Want to learn how to navigate construction decisions, trust your dimensions, and collaborate on landscape design to keep your renovation calm and on track?

Ben shares his latest update about landscape design and site progress, and how HOME Method resources have assisted with certainty during their renovation construction.

Listen to the episode now.

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. 

In the last episode, we explored the rhythm and clarity that regular site meetings have brought to his project, and how that foundation has strengthened communication, problem solving and the working relationship with his builder. 

If you haven’t listened to it, check out Episode 381. And you can find the rest of Ben’s story at Episode 352, Episode 353, Episode 371 and Episode 372.

In this episode, we step deeper into Ben’s experience of construction. You’ll hear Ben talk about what it felt like to walk through the home now the frame is up and the building wrap is on, and how he’s been able to have confidence in the room sizes and dimensions because of his use of the HOME Method resources earlier in his design process. 

This is such a powerful example of what it looks like to bring decisions forward so that when you reach construction, you are not making panicked calls on the fly. You are simply confirming what you already know.

We also explore Ben’s landscape design process, including how to navigate very different conceptual schemes, how to give clear feedback, and how to handle disagreements with design professionals in a way that keeps the collaboration positive. You will hear how he interprets strong advice from a landscape designer as care rather than conflict, and how that reframes the whole working relationship.

This episode is a brilliant look at the mindset shift that happens as your project moves from drawings into built form, and how preparation allows you to stay calm, engaged and resilient through the inevitable questions that come up on site.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE NOW.

Before we dive into the conversation, let me give you some context on timing. 

Ben and Mike joined HOME Method in April 2021. 

The last conversation I had with Ben in Episode 352 and Episode 353 was in November 2024. We caught up again in August 2025 for Episode 371 and Episode 372, and this latest conversation happened in November 2025. Ben and Mike’s project is due for completion in early 2026.

Here’s Part 2 of my conversation with Ben.

I hope you find it helpful to hear how he is navigating this middle stage of construction. 

It is such a fascinating phase. The house is taking shape. The volumes start to make sense. Yet this is also the moment where many homeowners begin to doubt their drawings, second guess their design, or feel overwhelmed by everything that needs to be decided.

What I love in Ben’s experience is how much confidence he has because he brought so many decisions forward. He has already checked his dimensions, thought deeply about his spaces and understood the functional relationships of his rooms. 

So when he steps through the frame now, he can trust what he sees. He does not have to panic or redesign on the spot. That is the real benefit of preparation, and it is something I see again and again inside HOME Method, and you’ve heard other members talk about in our podcast conversations.

And all of this is made possible because he is not drowning in reactive decisions on site. His earlier preparation is giving him the headspace to engage in this landscape process now, instead of scrambling to keep up with the build. 

This is exactly what I mean when I say that bringing your decision making forward creates clarity, space and confidence throughout your project.

Let’s hear from Ben now.

This is the transcript of my conversation with Ben, as he shares how his future home is feeling now construction is well underway, and the process he’s navigating to finalise landscape design as well.

Amelia Lee
How have you found walking through now it’s actually got a wrap on and it’s got some sense of containment to it? Understanding that the joiner is not in, the space will always obviously feel cluttered when the frame’s exposed internally and you don’t have those clean surfaces. So it can always feel a little less spacious before it gets the lining on. But how have the spaces been feeling, and where windows and doors openings are positioned and all of that kind of stuff, how’s that all sitting with you?

Ben
Kind of good, actually. From a spatial perspective, being in there, you’re in the space, like, is this big enough? Is it too big? How are things going to fit? Okay, like, if the island bench is here and the dining table’s there. But then, even before, you kind of just start speculating. I just go back to these plans reviewed, but particularly the resources in HOME Method, like the sizes of things and the distances between things, and also going to enough other homes where stuff was situated, and doing those measurements.

