A renovation brief should explain why the current home falls short and what a successful change would enable. Starting with a proposed wall removal can narrow the discussion too soon. Define the desired activities first, then investigate the physical ways to support them.

Describe the problem with examples

Replace general statements such as the house feels cramped with specific situations. Perhaps two people cannot prepare food together, visitors pass through a private room or storage spills into a circulation route. Include when the problem occurs and who is affected. This gives a designer a way to judge several solutions against the same goal. It also reveals when the difficulty might be addressed through furniture, storage or a smaller intervention rather than a major alteration.

Distinguish facts from constraints to investigate

List the existing dimensions, known records and observed conditions. Separately record assumptions about structure, utilities and boundaries. Do not label a wall removable based on a plan symbol or visual inspection alone. A qualified professional should determine the investigations needed for the proposed work. Keep uncertainty visible in the brief so concept options are not presented as fully resolved construction proposals.

Set priorities and limits

Identify the must-have outcomes, desirable improvements and items that can wait. Describe budget expectations and timing as planning constraints, without treating an early estimate as a fixed price. Include whether the household intends to stay in the property during work, since that affects the questions contractors will need to answer. Make clear who decides on scope and how options will be compared when goals compete.

Define the next deliverable

Ask for a specific next step: a layout comparison, a measured survey, a feasibility discussion or a pricing package. Each needs a different level of detail. A manual TranslateDesign room study can help organize the brief and compare gross areas, but it does not determine structural feasibility or obtain permits. Share the source observations, assumptions and questions with any exported concept so the recipient understands its limits.

  • Write the problem as an everyday situation.
  • Separate observed facts from concealed conditions.
  • Rank goals before choosing an intervention.
  • Agree what the next drawing or review must establish.
Put the idea into practice

Start with a room study.

Explore the open manual workspace. Your projects stay in this browser; AI processing and live collaboration are not connected yet.

Create a project ↗