Get It Right with Undercover Architect

My guest for this episode is Craig Thomas, Managing Director of Caribou. With over 20 years in the industry, he is SUPER passionate about lighting and the impact it can have on how our homes look, feel and function. He’s got loads of helpful tips to share with you. SHOW NOTES: Homeowners often create their lighting design through early conversations with their electrician. By then, you can a...

This episode is the second of a 2-part interview I have with Evan Montero, Co-founder and managing director of DIY Blinds … so if you haven’t listened to the last episode, stop now, and go back and listen to it now . Or, stay tuned to listen to part 2 of my conversation with Evan. SHOW NOTES: Plantation Shutters have become a popular choice for window furnishings. They’re a big...

People who are renovating or building new will often leave window furnishings until the last minute, or until after they’ve moved in. As a result, they miss huge opportunities.  So, this episode and the next will be brilliant for you to see what’s possible, and why thinking about them during the design phase is so important. DIY Blinds is an online ordering site for window furnish...

Choosing the best paint product can seem confusing. Are they really that different? The answer is “YES”, and this episode shares why. Josh is the Interior Products Technical Manager at the DuluxGroup. What does that mean? Well, Josh and his team are the ones responsible for all the science and technology behind the paints and products created by Dulux. If you’re picturing labs an...

Frances and I see homeowners regularly make some common mistakes when it comes to their interior design.  This can be related to  who they choose,  how they go about their design and selections,  decisions they make about specific elements of their interior design elements they forget to consider in the design phase that then get stuffed up during construction right through to...

If you’re designing your new home or renovation, have you started thinking about the lighting design?  I find many homeowners will leave their lighting design quite late in their project. Some even leave it as late as construction, waiting for their walk-around with their electrician at frame stage to finalise their choices on lighting numbers, types and positions. As you can imagine, w...

How do you create the ideal Interior Design ‘look’ for your family home? Liz Hayward from Hayward & Co gives us tips on moodboards, creating interior palettes, and making confident choices for your interior design. Liz is a firm believer that a quality, thoughtful, tailored interior should be available to everyone and that amazing results can be achieved on almost any budget. Follo...

What do you need to know about choosing your bathroom fixtures? Daniela Santilli, Bathroom Marketing Leader for Reece tells us. Your bathroom fixtures - the basin, vanity, bath, shower and toilet - are all very permanent choices in your home’s bathrooms. Getting them right at the beginning is critical to a functioning home.  Daniela Santilli is the Bathroom Marketing Leader for Reece Pl...

How can you, as the homeowner, draw up 3D models of your new home or renovation design? So you can be sure you’ve got it right inside a computer BEFORE you commit to building it? You can learn Sketchup. (Check out https://undercoverarchitect.com/sketchup ) Sketchup is a great piece of software that’s available both as a free and paid version, that enables you to draw you design in thre...

In my experience, bathrooms often follow kitchens as an area where a huge amount of deliberation happens as homeowners work through their interior design selections. Many homes these days will have more than one bathroom. There may be a separate toilet or powder room as well. And so you can be juggling the selections for not one room, but several. Do they all need to be matchy matchy? Can they be...

Is choosing the right colour for your home something you’re enjoying, or overwhelmed by? Dulux have been helping homeowners do this with their colour forecasting for over 20 years now. I speak with Andrea Lucena-Orr, Colour and Communications Manager for the Dulux Group, about choosing colour, and their annual Colour Forecasting.  Andrea joined the company with a strong background in co...

Join the free 5 Day Home Design Challenge (it’s running from 29 Jan - 2 Feb 2020) >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/challenge And check out Home Design Masterclass for more help and support in your floor plan design >>> www.howtodesignahome.com It can be common for homeowners to get really caught up in worrying about the finishes, the builder, the quality of construction....

Hello! In the last of our special Q & A episodes, Brett has a brilliant question about working out costs early in his project, and Patricia wants some info on skylights. So, let’s dive in. Want to get it right in your home design? Watch my free online workshop, where I share 5 key ways (plus lots of other tips and strategies) >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/5ways/ THIS EPISO...

