Studio notes
Notes from the studio
A closer look.
A practical journal on architecture, interiors and the materials that shape everyday life.
Studio notes
Flat Roof vs Pitched Roof: Which Roofing Type Is Right for Your Home?
Studio notes
Waterproofing: What Homeowners Should Actually Know Before Building or Renovating
Materials
Aluminium vs uPVC vs Wood: How to Choose the Right Doors and Windows for Your Home
Renovation
Planning a renovation while living at home
Decide whether to remain at home during renovation after discussing the work, essential services, access and household needs with the project team. Plan where people will sleep, cook and wash during each stage. If suitable arrangements cannot be made, discuss temporary accommodation before agreeing the sequence.
Architecture
Design to execution: clarify who is responsible for what
Before work starts, agree who prepares the design, coordinates specialists, manages daily site work, approves changes and checks completion. Record the people, deliverables and decision points in your project scope. A broad service description needs a project-specific agreement.
Architecture
How to prepare an architect brief for your home
Prepare an architect brief by describing who will use the home, what needs to work better, what you know about the property and which decisions matter most. Bring a realistic budget range, a list of priorities and the documents you already have. Unresolved questions belong in the brief too.
Materials
Why the Same Stone Can Look Completely Different in Two Homes
Architecture
Cladding Materials Explained: How to Choose the Right One for Your Home
Studio notes
What Architects Notice in a House That Homeowners Usually Don't
Interiors
Why Storage Is One of the Biggest Design Problems in Indian Homes
Interiors
Why Every Home Doesn’t Need to Follow a Trend
Interiors
Stop Designing Your Home Room by Room
Interiors
Designing Small Homes Without Making Them Feel Small
Interiors
Courtyards in Modern Indian Homes: Why This Ancient Idea Still Works
Renovation
10 things to check before starting a home renovation
Begin a home renovation with an assessment of the existing property and a clear list of what needs to change. Record problems, gather available drawings and ask which professional investigations are needed before agreeing the work. Photographs and an initial conversation cannot confirm that a proposed alteration is suitable.
Materials
Regular Brick, Block Brick & Wire-Cut Brick: Understanding the Difference
Brick is one of the oldest and most enduring materials in architecture.
Materials
Why Some Homes Feel “Expensive” Without Using Expensive Materials
What makes a home feel luxurious? Often, it isn't the marble, imported furniture or expensive finishes.
Materials
How Light Changes the Way Materials Look
We often select materials based on a sample held under the bright, neutral lighting of a showroom.
Materials
The Difference Between Veneer, Laminate and Acrylic
When choosing finishes for a home, terms like veneer, laminate and acrylic are often used interchangeably.
Materials7 min read
Modular kitchen materials: choosing the right one
Most of the money in a kitchen goes into the cabinets, and the cabinet decision comes down to two questions: what is the box made of, and what is on the face of it. Get the order of those two wrong and the finish cannot save you.
Interiors4 min read
Making a living room feel warm
The living room receives people, absorbs the end of your day, and quietly collects most of a family’s ordinary memories. It is also the room people most often get wrong — usually by furnishing it instead of designing it.
Materials6 min read
Choosing the right paint for interiors
Paint is not decoration applied at the end. It is a protective film that happens to be what you see, and the difference between a wall that still looks right in five years and one that does not is mostly decided by what went on underneath it.
Materials4 min read
Plywood alternatives on the market
If plywood is the default for fixed furniture, the fibreboards are what get proposed when the quote comes back too high. Some of those substitutions are sensible and some will cost you the kitchen. It is worth knowing which is which.
Materials4 min read
All about plywood: MR, BWR and BWP grades
Fixed furniture has been winning over loose furniture for decades, and plywood is why. It costs less than solid wood, it keeps the look of timber, and it does not shrink or warp the way a solid plank will. But "plywood" is not one material, and choosing the wrong grade is one of the more expensive mistakes you can make in a kitchen.
Design thinking4 min read
Not a home office, but an office at home
The lockdowns changed how people live, and some of it did not change back. For anyone designing interiors, the most durable shift is the simplest to state: a house is no longer a place with a home office in it. It is a place that contains an office.