Featured Publication
Source
"Dwelling" - THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
When
25-07-1998
Summary
This article introduces the renovation project where Helen Winterton first meets Simon, the building designer, and presents him with her "impossible dreams" for a deluxe renovation on a budget, to which he calmly replies, "No worries."
Article Transcription:
"WITH my father and brother-in-law itching to take a sledge hammer to every wall in the house, I set up a secret meeting with the idol of every home handyman — a builder.
Not just any builder though, a company which is doing work for friends and has a track record for successfully tackling difficult projects — and clients with impossible dreams and no idea about which walls hold up the roof.
Enter Simon, the building designer.
I warn Simon the designer that he might regret ever meeting me, or stepping inside my dream home.
No worries, he said.
I explain my needs for a deluxe bathroom, gourmet kitchen opening to the backyard through french doors — and don't forget the bedroom.
No worries, said Simon.
I tell him that the kitchen could be put in the bedroom, the kitchen gutted and made into a bedroom and the bathroom extended into the linen cupboards to accommodate a separate bath and shower.
No worries, said Simon.
I'm on a budget and I want to add value to the property but I would like a courtyard opening off the main bedroom. Oh, and an en suite. And can we knock down the dining room wall and add a study?
Now Simon looks worried.
Then he says: how about putting the bathroom in the kitchen and demolishing the entire back room to create a new living area and a main bedroom?
No worries, I said."....\
Not just any builder though, a company which is doing work for friends and has a track record for successfully tackling difficult projects — and clients with impossible dreams and no idea about which walls hold up the roof.
Enter Simon, the building designer.
I warn Simon the designer that he might regret ever meeting me, or stepping inside my dream home.
No worries, he said.
I explain my needs for a deluxe bathroom, gourmet kitchen opening to the backyard through french doors — and don't forget the bedroom.
No worries, said Simon.
I tell him that the kitchen could be put in the bedroom, the kitchen gutted and made into a bedroom and the bathroom extended into the linen cupboards to accommodate a separate bath and shower.
No worries, said Simon.
I'm on a budget and I want to add value to the property but I would like a courtyard opening off the main bedroom. Oh, and an en suite. And can we knock down the dining room wall and add a study?
Now Simon looks worried.
Then he says: how about putting the bathroom in the kitchen and demolishing the entire back room to create a new living area and a main bedroom?
No worries, I said."....\
Featured Publication
Source
"Dwelling" - THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
When
01-08-1998
Summary
In this column, the renovation process begins in earnest as Simon attempts to measure the property while managing Helen's enthusiastic but clumsy attempts to help hold the tape measure.
Article Transcription:
"I'M the first to admit that measuring up to my idea of the perfect renovation is not going to be easy. The problem is that I like to be involved, hands on.
I even warned Simon, the building designer who is going to work magic on my soon-to-be livable house, that he'd probably regret the day he ever met me.
So he probably wasn't at all surprised when I took an instant liking to one of the basic elements of planning a renovation — the measurements.
Simon was impressive as he put the tape through its paces. With a flick of his wrist it rocketed up to the ceiling or wrapped around a corner. He talked, recorded and flick, flick, flicked.
This looks great, I thought. Can I hold the end of the tape?
Taking a calculated risk, he sent me to the fence line where I waited for his nod and let it go — snap. He caught the end as it zoomed through the air — just in time to avoid serious injury.
And still he let me help. Silly man.
We measured everything — ceilings, doors and windows, even the ugly room that masquerades as my bathroom.
I was learning that measuring a house is a bit like a dress fitting. You instantly uncover the bits that fit and the bits that don't, or won't. Either way, you have to get it right.
So by the time we got to the walls, I was convinced that I had the gist and took off with my end of the tape.
The only problem was that I had positioned myself in the middle, not at the end, of the wall we were "measuring".
Now there's some measuring skill that could really blow out a budget — and a dress size."
I even warned Simon, the building designer who is going to work magic on my soon-to-be livable house, that he'd probably regret the day he ever met me.