Want to get it right in your home design? Watch my free online workshop, where I share 5 key ways (plus lots of other tips and strategies) >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/5ways/ THIS EPISODE’S QUESTION ... Laura’s question: “ Hi, Amelia. My name is Laura. I live in Perth in Western Australia. Firstly, I just want to say thanks so much for your podcast. I've gotten a...

Want to get it right in your home design? Watch my free online workshop, where I share 5 key ways (plus lots of other tips and strategies) >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/5ways/ THIS EPISODE’S QUESTIONS ... Teri has this question: “ Hi, my name is Teri Mason. I'm in Oklahoma in the United States, and we are building a family and event centre, and we're wanting to do it in...

Want to get it right in your home design? Watch my free online workshop, where I share 5 key ways (plus lots of other tips and strategies) >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/5ways/ THIS EPISODE’S QUESTIONS ... Meredith’s question: “ Hi, Amelia. My name is Meredith. I'm really enjoying your podcast. Thank you so much for sharing all of your knowledge.  We're current...

Want to get it right in your home design? Watch my free online workshop, where I share 5 key ways (plus lots of other tips and strategies) >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/5ways/ THIS EPISODE’S QUESTIONS ... Elizabeth got in touch: “ Hi Amelia. My name's Elizabeth. I'm in Castle Hill in New South Wales. First up, thank you for producing such a fabulous podcast, and providin...

What do you need to know about shopping online for tiles? We talk with Floss Kelly, co-founder, about TileCloud. If you’re selecting and ordering tiles, there are key things to know so you don’t run into issues on site. Shopping online can be a great alternative. Florence (or Floss as she first introduced herself to me!) is the Brand Director and Co-Founder of online store TileCloud, a...

In this episode, I speak with Karen Haller. Karen Haller is the leading international authority in the field of Applied Colour Psychology - how colour affects and influences our behaviour. With over twenty years of experience, she teaches, consults for businesses, interiors, healthcare and wellbeing; and has worked with prestigious global brands such as Marks and Spencer, Dove and AkzoNobel Dulux....

In this episode, Frances Cosway of White Pebble Interiors and I go into more detail about some of the other materials and fixtures you’ll need to choose for your kitchen.  You’ll learn how to assess these choices not only for their aesthetic appeal, but more importantly, for how they’ll handle the punishment they’re about to endure in your family kitchen! Frances and I...

Your Kitchen Interior Design can create a kitchen that works, is durable and looks great. But are you ready for ALL the decisions and considerations you need to make? Kitchens are a big source of cost and angst in a home. They can be the hero of a family home and often the starting point for Interior Design direction for many homeowners.  They’re often a really sizeable investment, and...

Want to know how to choose carpet for your family home and make the right choice? There’s lots to know when it comes to carpet. How do you choose from all the different types, and understand all the terminology? If you are wanting carpet as a flooring type, then it’s essential you know specific things about the different types, the terminology associated with pile and density, and the...

Let me introduce my special guest for this podcast episode, Jess Ausburn. Jess is Owner of Diagrind NSW, as well as green cleaning supplies business, OCS Online Cleaning Supplies. Diagrind as a company has over 20 years’ experience in the diamond and concrete flooring industry. They won the award for Concrete Surfaces Residential New Build Best Floor in 2017. They specialise in providing fin...

Choosing tiles for your family home’s floors can be a fantastic, durable and sustainable choice. There are so many options now, with colours and patterns to suit any home. Yet, many homeowners are put off by tiles, and keep them purely to their bathrooms and laundry.  Thinking them too hard, or too cold, I see homeowners avoid them for their main flooring. However, they’re a brill...

In this episode, Frances Cosway and I share our thoughts on timber flooring. We talk about solid timber and engineered timber flooring, why we’d love to see laminate flooring never be used again, and what you need to know before choosing vinyl flooring. SHOW NOTES: Timber flooring can be a great and sustainable choice for your family home. However, many are making terrible, low-cost choices...