No matter what I see in front of me, which is kind of not real, I know l there’s enough space, like, I know, you know, a six metre width for this room, like, is exactly what it needs to be, and there is plenty of room in front of this island bench for the dining table. So it’s almost like, regardless of how this looks, I know it’s going to work. So actually, I don’t have to worry about it. But despite that, the windows have gone in for the most part. And I was walking on the outside, around the back, on the outside, in this north facing lounge, to see the roof’s there. So I see the eaves, and I was like, “Oh no. The eaves is coming down so low. And the windows, 2.7 of the thing, like, all we’re going to do is staring at the underside of the eave. Like, why did I do that? I knew I shouldn’t have made that eave 800.” He’s like, “No, no, it’ll be fine. It’ll be fine.” And I’m grumbling to myself. And then, like, five minutes later, I’m inside, and we’re looking, it’s like, “Oh, yeah. Well inside, you actually can’t see that. No, it doesn’t look bad at all.” And he’s like, “See, don’t get worked up. You’ve done the right thing. Trust the process. Trust yourself.”

Amelia Lee
Yeah, and trust Mike.

Ben
Yup, he should be on this podcast.

Amelia Lee
He just sounds like he’s taken it all completely in stride. Because I love working with couples, and particularly when I get to meet both of you through the Zoom consults and things like that that we do. And inevitably, couples will often be handling a project very differently from each other, and then there will generally be one member of the couple who’s literally gone neck deep into the detail, needs to solve every problem, and one other party who is just able to embrace it a little bit more generally, or comes at it from an entirely different kind of position and those kinds of things, and it’s why I think the pair of you work so well together in how this is being processed.

Ben
Yeah, would never have been able to do this without that kind of grounding, his grounding influence.

Amelia Lee
Yeah. Now, you recently shared some landscape proposals in the group. Can you talk through how you’ve been navigating the landscape design? Because you’re obviously trying to make some decisions whilst the home is under construction. So, how did you go about briefing the landscape designer, and then, I suppose, trying to deliver on some of those objectives that you have for the landscape design that I know we were talking about right back at the beginning? But, obviously, the timing of it and all of that kind of stuff, particularly with landscape, as much as landscape architects or designers would hate to hear it, because they would like to be involved right at the beginning.

I find a lot of homeowners are actually waiting to see what is the budget going to look like. How is that going to help them? And so landscape design can come in later in the piece. So, yeah, how have you been resolving all of that and working with to come up with a proposal or the resolution that you think you’re going to proceed with?

Ben
Yeah, we had to make that conscious decision during the design phase that the landscape was going to be, I guess, more resolved later, but in more of a detailed way, but trying to do our best in terms of how are we going to set out the spaces and the orientation and the outlooks to deliver.

We did have landscape objectives, and we knew what they were and what was going to just give us enough optionality where it was okay to to resolve it in detail later. So tried to not ignore it, not dive deep. Like, could we do some sort of new thing, and it was something that we had to proceed, like, it would have taken another months and months and months potentially. But it just wasn’t possible. So we also knew, then, okay, so, like, during the build phase, in terms of overall budgeting, that advice around don’t leave yourself without a budget for landscaping. And if you’re focusing so much on indoor-outdoor connection and outlook, you want to make sure that that’s working relatively early in the piece.

And some people will decide, all right, we’ll do this and we’ll figure out the landscape over the next couple of years. But I feel like the next couple of years, it’s already been, right, because this has already been three plus years, or whatever. And it’ll be another year, maybe, until everything’s in. And so, how do we start a design process where we can expect for things to go in relatively soon after the build starts? And taking all the lessons that we learned through the build process, and working with experts and briefing them properly, and really deciding what we wanted to see, what we wanted to feel, how we wanted to experience things, tried to put that in the brief as much as possible. And then also, in terms of when we were looking for different professionals, try to talk to a bunch of different people, understand what their approaches, their process, how we could work with them, whether it’s a good fit. And also not really focusing on the design process, the design fees, is a really important investment, and skip that or minimise that at your peril.