So he probably wasn't at all surprised when I took an instant liking to one of the basic elements of planning a renovation — the measurements.
Simon was impressive as he put the tape through its paces. With a flick of his wrist it rocketed up to the ceiling or wrapped around a corner. He talked, recorded and flick, flick, flicked.
This looks great, I thought. Can I hold the end of the tape?
Taking a calculated risk, he sent me to the fence line where I waited for his nod and let it go — snap. He caught the end as it zoomed through the air — just in time to avoid serious injury.
And still he let me help. Silly man.
We measured everything — ceilings, doors and windows, even the ugly room that masquerades as my bathroom.
I was learning that measuring a house is a bit like a dress fitting. You instantly uncover the bits that fit and the bits that don't, or won't. Either way, you have to get it right.
So by the time we got to the walls, I was convinced that I had the gist and took off with my end of the tape.
The only problem was that I had positioned myself in the middle, not at the end, of the wall we were "measuring".
Now there's some measuring skill that could really blow out a budget — and a dress size."
Featured Publication
Source
"Dwelling" - THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
When
08-08-1998
Summary
This piece details the design brief stage, where Simon quizzes Helen on the technical specifics of her home—like the location of power outlets and the type of hot water system—highlighting the gap between her design dreams and the practical reality.
Article Transcription:
"MY builder seems to have developed a sort of ESP about home owners — we misguided "experts".
I reckon that's why these clever cookies developed a design brief — a sure fire way of bringing experts like me down to earth.
Simon the building designer (commonly referred to as "poor Simon") must have used his ESP to know that the time was right for my grounding experience.
Hence, the list of questions that accompanied the design brief.
"Right," said Simon. "Time to map out the GPOs."
GPOs? I wasn't sure if he was talking about letter boxes or graffiti, but when he mentioned general power outlets, the penny dropped.
There was a question in the brief about the condition and position of the electrical bits and pieces.
My answer? Most of the lights don't have globes. (I'm hoping they actually work.) Some rooms have lots of power points, others have none. Every room has light switches but some don't have lights — they have fans instead.
Oh, and there's a switch in the kitchen covered with a big piece of black electrical tape which I suspect means that you shouldn't touch it.
Next question: Is the property on deep sewerage? Answer: Dunno.
Is the hot water system gas or electric? Answer: Dunno.
Where is the hot water system? Answer: Dunno.
How do you turn on the hall light? Answer: Is this a trick question? Dunno.
Despite all the unanswered questions I still ended up having fun.
And Simon? I expect he learnt that it would take more than a design brief to phase me."
I reckon that's why these clever cookies developed a design brief — a sure fire way of bringing experts like me down to earth.
Simon the building designer (commonly referred to as "poor Simon") must have used his ESP to know that the time was right for my grounding experience.
Hence, the list of questions that accompanied the design brief.
"Right," said Simon. "Time to map out the GPOs."
GPOs? I wasn't sure if he was talking about letter boxes or graffiti, but when he mentioned general power outlets, the penny dropped.
There was a question in the brief about the condition and position of the electrical bits and pieces.
My answer? Most of the lights don't have globes. (I'm hoping they actually work.) Some rooms have lots of power points, others have none. Every room has light switches but some don't have lights — they have fans instead.
Oh, and there's a switch in the kitchen covered with a big piece of black electrical tape which I suspect means that you shouldn't touch it.
Next question: Is the property on deep sewerage? Answer: Dunno.
Is the hot water system gas or electric? Answer: Dunno.
Where is the hot water system? Answer: Dunno.
How do you turn on the hall light? Answer: Is this a trick question? Dunno.
Despite all the unanswered questions I still ended up having fun.
And Simon? I expect he learnt that it would take more than a design brief to phase me."
Featured Publication
Source
"Dwelling" - THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
When
15-08-1998
Summary
This article describes the moment Simon presents his initial sketches, transforming Helen's chaotic notes and her family's conflicting ideas into "neat, refined, and ruler-straight" professional plans that leave her speechless.
