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Are you avoiding your new home project? 4 ways to beat the ‘stuck’

Written by

Bower Architecture

21 October 2025

 • 

3 min read

Kate's New Place, Photo by Shannon McGrath.
Kate's New Place, Photo by Shannon McGrath.
This article was inspired by a couple we met recently who have just kicked off their project with Bower. They both have big jobs, plus passion projects, kids with a million interests and to top it off they have a home that is cold, dysfunctional and makes them feel like the day to day is a real chore. We were sad to hear that they had been living in this situation for years, knowing that they needed to do something about it but were stuck! They had been afraid to get started as they imagined that doing so would add stress to their busy lives

It may be reassuring to hear that we have helped lots of clients in this exact ‘stuck’ situation and ushered them smoothly into their new home. Surprisingly, the most common person who struggles with this stuck scenario is busy, successful and frequently a leader in their field.

If this sounds like you, here are four tricks we’ve picked up to help you embrace the journey to you new home:

1. Use an architect

If you are after a calm, professional service and journey, as well as a beautiful and timeless outcome, go to a professional: a registered architect. This is number one! A client recently commented to us that they truly had no idea how many aspects are managed by the architect in creating a home and that they couldn’t believe anyone would embark on a project without one.

2. Doing the right thing at the right time and following an orderly journey

You don’t need to know your exact brief or what dishwasher you want to start. The architectural process, based on a series of design stages, is designed to start with the macro vision, then carefully refine the design down to the micro detail level over several months. You don’t need to worry about what comes later. You only need to know you are ready for change to start.

3. Limited options and calm decision making

The architectural process is designed so that you don’t need to make too many decisions at once and so you can calmly make the right decisions at the right time. Architects have a wealth of experience to give you a carefully considered and refined set of options to choose from. You will have presentations at key moments so you can take in the design and make decisions in a timely way.

4. Good quality facetime and communications

Your architect can refine the amount of communication and the number of required face to face meetings to suit you. If you are a busy person this may be in the form of emails that you can read quickly and provide ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answers to, and a fortnightly update email or phone call to let you know about progress. Your architect will also ensure the right meetings at the right time with the right people – and keep them snappy if this is what you are after.

We hope these ideas help put your mind at rest. With the right architect, the journey of revealing your ideal home can be calm and enjoyable, so that you can soon end your busy day and be welcomed home to a special place that makes your busy life all feel worth it.