So, carve out an appropriate amount of the budget. If you do want to focus on that, well, then focus on it. So, I think we chose a landscape designer, like, an accomplished professional, work that we respected, understood their process, respected that, and provided the brief. And then, right on time, very professionally presented concept plans, a number of different choices that the brief was responded to, but it wasn’t a set of instructions. It was the interpretation of that and different presentations of it. So, seeing that and then figuring out, does this deliver on our brief? Does this push us with things that don’t seem necessarily to be whether in line with our brief or things that weren’t addressed in our brief, is this something that we really like? How do we provide feedback and comments on things, certainly the right balance of responding directly to the designs and how far do you go in solutions mode?

It’s like, “Oh, well, if you put that over there,” and just trying to work with the designers the way that they wanted to work with, and just figuring out how far we needed to push at the concept stage before we get further down the track.

Amelia Lee
Gotcha. I mean, the thing that’s always struck me about your approach to the design of the home generally, is that the indoor-outdoor connection has been incredibly important to you. And the way that the extension has been pulled over to the southern side of the site so that it did maximise the yard to the north and around it as well. You’ve had up your sleeve the idea of putting a pool in, and I remember there was some early conversation about how that might be budgeted for, and when that might be budgeted for, and that kind of stuff.

And like you said, your initial view of, when you went to visit site, it’s like, “Oh my gosh, are we going to have no backyard?” But every time you look at the floor plan, you actually do have quite a decent size of sort of yard around the house.

Ben
Yes.

Amelia Lee
And so, I know that in our consults, we talked about how do you make sure that you’re maximising that sense of spaciousness with that indoor-outdoor connection?

And so, I think you’ve done all the right things in terms of how the extension gets positioned on the block, how you then think about the zones that you can create in the outdoor area so that you’ve got seasonal use, and you’ve got maximisation of yard space. There’s always, I think, that tricky balance of thinking about, “Okay, if we needed to sell this home and a family wanted to buy here with a couple of kids, are they going to be feeling like this is going to be a usable backyard?” All of those kinds of quandaries that you deal with whenever you’re thinking about it being an asset. And because you popped the proposals into the Facebook community and asked for some feedback, and got some really good suggestions of where are you going to store all your stuff? Are you definitely going to go ahead with the pool? Or I think there was one option that had a spa instead of a pool. Do you want the hardscape on the eastern side, or do you want it around to the north? Do you want your outdoor space on that?

And also, the conversation that I think’s been pushing backwards and forwards is, do you want covered outdoor space, or do you want the outdoor space uncovered? And being that you’re in Melbourne, and that, I know, can be a different conversation than from somebody who’s in Queensland. Like, you would never dream of not having a covered outdoor space in Queensland, because you’re probably going to spend most of your time out there. Whereas in Melbourne weather, the climate can be a bit more variable, and that kind of stuff. I know that people do take different approaches to how they might do an outdoor room or alfresco area. So, in that process, and the fact that they’re working with an existing design, how have you navigated seeing those different responses?

Because they were quite stark differences between the proposals that they created, which can throw up more confusion than resolve it sometimes. And I think the feedback that I gave you in the Q & A was find out how much the cost is against all of these, because that’ll be an immediate clarifier for you in terms of what represents value to you. How have you gone in that relationship? And perhaps some of the input that then they’ve wanted to put back, or how they see the architecture of the home and what the landscape needs to do to respond to it. And, I mean, you would have a very high level of ownership over that design, because you have pushed and pushed and pushed to get it to where it is to marry with your budget, and you took that step to revisit it, and all of those kinds of things.

How have you navigated that involvement of another consultant, at this point, with your vision of how you wanted the outdoor space to be, and also the balance of the budget, knowing that the inclusion of things like a pool and that kind of stuff, which can be quite a cost-intensive exercise, how are you just balancing, I suppose, all of that at this point in the construction?

Ben
One of the things that I’m trying to remind myself is this consultant really, well, besides being an accomplished professional, they also have fresh eyes to this project that I don’t. So yeah, and, I guess, having a range of solutions definitely demonstrated, in a way, it almost covered a lot of ground.

