Michael Spiteri

TESTIMONIALS

 Building or renovating a house is a huge financial and emotional investment, the angst level is off the scale.

Picking a designer and a builder is also up there with it.

However, we were more than happy with both our choice of designer and builder.

We went to Michael with a simple idea to turn our very dated pavilion style house into a single entity by filling in the space between the pavilions.

Michael listened to what we had envisaged to exterior and interior of the house and came up with the design.

In hindsight, the idea we had was pretty plain. Michael turn our idea 180 degrees and suggested some alternatives. The result was more spectacular than we had envisaged.

It probably cost a bit more but it was well worth it, adding much value to the house and giving it some WOW factor.

In fact our builder (Simon Bristol, Habitat Constructions) said it was the best value add build he'd ever done.

At all times Michael worked to translate our thoughts onto paper but also added helpful and constructive ideas of his own for us to incorporate if we wanted....mostly we did.

As our build was a renovation there are always modifications/alterations to the outcome as the build progresses. When we decided to ditch our existing combined laundry bathroom (we found some of the building frame rotted)and make a new bathroom Michael was able to come up with a design at extremely short notice so as to keep the build progressing with minimum disruption.

When Michael asked if he could view the finished house, he also sat down to pick our brains to see if we thought he could improve anything from his end at the consultation and design stage. We had no problems with any of that and our builder had no problems with any of Michael's design and construction notes.

We also did a walk-thru of the house with Michael to see what bits of the design had been altered or left out and the reasons why( a few bits due to budget or problems with the existing structure). Michael also quizzed us about those parts of designed that we thought worked well and why they worked well.

Michael's rationale for the walk-thu was that it's good to know, for future reference, why bits work and others don't . This I thought a nice touch.

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As a family of 5 with 3 young children our aim was to create a space that would work for us today and as our family grows over the years to come.

During the planning process Michael took the time to meet regularly and discuss our everyday living needs and the ideas that we had, always taking into account the practical needs of family life and the benefits of a fully functional household.

Michael was very realistic and extremely approachable, introducing sound ideas such as positioning of windows and breezeways for maximum thermal benefits, (as a result our house remains beautifully cool throughout the summer).

He was extremely positive and easy going, making sure that, as clients, we were 100% happy with the end result.

This required some patience as it took a few proposals to get the final draft just right. Michael always had our concerns and interest at the core of his planning as well as ensuring that the plans would match our financial budget.

We have now lived in the house for a year and absolutely love the way that the house flows and the fact that we use every part of the house in the practical way it was designed.

We all enjoy sharing our open space as well as relishing our privacy when needed.

The process of planning was the beginning of our building project and was a most positive, professional start to this exciting and memorable time in our life, building our family home.

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We asked Michael to draw up plans for our Queenslander in Bangalow back in 2008.

We were delighted when he produced in a very short space of time a series of comprehensive drawings .

The drawings were as per our brief to him, they were clear, and our builder found them easy to work with. So did the council – there were no problems with the plans we submitted.

Michael was also able to suggest a good external cladding material for our Queenslander that suited the period of the Queenslander design, and we were delighted with the finished look of these particular weatherboards.

We have no hesitation is recommending Michael to anyone wanting a capable Architectural Draftsman who listens to the client brief, gets the job done efficiently and at a reasonable price, and who is a pleasure to deal with.

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We commissioned Michael to design our Garage/Office addition to our home.

Michael a wonderful professional, yet friendly person to work with and his design add much aesthetic and financial value to our home

Whether you want someone who will listen to your needs and design ideas and come up with a great idea or simply hand the complete project over, then I would whole heartedly recommend Michael.

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Moving and renovating an old Queenslander for two people who had never ventured beyond a kitchen renovation was a fairly daunting process.

Frankly, we did not really know where to start where it came to designing a new floor plan for a 100 year old house, which had obviously been a grande old beauty in its day but suffered a blasphemous amount of post-war aluminium “additions”.

Michael listened and understood how we as a young family wanted to live and create space to play and grow within a house.

He was practical, fast and honest with his response to the design.

He took on board what we were asking for and added very welcome additions.

Michael is simply the sort of person that instantly puts you at ease and quickly creates trust within the relationship.

We are so thrilled to now be in full swing of seeing our joint vision coming to life and commend Michael on helping us turn an old house into a beautiful new home.