Design the home you don’t have to get used to.
Independent judgment on whether your layout will work, so the difficult decisions are resolved before construction, not during it.
When the plan looks right but something feels off
Layout is the one thing that is hardest to fix later. Changing your mind about a structural opening once the builders are on site means revised drawings, new steelwork, and a programme that slips. The single biggest factor in controlling build costs is making fewer changes after work has started. The advisory catches them before that.
Georgian Country House
An independent review of the existing layouts and design solutions for a Grade II listed house in Hampshire
What the review covers
The review considers how the layout will work day to day. Circulation, room relationships, whether every room earns its place. It looks at orientation and the sun path, where natural light reaches well and where it falls short. It sets out the site's planning history and constraints, so you understand what is possible before design effort is committed. Where layouts may create building regulations friction, this is flagged early.
The review does not require finished architect's drawings. It can work from sales particulars floor plans before a purchase, feasibility sketches, or a measured survey. Where no plans exist, these can be arranged.
What you receive
Annotated plans with written observations. Each issue is located on the drawing and explained in plain language: what it is, why it matters, and the likely cost implication. Every observation is made against the site's planning history, constraints, orientation, and relevant building regulations. Each is set out in the review.
How it works
01
Introductory call
A conversation to discuss the project and confirm the advisory is the right approach, before any commitment is made.
02
Instruction & site visit
Site visit to understand what the plans do not show: light, height, access, and context.
03
Written assessment
Annotated plans with written reasoning. Clear, specific, and focused on the decisions that matter most.
Fees
£5,000 + VAT
Where a project requires professional drawings, structural assessment, or planning input, Coburn will make introductions to trusted specialists. The advisory covers the layout questions. The right people are available for everything else.
Clients who want the same judgment applied to the build itself can engage Coburn for full project management, from planning through to completion.
When to use it
Design Advisory is most useful at early and mid-design stages, when layouts are still flexible and key decisions have not yet been fixed. It is used to test early layouts before planning is submitted, sense-check schemes prepared by others, identify risks before committing to construction, or clarify where effort and budget should be focused.
Owners preparing to sell use it to show buyers what the house could become. Owners who have decided to stay use it before committing to work.
The aim is to resolve the thinking behind a project. Everything that follows, and what it costs, depends on it.