The following description is the document we gave to both our architect and our planning consultant.

As you will see our brief was based very much on the practical features of the house rather than the aesthetics or syle of the building.  Neither of us are particularly artisticically minded so were quite happy to leave this to the professionals!

Design Brief for Proposed Development

Introduction:

Below are a list of preferences for what we would like to happen to the whole site eventually. 

We are aware that gaining planning permission may require that the final target be reached in a number of stages such as planning for internal garages that get converted to rooms and then extending the house. 

Detailed requirements:

4 bedrooms, each being of a similar size.  An ideal size would be about 4.2m x 4.2m.  At least three of these bedrooms, including the master bedroom should not be on the ground floor.

The master bedroom should have an en-suite bathroom.  This should contain bath, large shower cubicle (800x1000), bidet, toilet and basin.

The master bedroom should also have a dressing room with sufficient space for 3 or 4 double wardrobes.  An acceptable alternative to a connected dressing room would be a separate storeroom on the same floor as the bedroom.

There should be one other bathroom. This should contain bath, large shower cubicle (800x1000), bidet, toilet and basin.

There should be a 5^th room of similar size to the bedrooms, which could either be used as an office/study or as a bedroom.  This room could be on any floor.

Each of the bedrooms and the office should have opportunities for built-in storage space.

It would be nice, but not essential, to have an additional, separate toilet upstairs.

There should be a toilet downstairs.

There should be a living room, a dining room, kitchen, family living room and utility room.  There should also be a reasonable sized hall with some form of 'feature' staircase.

The kitchen should be large enough to include a table to seat 4, allowing space to increase to 6 on occasions.

There should be a walk in pantry adjoining the kitchen.

There should be a door from the kitchen to the utility room.  The utility room should have an external door.  This door should not be on the front of the house.  The utility room should have enough space for a washing machine, tumble dryer and a sink.  There should be scope to include plenty of storage in this room.  There should also be space to hang clothes to dry.

The family living room should have a door to the kitchen.  It would be nice, but not essential, for the family living room to have external French windows or a patio door.

All external doors, other than patio doors, should have draught lobbies.

It would be nice, but not essential, to have a cloakroom for storage of coats, shoes etc.

There should be a room which could be used as a gym.  A minimum size for this room is 3m by 2m.

It would be nice, but not essential, to have a drawing room or snug.

It would be nice, but not essential, to have cellarage or internal store rooms.  These would be most useful if there was sufficient space for  two freezers.

It would be nice, but not essential, to have a children's playroom.

The ceilings in the main house should be slightly higher than average, say 2.6 to 2.7m.

The barn should be converted in such a way that we could end up with a 2 bedroomed annexe.  Given the planning history there will need to be care in exactly how and when this is approached.

We will need 3 workshops somewhere on the land.  Each should be 4m by 5m.  We will also want various other external stores but do not see this as a particular issue.

There should eventually be a detached double garage.  This could have a room above.

The budget is £120,000 for the house and £60,000 for the barn conversion.

The design should take full advantage of any passive solar gain and should minimise heat loss.  It is expected that the final build will have a SAP rating in excess of 100 through use of high levels of insulation, triple glazing, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and so on.  It is also possible that we may want to install solar panels and PV cells on the roof.

It is important that the house be well insulated internally against sound transmission.

We do not require an open fireplace.

We have no particular view on style of building but do not see the point in trying to mimic some older style.  We do not want a bungalow.  We would prefer not to have dormer windows and would definitely not want a major room in the roof area.  It is unlikely that large open plan areas would be appropriate.

It would be nice if the house did not extend above two storeys in any one place.

The house should be designed to minimise external maintenance – for example painting and wood treatment.

Design, where possible, should make use of standard size materials such as doors and windows to avoid unnecessary cost.