And I’ll never be left wondering, like, what if we completely changed the configuration of all these things? Because, in a way, they’re kind of covered in that they did say that there were many concepts, and they thought this figured best to our brief. I mean, the other real important thing for background here is we knew that we wanted some sort of roof for the outdoor space. And though, with the length of the design process and really having to lean in hard on finalising the design and reorienting, just the changing it quite significantly, yeah, we didn’t have a fully formed solution for roofing the outdoor space. But from all the information that I gathered, and I thought, being educated enough, thought there were several options that we could choose from, both in terms of a partial cover and a full cover.

So it gave me more of the confidence that this can be resolved later. Because, yeah, just emotionally, we’re at the stage where it’s just like, wow, if we have to now spend another three to four months trying to resolve what we were going to do here, it becomes challenging the longer you take with these projects. So, seeing the concepts, number one, as much as we tried to articulate what we wanted in a brief, seeing those concepts is great for like, “All right, actually, how am I reacting to this? What is more important to me?” And not seeing a roof on that outdoor deck was like, “Oh, something feels missing there, because I think I really want that.” And seeing another main space that was, I felt was too far away from the entry, it’s like, well, we intended this deck to be here, because we wanted that super easy access to outside. So I’m like, “Don’t really know how I feel about that.” And we recently gave the feedback to the landscape designers about that, roofing the outdoor space and a whole bunch of other things. I don’t know, I probably wrote five pages just to both give overall direction and impressions.

But also, I figured, just reacting to each of those, they’ll be able to take that and do something with it. Like, I’m sure it didn’t overwhelm them. They came back with like, “Hey, look, this matter of roofing the outdoor space, that’s actually something you need to make a call on early because that will significantly impact things. And, in a way, much of the rest of the design will follow.” And they raised that they had concerns with the way that we were intending to do it, whether it was a sloped roof to tuck in or tie in, or a number of other things. And it was a bit like bubble-bursting to hear, I think. It’s like number one, I thought we had a reasonably good solution, but also, yeah, you took that decision to not resolve this upfront. And, it’s like, are we on the same page? And are things aligned?

And just trying to consider, before really reacting to that, how best to respond to that, not just from the technical and design points that they raised, but also, like, all right, this is a bump in the road. It’s a disagreement, or seeing things differently with a consultant. Like, now, my instinct is like, “Alright, how do I navigate this with a consultant to make it a collaborative, productive thing, and no matter which direction we go?” Because the last thing I want to do is like, no, we’re doing it, going to make it work. And I don’t want someone grumbling away. And I also wouldn’t want them saying, like, “No, all right, fine. This is my advice, and if you’re not going to take it…” Like, no one’s going to like, no one wants to do that, no one’s going to do that. So, I’m like, “Alright, how do we actually work this through?” And usually, I’m definitely a third way person, like, “Alright, there’s this and there’s this. Is there some other way that we can do this?”

So that’s really what we’re working through at the moment. It is both about trusting the professional, but also just considering other possibilities. So, trying to go see things. And then I’m just now working towards a discussion, we’re figuring out how to best frame things with them, to be able to A) solve the roofing the outdoor space thing, and then B) being able to productively move to the next stage, to the landscape design.

Amelia Lee
Yeah, I think it’s really interesting. I shared with you outside of this chat about how, I remember, as an architect, I’d be working with clients, and I would believe that the best outcome was something that looked a particular way, or that was going to achieve a particular outcome. And there might be some disagreement with that.

And so, it was this exercise of, and it’s a quandary that you always have as an architect or designer, where you know that you’re working with a client, that’s ultimately their investment, it’s their home, and you’re the, obviously, the experienced professional in that relationship. However, I mean, there’s some architects who insist on making people do things the way that they want them to. I mean, Frank Lloyd Wright was very famous for making people do what he wanted them to do. But it’s this thing of how does a professional actually, if they believe something differently to their client, what is the process that they, as a professional, need to go through so that the client trusts their direction on that? Or where do they need to relinquish that and trust that the client actually understands things really well, and that that’s the outcome that the client wants?

