Before you sit down with an architect to discuss your villa, there are ten questions worth answering for yourself. Not because the architect can't help you think through them — they can — but because the clearer your own thinking, the more productive the first conversation will be.
These are not technical questions. They are questions about how you live, what matters to you, and what you want your home to be.
1. Who will live in this house?
List everyone who will live in the house — family members, extended family who visit regularly, live-in staff. Consider how this might change over the next ten years. A house designed for a young family with small children will need to adapt as those children become teenagers and then adults.
2. How do you actually use your home?
Think about a typical day and a typical week. Where do you spend most of your time at home? Where do you eat breakfast? Where do the children do homework? Where do you relax in the evening? The answers will tell you which spaces matter most and which can be smaller.
3. How do you entertain?
Do you host formal dinners, casual gatherings, or both? Do you entertain men and women separately? Do you need a dedicated majlis? How large are your typical gatherings? The answers shape the public areas of the house significantly.
4. What is your relationship with the outdoors?
Do you use your garden regularly, or is it primarily visual? Do you want a pool? Do you want outdoor dining and living areas? How important is privacy in the outdoor spaces? In Muscat, a well-designed outdoor space can be used for eight months of the year — it is worth investing in.
5. What does privacy mean to you?
Privacy has different meanings for different clients. Some want complete visual separation from neighbours and the street. Others are comfortable with more openness. The answer affects the massing of the building, the placement of windows, and the design of the boundary walls and landscaping.
6. What is your budget — and how firm is it?
Be honest about your budget. A good architect will design to your budget — but only if they know what it is. Clients who are vague about budget often end up with a design they cannot afford to build, or with a design that has been value-engineered to the point where it no longer reflects their aspirations.
7. What is your timeline?
When do you want to move in? Work backwards from that date to understand when you need to start the design process, when you need authority approvals, and when construction needs to begin. Most clients underestimate how long the design and approval process takes.
8. What style do you want?
You do not need to be able to name an architectural style. But you should be able to describe the atmosphere you want to create — calm, dramatic, warm, minimal, traditional, contemporary. Collect images of houses you find appealing and think about what they have in common.
9. What are your non-negotiables?
Every project involves trade-offs. What are the things you will not compromise on? A large master suite? A specific view? A particular material? Knowing your non-negotiables helps the architect make the right decisions when trade-offs are required.
10. What does success look like?
Imagine yourself living in the finished house. What does it feel like? What do you love about it? What would make you proud to show it to a friend? This is the most important question — and the hardest to answer. But the answer is the foundation of a good brief.