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Before the call, I set up the property information and floor plans you have sent me so that they are ready for us to work with. I briefly familiarise myself with what you would like to discuss, but I do not design a solution in advance—the design work begins when we talk.

During the 58-minute video call, we start with what you want to achieve, how you use your home and the decisions you are struggling with. I then share my screen and draw directly over your floor plans.

We might test different layouts, move rooms, walls or furniture, explore an extension, or compare several approaches. As I draw, I explain the design, cost, planning and practical implications so that you can see how the ideas develop.

Yes. This is not simply a call where I give you general advice. Drawing is how I think through a building.

I share my screen and draw over your plans while we talk. You can watch an idea being tested, see why something may not work, change it and compare it with another approach. You are involved in the design conversation throughout.

A workshop will not resolve every detail of a building project, but that is not normally what people need from it.

Most people book because they are stuck on a particular decision, cannot see the possibilities clearly or need an experienced outside view before committing more time and money.

Because we focus entirely on your home and test ideas by drawing as we talk, we can usually explore a surprising amount in 58 minutes. You may leave with a promising direction, confirmation that your existing idea is sensible, several options to investigate or a much clearer understanding of what not to do.

If you are deciding between several properties, we can look at those during the same workshop. We will not be able to explore each one in the same depth as a session focused on a single home, but I can compare their potential, identify significant opportunities or limitations and give you a clear steer from my perspective.

The aim is not to solve the entire project. It is to help you make the next important decision with greater confidence.

After the workshop, I send you a PDF of the working sketches we developed during the call, together with the meeting notes and a recording of the session.

These are not finished architectural drawings or a complete design package. They are a clear record of the possibilities we explored, the decisions we discussed and the thinking behind them—something you can revisit, discuss with your partner or share with an architect, builder or other professional as you decide what to do next.

No. You do not need measured drawings prepared by an architect or surveyor, but I do need something that helps me understand the layout of your home.

An estate-agent floor plan, an old drawing or even a reasonably clear hand-drawn sketch with a few dimensions is usually enough. Photographs and a property-listing link are also helpful.

If you are unsure whether what you have will be usable, email it to me before booking and I can let you know.

Yes. This is a private workshop with me—not a group session, webinar or course. Your partner or anyone else involved in making decisions about the property is very welcome to join you.

I normally record the call so that you can revisit our conversation and the ideas we explored. The recording also allows me to review and improve how I deliver the workshops. After the call, I will send you the workshop sketches, meeting notes and recording once they are ready.

Your plans, property information and recording remain private. I will never publish or share any part of your workshop without asking for your specific permission first.

That is very common, and you do not need to agree before booking.

A workshop gives both of you a neutral place to explain what is not working, what matters to you and what you each hope the house could become. I listen to both sides without taking one person’s side.

We can then draw and test the different ideas together. Seeing the options on screen often makes it easier to understand the other person’s point of view, identify the real source of the disagreement and find an approach that works for both of you.

It can occasionally feel like a little design mediation—but the aim is not to declare a winner. It is to help you make the decision together.

Yes. Many workshops take place before a purchase. We can look at what the property might become, whether your requirements are likely to fit, what the major constraints may be, and whether the probable cost of the work makes sense alongside the purchase price.

The workshop does not replace a survey or legal advice, but it can help you ask better questions and avoid buying with unrealistic assumptions.

Yes. Sometimes the problem is not simply deciding how to alter a house—it is deciding whether the house can ever become what you need.

We can explore what might realistically be possible, what compromises would remain and how much work may be involved. That can help you judge whether improving the property feels worthwhile or whether moving would be a better use of your time, energy and money.

The workshop will not make the decision for you, but it can give you a much clearer basis on which to make it.

Yes. I will give you an honest view of what appears feasible, the likely planning, Building Regulations or structural issues, and broad indications of cost where they are useful.

Sometimes the most valuable outcome is discovering that a large extension or complicated alteration is unnecessary—or that a different sequence of work would achieve more for the available budget. I will not encourage a larger project simply for the sake of it.

A Home Improvement Workshop is not a complete architectural design process compressed into 58 minutes. I will not arrive with a finished solution, and I cannot promise that we will produce a final design ready to build during the call. That normally requires a much longer process of developing, testing and refining ideas.

Instead, you bring the problems, possibilities and ideas you have for your home. We then draw and explore how they might work. We may test several options, improve an idea you already have, discover a different direction or rule something out altogether.

You do not need to like every idea we draw. Finding out why something does not work—or confirming that your existing instinct is right—can be just as valuable as discovering a new possibility.

The workshop sketches are exploratory ideas, not measured survey drawings, planning or Building Regulations drawings, structural calculations or construction information. The aim is for you to finish with a clearer understanding of your home, your options and what to do next.

If you genuinely feel at the end of the workshop that our conversation has not helped you achieve that, tell me and I will refund your fee.

I leave two minutes between appointments so that I can finish one call properly and be ready to begin the next one on time.

If I do not have another call immediately afterwards and our discussion needs an extra few minutes to reach a natural conclusion, I am relaxed about that. However, please plan for the workshop to last precisely 58 minutes. :-)

No. The Home Improvement Workshop is a complete, stand-alone service—not the first step in a sales funnel.

I will not use the call to sell you architectural services, a training course or anything else. Its purpose is to give you independent, practical design advice when you feel stuck, are considering buying a property, or need help deciding what to do next.

Very occasionally, a workshop leads to my taking on a project, but this is unusual. I work on workshops with people around the world, while my capacity for full architectural projects is limited and I generally prefer those projects to be local to me.

You can book a workshop simply for the help provided during the session, with no expectation that anything else will follow.