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Article Transcription:
"Renovation plans. I've got notepads full of them.
There are the wobbly sketches I scrawled at 3am during a sudden fit of inspiration. There are the neat ones with ruler-straight lines and semi-circles to represent doorways.
There are a few on bits of scrap paper and shopping dockets which were scribbled during traffic jams and telephone hold music — but most of those have disappeared into the black hole which inhabits my handbag.
There is also a collection of works which have been donated by family and friends since the day I announced I would renovate.
My father's masterpiece (on fatherly-type graph paper) is still on the fridge — a constant reminder of our agreement to disagree on the position of the kitchen.
Mum's version has a pretty walkway between the shed and the house — nice thought but not a priority.
The good ones, the bad, and the down-right ugly, I've kept them all — a sort of scrapbook to look back on at the end of the renovation process.
So when Simon the building designer asked me to check out his sketches of my dreams I was quite excited.
His plans, were — well, beautiful.
Neat. Refined. And ruler-straight. Just like Simon. I was in the presence of a true artist, an expert, a whiz, and — lost in the awe of the moment — I was tempted to stuff his originals in the black hole.
I was speechless.
What do you think? asked Simon.
It's simple, Simon. I said. Simply the best."
There are the wobbly sketches I scrawled at 3am during a sudden fit of inspiration. There are the neat ones with ruler-straight lines and semi-circles to represent doorways.
There are a few on bits of scrap paper and shopping dockets which were scribbled during traffic jams and telephone hold music — but most of those have disappeared into the black hole which inhabits my handbag.
There is also a collection of works which have been donated by family and friends since the day I announced I would renovate.
My father's masterpiece (on fatherly-type graph paper) is still on the fridge — a constant reminder of our agreement to disagree on the position of the kitchen.
Mum's version has a pretty walkway between the shed and the house — nice thought but not a priority.
The good ones, the bad, and the down-right ugly, I've kept them all — a sort of scrapbook to look back on at the end of the renovation process.
So when Simon the building designer asked me to check out his sketches of my dreams I was quite excited.
His plans, were — well, beautiful.
Neat. Refined. And ruler-straight. Just like Simon. I was in the presence of a true artist, an expert, a whiz, and — lost in the awe of the moment — I was tempted to stuff his originals in the black hole.
I was speechless.
What do you think? asked Simon.
It's simple, Simon. I said. Simply the best."
Featured Publication
Source
"Dwelling" - THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
When
22-08-1998
Summary
In this column, the renovation reaches the critical "pre-start" phase where all finishes must be selected. Simon points out a contract clause penalising changes with a $150 fee, sending Helen into a panic as she battles between her "cool" desire for safe neutrals and her "hot" craving for bold colours.
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Article Transcription:
"IT IS time to wade through kilos of renovation brochures and choose everything — including the kitchen sink.
A cup of coffee and a few minutes should sort out the laminates, taps, tiles, doors, handles, colours of toilets, basins, and appliances. No sweat, I told Simon.
Simon leaned across the desk and pointed to a clause in the building contract. When my eyes adjusted to the big print the seriousness of this stage of the renovations finally dawned. It will cost me $150 every time I change my mind following our "pre-start" meeting. Ouch.
The problem is, Simon, that there are two sides to my personality which keep fighting for control over the decor.
The cool me wants to stick with the safe "neutrals" to ensure easy resale. But the hot me craves colour, colour, colour — as long as its blue, bluey-green, bluey-mauve or bluey-blue.
So, in the safety of my own living room, I tossed a few ideas around. The hot side was delegated the couch and coffee table. Funky taps, stainless steel and cool green mosaic tiles. Yummy.
The conservative side took over the floor, the other couch and the kitchen table — there must be a big market in neutral.
One side liked white tiles and white benches. Then the other side reminded me of my passion for anything blue.
That means a cross between chic and conservative. White tiles and pale blue benches with chrome tapware. No — electric blue cupboards and granite benches?
