Custom Home Design in Caversham

Custom home design in Caversham with Stephen Anthony Developments. Shaping the layout, the light and the room sizes around how you actually live, before anything is built and while changes still cost nothing.

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Designing a House Around How You Live

Start with how you use a house. Where do you eat, where does the washing go, how many people are getting ready at eight in the morning. Room sizes and door positions come out of those answers. A plan that ignores them looks good and lives badly.

Custom home design in Caversham with plans laid out for a new house build

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Working With Architects and Engineers

We work alongside your architect and structural engineer rather than instead of them. Our part is telling you what a design will mean to build: which walls need steels, which spans get expensive, and where a small change on paper saves a great deal on site.

Design Choices That Change the Cost

Simple shapes cost less than complicated ones. Every corner, level change and roof valley adds labour and materials. Large glazed openings need bigger steels. None of this means you cannot have them, but you should know the price before the drawings are finished.

About us

Custom home design is where we get involved earliest. After 34 years of building, we have a fair idea of which designs work on site and which ones cause trouble. Bringing a builder in at the drawing stage is the cheapest advice you will ever get, because everything on paper can still be moved without costing you a week of labour.

34 years building across Caversham and Reading
Show home in RG4 you can look round
Office in RG4 and clients are welcome to call in
One team from groundworks to final finish
Written quotes before any work is agreed

STILL NOT SURE?

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I involve a builder in the design of a new home?

As early as you can, ideally once you have an outline plan but before the drawings are finalised. Changes on paper cost nothing. The same change after foundations are poured costs weeks and thousands. Early input usually saves more than it costs.

Do you provide the architectural drawings yourselves?

We do not draw the plans ourselves, but we work with local architects and can put you in touch with one who suits the type of project. We then work from their drawings and feed back anything that would be difficult or costly to build.

How do I keep a custom design within budget?

Set the budget before the design, not after, and tell your architect what it is. Keep the shape simple, group plumbing together, and pick where you want to spend. Money in a kitchen and good windows shows every day. Money in a complicated roof does not.