1. Tell us a little bit yourself and where you live.

My name is Jake Freebody and I’m the Director and Principal Designer of Free One Building Design. I was born and bred in the small rural city of Goulburn where I still live with my wife Hannah, our son Miles and our two dogs, Gertie and Ned.

I undertook my studies in Architecture at the University of Canberra and my business has been operating in Goulburn and wider New South Wales for the past 5 years.

1. 1. 1. 1. What made you want to build a home, rather than buy an established home?
   1. 1. Being in the building design industry, I’ve always wanted to design and build our own home as we are doing this for others on a daily basis. Not only does designing and building allow me to represent my work, but it also gave me the opportunity to create something that is completely tailored to our aesthetic preferences and style.

What type of home did you build – describe the style/design.

The home is a pavilion style residence with a simple scandi style barn form and aesthetic. The design is minimal in material use and colour selection, featuring only off form concrete, James Hardie Axon Grained and James Hardie Matrix cladding to the exterior walls. This cladding is painted using a heat reflective Night Sky paint to minimise heat gain as far as possible.

The interior spaces feature a neatural colour palette, with burnished concrete floors and white-on-white walls and ceilings. This minimal aesthetic allowed us to add our own style through furniture and artwork selections.

Tell us about the planning process about choosing your builder and how you went about it? 

The planning process was relatively straight forward, as we work on projects similar to this daily. We did seek minor adjustment to the rear set black proposed by councils DCP to allow us to maximise our usable outdoor area, which was successful.

Choosing a builder was always going to be a difficult task, as we work side by side with many great builders daily. We narrowed the field down to three who we thought would be best suited to us in regards to build quality, finish, and of course, budget. We settled on Reardon Building Group as we felt that the team were not only a great fit for us in relation to build quality, finish, and product cost, but also on a personal level to ensure the build would run smoothly and meet our high expectations.

What did you look for when finding land – location, size, etc?

When selecting land, we wanted to find something that was reasonable in size to provide adequate outdoor space for our growing family, but not something that would be unmanageable with our busy work/life schedule.

In addition, outlook and orientation was of vital importance to ensure we had great solar access and the availability of prevailing winds. We settled on a corner lot of 860 square metres with a beautiful northeastern orientation to the long side, perfect for what we wanted to design.

What were the ‘must haves’ in your new home?

Burnished concrete floors were a must have, particularly for my wife Hannah. We also wanted to have a clean, minimalist backdrop that would age gracefully and allow us to add our own style and flare with furniture and artwork.

Going into the build, where were you able to save money and which areas of the home did you want to splurge on? 

The pavilion style form provided a simple and economical construction. We did splurge on things like windows to ensure we had quality glazing and thermal perfomrnace must haves, like cavity battens to ensure a ventilated, free draining cavity between the cladding and wall framing. We also splurged on kitchen cabinetry as we felt this was a key interior feature that can be seen from the street.

When did you contact us during the building process and what benefits did dc+b provide?

We contacted dollar curtains + blinds when the project was nearing completion. The team at Fyshwick provided us a quote based off our floor plans and once we knew the pricing was going to be within our expected budget, we locked in a site measure.

Was it beneficial to visit dc+b in-store?

Absolutely, there is a massive range of fabrics, so seeing these firsthand was crucial in our material selection process.

Have you added anything to your home post-build?

With the exception of Curtains, Blinds and landscaping, the build has stayed in its original form.

What lesson(s) did you learn when building your own home?

1. 1. You have to have a lot of faith in your builder. We were extremely lucky that our builder has such high attention to detail resulting in a beautiful finish.
2. 2. Clear, concise communication is essential in ensuring expectations are met and the project runs smoothly.
3. 3. Be prepared in regard to selecting finishes and appliances to ensure there are no delays in decision making and acquirement. This also allows you to shop around and find the best price.

What’s your favourite room and why?

My favourite space is the open plan living, dining, and kitchen area. We have some large, fixed panel windows in this space that frame the nearby heritage listed building perfectly.

This room is also home to our Sheer Curtains which have a continuous, winding Curtain Track running the length of the building. This allows us to have privacy when necessary and gives us the ability to slide the Sheer Curtains against the solid walls, providing complete visibility to the outdoors.

Did you originally know what you were after in terms of window coverings, or were you seeking our advice?

We knew what we wanted to achieve with window coverings, although we did seek advice regarding what was possible with track configurations, as we had a very specific design in mind. dollar curtains + blinds understood and delivered our vision, which is fantastic.

When it comes to designing a home, what does your design process look like?

My design process follows a strict work flow which begins with attending the site with the owners to determine the best aspect, orientation, and viewpoints for the project. This time is also crucial in determining what is important to my clients and what they would like to achieve with the project. Initial sketches are always completed with paper and pencil to allow for quick and fluid outlay of design thought followed by digital plans for client presentation.

We then provide a tailored concept plan which maximises the opportunities offered by the site and move into a design review stage, which allows our clients to provide crucial feedback to ensure the design will suit them and their family for many years to come.

How did you find the measure + install service?

The measure and install process was fantastic! Trudie from the Fyshwick store was approachable and provided her feedback and expertise without being overbearing. The install team were also prompt and professional.

What are your top 3 design/style tips for building a house?

1. 1. Keep the external material palette simple, as I feel many designs tend to overcook the design in this area.
2. 2. Trust that blank space isn’t a bad thing. When I say blank space, I mean not every wall needs to have an opening or a break in material make up to provide architectural interest. A simple shadow on a blank wall can work wonders.
3. 3. Pick finishes that are timeless and don’t always feel the need to follow the current trend (a neutral colour pallete is always a good way to go).

You’re given a limited renovation budget; how would you spend it wisely to transform a home?

I feel that size doesn’t always amount to beautiful spaces. By modifying the flow and functionality of existing room configurations, a greater sense of space can be achieved without the need for expensive additions. This can also be complimented by furnishings such as floor finishes and curtains that provide a feeling of openness and light, elevating the quality of a space.