HOW MUCH??

There is a saying ’If you spend peanuts you get monkeys’and never a truer word said. Time and time again when the question is asked ‘do you have an idea of your budget’ the room goes very quiet.

Let me try and unravel this very simple yet over complicated and misunderstood word.

What is budget – ‘An accrual of monies for a certain element’.

The other element that is very much in relation to budget is the ‘Wish List’ list.

During our initial meetings we cover off the elements that are wanted and not wanted as you can visualise how those wants would improve your lifestyle. Understandably to be able to quantify those wishes is hard and takes experience by being exposed in the world of actual costs. Such actual costs embrace direct material and furnishing costs, experienced tradesman to labour fees, waste fees right though to accessibility and services above or underground. All these and more are responsibility of placing value to your wishes.

An element I have come across quite a lot and remember the ‘peanut’ comment. We as humans love to hear smaller spend dollar figures than larger and for some reason we ‘convince ourselves’ that smaller landscape project costs are exactly the same as the larger ones when it comes to deliverables, workmanship and longevity. I’m sorry but that is so not true and is an approach used by some to just get a contract out of you with little concern of sustainability, compliance, satisfactory outcome etc. Let’s face it when you go shopping for clothing in a known cheaper outlet you know the garment might look great at the start but also know that quickly its life span in shape colour etc is lessor than a garment purchased from a good better-quality outlet.

So how do you unravel this quandary.

o Become informed

o Appreciate the actual costs for materials

o Recognise you have a difficult site or not

o Don’t react in shock if a number passed across the table is higher than you expected – try and feel the number in relation to the actual outcome

o Don’t think cheap is good - it will disappoint

If the plucked out of the air number mentioned to you at the introductory meeting seems ‘too good to be true’ then it probably is. This is a guttural thing.

Generally, the first discussions of budget are more about placing reality to the puzzle (wishes) and if you hear an estimated build figure greater than you had in mind, this simply indicates that your wishes are possibly not in party. It’s not a given but generally is a good indicator.

So, what to do. Here are a couple of ideas / approaches and I’ll use our design process to help the understanding:

o Our first meeting is about meeting you, understanding your wishes and when you are looking for the work to be done to the complexity of the site ‘garden’.

o We will introduce the subject of funding once it is known what you are seeking. It is more about evaluating the path the design can take.

o If it is felt that the desires are out of balance with the considered allowances it is now that this should be discussed as to continue down a road of uncertainty for too long is a little irresponsible.

o We will share with you where the project could be dissected for staging cost/build purposes. Sometimes it is not possible to do it all in one go but it is imperative you have an end vision to maintain focus.

o Look at the current value of your home to the value you purchased it at. This hopefully will demonstrate an asset increase providing a degree of justification to spend.

o Finally, will the investment actually give you what you are after and this can work with a lessor budget to a larger one.

Whenever we design our gardens, we are looking at not only how the proposal will increase the asset value of your home and land but how it will give back to your life. This is so important because when you get the right balance there is nothing better than wanting to be in your outdoor room more than inside the home. This is our drive but be realistic. Remember if you chase the number you heard from whom ever and do not get a balance with outcome you will be quietly disappointed and kick yourself.

I hope this helps you become informed with your future garden room design and creation.

Chris Slaughter

Scenic Blue Design

www.scenicbluedesign.com.au