The Essentials Solution is a comprehensive pre-build selections service designed for clients who want the confidence of expert design guidance during the often overwhelming building selections process.
Ideal for new home builds, this service helps bring clarity and cohesion to the many decisions required before construction—ensuring your home feels thoughtfully considered rather than a collection of isolated choices.
Rather than navigating endless showroom appointments, conflicting opinions, and second-guessing important decisions, you’ll be guided through a structured and collaborative design process that establishes a clear visual direction for your home and translates that into beautifully resolved selections.
HOW IT WORKS
1. Initial Design Consultation
Your journey begins with a paid in-home consultation, where we take the time to understand your project, lifestyle, aesthetic preferences, architectural plans, and aspirations for your future home.
This foundational session ensures the service is the right fit and provides the strategic insight required to move into the selections phase with confidence.
2. Purchase & Project Onboarding
Once you proceed with The Essentials Solution, you’ll receive a structured onboarding experience, including project information gathering and access to your dedicated project portal.
3. Design Direction Development
We establish the overarching visual direction for your home—creating the creative framework that guides all subsequent decisions and ensures selections feel cohesive, elevated, and aligned.
4. Curated Selections Process
We thoughtfully guide the selection of key finishes, fixtures, and materials required for your build, helping refine choices through both digital review and physical material sampling where applicable.
5. Final Documentation & Support
Your approved selections are professionally documented and organised for clear communication throughout the build process, with a dedicated follow-up consultation included for any refinement questions as construction progresses.
As part of The Essentials Solution, you’ll receive a thoughtfully structured suite of tools, documentation, and support designed to bring clarity, cohesion, and confidence to your pre-build selections journey.
Your deliverables include:
Visual Design Direction Concept
A curated visual concept that establishes the overarching aesthetic direction for your home—serving as the creative foundation that informs selections and ensures decisions feel cohesive rather than made in isolation.
Personalised Design Consultation Sessions
Collaborative sessions with your interior designer to explore preferences, refine direction, and guide key decision-making throughout the selections process.
Comprehensive Digital Selections Schedule
A professionally curated selections document detailing your approved finishes, fixtures, fittings, and key specifications for reference and builder coordination.
Dedicated Client Project Portal
Access to your centralised project portal, where selections, approvals, schedules, notes, and updates are managed in one organised environment—creating clarity and alignment throughout the process.
Curated Material Sample Box
Beautifully presented physical samples for key selections, where applicable, allowing materials to be reviewed in real life rather than relying solely on screen-based decisions.
Dedicated Follow-Up Consultation Session
A post-delivery consultation to review questions, refinements, or support considerations as your build progresses.
The Essentials Solution provides expert guidance across the key pre-build selections required to create a cohesive, considered home.
Depending on your project scope, selections may include:
ARCHITECTURAL FINISHES & DETAILS
- Internal and external door selections
- Door hardware
- Skirtings, architraves and cornices
- Stair finishes and balustrade selections
- Interior and exterior paint colours
- Roofing, gutters and façade finishes
- Garage door finishes
- Render colour selections
KITCHEN, BATHROOM & WET AREA SELECTIONS
- Plumbing fixtures and fittings
- Sinks, tapware, showers, toilets and mixers
- Bathroom accessories
- Benchtop selections
- Cabinet finishes
- Joinery material selections
- Cabinet handles and hardware
FLOORING & SURFACE SELECTIONS
- Timber flooring
- Laminate flooring
- Carpet selections
- Tile selections
- Feature and main tile applications
LIGHTING & ELECTRICAL FINISHES
- Decorative statement lighting selections
- Power point / switch plate finish selections
MATERIAL REVIEW & SAMPLE CURATION
Where applicable, key material samples are curated to support confident decision-making in real life—not just on screen.
For clients seeking a more tailored or detailed design outcome, we offer a selection of optional enhancements designed to complement The Essentials Solution.
While our core package provides a comprehensive framework for your key build selections, these additional services allow us to explore specific spaces in greater detail—bringing added clarity, visualisation, and refinement where desired.
Electrical Layout Guidance
Thoughtful electrical planning can make a meaningful difference to how your home functions day to day.
This enhancement provides design guidance around the considered placement of power points, switches, and key functional electrical elements to better support how you intend to live within the space.
For the most considered outcome, this enhancement is best explored in conjunction with Furniture Space Planning, as understanding how rooms will be furnished and used naturally informs the ideal placement of electrical elements.
This service is intended to support design decision-making and communicate design intent, and does not constitute electrical documentation for construction or compliance purposes.
Tile Layout Design
While many tiled spaces can be confidently executed using standard builder or tiler setout, some designs call for a more intentional approach.
This enhancement is ideal for spaces featuring more detailed layouts such as checkerboard patterns, borders, two-tone compositions, feature inlays, or other design-led tile applications where placement plays a meaningful role in the overall aesthetic.
Through considered planning, we help ensure the final result feels balanced, resolved, and true to the design vision.