If only I had $150 for every time I changed my mind just in the past hour, I'd be rich. Hang on, Simon."
A cup of coffee and a few minutes should sort out the laminates, taps, tiles, doors, handles, colours of toilets, basins, and appliances. No sweat, I told Simon.
Simon leaned across the desk and pointed to a clause in the building contract. When my eyes adjusted to the big print the seriousness of this stage of the renovations finally dawned. It will cost me $150 every time I change my mind following our "pre-start" meeting. Ouch.
The problem is, Simon, that there are two sides to my personality which keep fighting for control over the decor.
The cool me wants to stick with the safe "neutrals" to ensure easy resale. But the hot me craves colour, colour, colour — as long as its blue, bluey-green, bluey-mauve or bluey-blue.
So, in the safety of my own living room, I tossed a few ideas around. The hot side was delegated the couch and coffee table. Funky taps, stainless steel and cool green mosaic tiles. Yummy.
The conservative side took over the floor, the other couch and the kitchen table — there must be a big market in neutral.
One side liked white tiles and white benches. Then the other side reminded me of my passion for anything blue.
That means a cross between chic and conservative. White tiles and pale blue benches with chrome tapware. No — electric blue cupboards and granite benches?
If only I had $150 for every time I changed my mind just in the past hour, I'd be rich. Hang on, Simon."
Featured Publication
Source
2000 HIA-NKBA KITCHEN & BATHROOM AWARDS
When
March 2000
Summary
This document lists the winners of the 2000 HIA-NKBA Kitchen & Bathroom Awards. It highlights the success of the Dale Alcock Design Team—of which Simon was a key member—securing wins in the "New Bathroom Up To $12,000" and "New Bathroom $12,000 To $18,000" categories.
Article Transcription:
"NEW BATHROOM UP TO $12,000:Winner: Dale Alcock Home ImprovementDesigner: Dale Alcock Design TeamSponsor: The Real Estate Programme
NEW BATHROOM $12,000 TO $18,000:Winner: Dale Alcock Home ImprovementDesigner: Dale Alcock Design TeamSponsor: The Real Estate Programme"
NEW BATHROOM $12,000 TO $18,000:Winner: Dale Alcock Home ImprovementDesigner: Dale Alcock Design TeamSponsor: The Real Estate Programme"
Featured Publication
Source
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN NEW HOMES
When
22-07-2000
Summary
This clipping from The West Australian showcases the specific award-winning bathroom designs by the Dale Alcock Home Improvement team. It features photos and judges' comments praising the innovative use of angles, colours, and features in the projects Simon contributed to.
Article Transcription:
NEW BATHROOM UP TO $12,000WINNER: Dale Alcock Home ImprovementSPONSOR: The Real Estate ProgrammeJUDGES COMMENTS: This bathroom is an excellent, innovative entry. The use of creative angles and the selection of colours make the design coordination very pleasing.
NEW BATHROOM $12,000-$18,000WINNER: Dale Alcock Home ImprovementSPONSOR: The Real Estate ProgrammeJUDGES COMMENTS: This bathroom displays excellent use of colours and innovative design. The feature claw bath and mosaic-tiled wall with a shower and toilet behind are unique features. Quality finishes complete the room.
NEW BATHROOM $12,000-$18,000WINNER: Dale Alcock Home ImprovementSPONSOR: The Real Estate ProgrammeJUDGES COMMENTS: This bathroom displays excellent use of colours and innovative design. The feature claw bath and mosaic-tiled wall with a shower and toilet behind are unique features. Quality finishes complete the room.
Featured Publication
Source
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN REAL ESTATE
When
10-02-2001
Summary
This article from February 2001, titled "Stayputs spark revamp boom," features a profile on Simon Sparkes in a section called "Making headway in a market that's not for dabblers." It highlights his decision to focus solely on his own business, Period Home Additions, specializing in character home renovations, and his preference for hand-drawn designs over computer-generated ones.
