Identify your top 5 must haves and non-negotiables in a house (eg, open kitchen, ceiling fans, pool, walk in wardrobe). And start collecting tangible imagery that you resonate with i.e. mood board so that designers can have a better understanding of what your likes and dislikes are. Have a budget in mind and also your estimated timeline (eg. you need to move into the new place in 1 year’s time because your rent is due then). Architects or designers will then be able to advise if your budget and timeline is feasible before taking on the project.

Depends… talk to your architect to understand the extent of works to be done. Rebuilding could be as small as a renovation, or in increasing scale and complexity, an addition & alteration, or a reconstruction, or a new erection. If you’re thinking of a new erection, do set aside approximately 2 years.

Just like how a chef will ask for your dietary restrictions, or spiciness level for your dish, do think about what you like or don’t like, so that designers can cater to that requirement as close as possible without compromising the integrity of the main dish.

Good things take time and effort. Imagine you’d like to eat fried chicken (who doesn’t love fried chicken!). There are a few types:

1. Buy frozen chicken and air fry yourself. Can be quite tasty but it’s different from fresh chicken. Same as such design process - get an existing design out there + DIY with builder

2. Buy fast food chicken - fast and fuss free. Comes with standard side dishes with customisation only to the sizes, and affordable. Similarly, your design is safe and predictable, affordable.

3. Har Cheong Kai (a.k.a. prawn paste chicken) from the local coffee shop - ingredients largely the same but different shop tastes slightly different (in their marination, in their selection of chicken and in their frying). You have to order and wait a while to get it.

4. Restaurant fried chicken - the recipe of chicken marination differs and some, a lot more complex and more thought into it (so this requires prep work), and menus might change in different seasons. Chickens are perhaps more fresh and the source of chicken carefully chosen. The chef cooking it also has years of experience to ensure quality, and there’s opportunity to customise to your taste preference. A caveat though, the customers may or may not like the chicken wings cos they may not be used to the spices used, but you could be wowed by it. Same thing for these bespoke designers. The assurance though, is if the designers have already communicated with you well enough the desired outcome, the expectations can be managed.

5. Then there is the hole in the wall izakaya with a lone chef (imagine the midnight diner series sort) with maybe one or two staffs. The diner probably only fits a handful of customers but the experience is a lot more intimate, and you’ll probably get a very different kind of pairing for your fried chicken that will come in hand made ceramic plate.

6. Michelin star restaurant fried chicken - you pay and accept what these highly accomplished chef and designers can offer, highly bespoke. These chefs can also prepare KFC style chicken, if that’s what you desire.

I guess at the end of the day, you are paying for time, effort and experience.

Watch here! Architect | Pro-logue