Dsarchitecture | as seen on Ch.7

I have had the pleasure of working directly with Dion and the team at DS Architecture for a number of years now. I have always found their approach to business distinctly professional and a pleasure. I look forward to the next opportunity we have to work together.

Having Dion Seminara Architecture design our new home was the best decision we could have made. Our previous house was not designed by an architect and was a compromise from day one. The previous designer showed no creativity and simply did up our ideas, which in hindsight, given our lack of skill in designing homes, gave us a very poor outcome. Our home felt cramped and stuffy; there was no connection from one room to the next and nothing at all to give it the wow factor that we were after. In our new home Dion created a wow factor and so much more. Ours was a tricky project as our block was quite difficult. Dion really created a design that connected with our unusual block. His ideas were simple but so effective. With our new swimming pool is now partly shaded by the new extension allowing us to swim without being burnt to a cinder. Our new home is now bright and airy to the extent that we hardly need air-conditioning at all. Whereas in our previous home we needed to have lights on in some rooms even in the daytime we now have gorgeous natural light which we can so easily control thanks to the beautiful shutters which are functional as well as being a major talking point for family and friends. Having Dion also design the external works has in my opinion really help to link the inside to the outside. He was very mindful of our need for privacy which is reflected in the design of our outdoor entertaining areas. He truly has made the most of our block and created our dream home. I would strongly recommend contacting Dion if you are building a new home for your retirement you won't be disappointed.

We engaged Dion Seminara Architecture to design renovations of our home. This was our first time using an architect as 2 previous renovations that we had done we used the services of draftsmen. We now realise that we should have engaged an architect such as Dion for those other renovations and regret the fact that we didn't. We knew when purchasing this property that the block was tricky however we liked the area and thought that the house itself had 'good bones'. However after speaking with a number of draftsmen and two builders we were beginning to lose confidence in our decision as they all claimed that what we wanted to do couldn't be achieved on our block or that it would be far too expensive. Pretty much all recommended selling and starting again. But we made the decision to invest in a consultation with Dion Seminara Architecture and ended up speaking with Dion himself. He acknowledged the challenges that our block presented and he spent time going through our needs and requirements and we worked through a comprehensive list, which Dion then applied rates against. It was clear that the project was heading over our budget, but Dion suggested we remove double ups we had in rooms and other unneeded spaces as there was only the two of us now at home and although the family would come to stay they did not live permanently with us anymore. Dion then proceeded with a design that was based on our real living needs. He was confident to the point of being enthusiastic that our goals could at that point be achieved. It was refreshing to speak to someone with real design skills as part of the problem had been that the others we spoke with had simply been trying to make our own design work and that we had felt that we knew what we were doing. Dion however had very different ideas and viewed the project in a way that only someone with his skill can do. The end result is considerably different to what we had proposed and works so much better as a result. We could not be more delighted and have no hesitation in recommending Dion Seminara Architecture.

We have been meaning for some time now to put in writing our appreciation and thanks for Dion's creative but yet very practical architectural input to the renovations that we undertook at our home during the latter half of 2012. We continue to be amazed at the practicality of the design. We are so pleased with what has been achieved. We started out with a very ordinary and quite basic two-storey, small brick cottage on some small overgrown sandy site. We have ended up with a new lifestyle, in a house that surprises our visitors, as well as passers-by, with its style, openness, quite innovation and functionality. Comments from three people seem to sum it up well. The former owner has said "Why didn't we think of doing that!". A neighbour has said "You have turned the ugliest house in the street into something very stylish". And our builder said, on several occasions, "You have set a new standard for the street". The process we went through with Dion and related professionals was very thorough, practical and productive. It was obviously time and money well spent. There were, in effect, no problems with having the building plans approved by the Council on their first presentation. The plans and intentions were also clear enough for the project to proceed with virtually no need for the builder to seek clarification from Dion on any significant matter. The builder and his sub-contractors were impressed with the details of your drawings and specifications to the point of being so “spoilt” by the clarity and instructions they jokingly complained about having to improvise the construction of a storage cupboard under the barbeque as it was the only thing that was not drawn in detail for them! During the concept planning and design process with Dion, we were able to see our sometimes ragged thoughts converted into lines on a plan or words in a specification. Those lines and words are now where we live. Dion took an ordinary brick box and created a modern, contemporary styled home suited to the lifestyle we envisaged, namely, comfortable living and entertaining, both indoors and outdoors. We are grateful to Dion for that. In short, our experience with Dion Seminara as our architect and the subsequent activity of our renovations have been most enjoyable and successful, a situation which is not always the case, if one is to believe “conventional wisdom” and anecdotes about designing and building a house. We have no hesitation in recommending Dion to anyone who is embarking on a similar activity to ours.

I have been working with Dion on his business over the last few months and found him to be very approachable, eager to communicate a very caring and passionate person. He is very committed to designing for lifestyle, sustainable design, and eco housing and I really like that about him because the environment is important to me. The office he works from has also been designed using these principles and I like it when someone practices what they preach. I love looking at beautiful house designs and the galleries on Dion's website show some stunning houses. One day I would love to buy a big old Queenslander and get Dion and his team to design the renovations. Thanks Dion for being so passionate about creating beautiful eco homes.