A studio of three, working on eight houses a year.
Small enough that the person who designed your house is the person on site when the tiler has a question.
I spent six years specifying things because they had the best margin.
Not consciously, and not dishonestly — but when your income depends on the mark-up, the expensive sofa starts looking like the right sofa. I did not enjoy noticing that about myself.
Fell & Co. runs on a fixed design fee with every trade discount passed through at cost, evidenced on the invoice. It makes us less money per project and it has made the work considerably better, because the only argument left is whether something is right for the room.
Four commitments
All four are in the contract and visible on every invoice.
A fixed design fee
Agreed from the drawings and the scope before we start. It does not move because the budget did.
Trade prices passed on
Every item at what we paid for it, shown next to the retail price. Our margin is the fee, and only the fee.
Your budget is the brief
We design to what you have said you will spend. Presenting a scheme you cannot afford is a waste of everybody’s time.
We will tell you what not to do
Sometimes the answer is paint and better lighting rather than a renovation. It is a smaller job and often the right one.
Four stages, and roughly how long each takes
A whole house is usually nine to fourteen months from first meeting to handover.
Survey and brief
Two to three weeks. Measured survey, how you actually live, and an honest conversation about the budget.
Concept
Four to six weeks. Layouts, materials and two schemes to react to. This is where most of the thinking happens.
Detail and tender
Six to eight weeks. Drawings a builder can price accurately, joinery details and the full specification.
On site
Three to nine months. Weekly visits, decisions as they arise, and the snagging list everyone underestimates. Structural and building work is carried out by a QBCC-licensed builder we work alongside; our fee covers design and coordination, not construction.
Small by design
We turn work down rather than take on more than three of us can properly look after.
Start with a consultation. It is a day, and it is often enough.
Plenty of people never need us again afterwards, which we consider a success rather than a lost sale.