Article Transcription:
"Making headway in a market that's not for dabblers
SIMON SPARKES is a man with a renovation mission, tackling a market in which it is tough to make headway.
"The renovations and additions market has always been hard to specialise in — no one seriously wants to dabble in it," the award-winning designer said.
"I've have always been involved with this side of building so it made sense to go out on my own."
Mr Sparkes' six-year-old company — Period Home Additions — specialises in renovations and additions for character homes in inner-city areas.
He has also pursued a career as a design consultant with a big building firm during this time but over the past six months has decided to concentrate solely on his own business.
In another venture, the UK-born designer has formed the Australian Renovation Group with two others — a builder and a construction manager. This enterprise looks specifically at kitchen and bathroom renovations.
Mr Sparkes said the aim of Period Home Additions was to keep any renovation or extension in the theme of the original home.
"We don't want people to be able to tell the difference between the old or the new," he said. "It should be seamless."
Period trimmings include high ceilings, cornices, skirtings, decorative ceilings and timber floors.
All designs are done by hand.
"Renovations and additions can be very fiddly and I find it easier to visualise exactly what is happening, and make changes, when it is drawn up by hand," Mr Sparkes said. "Computers can be prone to errors."
The home, pictured, is a work in progress.
Mr Sparkes was briefed to add another storey in style with the character home and to ensure that a previous renovation, done in the 80s, was more suited to the original dwelling. This included re-pitching the roof."
SIMON SPARKES is a man with a renovation mission, tackling a market in which it is tough to make headway.
"The renovations and additions market has always been hard to specialise in — no one seriously wants to dabble in it," the award-winning designer said.
"I've have always been involved with this side of building so it made sense to go out on my own."
Mr Sparkes' six-year-old company — Period Home Additions — specialises in renovations and additions for character homes in inner-city areas.
He has also pursued a career as a design consultant with a big building firm during this time but over the past six months has decided to concentrate solely on his own business.
In another venture, the UK-born designer has formed the Australian Renovation Group with two others — a builder and a construction manager. This enterprise looks specifically at kitchen and bathroom renovations.
Mr Sparkes said the aim of Period Home Additions was to keep any renovation or extension in the theme of the original home.
"We don't want people to be able to tell the difference between the old or the new," he said. "It should be seamless."
Period trimmings include high ceilings, cornices, skirtings, decorative ceilings and timber floors.
All designs are done by hand.
"Renovations and additions can be very fiddly and I find it easier to visualise exactly what is happening, and make changes, when it is drawn up by hand," Mr Sparkes said. "Computers can be prone to errors."
The home, pictured, is a work in progress.
Mr Sparkes was briefed to add another storey in style with the character home and to ensure that a previous renovation, done in the 80s, was more suited to the original dwelling. This included re-pitching the roof."
Featured Publication
Source
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN NEW HOMES
When
11-08-2001
Summary
In this August 2001 article, "Maximum flair, minimum cost," Simon Sparkes is featured as a designer for the Australian Renovation Group (ARG). He discusses a kitchen display he designed to show how to achieve a high-end look on a budget using clever material choices like reinforced cement and laminate, emphasising his philosophy of "maximum flair but minimum cost."
Article Transcription:
"Maximum flair, minimum cost
"SEE that wine rack," designer Simon Sparkes says while we examine his recently renovated kitchen display at Home Base.
"That's just the stuff they use in reinforced cement, simply polish it up — costs $12 for a huge sheet. And those river-rock wall tiles, you pay a fortune for them in a tile shop yet they cost half the price in a garden suppliers."
Overhead, a curved bulkhead in french walnut laminate is scored on the diagonal, making the most of recessed spot lights. It looks expensive, yet is simply laminate used in an imaginative way.
"There's still a bit of a cringe factor with people when you mention laminate, but the colour schemes and looks you can come up with are fantastic — it's so versatile and it's so cheap," Mr Sparkes said. "At that sort of cost you can afford to change the look of your whole kitchen five years down the track just by replacing the benchtop."
