Joinery profiles or cabinet door fronts come in a variety of materials, textures, and designs. When designing a kitchen or any kind of joinery, depending on your choice it can come at quite a cost therefore you do not want to get it wrong.

With open plan living at the top of most people’s wish list one of the most visible aspects in a home is the kitchen, which means your choice of joinery can have a significant impact on the overall aesthetic and style of your home.

When choosing your cabinet or joinery style, the interior style of your home should guide your decision, whether it be country, Hamptons, modern or minimalist.

Here are some popular cabinet door styles

 

Flat Cabinets / Flat Fronts

Flat cabinets would be the most affordable option when it comes to profiles. You can have a cleaner minimalist look and go without handles or add some kitchen hardware of which there are so many options to choose from to show off your individual style.

Flat doors are fantastic for cleaning but if you go for the minimalist look with no handles, be sure to pick a finish that is fingerprint resistant.

Shaker Style Cabinets / Boarder

Shaker cabinets have five pieces in their design, a single piece of timber that is the backing with four smaller slats that form a boarder around the outer edge of the door, essentially a boarder.

Shaker style is one of the most classic and versatile styles, it works well in a modern, hamptons and scandi style home.

Country Style Cabinets / Bead-boards

Beadboard cabinets are vertical slats of wood pieced together vertically using tongue and groove joinery creating a bead like connection, surrounded by a boarder.

Think heritage homes, country style homes or homes with stained glass windows or a view of the country. 

This tyle of board can require a little more dusting than other styles but is undeniably charming.

Tongue and Groove Cabinets

A close relative to the beadboard style, tongue and groove cabinets are very similar only they do not have an outlining boarder. What was once considered a more predominately country style cabinet the tongue and groove profile is having its moment in the spotlight. These cabinets can go from country, to coastal to an industrial kitchen with ease, simply changing its colour or texture.

The tongue and groove profile are a fantastic way of adding interest and texture to a space without being too busy.

Heritage Style Joinery / Traditional

Heritage style joinery often works best in larger kitchens because of its extra detailing, which can sometimes look too much in a small space. You will often find this style in Colonial and Victorian style homes.

Heritage joinery tends to be more detailed; it is identified by a raised central panel with intricately detailed woodwork for its surrounds. Due to the detail of a heritage door, they tend to be a more expensive choice of cabinet.

The difference between a heritage style door and a shaker door is that the centre panel is raised rather than recessed like on a shaker door.

Glass door Joinery

With showcases being something, you don’t see too often anymore, a glass door cabinet is a great alternative to open shelving as they can be a great way to show off some of your more beautiful glassware & ceramics while protecting them from dust. 

Particularly suited to Hamptons and country style homes, a glass cabinet requires a little more styling, but they can be a real showstopper.

Internal lighting is a fantastic way to really show off the beautiful pieces inside, with the added benefit of making it easier to find items you’re looking for.

 

 

 

When you are deciding where to allocate your budget for your custom-built home, there are some key points you should consider. Let’s talk about where you should splurge, where you should spend most of your money and hopefully make as few compromises as possible when building your home.

A good rule of thumb is to splurge on the more permanent parts of the home such as the windows, the layout/floor plan, kitchen, bathrooms, and structural elements. If you wish to change these areas down the track it could come at a significant cost.  

Whereas elements such as paint, lighting, fixtures and fittings can generally be altered later without too much effort.

Now let’s be more specific,

Storage

You can never have too much storage. It’s important to take care when you are at the planning stage of the project to incorporate well thought out storage solutions. 

For example, a butler’s pantry is a great way to hide the less pretty kitchen appliances and clutter. Perhaps space in the laundry for school bags or the endless basket of ironing, a linen cupboard close to the bathroom so towels are easy to reach. 

If you plan-ahead, you can create a well-functioning home, where things are kept right where you need them to be.

