Your online design consultation

In place of visiting our offices in Herefordshire to discuss your plans for your future oak frame home, we’re arranging online design consultations via Skype, WhatsApp, Zoom or other video systems.

An online design consultation is essentially a video call with a member of our in-house Architectural Design team who are currently working from home. During this time, you can share your ideas and start bringing your dream to life, from the comfort of your home.

We’re here for you and would love to support your oak frame plans. Call 01432 353 353 or email enquiries@configurator-oakwrights.nzi.me to arrange your online design consultation.

To ensure you make the most out of your meeting with us, Helen Needham, a Chartered Architect and The Architectural Department Manager here at Oakwrights, has detailed the top questions you’ll discuss.

If you’re looking for a plot to build your dream home, consider:

What is your dream wish list of spaces?

• Would you like a wow entrance when your visitors arrive at your new home?
• Would you like an open-plan kitchen, dining and family room space with a separate snug or cinema room?
• How may bedrooms and bathrooms would you have?
• Would you like a ‘working’ side of the house for easy access to the utility/dog/boot room?
• Are there any other specific rooms you need such as a study/home office, a play room, garage, workshop or guest accommodation?

What is your preferred house style?

This question relates to the look of your dream oak framed home from the inside and the outside.

Ask yourself if you’d prefer a traditional, timeless look or more of a contemporary, aesthetic style. This could be a named design, such as one from our below list of ranges:

• The Cottage range
• The Woodhouse range
• The Barn range

What materials do you like?

We mainly supply post and beam-style houses which have the oak structure on the inside and our encapsulation system on the outside. This allows you to choose from a plethora of different external materials such as brick, render or wood cladding.

Do you have any precedents you like?

We recommend you throw all your ideas into the design melting pot!

You could have a scrap book of magazine articles, a Pinterest board, or something you’ve seen on a website or in a book. If you’re looking for inspiration, order your complimentary copy of our ‘Oak Frame Homes’ book which is bursting with styles, stories and beautiful oak frame home imagery.

Do you have a budget?

If this is known, we can steer the design of your dream home to aim for your cost goal. This will help us to advise you on the size of your new home, and how to achieve a beautiful oak frame that meets your needs.

If you have a plot to build your dream home on, we’ll talk through the above questions, along with:

What is the planning status of your site?

Has your site got any planning history such as an outline or full planning consent? If you’re unsure, please don’t worry as it’ll be researched as part of our desktop appraisal.

Have you received any pre-application advice from the Council?

This is normally advice that would remain confidential and therefore would not be available on the Council’s website, so it’s very useful for our understanding. It’s also helpful for us to know if there’s been any liaison with any of the other Council’s departments such as Highways.

Do you have any drawings of your site?

This could include planning drawings, Land Registry plans, or even your own sketches.

Have you had any specialist consultant advice or reports?

For example, this could be from planning consultants, tree specialists or ecologists etc. If so, please let us know if you have any of their written advice or drawings available.

Are there any specific site constraints you’re aware of?

For example, this could be if your site is next to or in the grounds of a listed building, or if it’s in a Conservation Area or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.