It is the imagination that goes into Mr Sparkes' designs that has led to a new direction for ARG (Australian Renovation Group), a 15-year-old WA building company. ARG's core business has been alterations and additions, but it is extending into kitchen and bathroom renovations.
Mr Sparkes said the aim of the Home Base display was to put something on show with maximum flair but minimum cost. Costs are kept down through research — establishing a look and coming up with cheaper alternatives and working directly with fabricators to cut out middle-man costs.
ARG sources most of its fittings locally, unless there is something available overseas that cannot be sourced here. In that case, staff will fly overseas and go straight to the source rather than deal with mark-ups from importers.
Many of ARG's alterations and additions have concentrated on creating a seamless addition to period homes but Mr Sparkes said many homeowners were becoming more adventurous and were happy to blend the new with the old.
He said the juxtaposition of, for example, an ultra-modern kitchen and bathroom within a traditional home, was a point of interest and served to accentuate both the architectural styles.
He said kitchens were generally just a part of a renovation and because ARG was a builder, rather than solely a kitchen designer, it could coordinate the entire package to keep costs down and streamline the renovation process."
"SEE that wine rack," designer Simon Sparkes says while we examine his recently renovated kitchen display at Home Base.
"That's just the stuff they use in reinforced cement, simply polish it up — costs $12 for a huge sheet. And those river-rock wall tiles, you pay a fortune for them in a tile shop yet they cost half the price in a garden suppliers."
Overhead, a curved bulkhead in french walnut laminate is scored on the diagonal, making the most of recessed spot lights. It looks expensive, yet is simply laminate used in an imaginative way.
"There's still a bit of a cringe factor with people when you mention laminate, but the colour schemes and looks you can come up with are fantastic — it's so versatile and it's so cheap," Mr Sparkes said. "At that sort of cost you can afford to change the look of your whole kitchen five years down the track just by replacing the benchtop."
It is the imagination that goes into Mr Sparkes' designs that has led to a new direction for ARG (Australian Renovation Group), a 15-year-old WA building company. ARG's core business has been alterations and additions, but it is extending into kitchen and bathroom renovations.
Mr Sparkes said the aim of the Home Base display was to put something on show with maximum flair but minimum cost. Costs are kept down through research — establishing a look and coming up with cheaper alternatives and working directly with fabricators to cut out middle-man costs.
ARG sources most of its fittings locally, unless there is something available overseas that cannot be sourced here. In that case, staff will fly overseas and go straight to the source rather than deal with mark-ups from importers.
Many of ARG's alterations and additions have concentrated on creating a seamless addition to period homes but Mr Sparkes said many homeowners were becoming more adventurous and were happy to blend the new with the old.
He said the juxtaposition of, for example, an ultra-modern kitchen and bathroom within a traditional home, was a point of interest and served to accentuate both the architectural styles.
He said kitchens were generally just a part of a renovation and because ARG was a builder, rather than solely a kitchen designer, it could coordinate the entire package to keep costs down and streamline the renovation process."
Featured Publication
Source
The West Australian New Homes
When
24-08-2002
Summary
This August 2002 piece, "Bright Sparkes fired up for move," announces Simon Sparkes' move to the South-West region. It details his rebranding to "Simon Sparkes and Associates," his continued passion for renovating old homes, and his expansion into designing individual modern homes in Busselton, marking a "coming of age" for his business.
Article Transcription:
"I'VE always done old homes, I enjoy the challenge that they present," says building designer Simon Sparkes.
"Being dictated to by what's there and has been for maybe 80 or 100 years, getting what the owner wants while conforming to council guidelines — I enjoy solving those problem cases," Mr Sparkes said.
Over the past 12 years his company, Period Homes, has been responsible for some very different designs, using spaces not traditionally considered for expanding — the front facade and out to the side.
He said it is more economical to use space on the front or on either side, especially if there's limited space at the back.
"Though the easy solution is to go upstairs, you're looking at a whole new budget, not to mention a different way of living," he said.
