We live in the same area as Stephanie and had always admired her house – it’s so interesting with a number of beautiful sections. It was natural that we thought of Stephanie when we decided to renovate.

We started the project with a Design Ideas Workshop. It was great to brainstorm ideas and discuss things like light, privacy and street aspect.  We set up a Pinterest board to which both Stephanie and I contributed ideas. I really appreciated the collaborative process.

Working with Stephanie is a joy. She’s flexible and open to ideas. She really listens, takes time to understand what we want and really respected our budget. She’s intuitive and has a beautiful eye for detail. There was a section of roof that Stephanie advised to slope up instead of down. That simple move has transformed this part of our house – we now enjoy seamless living between indoors and outdoors. There’s more light and air, and we now capture a lovely breeze. Another beautiful aspect is the green wall at the front door – it’s just delightful.

We absolutely love the finished product. The renovation was completed 6 months ago and there isn’t a day where I haven’t thought how much I love our house now.

Skyring Architects was recommended to us by a landscape architect we were consulting. We had decided to undertake a fairly comprehensive renovation: transforming our two bedroom post-war cottage into a more contemporary house.

From the start, we found Stephanie to be open and transparent. She listened closely, and took the time to understand exactly what we wanted. She never made assumptions, and would ask clarifying questions if she wasn’t sure about something. As a result, Stephanie seemed to really ‘get’ our sense of style and how we wanted to live in our new house. This meant we almost always agreed with her recommendations and suggestions, because they were tailored to our needs.

Stephanie encouraged us to make all the decisions about interiors and fit-out before the build commenced. By the time the building started, everything was sorted. It was a brilliant move, because it meant the build process itself wasn’t stressful and came in pretty much right on budget. During the build, Stephanie project managed, while we were living in Cairns. She was a great communicator, attentive to detail, and we trusted her implicitly. We also loved the fact she seemed almost as excited as we were about the project.

We are really happy the finished product. We love the amount of natural light and the seamless transition between indoors and out.

The stereotype of architects is that they get carried away with their own ideas and go over budget. Stephanie did neither. The whole process was really fun, and we can’t recommend Skyring Architects enough.

When looking for an Architect, Skyring Architects stood out in terms of their ethos, flexibility and design work.

We’ve used Architects in the past, but felt the process was one sided…there was very little collaboration. I enjoy the design process and was keen to feel involved. With Stephanie, I felt that we had a lot of input, which was refreshing. Another major difference that appealed to us were the flexible service options……… offered by Skyring…from brainstorming ideas at an hourly rate through to a full architectural and project management service.

Stephanie’s communication with us was fantastic. She fully explained the process, explained every decision, asked our opinion every step of the way – she was very accommodating. Stephanie project managed everything for us and was very organised. She’d meet with the builder regularly and let me know when this was happening. There is so much out there it can be daunting – from builders and tradesmen to various fixtures and finishes. Stephanie narrowed it all down for us and worked through the whole process so that we felt we were really guided along the way.

Stephanie’s whole team was really lovely. From the builder to the draftsman Anthony, everyone was helpful. The interior designer Sandy was very patient with us and spent a lot of time working through things. She also listened to what we wanted. Stephanie herself is so pleasant and easy to work with.

Stephanie has a great eye for detail and quality finishes. We now have a house that captures the afternoon breezes, is filled with light and made up of the most beautiful spaces which totally suit the way we live. Our house is just a real joy to be in now – we were very, very happy with the end result.

I work in Real Estate and have always enjoyed renovating and project managing the build – it’s the design part that we need to outsource.

We commissioned Stephanie to complete our sketch designs and the results were fantastic. Stephanie just has an innate sense of where to position the house – knowing the direction of the prevailing winds in a suburb for example. She even guided us on which way we should be opening our windows – in our case, left to right – to catch the breeze from the North East. Her designs are incredibly environmentally sensitive, which we love.

Steph came to our place, talked with us at length about what we wanted, then she basically nailed it. What we noticed about Steph was that she listened – Architects aren’t usually known for their listening skills! She’s proactive in her advice and forthright in getting things done for us, but is willing to relinquish control when we’re ready to take over.

We couldn’t be happier with how things have turned out and we can attribute a large part of the success of our renovation to Stephanie.

Phil & Sally Cray
Bardon

“With four teenagers, we approached Skyring Architects with a brief to ‘please give us more space’!

Our house was boxed in and dark, and while we had little idea what to do, Stephanie nailed it from the start. Our house now flows freely out to the garden and our kitchen and living room open to a beautiful side deck, where we have a wonderful day bed overlooking our new vegie patch. Stephanie has integrated banks of louvers and sliding doors, creating a lovely, light, airy feel to our home.

The whole process, rather than being difficult, was actually enjoyable! Stephanie is a great operator and extremely efficient. If she says she’s going to be there on Wednesday at 10, she’ll be there. If she says the plans will be ready by the following Monday, you’ll receive them that day. When you’re ready to build, Stephanie has all the builders, engineers and soil testers lined up. There were no delays, everyone worked well together and we all knew what was going on at every stage.

