Thinking about it · Worth care
What problem is this project actually solving?
Write down, in three sentences, what has to be different when the work is finished.
- When it lands
- Before you speak to a designer or a builder.
- What it costs to get wrong
- Projects without a clear brief grow. A vague starting point is the single most common reason a build ends 20–30% over budget.
Almost every project that ends badly started the same way: with a conversation rather than a page. Someone says the kitchen does not work, someone else says you could open the back up, and within a month there are drawings for something nobody ever wrote down.
The first decision on any building project is not what to build. It is what problem you are solving. Get that on paper and every later choice has something to be measured against.
Three sentences, not thirty pages
A brief does not need to be a document. It needs to answer three things: what is wrong with the house now, what must be true when the work is finished, and who it is for. Write them in plain language, in your own words, and date the page.
The discipline is in the shortness. If you cannot say what is wrong in two sentences, you are describing a wish rather than a problem, and a designer will fill the gap with their own idea of what you meant.
Separate what you will not compromise on
Under the three sentences, list three things that are non-negotiable and three you would give up if money got tight. Almost nobody does this at the start, and almost everybody wishes they had by month four, when the budget is under pressure and every cut feels like a loss.
Having decided in calm conditions what matters most, you make the hard call once instead of arguing it repeatedly on site.
Why scope grows quietly
Scope rarely expands in a single decision. It grows in passing remarks — while we are here, we may as well; it would be a shame not to. Each addition sounds small and free because nothing has been priced.
A West London homeowner started with the kitchen not working. With no written brief, every meeting added something: bifolds, then a utility, then a downstairs shower. The £45,000 idea was eventually tendered at £119,000. Nothing unreasonable happened at any single point. There was simply nothing to measure the additions against.
With a brief, that same conversation becomes a visible choice: this is not in the brief, here is what it costs, do we want it more than the thing it displaces?
Test it on someone who has not heard about it
Read your page to a friend who knows nothing about the project. If they can repeat it back, it is tight enough to send to a designer. If they ask what you actually want, keep working.
This one page is also the fairest thing you can give three builders. They price the same idea, so their quotes finally mean something when placed side by side.
Why this one matters
Every later decision — layout, spec, builder, contract — is judged against this. If it does not exist in writing, it gets re-invented by whoever you are speaking to that week, and each version costs money.
Do this week
- Write the three sentences and date them.
- List three non-negotiables and three flexibles.
- Read it aloud to somebody outside the project.
The realistic choices
Solve a specific problem
More space, better light, a workable kitchen. Tight, testable, cheapest.
Whole-house rethink
Bigger, slower, needs a designer early and a much larger contingency.
Improve to sell
Spend follows resale value, not personal taste. Check local ceiling prices first.
What good looks like
- A short written brief you could hand to a stranger
- Three things you will not compromise on, and three you will
Questions worth asking
- What would make this a success in five years, not five months?
- If we could only do half of this, which half?
From real projects
The kitchen that became a whole-house refurbishment
A homeowner in West London started with 'the kitchen does not work'. With no written brief, each meeting added something — bifolds, then a utility, then a downstairs shower. The £45,000 idea was tendered at £119,000.
The lesson: Scope grows in conversation, not on paper. Write it down and every addition becomes a visible, priced choice.
Putting it into practice
What this decision should leave behind
The steps to work through, the paperwork worth keeping and the questions to send your builder today.
- · Write the three sentences
- · Separate needs from wants
- · Test it on someone
- · Template: Project brief — one page
- · Paperwork: One-page written brief
Next decision
What is your true budget ceiling?