Where to save

To keep costs down, rather than using bespoke custom built joinery everywhere, consider using cupboards and pantries from hardware stores or Ikea. This is a great way to save, and is particularly good for areas that are not in high use or the main area of the home.

Flooring

Your choice of flooring has a big influence on the look of your home, except for carpet, flooring such as tiles or timber is not easily changed. Choose the best quality flooring you can afford; you will be thankful you did later. A durable and good quality floor will wear well, look beautiful and should stand the test of time.

Where to save

While you should opt for a good quality floor, when choosing your flooring select from readily available colours and sizes. Anything that leans towards custom or overly unique will likely cost more to buy, lay, and potentially match should you need to down the track.

Kitchen

A well-designed layout and carefully planned kitchen is key. Changing the layout and setup of your kitchen down the track would be a big undertaking, where as some slight aesthetic changes shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

You should also consider what type of kitchen best suits you and your family, for example if you are a keen cook you may want to spend a good portion of your budget on the appliances, where if cooking is not a big priority for you, you may wish to spend your budget on beautiful finishes.

Where to save

Plan the layout and size of your kitchen first, this should be the priority. If you need to squeeze more from your budget stay away from high end lux fittings, knowing that upgrading benchtops, taps and even your doors can be done later.

Lighting

There is no better form of light than natural light, this should not be compromised. Make the most of natural light when designing your home, consider your window positioning, the direction your home faces, glazing and where you could allow for highlight windows and sky lights. 

Where to save

There are many budget friendly lighting options these days, with many chain stores supplying affordable and lovely designed lighting. If you feel the need splurge on high end feature lighting in areas that have the most exposure such as the living room or kitchen.

Finally, a good way to save when building your custom built home is to stick to the plan as much as possible. Chances are if you are building a custom built home, you have spent many months in the planning and drawing phase with your architect, and while making changes once building has commenced can happen be aware that it will come at a cost.

Making changes can mean additional costs in building materials, labour, contract administration fees and builder’s margin.

While changing something as simple as shifting a wall, swapping tap fittings or a toilet may seem like a small thing, the roll-on effect of such a change can be significant. Firstly, it is the paper trail, ensuring that the change has been accounted for and formally approved, and that everyone is aware of the potential cost change for both the product itself and the labour. 

For example, your plumber may have roughed in for an entirely different set up which now needs to be changed.

Your builder will also need to manage and properly document all changes, ensuring that items arrive on time, that all trades are aware of the change and that all the documents are in place so that the work is carried out correctly.

Residential Custom Home Builder Sydney – BIC Construction

Whether you’re cooking, cleaning, eating, or entertaining, your kitchen is probably the most used room in your house. For the same reason, a functional and well-planned kitchen is crucial for creating a beautiful family space. A thoughtful kitchen design can help you achieve that goal.

If you are renovating or remodelling an existing kitchen floor plan or designing a new kitchen for your custom home, these tips will help you create the perfect space.

The work triangle

The flow of the work-space or work triangle, as it is called in the design space, is an important aspect of planning your kitchen. The distance between your stove, refrigerator, and sink is called the work triangle. You should be able to move between these three most frequently used points with ease and without constantly knocking into each other.

It could be worth asking your designer to plumb your dishwasher near your sink and pull-out bin near your chopping space.

You want at least 900mm between any fixed joinery or objects in the kitchen, however if you can create a distance of closer to 1100-1200mm this provides a much better circulation space in your kitchen.

Lighting

So, it’s not just a matter of good design and plan, a poorly lit kitchen is one room you cannot afford. Make sure each work area has adequate lighting. For instance, other than the evenly disperse light throughout the kitchen, you could use pendant lights above your breakfast table and kitchen island or install led lights beneath the cabinets to make sure that the counters have enough lighting.

If you have large pendant lights that are hard to see around you may want to hang these a little higher to ensure that they are not in the line of sight, smaller pendants can sometime be hung lower. 

