When employing a garden designer such as the team here at Bestall & Co, one of the first things we’ll do together is develop a design brief.
What is a design brief?
We use a design brief to comprehensively cover your current situation in terms of garden use. It takes the form of a short questionnaire. We’ll normally complete it on initial consultation, based on what we see as well as what we glean from you.
Contents of the Bestall & Co design brief
What we consider therefore includes how many people live at your home, the location of the garden in relation to the house and which spots get the most sun. Many of our clients like to entertain, so an important question is often how many people does your entertaining space need to accommodate comfortably?
Pets are another key factor to bear in mind, as they may have an impact on the concept we propose.
We also include desire or need for more privacy in our design brief.
- Other significant points we consider in this document are:
- Landscaping materials
- Garden structures and features
- Plants
- Lighting
- Utilities
The question of budget is normally discussed at the initial design consultation and recorded in the brief. Whilst it isn’t essential to discuss at this stage, it does make for a smoother and faster design process if you’re working to a specific budget. Due to the nature of our gardens, the cost for design and build usually starts at £30k for an average sized property.
Is a design brief really necessary?
Absolutely. As mentioned above, we will complete much of the design brief on initial visit and from sight. We have to ask several things of you on this occasion too, but this is to ensure we don’t do you a disservice.
Bestall & Co has three clear aims:
- Create and realise inspirational outdoor spaces, made up of exquisite planting combinations and the highest quality landscaping materials
- Form a living landscape that will change the way you and your loved ones use your garden
- Achieve all this with the minimum of stress for you, our client
The design brief gives us an excellent insight into where your garden is now and what you want from it after completion. You can help us to help you by being clear on things like which plants you like or dislike, which colours you’d rather avoid and what style you’re after. This might not all be clear, but every little insight comes in handy.
Don’t worry too much if you’re not sure what you want at this stage … thats our job!