Room requirement list
This is the heart of your brief. For each room, think about who uses it, roughly how big it needs to feel, which floor it should be on and what furniture must fit. Mark each one as must-have or nice-to-have.
- Bedrooms: how many, which need attached bathrooms and dressing areas
- Master bedroom: size, walk-in wardrobe, sitting area
- Drawing room and dining: formal or combined, separate guest entrance
- Family lounge: TV area, direct link to kitchen or lawn
- Kitchen: open or closed, separate dirty kitchen, pantry, store
- Ground-floor bedroom for elders, with step-free access
- Prayer room or quiet corner
- Home office or study
- Laundry, servant quarter, guard room
- Car porch: number of cars and motorbikes
- Roof use: terrace, water tanks, solar panels, storage
Lifestyle, comfort and services
Two families with the same room list can need very different houses. Describe how you live: do you host large family gatherings, cook heavily, keep the drawing room for guests only, or prefer one open living space? Do children need a play area in view of the kitchen?
Comfort and services are easily forgotten at brief stage. Mention your thoughts on air conditioning, backup power, solar, water storage, CCTV and internet points. Note which rooms get afternoon sun in your current home and whether that bothers you.
- Do you want a separate entrance for an upper portion?
- How much storage do you need for bedding, luggage and seasonal items?
- Are noise, privacy from neighbours or street views a concern?
- Do you want space reserved for a lift in future?
Style, priorities and future plans
Show rather than tell. A folder of photos of houses and rooms you like, plus a few you dislike, explains your taste faster than words. Note materials you love, such as exposed brick or wood, and finishes you want to avoid.
Finally, think ahead. Will children marry and need their own floor? Will parents move in? Do you plan to rent out a portion? Designing for these now, even just leaving space or structure for them, saves a lot of trouble later.
