Rise Up Design P/L

Andrew was recommended by a dear and trusted friend, who had engaged Andrew to remodel her kitchen/dining spaces. After seeing her place and hearing her glowing recommendation we met with Andrew. We had a two bedroom Victorian Single Fronted Miners cottage in Richmond that we loved, but had outgrown, with the arrival of our two children. We love living in Richmond and desperately wanted to stay but needed more space, and above all someone who had the vision to design our dream home, maximising every spare inch. After the first meeting with Andrew, we knew we had found such a visionary. He followed up our meeting with some photos of kitchens recessed under the staircase and an amazing sketch of what we could do with the space we had, mindful of the close proximity to our neighbours. Andrew had us at "Kitchen Under The Stairs". We spoke to other Architects before signing up with Andrew, but no-one else had the vision and "outside the box" ideas to maximise space that Andrew had. Andrew has been right beside us the whole journey as we moved forward. He produced the sketch drawings, translated them into plans and 3-D models, and submitted them to council. He negotiated with Heritage, accommodating their requirements, without compromising the living and outdoor space we really wanted in our upstairs extension. Not only did Andrew provide a detailed Specification Document, outlining all elements of the build, he also recommended bath tubs, toilets, tap fittings, tiles and even negotiated discounted prices with suppliers, which for someone who had never renovated a house before was just what we needed. Andrew arranged permits, road closures, traffic management and all the other endless documents and approvals required by council. When our neighbour decided to take us to VCAT, (despite our numerous design compromises), Andrew was by our side. He represented our case and we won! Andrew recommended an excellent builder, who he has worked with for over 20 years, and together they worked tirelessly to make our "forever home" a reality, and what a beautiful reality it is! Andrew was actively involved in every stage of the build, discussing, checking, adjusting and readjusting the plans, as and when needed; and to our amazement and sheer delight they have together built our dream home in just 6 months! We could not thank Andrew enough for all his hard work and infectiously positive attitude. We would not hesitate for a second in recommending him to anyone seeking a visionary, that can turn ideas, dreams and sketches into reality.

We hired Andrew to design our extension and renovation. From our first meeting we knew that he had the vision and experience to make our somewhat vague and basic ideas become reality. He encouraged us to really think about what we would dream of having in the 'ideal world' situation and he would make them possible. For example, I made a throw-away comment that I'd love a butlers pantry if we had the space... and within 5 minutes he had drawn a plan for us that included a butlers pantry! (which we now have and love!) We liked having the peace of mind that Andrew had everything covered - not only did he prepare the working drawings but he also organised plans and permits, engineering, thermal performance assessments, electrical and lighting layouts and detailed bathroom and kitchen plans. Andrew is an excellent communicator. He never rushed a meeting with us, was in regular contact with our builder throughout and even stepped in to help us out with chasing up a supplier when we weren't making any progress. During the later stages of fitting out our ensuite we realised we needed a modification because of the basin mixers we'd chosen. Andrew spoke to the builder, cabinet maker and ourselves and designed a new mirror cabinet with box shelf (see picture) all within 48 hours!

In mid-2013 we engaged Andrew Hayen, Director of Rise Up Design to design and provide plans for a major renovation on our family home. Andrew listened to our ambitions and objectives and offered his own expert advice, providing detailed working drawings for the project. We also engaged Andrew to liaise with council and other interested parties to organise the required permits, tests and engineering drawings. This was done in an effective and efficient manner and was seamless from our perspective. Communication from Andrew was excellent from beginning to end. There were many revisions of the plans and Andrew made the required changes happily and in a timely manner. Once the project began, Andrew remained involved in the build from beginning to end. We would be more than happy to recommend Andrew and his team for Rise Up Design.

Andrew at Rise up design was excellent throughout the process of our renovation . He was very approachable and we were able to discuss at length finer details of the project. He was able to make our vision a reality. He proved to be thorough in investigating options for our project and came up with some great ideas. I would have no hesitation in recommending Andrew.

To say thorough and detailed would be an under statement. Having been associated with Andrew Hayen at Rise Up Design for at least 15 years I have found his thoroughness and attention to detail to be exceptional. These abilities coupled with a diverse skill set of design, communication, project management, mentoring and the ability to find a viable solution to complex situations has given Andrew my complete professional respect.