Furniture Space Planning
While The Essentials Solution establishes the material and aesthetic direction for your home, this enhancement focuses on the spatial planning decisions that shape how your spaces will ultimately function and feel.
Ideal for clients seeking greater confidence before construction is locked in, this process allows us to thoughtfully explore furniture scale, circulation, room proportions, television and fireplace placement, and the practical relationships between key elements to ensure spaces are designed with real life in mind.
By considering how rooms are intended to be furnished from the outset, we can help uncover opportunities, avoid costly oversights, and create spaces that feel both beautifully balanced and highly functional.
Detailed 3D Kitchen Design + Joinery Concept
While The Essentials Solution establishes the material and finish selections for your kitchen, this enhancement moves beyond surface specification to explore the deeper design decisions that shape a truly considered outcome.
Designed for clients wanting a more tailored kitchen, this process allows us to refine elements such as layout opportunities, cabinetry profiles, feature detailing, material placement, internal storage functionality, appliance integration, and the many subtle decisions that influence how the space ultimately looks and performs.
Using detailed 3D visualisation and concept development, we bring clarity to the layers of design not captured through material selections alone—helping create a kitchen that feels both beautifully resolved and highly functional.
Includes one revision.
Detailed 3D Bathroom Design + Joinery Concept
While The Essentials Solution includes the selection of your bathroom finishes, fixtures, tiles, colours, and hardware, this enhancement moves beyond surface specification to explore the finer design decisions that shape a truly considered bathroom outcome.
Designed for clients seeking a more tailored result, this process allows us to refine elements such as vanity design, joinery detailing, mirror placement, niche integration, material application, tile layout relationships, and the many subtle decisions that influence both the functionality and visual harmony of the space.
Using detailed 3D visualisation and concept development, we bring clarity to the layers of design not captured through material selections alone—helping create a bathroom that feels beautifully resolved, practical, and cohesive.
Includes one revision.
Detailed 3D Laundry Design + Joinery Concept
While The Essentials Solution includes the selection of your laundry finishes, fixtures, colours, and materials, this enhancement allows us to explore the deeper design considerations that influence how the space will function day to day.
Ideal for clients wanting a more tailored and efficient outcome, this process allows us to refine joinery configuration, storage solutions, internal mechanisms, hanging provisions, appliance integration, workflow, and the practical details that extend beyond surface selections alone.
Using detailed 3D visualisation and concept development, we bring greater clarity to how the space will be organised, function, and feel—helping create a laundry that is both highly practical and thoughtfully resolved.
Includes one revision.
Detailed 3D Walk-In Robe / Storage Design + Joinery Concept
While The Essentials Solution may establish the broader material direction for your home, this enhancement focuses on the detailed design thinking required to create highly functional and beautifully integrated storage spaces.
Ideal for clients seeking a more tailored outcome, this process allows us to explore joinery configuration, hanging requirements, shelving, drawer allocation, internal storage mechanisms, accessory organisation, and the many practical details that significantly impact the everyday usability of the space.
Using detailed 3D visualisation and concept development, we bring clarity to the finer design decisions that transform storage areas from purely functional spaces into thoughtfully considered extensions of the home.
Includes one revision.
WINDOW TREATMENT DESIGN GUIDANCE
Window treatments are often overlooked during the build process, yet early planning can significantly improve both the functionality and final aesthetic of a home.
This enhancement provides design guidance around the most appropriate window furnishing approach for your spaces, considering factors such as privacy, light control, proportions, softness, and architectural integration.
Where relevant, we can advise on provisions that may need to be considered during construction, such as recessed pelmets or motorisation allowances, to support a more seamless finished outcome.
This service focuses on design direction rather than product procurement or installation documentation.
FIREPLACE DESIGN CONCEPT
For clients wishing to incorporate a fireplace as a considered architectural feature, this enhancement explores the design beyond simple product selection.
We develop the visual concept surrounding your fireplace, considering scale, placement, materiality, and how it integrates with the broader architecture and interior composition of the room.
This may include considerations such as feature wall treatments, joinery integration, hearth detailing, and the relationship between surrounding elements to ensure the final outcome feels intentional and beautifully resolved.
Includes one revision.
Important Note
Optional enhancements are exclusively available to clients engaging The Essentials Solution, allowing us to build upon our understanding of your wider project and ensure every design decision works cohesively as part of the whole.
These services are intended to communicate design intent and support decision-making, and do not constitute construction-ready documentation.
What do I need to have in place before starting with The Essentials Solution?
To ensure a smooth and productive start, we recommend having your final architectural or draftsperson plans available, ideally with council approval already in place or close to being finalised.
A general sense of your design preferences is also helpful, though not essential—our process is designed to guide and refine the aesthetic direction with you.
Most importantly, come with an open mind and excitement for the possibilities your new home holds.
Does your process include calculating the quantities of materials needed for the project?
No. Our service does not include material quantity calculations (commonly referred to as “take-offs”).
