Oh, Hey there!
I’m BameÂ
(pronounced ba-may),
BUT YOU CAN CALL ME B
Your preconstruction & prestart expert, design educator, qualified architectural designer, and founder of The Prestart Studio. Also known as the nature-loving, mum of 2, FIFO wife, and complete winesnob who’s totally ob-sessed with all things home design.
in the building and preconstruction game since 2012
Specialist in designing intentional, functional, “you-centred” homes
After 12+ years in the building industry - you name it, I’ve done it. Prestart consultant, contracts administrator, project manager, client liaison, display home interior designer *dramatically exhales* - ya girl’s worn a lot of hardhats in her time.
Now, I’m on a mission. Â
“To educate and empower first home builders who are feeling frustrated by the lack of clarity and misinformation around the prestart process.    Â
 I’m here to make preconstruction confusion, builders “hidden fees” and bad design, a thing of the past.”Â
Supporting first home builders like you through one the biggest financial (and emotional) journeys you’ll ever go on is my why. Because let’s be honest, you don’t know what you don’t know. Â
Lucky for you, when it comes to building I almost certainly know. Except for that one time… when I was building my home and everything I knew about building and design left the chat. Funny story.
That one time
The architectural designer’s home-building near-horror story
Blowing the budget, overlooking errors on the working drawings, and constantly doubting myself and my choices. It’s every first home builder’s nightmare, and it was happening to me. A qualified and experienced architectural designer.
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Building your home is overwhelming at the best of times. But throw in working full-time (for the custom builder who built my home), designing and managing my own build, keeping 2 kids thriving (sometimes settling for alive) and being a FIFO-wife, it 👏🏼 was 👏🏼 tough 👏🏼
Thankfully I had an office full of experts and support (my second set of eyes and the voices of reason) to support me through the process and catch my mistakes. Â
And you? You’ve got me.  Your prestart & preconstruction expert to make your new home building or DIY renovation journey an informed, intentional and enjoyable one, regardless of your budget, location or builder.
A lil bit of advice for building your new home, from me to you
Truth is, I’ve been involved in hundreds of builds without a hiccup, but when you’re in the trenches, making the big decisions for yourself, it’s easy to miss the little (and freakin’ HUGE) things.
So if there’s one piece of priceless advice I can give to you to make your build a million times easier, give you peace of mind, and avoid expensive mistakes - it’s to work with an expert.
And I know just the girl… 🙋🏽♀️
GET TO KNOW THE GIRL
Prestart meetings can get a lil’ personal,
so here’s the 411 on me, B!
Â
My design style is…Â
Human-centred… intentional, functional and feed good
What makes my home a home?
three things - my family, a good book and a glass of wine
My love language is…
Cooking (low & slow, baby!)
I love turning the actual pages of…
Personal development & psychoanalysis books
Constantly spinning on my record player…
Nina Simone, ABBA, Bob Marley & Erykah Badu (eclectic, I know…)
You know I’m in the room when you hear…
Hey Gaaaaarl
What's Your
design style
Maybe you’re feeling a little industrial… moody with high ceilings, old timber and metal light fixtures. Oooh a minimalist?! Modern, simple and functional with a neutral colour palette and clean lines… nothing too crazy.
Or maybe coastal Hamptons is more your style- with dreamy beige furnishings paired with blues, greens and painted white wood for a relaxed and comfortable beachy feel.
OMG - ME NEXT!
client love
We did the Pre-pre-start workshop with Bame and WOW!! She went over our floorplan with a fine tooth comb and had so many ideas of things we could add/change to enhance all the spaces. She gave us tips on where we could save $$ vs where it is worth it to spend. The whole experience was invaluable and we feel so much more confident about our pre-start consult with the builder. She answered all our questions and her fresh perspective helped us see things we had missed in our plans. An absolute must for anyone who wants a little more confidence at pre-start!!
steph and chris
client love
My husband and I experienced the most excellent customer service ever! Bame is a genius. We had fears for our Prestart. Confused of what to select. But, Bame took the burden off our shoulders. She suggested everything that we needed to know from start to finish. Every service provider we needed to know and even accompanied us to some of them. We would recommend Bame to everyone who is building/renovating. You will not regret working with Bame for your Pre-prestart. Thank you Bame for your expertise. Bring on Prestart!
bibi and muchi
client love
Knowing Prestart was drawing near had me nervous and feeling extremely scared of missing something. Though, that feeling has now disappeared thanks to the time spent with Bame! Visted Bame this morning and I now feel like 98% of the decisions have been made and potential traps have been sorted. We now have few pages of adjustments, worded in a format the builders prefer. Along with the colour selections being sorted, which I am incredibly grateful! I had no idea how I was going to get the exterior selections to work within both my and the Estates "wish list"
lincoln and sarah
client love
Thanks for the great experience Bame! From the very start you were very warm and welcoming and that helped to put us at ease! After many weeks looking at the plans for our new home ourselves we had so many different ideas, but it was nice that you were able to help us crystallise and narrow down our thoughts and ideas clearly by going through our plans in detail. There were so many things we never even gave thought too. Especially when it came to the extra storage in the pantry and laundry. And the fine tuning of our ideas when it came to the bathroom and ensuite just made sense! As a result when we did go through the actual Prestart we were well prepared not only with a checklist of what to say but also with the actual modified plans and even a colour palette! For anyone contemplating building and about to go through Prestart... Bame is the one to see FIRST... it will be well worth your time and efforts.
james and rhonda
client love
Thanks for the great experience Bame! From the very start you were very warm and welcoming and that helped to put us at ease! After many weeks looking at the plans for our new home ourselves we had so many different ideas, but it was nice that you were able to help us crystallise and narrow down our thoughts and ideas clearly by going through our plans in detail. There were so many things we never even gave thought too. Especially when it came to the extra storage in the pantry and laundry. And the fine tuning of our ideas when it came to the bathroom and ensuite just made sense! As a result when we did go through the actual Prestart we were well prepared not only with a checklist of what to say but also with the actual modified plans and even a colour palette! For anyone contemplating building and about to go through Prestart... Bame is the one to see FIRST... it will be well worth your time and efforts.