A renovation of this type is better on the budget but comes with its own problems — namely, maintaining the character and making it look as though the addition was always meant to be there.
Mr Sparkes' design work is generally for homes in the middle-to-upper end of the market — homeowners who are developing their property for improvement rather than to simply expand the available space.
"The sort of jobs where clients are looking to add value, dragging their home into the millenium, regenerating and broadening their resale market," he said.
The trend to renovate rather than buy is continuing as people become more community focused, Mr Sparkes said.
"Lots of people aren't prepared to change all their neighbours, the child care or school for the sake of a bigger house," he said.
"They've been in their home for a number of years and built up equity, so there is greater incentive to stay put but to improve what they've got."
While planning to continue work on period homes, Mr Sparkes has decided to broaden the scope of his business and has established a new office in Busselton geared towards designing individual modern homes in the South-West.
"I'm interested in working in the South-West because the area provides more opportunities for adventurous design, it being a clean slate, the architectural concepts to date being typically young, modern and bright," he said.
"You're able to use different materials and modern lines without disrupting the streetscape. In the city there's so much approval and conformity that dictates what people do, whereas down south the boundaries have been loosened up and a few people have broken the ice already."
Though operating two offices, one in Perth and one in Busselton, Mr Sparkes said he will continue to run solo, under the new name of Simon Sparkes and Associates.
"I like to operate on my own — you don't lose any interest and it eliminates the frustrations of differences in interpretation. The biggest difference in how I operate is that where I used to do everything by hand, I will now work autocad as that will allow me to work from either office."
The new name reflects the new direction for Mr Sparkes and is also a coming of age.
"I'm quite proud of what I've done and I'm happy to put my name to it. People remember a person, not a company," he said."
"Being dictated to by what's there and has been for maybe 80 or 100 years, getting what the owner wants while conforming to council guidelines — I enjoy solving those problem cases," Mr Sparkes said.
Over the past 12 years his company, Period Homes, has been responsible for some very different designs, using spaces not traditionally considered for expanding — the front facade and out to the side.
He said it is more economical to use space on the front or on either side, especially if there's limited space at the back.
"Though the easy solution is to go upstairs, you're looking at a whole new budget, not to mention a different way of living," he said.
A renovation of this type is better on the budget but comes with its own problems — namely, maintaining the character and making it look as though the addition was always meant to be there.
Mr Sparkes' design work is generally for homes in the middle-to-upper end of the market — homeowners who are developing their property for improvement rather than to simply expand the available space.
"The sort of jobs where clients are looking to add value, dragging their home into the millenium, regenerating and broadening their resale market," he said.
The trend to renovate rather than buy is continuing as people become more community focused, Mr Sparkes said.
"Lots of people aren't prepared to change all their neighbours, the child care or school for the sake of a bigger house," he said.
"They've been in their home for a number of years and built up equity, so there is greater incentive to stay put but to improve what they've got."
While planning to continue work on period homes, Mr Sparkes has decided to broaden the scope of his business and has established a new office in Busselton geared towards designing individual modern homes in the South-West.
"I'm interested in working in the South-West because the area provides more opportunities for adventurous design, it being a clean slate, the architectural concepts to date being typically young, modern and bright," he said.
"You're able to use different materials and modern lines without disrupting the streetscape. In the city there's so much approval and conformity that dictates what people do, whereas down south the boundaries have been loosened up and a few people have broken the ice already."
Though operating two offices, one in Perth and one in Busselton, Mr Sparkes said he will continue to run solo, under the new name of Simon Sparkes and Associates.
"I like to operate on my own — you don't lose any interest and it eliminates the frustrations of differences in interpretation. The biggest difference in how I operate is that where I used to do everything by hand, I will now work autocad as that will allow me to work from either office."
The new name reflects the new direction for Mr Sparkes and is also a coming of age.
"I'm quite proud of what I've done and I'm happy to put my name to it. People remember a person, not a company," he said."
Phone
0418 903 995
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