Designing or renovating can feel overwhelming, especially when you are balancing family, work, budgets, and a long list of decisions. Our services are designed to make the process clear and steady from the start. We bring building and landscape design together early, so your home and garden are planned as one, saving time, reducing duplication, and helping you get a more cohesive result.
What we offer
Integrated house and garden design
We design your home and garden as a single, coordinated project, shaped by your lifestyle, budget, and site conditions. This approach avoids the common problem of designing the house first and trying to make the landscape fit later. By considering solar access, wind, privacy, views, movement, outdoor living, and productive planting together, the design works better day to day and is easier to build and stage over time.
Building design
We design new homes, renovations, and extensions with a strong focus on comfort and efficiency in Tasmania’s climate. You are guided through a clear process: a detailed brief, site-informed concepts, and documentation to support approvals and construction. This reduces uncertainty, helps avoid costly changes later, and gives you confidence that the design will perform as intended.
Landscape and garden design
We design landscapes that are practical, beautiful, and suited to how you live, whether that is child-friendly outdoor spaces, entertaining, growing food, supporting biodiversity or creating a calmer, lower-maintenance garden as you age. Our documentation can include set-out, levels, planting plans, details and schedules, so you can seek quotes, build in stages, or complete parts of the work yourself with a clear plan to follow.
Renovation or extension
Renovations and extensions often come with constraints, unknowns and competing priorities: improving comfort, gaining space, keeping costs under control, and making the home work better for everyday life. We help you clarify what is most important, explore options that balance comfort, budget, and buildability, and prepare coordinated drawings for approvals and building. The result is a smarter use of your existing home, with better flow and stronger connection to the outdoors.
New build
A new build is your chance to get the fundamentals right: orientation, layout, comfort and how the home sits in the landscape. We design homes that are warm in winter, cooler in summer, and shaped around your daily routines, future needs and budget. By making key decisions early and documenting them clearly, the build process becomes simpler and the finished home feels grounded, cohesive, and made for Tasmanian conditions.
Feasibility or advice
If you are early in the process, we can provide practical advice to reduce risk and help you choose the right next step. This may include reviewing a site or existing home, talking through options and priorities, and clarifying likely approval pathways so you understand when Council or consultants may be involved. It is ideal if you are unsure where to start, have limited time, or want informed direction before committing to full design.
Designing homes and landscapes that belong to Tasmania – the Inwardout Way
At Inwardout Studio, we create thoughtful, integrated building and landscape designs that respond to the beauty and diversity of northern Tasmania — from the fertile slopes of the Tamar Valley to the open plains of the Northern Midlands, the windswept beauty of the north coast, and the gentle hills surrounding Launceston.
Our work brings buildings and gardens together as one living system, shaped by local climate, materials, and the people who call it home. Whether you are planning a new home, renovation, or garden transformation, we design with care for Country, sensitivity to place, and an eye for long-term sustainability.
By designing both the building and landscape in harmony, we save time, reduce duplication, and ensure your project feels cohesive from the ground up. Each design evolves through conversation, observation, and collaboration — helping you create spaces that feel natural, comfortable, and uniquely yours.
That’s the Inwardout Studio way — building and landscape in harmony, shaped by place and purpose.
1. Getting to know you
Finding the right fit
Every great design begins with understanding — how you live, what inspires you, and what kind of place you want to come home to. Before we begin any drawings, we take the time to get to know you and your project so we can ensure that we are the right fit for each other.
We believe design is a collaboration. Just as you are looking for designers who understand your lifestyle and values, we want to ensure our approach aligns with your vision. We’ll meet with you — in person, online, or over a coffee in Launceston — to talk through your ideas, priorities, and how you’d like your home and garden to feel and function.
This is where your project truly begins: with shared ideas, curiosity, and a genuine understanding of what’s most important to you.
2. Developing your design brief
Defining what matters most
Once we’ve met and discussed your goals, we prepare a detailed design brief that clearly outlines the scope, priorities, and budget for your project. This becomes the foundation for all design decisions moving forward.
Your design brief captures:
- your goals and priorities for the project
- any sustainability, accessibility, or energy-efficiency aspirations
- key opportunities and challenges identified during discussions
- practical requirements such as budget, staging, or future plans
What to expect
A clear written summary of your brief that ensures everyone stays aligned before we move into design.
3. Site analysis
Understanding your place
Before we start on your Concept Plan, we’ll conduct a detailed Site Analysis to understand the existing conditions that will shape your design. This process helps us read the landscape and architecture of your site so we can respond sensitively and creatively.
During this visit, we observe and document key features of your property, including:
- landform, drainage and soil conditions
- sun and shade patterns
- views (both to frame and to screen)
- vegetation and habitats
- circulation patterns (people, vehicles, animals)
- existing buildings, utilities and services
- any constraints such as winds, slopes, or wet areas
Depending on the project, this stage may also involve coordination with surveyors, engineers, or other consultants. The Site Analysis directly informs your Concept Design, ensuring our ideas are grounded in the reality of your site.