And so, it’s this beautiful, interesting, for want of a better word, it’s not attention, but that’s how it can sometimes feel as it’s playing out. And what I love, Ben, is your self awareness in all of that. For you, I feel that the tension is, how do I ensure that the home delivers to its best possible outcome in terms of our budget, our brief, all of the things that we wish for it and all of our goals, and how do I respect this professional and manage the relationship through it as well? Because that, to me, has always seemed as important to you, that everybody is enjoying this process, that nobody feels like they’re beholden or being overrun or overridden in any of this. The collaboration, for me, has been the standout in your desire for what you’re seeking to achieve with the teams that you’re working with, and that mutual respect through all of it.

Ben
It’s like, if everyone feels good about it, it’s just going to result in better work. And even thinking about this over the past couple of weeks, and even talking through it here, in a way, the way that they’re reacting, I prefer this than the alternative is just like, “Yeah, we’ll design whatever you want, just tell us.” If they see red flags, say it. And I really appreciate that. And if you over index maybe, like, not saying that they’re over indexing, but if you’re calling that out, like, if you be really aware, and this is how I see things. And like I said, I don’t have fresh eyes. Like, I’d much rather work through that. And whether it’s like, I change the way that I see things, or she changes the way that she sees things or both, we work through it. But if it was just a, “Yeah, sure, we’ll just draw that up”, and just not caring.

Like, it comes very much from a place of care, which is that’s somebody we wanted, we wanted them to care, and have a strong sense of what was the right direction to go.

Amelia Lee
Yeah. And that’s an awesome observation, because it does come from a place of caring. And, I think, sometimes, some clients will confuse that for this architect’s only insisting on this because they want to win an award with my building. But when you do have the right professional design professional on board, the care will come from a place of really believing that it’s the best outcome for the project. And so I love that you’ve recognised that this isn’t somebody just being stubborn. There is actually a different motivation behind it. I think that you’re going to be able to come up with a resolution that everybody can collaborate and agree on. And of course, in the background of all of that is you needing to balance the budget of it and the constructability of it. So, sometimes these arguments can feel quite subjective because they are being talked about from an aesthetic point of view.

I often find that, and speaking to the architects and designers that might be listening, my feeling has always been that if you’re trying to win an aesthetic argument, it just doesn’t work. You actually have to demonstrate that this is functionally a better outcome, or if it is an aesthetic argument, it has to be translated in a way that’s not just, “Oh, it’s going to look better”, but that there’s actually a geometric rationale behind it, or something that a client can actually hang on to and really translate into their own experience, or be able to see evidenced around them in other ways. And so, it’s that thing, we talk a lot about, sometimes, in HOME Method, people will bring their kitchen design, and they’ll be really hanging on to the symmetry of it.

And we talk a lot about how kitchens don’t need to be symmetrical, but when you’re looking at a 2D drawing, the brain likes to see order. And so, the symmetry represents that. But in reality, when you’re moving through 3D space, and if you think about the spaces that you move through all the time, symmetry is not something that you need to necessarily see in order to feel peace and calm when you’re working through a space. And so, it’s that translation of the aesthetic outcome in a way that feels meaningful for the client is often, then, the kind of thing that can help move towards a resolution in that way. So I think it’s one of those things. A lot of homeowners have said to me, “Look, what architects and designers do, it gets presented as some kind of ethereal, dark art, that they are the only ones who are the authors of, and they have the knowledge of, and yet I’m the one paying for it. So, I need to understand why this is so important.”

I think it’s just a complete disservice to clients when architects and designers really hang on to something just as they feel it’s going to look better without really translating it for a homeowner in that way. So, all right, on the flip side, so obviously, the landscape design was delayed a little bit. And this outdoor roof, in an ideal world, you probably would have resolved it at the point of designing the home in the first place. And there’s all sorts of reasons why that didn’t occur, and I think you’re still going to be able to come up with a good solution for it and get it all to resolve itself. You have brought forward, though, a heck of a lot of other decision-making, which I think is actually enabling you to have space and time to then do this work. Like, if you were having to do a lot of on-the-fly decision-making for the project, you wouldn’t be able to have the headspace to do this.

