling from a...
Why Interior Design Matters
What is Interior Design? Interior Design is concerned with how we experience spaces — to live, work, rest, and play. An Interior Designer is someone...
The Basics of Being an Owner Builder in NSW
With property and renovation reality tv shows aplenty, it seems interest in being an owner-builder has never been higher. Like all things in life,...
We’re Moving to Stanmore
Great news! From Friday 21 February, Design Plus Drafting we will be living in sublime Stanmore.Our new address is Unit 26, 43-53 Bridge Rd,...
Remember the Roof: Roof Materials & Designs
What’s the first thing you notice when you look at a house nearby? The roof! Few design considerations you make will have such a striking impact as...
What Questions Should I Ask a Builder?
Builders can be found in many ways. HiPages, Google search, the local paper. If you know someone who has finished a building project, ask them....
How to Get a Quality Building Outcome for your Renovation or New Build
You have the DA or CDC in your pocket. Congratulations! You just need to find a trustworthy, quality builder. Then it will take care of itself....
Designing for More Storage Space
Feeling cramped is not great for your wellbeing. Without dedicated spaces for things, we end up with clutter and disorganisation. The good news is...
Ready for a Fresh Kitchen Design?
The Five Classic Layouts Galley Kitchen There is the Galley kitchen, which works if our kitchen is more like a corridor. It gives us two...
Sustainable Living
Sustainable Living While The Fires Rage Right now, Sydney and much of NSW is shrouded in heavy bushfire smoke. As our eyes sting and the streets...
Environmentally friendly ways to keep your home cool this summer
We are all on a mission to keep our homes cool this summer It’s hot out there, baby, and this summer we are all on a mission.One: Not to get caught...
The Perfect Time to Renovate
The coronavirus is keeping you at home. But home is not the most liveable place it could be. It’s clear that a few redesign tweaks would make your...
Going Smart with Home Automation
Creating an Ideal, Functional Home Office
Here are tips to help get you into your perfect home office In an ideal office at home, you want to be both relaxed and industrious. Yet with so...
How To Set A Renovation Budget
If there is one tool that every home renovator should use, it is this: a well-researched, realistic budget. Achieve your home reno goals with our...
Kitchen Design Hacks For Homeowners
Smart kitchen design could add up to $100,000 to the value of your house, so it pays to get it right. Follow our kitchen renovation tips and...
Winter is Coming – It’s a good time to submit your DA
Winter is coming, but before you settle into the couch to watch the King in the North and the Mother of Dragons get down to some dirty work,...
Let There Be Light
It’s as clear as day: what makes a home great is natural light, according to the NSW Home Design Survey 2018. The NSW Architects Registration Board...
Floor Plan Perfection
Aside from the purchase of your home, a renovation is probably the most expensive undertaking you will ever embark on. So you want to get it right....
Winter-proof Your Home
Winter has come, but as usual Sydney is in complete denial. Historically, home design typical to our sunny city focuses on keeping houses cool,...
How To Survive A Renovation
They say opposites attract and we all know ‘odd’ couples, but when embarking on a home renovation, differences in personality and tastes can put a...
A Happy Medium
Sydney sure is growing up fast. It’s seems like only yesterday that the NSW capital was a naughty little toddler of three million, but last year the...
Keep Your Build Cowboy-free
We’ve all heard horror stories about shonky tradies and so-called “cowboy builders” who leave a trail of budget blowouts and broken dreams in their...
History Lessons
We love our heritage architecture in The Harbour City. Our hearts swell with pride when we recall the grassroots activists of the 1970s, whose...
Up Into Space
Squabbling over the TV remote has become a nightly pastime. The twins have started whingeing about sharing a bedroom. Band practise in the garage is...
Polish Your Property Nest Egg
Real estate has been the goose that lays golden eggs for many years in Sydney, but you could be forgiven for thinking those eggs now seem to be...
Tradies You Never Knew You’d Need
If you’re an owner-builder or renovator blessed with the budget to afford a full-time project manager and/or hands-on architect, chances are you’ll...
Ho Ho Home Design
It’s that time of year again, the time when you really wish your house had more space… Yes it’s the holiday season, when The Relatives Come To Stay....
Cheap and Cheerful?
How often have you heard, “You get what you pay for”? Of course it’s always worth shopping around for the cheapest price for materials or quotes...
When is a draftsman not a draftsman..?
Er, when the draftsman is a draftswoman – awkward, much! We’re not a male-only crew here at Design Plus Drafting, so when customers come into our...
What to Consider When Planning a Renovation
Are you considering or about to embark on a new renovation project? Renovations can be an exciting project! The design process can be the most...
Construction Certificates
What is a Construction Certificate? Before you can commence any building work you will need to first receive a Construction Certificate (CC) from...
Paperless processing for Development Applications
The City of Sydney has introduced paperless processing for Development Application submissions. Digital copies of plans and supporting documentation...
The Sydney Granny Flat Boom!
The construction of Granny Flats is booming in Sydney! Granny Flats are making a comeback in Australia! Whether used to gain additional living...
What is a Complying Development Certificate?
Complying development is a fast track approval process for straightforward residential, commercial and industrial development. Providing the...
Creating a Design Brief for Your New House, Extension or Addition
In order for our team to create a design brief we need a few questions answered to get the ball rolling. We can run through these questions in our...
How much does an architect cost?
What’s the Difference Between an Architect, Draftsman and Building Designer? An architect is often the first profession that springs to mind when we...
Between The Flags – Harbourside
BTF engaged us to help steer the re-design of their shops in the Harbourside Shopping Centre, sourcing private certifiers and fire engineers....
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