Creating an A team

GIVEN the complexity of building a new home, how do you make it an enjoyable experience? ‘The key ingredients are finding a professional design team and building team, and that everyone gets along well together,’ says Nigel Armstrong, chairman of residential builder R. W. Armstrong. ‘Make sure you are surrounded by people you want to spend a year or more with—you are going to be talking about personal things, in detail, on a very regular basis, so personalities are important.’

To find the team, most agree on the benefits of personal recommendation from friends, colleagues and other professionals—and COUNTRY LIFE’s Top 100 published every spring. Search engines and services, such as RIBA Client Advisers (www.architecture.com) and RedBook (www.redbookagency.com) may also be useful. Know who will lead the project —usually the architect—and that the practice is willing and able to take on the full gamut of tasks you expect, including co-ordinating all the other professionals involved.

‘Assemble the team as early as you can,’ advises Hugh Petter, director of Adam Architecture. ‘For example, I always like getting the interior designer involved