Planning to renovate or build your home?

Learn the 3 building blocks you need to have a great project experience and create a great home.

Listen to the episode now.

Hello! This is Episode 310, and in it, I’m going to take you through a way of thinking about the areas you need to focus on to help you have a great project and a great home. These are the three building blocks I believe make all the difference for you!

I first shared this concept on a webinar I did earlier this year, and it really resonated with those that attended. So I wanted to bring it here to you on the podcast to help you as well.

It’s a concept that got developed and worked on over the break between 2023 and 2024 working on, and so, it’s really great to share it with you here.

You can imagine that, in all the years I’ve been helping homeowners design, build and renovate their homes … in working with them as their architect,, and since 2014 inside Undercover Architect, I’ve had loads of people ask me questions along the lines of this:

Hey Amelia –

What do I really need to make this project work. To not waste money, to get it right in my home design, to know enough so I don’t get taken advantage of, to make the best decisions for the budget I have to spend, and to create a home that I’ll love living in?

What do I need to do, to have, to be, to know to have a great project and create a great home?

Or a question along those lines! 

And since starting Undercover Architect in mid 2014, almost ten years ago now, I’ve definitely found I’ve experienced these questions en masse. Rather than getting them one at a time from potential clients as I did when I practised traditionally as an architect, they now come in emails, social DMs, chat conversations on Zoom … and it’s generally along the same lines.

It’s totally understandable. Renovating and building can feel incredibly overwhelming to the uninitiated. It’s a big expense, a big undertaking, a time consuming process as well, and it has a long lasting impact on your finances, your lifestyle, your well-being and your life long-term.

Understanding what you need to do, and what is the simplest, most direct and effective way to achieve success is, of course, really worthwhile knowledge to have.

But I’ve found that watching what homeowners will do to try and achieve that understanding is really interesting. 

And what people think they need and want when embarking on their renovation or new build, compared to what they really do need to improve their project and home, is also interesting.

And I’ve really studied this a lot over the years to understand it more intimately. I always love trying to understand what motivates people to make the choices and decisions they do! I’ve been like that since I was young. 

So, I’ve loved working with much larger groups of homeowners and being more exposed to your decision-making and thinking, so I can understand it more intimately, and in turn, help and support you more effectively!

Now, let’s dive in!

What I commonly see you want you’re embarking on designing, building or renovating your homes is this:

>> You often want the process of building or renovating to be easy.

>> You often want the solutions and outcomes to be fast to achieve.

>> You often want some certainty in the process regarding cost, time and outcome.

>> And often you want someone to hold your hand the whole way through.

But it’s really common for that to also come with the caveat that you don’t want to pay ‘an arm and a leg’ for that help. That’s the terminology that is often used in Facebook posts when I see people are posting to their community groups to access recommendations for professionals to help them.

Not all homeowners are like this! But maybe this sounds familiar to you? 

And it may sound glib or even harsh that I say you want it to be easy, fast, certain and for someone to hold your hand. But frankly, I think that’s what everyone wants out of everything these days. We’re busy, life is full, we have a lot of competing demands on our time, our attention, our finances, our bandwidth. 

However, when it comes to the custom residential process, where you’re designing from scratch with an architect or designer, and then working with a custom builder … well, anyone selling you ‘easy’, ‘fast’ and ‘certain’ is most likely a snake oil salesperson! 

They can offer to hold your hand the whole way through but obviously for a fee you need to determine the value of. And everyone’s perception of ‘arm and leg’ is different!

Your project success is definitely enhanced when you have a great TOOLSET.

Any project involves making tens of thousands of decisions, you’re doing something you’ve never done before, and so accessing checklists, guides, templates, expert tips and recommendations becomes so helpful in short cutting your timeframes, giving you more certainty in your decisions, streamlining your process overall, and leveraging the experience and expertise established through many other projects.   

A great project toolset makes your decision-making easier, helps you move through your project faster, gives you more certainty in your choices and outcomes, and also helps things not ‘cost an arm and a leg’ whilst you’re still being guided by experienced and expert help every step of the way.

However, a toolset alone will not enable you to skip drama, mistakes and extra costs and time.

To put it in building terms … If you only have the toolset for a great project, it’s like starting to build your house roof down. The right toolset is necessary, but without anything supporting it, you won’t know if you’re using your toolset in the right way, or getting the best outcome. 

So, what do you need to access to hold up that roof, to compliment your toolset so you know how to use it more effectively in your project?

Well, if you can upskill yourself to be educated and informed for your project, developing a project skillset that combines with your toolset, you’ll definitely be in a better position to have a successful project. 

Your project skillset enables you to interpret and apply your toolset for the individual and unique execution your project requires.

Your project skillset entails understanding the steps to take, and knowing the questions to ask, who you need, what they should be doing, and how they should be doing it in all the phases of your project.

Your project skillset means you’ve got the ability to navigate your project proactively and methodically, which makes your project experience easier and faster, because you’re not taking the wrong steps, wasting time on the wrong things, or chewing up unnecessary effort, money and stress on the wrong choices. 

Your project skillset can help you avoid mistakes or getting misled, giving you more certainty. 