How are you generally preparing yourself for the upcoming stages of the project? Being at frame stage, has no rough-ins occurred yet, electrical and plumbing rough-ins?

Ben
Plumbing. And then we’re meeting the Sparky this Friday.

Amelia Lee
Okay, all right. So, what’s that looking like for you, as you see this stuff, and you start to talk about this stuff proactively with the builder?

Ben
Pretty good. I guess, even for the plumbing rough-in, I’m sure there’s plenty of work, but just doesn’t look like that much done.

But even that was a case where a shower mixer, I was pretty sure that it couldn’t go on the cavity slider wall that it had been drawn on, despite reassurances. But, yeah, I already almost had a pre-packaged solution in my head that was, if it went that direction, and the plumber pretty much suggested that, and I knew he was okay with it. And that was born of there were these detailed drawings. The building designers actually did a great job making sure that there’s interior elevations for almost absolutely everything. And I found out in the group, that not everybody has that. And, I guess, at the time, we wouldn’t even have known to ask for it. So the fact that the building designers included in the scope were really good, and then just allowed us, over time, to make those decisions and making sure that the dimensions were correct. And then, all those spatial decisions, it’s actually interesting. Like, if everything was built exactly the way that it’s documented now, I think I’d be okay with it.

And now, when stuff’s coming up, it’s like, “Oh, do you want to make little changes here and there?” I’m trying to feel like, alright, like, what would represent a meaningful adjustment upgrade that’s not too much work, whether low cost or non-cost? And not existing too much in the luxury of being able to keep changing things, but I can think about that stuff without feeling overwhelmed. And if other stuff, it’s like, “Well, I have all this stuff to think about. Let’s just let the plans proceed as is.” So, there’s plenty to think about, but it does give me a sense of calm so far, and just order. Just things have been thought through. There’s no panics.

Amelia Lee
Awesome. No reaction, no being backed into a corner, making a decision.

Ben
There’s little things like, “Oh, the cable end of the extension, what colour is that going to be painted?” Because it might not be in the list from the interior designer. So we just ask, like, “Hey, what was intended for that?” We’re not making the other 8, 9, 12, surfaces decisions about what things are being painted.

Amelia Lee
Yeah, awesome. And how is the budget tracking in all of this?

Ben
I think good so far in terms of the things that have been spent. The variations have been low touch wood so far. There were things that were specifically listed as repairs to the subfloor of the existing building, not included. And there were a couple bares that were rotted. So he’s like, “This is a variation.” “Okay, that makes sense.” And then a couple of lintels were involved. But nothing really beyond that so far, which is really good. I mean, I should have looked at how much of the budget has been spent, because we’re doing those big, chunky stages. And percentage wise, we might be 20% into the cost of the build, and the variations are less than half of 1% of the original building contracts. So that’s good. But then it’s just the other things like the landscape budgeting. We’re trying to get the interior furnishings things done, have we allowed reasonably enough for that? So just making sure, like, the forward look of the budget is being looked after, and just really hoping there’s going to be few unforeseen things with the actual build.

Amelia Lee
Yeah, make sure that you’re not sitting on beanbags and hanging sheets up for curtains.

Yeah, it’s always fascinating, I know why it happens, but homeowners who literally spend every last cent on getting the build finished, and then they move in and live in this home for five years on this random mishmash of furniture, looking out on a dirt yard, and really have to delay that enjoyment of things rather than thinking about everything holistically. So, it is great to see that you’re planning all of that out and trying to get it as complete as possible for that day one enjoyment. So now, before we wrap up, did you have anything else to add? Any advice for anyone who might be navigating this themselves? Anything that you want to wrap up with?

