The client - coming from a series of town houses over many years decided the time had come where a house was to be the next and last planned move. With a strict budget for house and land it was proving difficult to find anything existing on the market that came close to fitting the brief of a small, single level home, no/low maintenance and close to family. After much searching a small parcel of land was found and the process started. With a budget of $250K for the build some smarts had to be applied in the form of efficient planning and sensible selections of materials, construction methodology and general finishes. From the outset it required true collaboration between client, architect, engineer and builder to be able to meet the brief.