4. Design exploration
Testing ideas and possibilities
This is the stage where imagination begins to meet reality. Using the insights gathered from your site and design brief, we explore a range of creative directions for your home and landscape.
Our early concepts focus on how spaces might connect, how light could move through them, and how materials or planting could enhance comfort and liveability.
At this point, ideas are still flexible. We might test two or three different design directions to see what feels most aligned with your goals and sense of place.
What to expect
You will see a collection of hand-sketches, inspiration images, conceptual diagrams, and annotated plans that help you visualise potential design directions and give feedback before we develop the preferred one further.
5. Concept design
From ideas to a clear direction
Once you have reviewed the early concepts and chosen a preferred direction, we refine and consolidate the design into a resolved Concept Design Package.
This version captures all the essential details: layout, materials, colours, planting style, and architectural integration. It clarifies how your home and landscape will work together.
Our goal is to ensure the design is beautiful, practical, and appropriate for Tasmanian conditions. We consider solar access, drainage, plant selection, and sustainability from the outset so your design performs well in the real world.
What to expect
- scaled drawings, elevations or sections where required
- a coordinated plant and materials palette
- supporting visuals or 3D models to help you visualise the final outcome
6. Planning approval
Guiding your design through council
With your Concept Design complete, the next step is to confirm that your project meets all planning requirements. We handle this process for you so that your application proceeds smoothly.
Navigating the Tasmanian Planning Scheme and local council procedures can be complex. We prepare and lodge applications for residential and landscape projects across Northern Tasmania, working regularly with councils from Launceston to the north and east coasts. Our understanding of local planning provisions, overlays, and performance criteria allows us to anticipate potential challenges and streamline the process.
Our services include:
- preparation of Development Application (DA) drawings and supporting documentation
- lodgement, correspondence, and follow-up with council throughout the approval process
- Coordination with consultant if required by council at this stage
We make sure your submission is clear, compliant, and professionally presented to minimise delays and avoid unnecessary requests for further information.compliance required under the Building Act and associated codes.
7. Building approval
Turning your approved design into construction documents
Once planning approval is granted, we prepare the detailed documentation required for building approval under the Building Act and related codes.
These working drawings translate your concept into a clear set of technical documents that builders and certifiers can rely on for pricing, compliance, and construction.
We collaborate with relevant consultants to ensure structural, energy, and other technical requirements are integrated into the design.
Coordinating with your builder
We recommend speaking with potential builders early. Involving a builder during design and documentation helps test buildability, align materials and lead times, and refine costs. Where possible, we coordinate directly with your preferred builder so pricing is accurate and construction proceeds smoothly.
What to expect
- Detailed floor plans, sections and elevations
- Construction details and specifications for materials and finishes
- Coordination with consultants (for example, Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) assessors and geotechnical engineers), and with engineers and building surveyors/certifiers, to confirm compliance with the National Construction Code (NCC) and Australian Standards
- Coordination with your preferred builder for early costing, buildability feedback and timeline considerations
8. Landscape documentation
Designs ready to build and grow
Once your concept is approved, we translate it into a clear, buildable landscape plan that can be confidently implemented by your chosen contractor — or by you if you prefer a more hands-on approach.
Our documentation sets out every essential detail, ensuring your landscape is constructed as intended and in harmony with your building design. Whether your project is a small residential garden in Launceston, a coastal retreat on the north coast, or a larger property in the Northern Midlands, our drawings provide the clarity needed for accurate pricing, efficient construction, and long-term care.
Each drawing is prepared with care and a deep understanding of Tasmanian conditions — from soil and slope to local plant performance — ensuring your garden thrives long after construction.
At Inwardout Studio, we embrace the principles of slow design. Just as slow food celebrates seasonality and craftsmanship, slow design values time, reuse, and attention to detail. We understand that some people prefer to build their gardens gradually — reusing materials, salvaging from their site, or waiting for the right moment to complete each stage. We design with this in mind, so your garden can evolve naturally, at a pace that feels right for you.
If you plan to carry out the work yourself, we can tailor your documentation to include:
- practical guidance for implementation, such as plant spacing and soil preparation
- maintenance advice so you can bring your garden to life with confidence
What to expect
- lighting and irrigation plans developed in collaboration with trusted specialists to ensure these systems integrate seamlessly with your overall landscape design
- site layout and materials plan showing paths, paving, decks, walls, and surface finishes
- setout and levels plans establishing exact dimensions and ground levels
- planting plan and schedule detailing plant species, sizes, and quantities
- construction details illustrating key elements such as retaining walls, stairs, ponds, or pergolas
9. Project support
From plans to reality
We understand that seeing your design come to life is the most rewarding part of the process, and also the most complex. We can remain involved during construction to help you maintain design integrity and achieve the best possible outcome.
Our level of involvement is flexible. We can provide occasional on-site meetings, liaise with your builder or landscaper, or offer ongoing guidance as the works progress. By staying connected throughout the build, we help ensure the final result reflects the intent and quality of your design.
Typical project support may include:
- providing advice on planting installation or finishing details
- attending site meetings during key construction stages
- reviewing progress and materials for consistency with the approved design
- liaising with builders, landscapers, or consultants as needed