SELF BUILD FAMILY HOME
LOCATION
Kineton
SCOPE
Full house visualisation, interior design exploration, exterior material studies
THE CHALLENGE
Designing a home from a blank sheet of paper creates countless decisions that are difficult to evaluate through drawings alone. The challenge was not simply designing the house, but understanding how it would feel to live in it: from the proportions of individual rooms to the relationship between spaces, light and the surrounding landscape.
The goal was to experience the home before it was built, allowing key architectural, interior and material decisions to be made with confidence before construction began.
WHAT WE EXPLORED
A fully interactive virtual model of the home was developed to explore the design from both inside and outside before submitting the proposals for planning approval.
One of the key areas of focus was the master suite, where the challenge was to create a vaulted gable-end bedroom that felt both spacious and cosy. Different layouts were explored to balance the bedroom itself with the ensuite and dressing area, whilst maintaining the sense of openness created by the vaulted ceiling and large glazing.
The open-plan kitchen, dining and living space was also carefully evaluated. Rather than designing a room where every piece of furniture had a single predetermined position, the aim was to create a flexible space that could evolve with the family's needs over time. VR allowed furniture arrangements, circulation routes and overall proportions to be tested at full scale to ensure the space would remain adaptable in the future.
Throughout the house, stair widths, hallway proportions and room dimensions were reviewed in VR to better understand how they would feel in everyday use. Window sizes and positions were also refined by experiencing the spaces from within, helping balance views, natural light and privacy.
Alongside the architectural design, the model became an ongoing tool for exploring interior design ideas, materials, colours and lighting concepts, helping establish a cohesive vision for the home both inside and out.
CLIENT FEEDBACK
We were blown away by how useful this was to us and now we hope to help others in their own journeys and help answer every "what if" and "how about".
Mr & Mrs Yeong
THE OUTCOME
As the future occupants of the home, VR gave us a level of confidence that simply wasn't possible through plans and drawings alone. It allowed us to experience the spaces before they existed, test ideas, challenge assumptions and make better-informed design decisions throughout the project.
From refining layouts and window positions to shaping the overall feel of the home, the ability to walk through the design at full scale became an invaluable part of the process. By the end of the project, one thing was clear: we could not imagine designing our own home without it.
That experience ultimately led to the creation of Unreal Designs, with a simple goal - to help other homeowners gain the same clarity and confidence before their homes are built.