Highest quality materials

Choosing the right materials and finishes for your kitchen will impact its look as well as its functionality. Vertical surfaces and countertops are the most likely to be damaged, so invest in the most durable option. Caesarstone and porcelain countertops would be a smart idea as they are very strong and scratch free 

Do not squeeze too much

There is one common design mistake we see commonly. While you may have a nice-sized kitchen now, if you squeeze in too much, it will make it feel cramped. 

For instance, kitchen islands are a great way to increase both counter and storage space, but they are also space-consuming. A kitchen island cannot be chosen based on whims and fancies. So, don’t insist on having an island that is too large for the space. Refer to your circulation space and work that in with your island size.

Kitchen power point placement

When planning your kitchen layout, you must take into consideration the appliances you are planning to use. You need to have enough electrical outlets in the right places to accommodate them all.

Keep a handy checklist for planning electrical points in the kitchen. Place your power points away from sinks and hotplates. The outlets need to be well spaced and easily accessible.

Find a colour balance

When choosing your kitchen colour scheme, there’s an abundance of materials, shades, tones and hues to choose from. Instead of choosing just one colour for the kitchen cabinets, pick a few elements, such as timber on your wall joinery and a deep navy island bench. Adding fixtures in complimenting tones such as brass will lift the space.

You may choose to use a kitchen backsplash to create a striking focal point or spice up the decor of your kitchen with a tasteful mix of two or more hues in the cabinetry. Similarly, an old cabinet can be given a new look with colourful ceramic handles, or a vintage crystal doorknob can be installed with minimal expense.

At BIC Construction we specialise in custom built architecturally designed homes.

In our experience choosing the right architect or designer to guide you through the design process is crucial to creating a space that functions beautifully and looks amazing. 

Once the design has been through all the checks and balances that’s where we come in to bring it to life, creating bespoke tailored homes where the details matter.

Custom Home Builder Sydney

BIC Construction

The tender process is a significant venture for the homeowner, the architect, and the builder. Although the principal outcome for a tender is to obtain a price for the build, we firmly believe that the tender process should be about much more than just costs.

It is for this reason that our tender process is thorough and involves several personal meets to ensure that all parties concerned have the same expectations around the build process.

Our Process:

The Initial Meeting

This might be with just the homeowner or both the Architect and the homeowner. We will discuss the project design, site access, budget, wish-list and our procedures. This meeting is an essential part of our process, it is key to providing insight into whether the chemistry between all parties concerned is compatible. The construction process is a huge undertaking for everyone involved, it is vital that our values are aligned to ensure a smooth build process.

Creating a detailed tender package can be costly and takes a significant amount of time. If appropriate, prior to moving forward with the tender, we can provide a rough guide of build costs based on square meters and a brief overview of the construction. 

This helps to gauge if we feel we can build the design within the client’s price range. 

Onsite Visit

No two sites are the same, so it’s critical for us to visit the site in person and get a feel for the lay of the land. If the site has difficult or unusual access a second visit may be in order, perhaps with our demolition team, to ensure that we have a good understanding of the site’s possible challenges.

Pre-Tender Meeting

This meeting gives us the chance to sit down with the architect and the client to discuss any concerns, and to provide answers to any questions that have cropped up. It gives us the opportunity to talk about what to expect during the build process and to give an overview of what to expect in the tender package, 

The Detailed Tender Package

We supply a comprehensive break down of all the build costs so that no guesswork is required. We’re all about transparency, having a clear breakdown makes contract administration so much easier using the standard ABIC construction contracts (and most other standard contracts on the market). We will suggest a preferred start time and our estimate for the project duration.

The Follow Up Meeting

After the tender submission we get together with the architect and the client to run through the tender in detail and answer any questions. We love working collaboratively with our architects through a contract administration build process, but if that’s not possible, we can also take the reins and work in direct partnership with the client. This meeting is also a great opportunity to further discuss the construction process, alleviate any concerns and to solidify the builder, client architect relationship.

