When 30 per cent makes all the difference

Room to Improve is back in its Sunday evening slot on RTE, spring is nearly upon us and people are ramping up their plans to build a new home. I get asked a lot at this time of year to look over plans that people have drawn up for their new dwelling,

A professionally designed house will hug and blend in with the landscape as though it has always belonged thereThinkstock
A professionally designed house will hug and blend in with the landscape as though it has always belonged thereThinkstock

The box plan is normally based on a set of plans from a house down the road, which in turn is based on – well you know the story. They show me photographs of their picturesque site and I ask: “Why did you settle for the standard, off the peg, box house type instead of a ...