Amy & Tom

Meet Amy and Tom. 

I first connected with Amy and Tom when they found themselves caught up in a high-cost, turn-key design and build process that no longer reflected their values or budget.

Their project had ballooned out of control (always my worst nightmare with every build or reno we've ever done - even fifteen years deep!), and they were facing the daunting task of trying to cut costs and re-envision their project. 

“Up to that point, we felt like we weren't involved in the process, and we were trusting the professionals would get it right. We had a huge fear that we were making mistakes that were undoable." Amy shared. "We didn't want to be a year into living in our beautiful new home and realise that we could have made some simple changes that would totally transform the way the home performed and felt." 

"And at the end of the day, my gut was telling me we could do better," Amy said.

"We had already invested a lot of money to get to that point, and we really didn't want to see that money go up in smoke, but the desire to get the house right was strong. We knew we weren't 100% on the right track, but we just couldn't put our finger on why."

That's when they found the online Booken Workshop.

The turning point.

Amy said, "We were looking for practical tools to learn more about efficient, purposeful homes and how to apply them to our unique parcel of land - the Booken Workshop was exactly what we needed!"

"I mean, did you know that just moving two or three windows can cut your air conditioning bill by hundreds? Cool, right!"

"The Booken Workshop confirmed that the niggling fears I had were right, that we weren't doing the right or easy things. As we moved through the course, we kept having ah-huh moments and started to realise what was wrong with the original design." 

"The workshop also gave us the base knowledge we needed to have good conversations with professionals and to stand up for our design choices," Amy reflected.

"By the end, I could go through the plans myself and understand what needed to change. It was then much easier to find the right professionals to guide us through the technical, nitty-gritty details and help us make changes to our design."

"I have confidence in our design and build now, and I feel good about how the house will perform. In fact, the build and design process has been a positive experience after we recovered from the glitch! I've heard so many horror stories about building, but I think people can offset lots of these problems if they go into the process with more info under their belt."

Significant savings and sustainable outcomes.

Amy and Tom used their new knowledge to implement design changes and bring the right professionals into their project (hello, fabulous new builder!), all of which reduced their project cost by $300,000.

"It's not just about building a house. It's about creating a home where we feel good, are less stressed, and have less impact on our planet," Amy said.

So, if you've ever felt overwhelmed by the idea of building or renovating, worried about big future bills, or making irreversible mistakes, you're not alone. Amy and Tom were right there with you and found a way to turn it around.

Gosh, I can't wait to share more of Amy and Tom's story as their build progresses, but in the meantime, you can follow their story on Instagram @laconnor_ridge.