Ben
In terms of advice, I still feel like, even though construction started in July, now it’s four months, in a way, it feels like a little bit of a different project than it did before. The fact that it’s so outward, and that we’re dealing with, not just more people, but talking through this on a really regular basis with someone that’s not just me or Mike. And how much of a, I guess, just the either rule. It’s that mind shift from procuring something on paper to living something in real life. And stuff happens in building, and you can’t control everything. And I’m sure there were going to be things overseeing, just being prepared for the shift to navigate things during the build process. But it’s preparing as much as you can. I’m sure we could have done this faster, and if we did another project like this, we would do it faster. But yeah, that level of preparation, the messaging in HOME Method about not rushing, really, any of the stages of the process. Yeah, taking that time in design, understanding what you want to achieve and how that results in a design thing. And then when it actually comes time to build, and how are you going to choose the builder and prepare for the build phase, all those extra couple of months, extra six months, extra year, it will fade away, and it’s already faded away.

And you have the confidence that you are well-prepared, and you have the reassurance that you’ve thought through things and you’re ready to go.

Amelia Lee
Yeah. Thank you so much, Ben. I can’t wait to get you back to talk about further into construction, closer to completion. And we’ve received messages about your project, and people loving hearing how methodically and proactively you’ve worked through it. And also, you’ve had an experience that lots of people contend with, where they hit that point where the design isn’t marrying their budget, and they have to make that call about do they revisit it, or do they just barrel through and try and make it work and pare it back and stage it or whatever.

And so, I think that there’s so much that people can learn from your experience. And what I love is that this construction process has been so streamlined because of the work and the time and the intention that you’ve taken in the lead up to it. And I get so excited when I see your updates, because I feel like this construction process is rewarding you for all of that hard work and intention. Even to watch you navigate a hiccup or a challenge or something that you have to wrap your head around, there’s still such a level of process and proactivity in how you’re addressing it. And like I spoke about before, that solutions-focused mindset, that resilience, that adaptability, and your desire to ensure that everyone feels like they can collaborate and enjoy the process as well.

Because, to me, it’s not just about delivering the home that you want at all costs. You’re going to get to the end of this project, and it’s this opportunity to have really built some fantastic relationships for that joy to be embedded in the experience of the home as well. You’re not moving into the home feeling scarred and battle worn by the experience of creating it, but you’re feeling uplifted and like you’ve grown and learned and transformed in the process as well. And the way that you and Mike are balancing also your own needs from the project and the project experience too, I just think it’s absolutely tremendous. So thank you so much for sharing your latest update and for taking us through some of those things in such detail. I know it’s super helpful for listeners. I really appreciate you being here.

Ben
Happy to. Thanks.

Amelia Lee
Cheers.

RESOURCES

Listen to Ben’s previous episodes on the podcast:

• Episode 352 ‘How to Design a Home Renovation and Extension, with Ben’ >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-how-to-design-home-renovation-extension/ 
• Episode 353 ‘Managing Your Renovation Budget When Designing, with Ben’ >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-managing-your-renovation-budget-when-designing/ 
• Episode 371 ‘What to do before signing a building contract, and save time, money and stress, with Ben’ >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-what-to-do-before-signing-building-contract-home-method/ 
• Episode 372 ‘What Happens After You Sign the Building Contract? The Journey to Site Start, With Ben’ >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-what-happens-after-you-sign-the-building-contract/ 
• Episoe 381 ‘From Plans to Frame Stage: Site Meetings and Working with Your Builder, with Ben’ >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-plans-to-frame-stage-site-meetings-builder-home-method/

Season 4 Episode 6 ‘What does a Landscape Architect do? | With Luke Jones of LARC Collective’ >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-episode-6-what-does-a-landscape-architect-do-luke-jones/

Season 4 Episode 10 ‘What does a Landscape Designer do? | With Fi and Jules of Sticks & Stones Landscape Design’ >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-episode-10-what-does-a-landscape-designer-do-sticks-and-stones/

Access the support and guidance you need (like Ben did) 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 

My free ’44 Ways’ E-Book will simplify sustainability for you, and help you create a healthy, low tox and sustainable home – whatever your dreams, your location or your budget. Access your copy here >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/ways