Building a home is a huge financial and emotional commitment. While budget is always a significant factor, when choosing your builder, we believe that for a smooth and successful journey it is fundamental that values align. 

At BIC Construction our three core values of professionalism, honesty and teamwork underpin all that we do. We commit to only work with architects and clients who expect a high quality in workmanship, mutually respect each other’s time, trust in our professionalism and value working cohesively as a team.

We love building dream homes for our clients. Our comprehensive tender process is the first step to ensure that achieving the goal of building an incredible home, is a wonderful experience.

Residential Custom Home Building – BIC Construction.

What makes a good architect? 

When you’re considering hiring an architect, you may be worried about whether you’re making a good choice or not. 

We’ve all seen architecture that is considered, smart and beautiful but we’ve also seen poorly designed homes that have problems with their functionality and lack aesthetic charm.

Architects also function in different ways, there is no set format for how Architects run their business. Fees, the types of projects they undertake, what services they offer and even their preferred design style can all differ, for this reason it can be difficult to compare Architects in an apples for apples kind of way.

How do you figure out whether you’re hiring a good architect or a mediocre one? 

Budget

A good architect will deliver a design that is relatively within your budget. There is nothing worse than falling in love with a design that you simply cannot afford, never mind the time that has been lost to go back to the drawing board and scale down costs. A good architect should have a sound knowledge on the cost of materials and features in their designs. There is no point putting suspended concrete slabs, or excessive amounts of bespoke joinery through a home if the client cannot afford it.

Where possible a good architect will give you options, option A costs more, option B still a great choice but is more cost effective.

A not-so-great architect will forget that they are the professionals who are there to guide you. An architect needs to take responsibility for designing something that is not realistic to a client’s budget.

The Design

Architects are trained to design a home or building, when doing this they should take on board a range of considerations including.

Your Budget – this is an important one, there is no point designing something that a client cannot afford.

Your Brief – What are non-negotiables and what is on your wish list. How does your home need to function and who will be living there?

Your style/aesthetic – How do you want the home to make you feel? What style do you like? For example, do you like coastal, modern or scandi, or perhaps a blend.

Environmental design – Including sun direction or the value placed on using eco-friendly products and materials.

Council and local laws/Design codes – These can vary greatly from one precinct to another.

Timeline, Buildability and Engineering are also important factors to be considered.

A good Architect will ensure that all these factors are considered and ideally met when designing your home. They will understand the importance of what is practical & realistic for your budget & brief, while still creating a beautifully designed home.

A bad or mediocre architect will not hold value in these aspects, they will not guide you through the process or have creative input. They will just take instruction from you creating what could be a basic box like design with aesthetics being an afterthought.

Concept

A good architect will want to learn about you, your family, your interests and how the home will be used, the details matter. They will have ideas you may never have thought of but will remember they are designing the home for you and your family, not for their portfolio. As a client remember to keep an open mind, don’t miss an opportunity to let a professional design something that is unique and bespoke to you. 

An architect should not try to convince you to go ahead with an idea or concept you don’t like, want, or need. While you should always have an open mind about design ideas, the architect should listen if you are clear that you do not like something.

Referrals and Credentials

A good Architect will have no hesitation in supplying referrals, along with a portfolio of past projects. There is almost no better way to get a feel for how an Architect will operate than to speak or hear from past clients.  

You could also ask to speak to builders who have worked with the Architect. Do they feel their documentation is clear and detailed? How did they find the communication and response times throughout the build process?

Is the Architect ‘registered’? Which means they must have completed a university degree, completed on the job experience (min 2yrs) followed by a written exam and interview. There is a difference between an Architect, building designer or draftsman their education is not one in the same and often the level of documentation will differ.

A bad sign

If the Architect you are looking into won’t provide references, does not have a portfolio they are willing to share or is reluctant to share their credentials this could be a sign that they are not the person you should work with.