While The Essentials Solution provides a considered selections schedule and design direction, the responsibility for calculating material quantities rests with the builder, trades, or suppliers responsible for implementation.
How long does it take to complete The Essentials Solution once engaged?
Project timelines can vary depending on the complexity of your build and responsiveness throughout the design process, however as a general guide, The Essentials Solution is typically completed within 8–12 weeks from the agreed commencement date.
This timeframe includes onboarding, discovery, personalised design sessions, selections curation, presentation, refinement, final documentation, and material sample coordination where applicable.
Are there any additional costs beyond the base investment for The Essentials Solution?
The base investment covers all services included within The Essentials Solution for homes up to 250sqm.
For larger homes, an additional charge of $25 per square metre applies to reflect the increased design scope.
Should you wish to engage any optional design enhancements—such as detailed 3D design concepts, electrical layout guidance, furniture space planning, or tile layout design—these are priced separately and can be selected based on your project requirements.
How do the optional design enhancements integrate with The Essentials Solution?
The optional enhancements are designed to complement The Essentials Solution by exploring specific areas of your home in greater detail.
While the core service establishes the broader design direction, finishes, fixtures, and material selections, these enhancements allow us to delve deeper into the finer design decisions that influence how certain spaces will ultimately function, feel, and come together.
Examples may include detailed kitchen joinery concepts, bathroom design refinement, electrical layout guidance, or furniture space planning.
How many revisions are included with the optional design enhancements?
Each optional design enhancement includes one revision to refine the concept based on your feedback.
This allows for thoughtful refinement while maintaining a clear and efficient design process.
Can I purchase the optional enhancements separately from The Essentials Solution?
No.
The optional enhancements are exclusively available to clients engaging The Essentials Solution, as they are designed to build upon our established understanding of your wider project.
This integrated approach ensures design decisions remain cohesive, considered, and aligned with the overall vision for your home.
I’ve just built my dream home and now need help with decorating and furnishing it. Can you assist with that?
Absolutely.
While The Essentials Solution is specifically designed for pre-build selections, House of Allure also specialises in transforming newly completed homes into beautifully furnished, layered, and deeply personal interiors.
If you require support with furniture selection, window furnishings, styling, or full interior decoration once construction is complete, we’d be delighted to discuss the most suitable design service for your needs.
Can I use The Essentials Solution if I am tendering the project out to different builders or contractors?
Yes.
The Essentials Solution is well suited to projects being tendered across multiple builders or contractors.
Your completed selections schedule and supporting documentation are designed to provide consistency and clarity, ensuring all parties are working from the same design direction regardless of who ultimately delivers the build.
Are appliances included within The Essentials Solution?
Appliance selection is not included as part of The Essentials Solution.
While we’re always mindful of how appliances contribute to the overall visual outcome of a kitchen or laundry, appliance specification often involves detailed performance comparisons, technical requirements, installation considerations, and individual lifestyle preferences that sit outside the intended scope of this service.
If aesthetic input is required to ensure appliance choices align with the broader design direction, we’re happy to provide general guidance.
What options do I have if I’m not satisfied with the initial design direction?
Our process is intentionally designed to establish strong alignment from the outset.
We begin with a detailed onboarding questionnaire, consultative kick-off meeting, and early design conversations to ensure we understand your aesthetic preferences, practical needs, and aspirations for the home.
Should refinement be required, The Essentials Solution includes up to 10 individual selection refinements, along with one follow-up consultation session, allowing the design direction to evolve thoughtfully while maintaining momentum.
What’s not included in The Essentials Solution?
The Essentials Solution is focused on guiding the key pre-build selections required to create a cohesive and well-considered home. To maintain clarity of scope, some services sit outside this offering or are available as optional enhancements.
The Essentials Solution does not include:
- Project management or construction management
- Site visits, site inspections, or site supervision (available separately at our hourly design consultation rate)
- Builder, contractor, supplier, or trade liaison during construction (available separately at our hourly design consultation rate)
- Coordination of trades, timelines, deliveries, defects, or installation
- Construction documentation, certification drawings, or technical documentation for compliance
- Quantity take-offs, trade estimating, or material ordering calculations
- Detailed space planning or furniture layout design (available as an optional enhancement)
- Detailed joinery design or 3D concept development for kitchens, bathrooms, laundries, or walk-in robes (available as optional enhancements)
- Complex tile layout design such as checkerboard patterns, borders, feature compositions, or multi-format layouts (available as an optional enhancement)
- Detailed electrical layout planning beyond finish selections, such as switch and power point placement (available as an optional enhancement)
- Fireplace design integration or feature wall concepts (available as an optional enhancement)
- Window treatment design, pelmet detailing, or motorisation planning (available as an optional enhancement)
- Appliance specification, technical comparison, or performance-based recommendations
- Procurement, purchasing, or installation management
While aesthetic guidance may be offered where relevant, services that require deeper technical design development, product performance assessment, construction coordination, or implementation management are intentionally excluded from this package.