Stephanie is also very budget conscious and helps you select quality products that won’t blow your budget. I truly believe we saved money going through Stephanie – usually it’s the opposite and your original budget doubles. She’s very skilled at using your current features and finding building materials that are not only cost effective, but sustainable.

Our meetings were always fun, it was never stressful. We had a big party on the week-end for one of our daughters, and the whole area worked beautifully. That’s the mark of a great Architect – someone whose designs are not only beautiful, but practical and functional as well. “

Rebecca Ovenden

I’ve always believed you can’t have a project come in on time, on budget, and with awesome results, but Stephanie made it all happen!

We’ve never really considered working with an Architect because you hear that they’re always imposing their views, they’re really expensive and they don’t listen. Stephanie was the complete opposite.

This was our first renovation, and Stephanie hand held us through the whole process. She’s great at clearly explaining things and was amazing at coming up with clever ways of solving problems. I’m a control freak and had a huge folder of tear sheets from magazines, covering all sorts of looks, from shabby chic to asian oriental! Somehow, Stephanie managed to match our aesthetic.

We were on really tight timelines too, as I was about to have a baby and we needed the renovation finished. Amazingly, the builder downed tools and I went into labour that night. So Stephanie brought it all together for us – an amazing outcome, on time and within our budget. You can’t ask for more than that.”

Gillian Moody

Throughout, Stephanie was professional, flexible, versatile and a breeze to work with. Stephanie consults everyone and she LISTENS. She works well with the builders and carpenters as well, which doesn’t always happen! She’s pragmatic when she needs to be, but so creative when we needed guidance.

From wanting a space to do our work, we’ve ended up with a fantastic stand alone building in the back yard – which we’ve named ‘The Shed’. It’s one room, but 3 levels, with space for me to do my craft and for my partner to do his work. It’s fully wired, and comes complete with a small kitchen and bathroom, so it’s rentable space as well. We got all this, within the budget we’d set aside.”

Jacqueline Ratcliffe & John Mongard (John Mongard Landscape Architects)

I love design and Neill works in the construction industry, so we were keen to do a lot of the work ourselves and only needed the initial design plans done by an Architect. We knew we didn’t want a full Architectural service as we wanted to run the project. However, we knew we needed the design support of a professional.

Skyring Architects offers this support through their great Design Ideas Workshop service –you can tap into their skills where you need them. It’s brilliant…

Budget wise, it basically enabled us to do everything we wanted to do.

Stephanie is great at working out how people live and move around a house. Her designs were perfect – elegant, practical and environmentally sensitive. Plus, they were easy to follow!

Stephanie is just so easy to work with as well; she’s direct, real world, honest and practical. She understands the process of design, not just from the perspective of an Architect. So often you hear builders complaining about the impracticality of an Architect’s design, but this didn’t occur with Stephanie. She seems to be able to reconcile everyone’s perspectives.

We love our new home – the natural light, the breeze, the layout, it’s a really beautiful result. We wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without Stephanie.

Adrienne & Neill Baxter

I saw Stephanie’s work in the Brisbane News and was really impressed with her aesthetic and environmental focus. I had designed and planned my own renovation. The plans were ready, but once I started working on the specifications, I admit I felt a little overwhelmed. I felt I need the professional input of an Architect, so engaged Stephanie.

Stephanie has written a brilliant DIY guide, which I used throughout the planning process. I then engaged Stephanie for a period of 4 hours, during which time she reviewed my plans and specifications, and talked about the design, materials and product selection. Stephanie went through each point, identified what was missing (insulation, gutters etc) and generally gave me advice on putting the project out to tender.

I ended up with clear, comprehensive specifications – and importantly, peace of mind that I had everything covered and had considered every angle. What I love about Skyring Architect’s Design Ideas Workshop service is the fact I remain in charge of the project, but can still tap into the skills of an experienced Architect like Stephanie. Attempting to send my unchecked specifications to numerous builders would have been a lengthy, drawn out process. “

Hanne Paust
New Farm

We have friends who’ve had disappointing experiences with architects – some of whom seemed oblivious to budget constraints, didn’t listen and expected our friends to throw out all their existing furniture and start again. Stephanie was the complete opposite. From the start, she took great care to understand OUR requirements and ideas. She was mindful of our budget – instead of suggesting we throw everything out and start again, she factored our current fittings and furniture into her plans.

Stephanie is an incredibly talented architect. She has turned what was a dated, oppressive and dark house into a contemporary, light filled home that’s eminently more liveable…all within our budget. Her designs showed sensitivity to the environment and we hardly use our air conditioner anymore.

She organised several quotes from builders, which can become a nightmare if you have to source quotes yourself and she worked in conjunction with the builders. In the end, she effectively saved us money. The whole process was seamless and we’re incredibly delighted with the results. “

Joanne Pathe