Start Here: Before You Spend Your Money [Part 5]

Hello! And welcome to Episode 389. Once a project starts to feel real, money often becomes the loudest voice in the room. This episode is about pausing before you spend, and understanding how early financial decisions shape not just what you can build, but how stressful, efficient and satisfying …

Start Here: Before You Dive Down a Research Rabbit-Hole [Part 4]

Hello! And welcome to Episode 388. Once you’ve decided that you really are going to renovate or build, something shifts. The dreaming phase starts to give way to planning, and the stakes begin to feel real. It’s often at this moment that research ramps up. Podcasts, articles, social media, saved …

Start Here: Before You Talk to Builders or Designers [Part 3]

Hello! This is Episode 387. At some point early in a project, many homeowners often reach the same conclusion: “If I can just find the right designer or the right builder, everything will fall into place.” This episode is about gently unpacking that belief, and understanding why choosing the rig…

Start Here: Before You Design Anything [Part 2]

Hello! And welcome to Episode 386.  So often I see homeowners, excited about their project, instinctively moving straight into design.  This episode is about slowing that moment down, and understanding why the work you do before you design has such a big influence on what is created - whoever you…

Start Here: How Every Project Really Unfolds [Part 1]

Hello! And welcome to Episode 385. Most people think projects start with design or budgeting. They don’t. This episode introduces the four real phases of every project, and explains why confusion, rework, and cost blowouts usually come from skipping or rushing the early ones. So if you’re startin…

Managing Construction Decisions, Budget and Communication, with Louise + Zane

Hello! This is Episode 384, and this is Part 2 of my conversation with HOME Method members, Louise and Zane. We’re catching up with them about their Melbourne renovation, and hearing more about their construction process. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF tr…

Renovation Progress Update: From Design to Construction, with Louise + Zane

Hello! This is Episode 383, and in it, we’re getting an update from HOME Method members, Louise and Zane, about their renovation project. They’re currently under construction in their renovation and extension of a Californian Bungalow in Melbourne. [For all resources mentioned in this podcast and …

Dimensions, Landscape Design and Navigating Construction, with Ben

Hello! This is Episode 382, and I am back with HOME Method member, Ben, as we continue following his renovation and extension journey, which is under construction right now.  If you are in construction now, or heading towards it, this conversation will give you a In this episode, we step deeper in…

From Plans to Frame Stage: Site Meetings and Working with Your Builder, with Ben

Hello! This is Episode 381, and I am joined once again by HOME Method member, Ben, to talk about what happens when your project finally moves from drawings into real walls, a real roof and regular site meetings on your building site. If you are in construction now, or heading towards it, this conv…

How to Enjoy Building a New Home, with Fionna and Ed

Hello! This is Episode 380, and it’s Part 4 of my conversation with Fionna and Ed, as they take us behind the scenes of their new build journey of their sustainable, accessible home, and share how they set things up so they could enjoy the experience. In this episode, it’s the last in our 4-part s…