Articles | Bespoke Architects

Is 2016 the year for that big project??

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Tracey Parker | 0 Comments

With the festive season now over, the New Year here and spring around the corner many households have collected their thoughts during their time off from work and recharged those mental batteries. January it is often the catalyst for those who are starting to think about their lives, their plans for their home for the year ahead and whether to move…

Best value for your investment

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Tracey Parker | 0 Comments

Moving or improving – What gives you better value for money? In a quest to explore the idea of the benefits of moving or improving at home, I have done some research into the cost of housing locally to see how much property you get for your money when buying as opposed to floor space you can achieve by improving…

Party Wall – Have you got one and what do you need to know?

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Tracey Parker | 0 Comments

What is a Party Wall? The main types of party walls are: a wall that stands on the lands of 2 (or more) owners and forms part of a building – this wall can be part of one building only or separate buildings belonging to different owners a wall that stands on the lands of 2 owners but does not…

Grand plans

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Tracey Parker | 0 Comments

We all dream of bigger and better and most of us have had a thought about building our own home in an idyllic location. For some, this is achievable with land in abundance or having a sub-standard property to replace but for others we need to think outside of the box. There has been trend in recent years to turn…

Chichester Art Trail

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Tracey Parker | 0 Comments

Over the last couple of weekends, I have indulged in visits to artist’s homes in the Chichester area. Not only was it a pleasurable experience to see so much artistic talent but also to visit some beautiful homes, gardens and work spaces. One which sticks in my mind was the studio at Said House in Fishbourne. The ‘pavilion’ in the garden was designed by architects, Peter…

New Permitted Development rights – Agricultural

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Tracey Parker | 0 Comments

New Permitted Development Rights The government has now published the detailed legislation relating to converting redundant agricultural building to residential dwellings without the need to apply for planning consent. In August 2013, the Government published a consultation document titled ‘Greater flexibilities for change of use’ that proposed to allow the conversions of existing barns and other agricultural buildings to residential…

Being an architect

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Tracey Parker | 0 Comments

The journey to becoming an architect started a long time ago. As a child I was always interested in other peoples’ homes and would disappear to have a good nose around, much to my parents’ embarrassment. My father is an architect and we would have regular trips to London to experience culture and architecture and it was when I was…

Eco-Innovation

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Tracey Parker | 0 Comments

In my last practice I was lucky enough to be involved in a project where the client was keen to use alternative energies in order to create a long-term ethos on the site of a reduced carbon footprint and a green approach to energy consumption. The projects being installed were a biomass boiler, photovoltaic panels and ground and air source…

Television Inspiration

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Tracey Parker | 0 Comments

I watched an interesting programme on the television last night entitled Double your house for half the money. Sarah Beeney presents the show and looks at a couple of family groups looking to up-size their property. With house prices rising, many of the homes we aspire to living in seem out of our reach and a good couple of rungs…

Why use an architect?

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Tracey Parker | 1 Comments

Most people know an architect or have a family member who is an architect but there are less who have actually used an architect or know what they can offer to a project. Architects bring a huge degree of creativity to a project and can provide you with options you had perhaps not thought of, or felt able to explore…