And because you’re in a better position to choose the right team, be an active and informed collaborator, knowing more clearly how to navigate your project each step of the way, you can optimise the money you spend on professional help, and work more efficiently and effectively with your team. 

But … and there is a but … because you might be thinking: right, toolset and skillset. I’m sorted! Not quite. 

Because if this skillset isn’t working from the right foundation, or it’s based on incorrect, inexperienced and untested advice and input, you’ll have the know-how and understanding, but you won’t have the strategic ability to apply your knowledge effectively, or the confidence, resilience and flexibility to navigate the unexpected hiccups and hurdles along the way.

You’ll have the walls holding up your roof, but nothing to support those walls as you navigate your project, especially when challenges arise. Because not everything goes like clockwork in a custom project!

And so, your skillset and toolset need to work together with your mindset. Your mindset is the foundation on which your skillset and toolset can be grounded for the best impact in your project success and future home.

It’s important to understand why your mindset is so critical in your project. 

Creating your future home is a hugely personal endeavour. It will bring up all sorts of things for you. Our homes are not just buildings. The process of creating them is tied up with memories, nostalgia and sentimentality, and the dreams we have for our family and ourselves. They’re generally our most valuable asset financially, and their impact can be generational. So, there’s also money mindset issues that come into play.

In addition, there’s also your mindset around feeling worthy and deserving of the environment and life your future home will bring, and your understanding of yourself, what feels in alignment with you, and your values and their expression in your project and home.

In the years I’ve been doing this, I feel like the elephant in the room, the thing I often see homeowners discover, and I’ve shied away in the past from talking about explicitly, but am now being much more upfront about it, is this:

Your project mindset really matters.

I find the aspect of your project mindset can be a really unexpected part of the process of building and renovating for many. And it can catch you out and feel really confronting. 

Your mindset impacts how you show up in your life. And how you show up impacts how you operate, the choices you make, how stressful things are for you, how you can speak up for yourself, how you can call people to account, how you can have difficult conversations, and how you’re doing things in alignment with the life you want to create for yourself. And this especially extends to when you’re creating YOUR home. 

Your project mindset, and how you support, grow and manage it in your project, is critical in helping you to be strategic and solutions focussed, and flexible and resilient when challenges present themselves. 

Mindset is what helps you be a great communicator, a great client, a great project manager, a confident collaborator, and the ambassador your future home needs to turn it into reality. 

And your project mindset helps you stay motivated, maintain momentum, manage stress along the way, and achieve the incredible accomplishment of building or renovating your home.

The best kind of project mindset sets you up to do three things:

1. Be strategic in your project, optimising what’s possible for your budget, timeline and future home
2. Be flexible so that you can navigate changes and uncertainty, whilst achieving your overall project goals and managing stress
3. Be resilient so you can be solutions-focussed and ensure that any challenges can be navigated with confidence and not derail your project or detrimentally impact you.

Your project mindset forms the foundation that you build your skillset and toolset on, to create a great project and a great home.

Picture these 3 building blocks as a house: the ground and foundations are your mindset, the walls are your skillset and the roof is your toolset. You need all 3 building blocks to create your finished home. 

If you only have a toolset and skillset, without your project mindset, then you’ll only have the roof and the walls. 

You’ll have the know-how and tips to execute in your project, but you won’t have the confidence, resilience or motivation to navigate your project across its duration. 

If you only have the skillset and mindset, without your project toolset, you’ll have the ground and the walls, but no roof. 

You’ll understand what you’re supposed to do, and be able to motivate yourself through the challenges and hurdles, but you won’t have what you need to simplify and speed up your decision-making or audit your process along the way.

And if you only have the toolset and mindset without your project skillset, you’ll have the roof and the foundation, but no walls.

With toolset and mindset, you’ll be mentally in the right position, you’ll have the quick tips, guides and checklists, but without skillset, you won’t know when to best apply and execute what you know, and have the confidence for.

So, think of these as the 3 building blocks you need to create a great project and a great home. Toolset, Skillset, Mindset.

So, how can you access and develop the toolset, skillset and mindset you need for a great project and a great home?

It’s exactly what is available inside HOME Method.

HOME Method is Undercover Architect’s flagship online program, and it’s the proven way to enjoy your project, and create a home you’ll love living in.

Without the stressful, unexpected and costly mistakes, dramas, and budget and time blowouts.

And it packages up the toolset, skillset and mindset support and education all in one location. 

With 47+ videos, templates, checklists and guides to simplify and speed up your decisions and help you ensure you’re getting it right, it will upskill you in all 4 phases of your project: Pre-Design, Design, Pre-Build and Build. 

And it will also support you to develop a strategic, flexible and resilient mindset as you’re surrounded by like-minded homeowners on a similar journey to you, and can access my help and guidance along the way. 

Think of it as the course, community and coaching you need to have an enjoyable and successful project, and create a fantastic, functional, feel-good home – whoever you’re working with, and whatever your dreams, your location or your budget.

You can find out more about HOME Method by heading to homemethod.com.au

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE NOW.

RESOURCES:

Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my flagship online program, HOME METHOD >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/the-home-method/

Learn more about how to interview and select the right builder with the Choose Your Builder mini-course >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/choose-your-builder

Access my free online workshop “Your Project Plan” >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/projectplan