FAQ
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Browse through these FAQs to find commonly asked answers to commonly raised questions. If you have a question that you can't find the answer to, please use the Contact Us page.
My primary focus is to ensure you (homeowner / long-term renter) have interior design clarity of your personal style and colour preferences – regardless of whether you 100% DIY or, you use an architectural and interior design service professional.
If you are looking to work with a professional architectural and interior design service professional, including kitchen designer, landscape / outdoor living designer, or DIY, then Your Unique Home Design Personality course is the key to:
Avoid Wasting Your Money
All home improvement projects have ‘rework'—typically from you changing your mind mid-project. It absorbs between 12.4% to 29.6% of your budget. For example, for a ~$10k bathroom makeover, that is $1,200 to $3k of wasted money. With a typical kitchen makeover, that figure jumps up to $6k-$30k you have to add to the project cost immediately… or down the track when the room is literally screaming at you to fix the issue!
NOTE: Your investment in Your Unique Home Design Personality course is immediately repaid + immediate savings on your upcoming project, AND, you have ongoing avoidance of future rework for every subsequent renovation(s) you do. (ROI of 10x your investment).
Avoid Short and Long Term Dissatisfaction
42.3% of homeowners who either DIY or engage professional architectural and interior design services after the job is complete are NOT satisfied.
It is not the quality of the finished work that is in question; it is the mismatch between the style, colours, textures, and patterns used in that room refresh/makeover that does not harmonise with the users of those spaces. See my commissioned independent research results for more details.
Getting the Maximum Value from your Chosen Architectural and Interior Design Services Professional, Builder, Contractor, or Colour Consultant.
Professional designers (architects and interior designers worldwide) are busy people. They are also human – and they are creative by nature.
My independent research found it financially unjustifiable for a homeowner to have a design professional charge them for 20–30 hours (~$2000 to $3000) to glean, deduce, derive, distil, interpret, and document their client's personal design style, colour, texture, etc. preferences (and then repeat this for all occupants of the house who will share that space).
My research also found that if you DIY this part (without someone mentoring you professionally), then you will cut corners or use some corny 2-minute online quiz and ”think” you know your design personality! (Oh dear!)
In either situation, between a staggering 42.3% to 75.4% of ALL renovations and room makeovers do not get the finished design right, waste a lot of time doing endless revisions (at the client's expense), or, as mentioned above, there could be expensive rework to remedy…
By using my service first, you get immediate savings upfront! Think of it as a huge discount off the actual project cost, AND you get a near-guaranteed positive outcome and long-term satisfaction with a space that harmonises with you and your fellow homeowners. AND, you can use your design personality document for EVERY future renovation or room remodel. Check out Your Unique Home Design Personality course now as it comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee – you have nothing to lose, and so much to gain!
If you are a passionate DIY’er, then Your Unique Home Design Personality course is specifically for DIY as the #1 reason for dissatisfaction is not a lack of creativity or your inability to paint or renovate, but the mismatch between the style you chose and what suits you.
I look forward to meeting you virtually very soon!
Yes and No! 😊
The course has two parts:
Stage 1: Your first major goal is to clearly and concisely document your ‘design personality' to a deep level.
Are you going to use a design professional?, Then give them a copy of your documented home design personality, (Home Design DNA) and they will instantly understand YOU and begin their creative magic. (AKA, a successful outcome is guaranteed!)
Are you a DIY home improver or want to play a key role in the upcoming creative phase of your specific project?
Stage 2: You then complete the last part of the course to focus on creating a ‘Ultimate Design Brief' specifically focused on your home improvement project. Think of this as a ‘compass' to guide you, rather than a rigid roadmap that forces you to stay on the main highway…
‘Your Unique Home Design Personality' course is NOT teaching you how to style a room or for a specific project. Instead, it gives you the tools and knowledge for ALL projects you are going to do – now and anytime in the future. (Stats say you will tackle at least 3x room makeovers/renovations in every home you occupy).
I am guiding and mentoring you to unlock your unique colour and design personality through a (part-time) 14-week programme. Each week, via a mix of videos and an easy-to-follow workbook, along with 7x fortnightly group ‘LIVE Q&A Breakthrough Sessions', you will clearly document the unique colours, styles, textures, patterns, etc that match you perfectly. (95% of homemakers complete the course within 10 weeks – the extra 4 weeks are for when life's moments get in the way. You have lifetime access to the course material).
Armed with this knowledge, you have options that are of extreme value to you! It is applicable to every future project.
The course helps you discover and clearly express your deep-rooted needs and unconscious desires that are 100% unique to you. These insights are life-changing for the finished look and feel of the room makeover. You get this knowledge at a fraction of the price if you were to use any design professional, (assuming you can find one that provides this same process I am offering) one-on-one.
But more importantly, you can use this knowledge over and over again every time you want to freshen up a room, start a complete makeover, or even take on ‘master planning' where you design your house from scratch!
All in the comfort of your home, in your own time. I encourage you to have a look now. 😉
In fact, your interior designer / architect / paint colour consultant will thank you!
You are following the proven ‘Austin Home Method' to clearly and concisely document your unique design style and colour psychology ‘personality’. (You are discovering and interpreting your deep-rooted needs, unconscious desires, and preferences that make all the difference of whether you will LOVE the finished space or not.)
I am not designing your space/house for you.
You give this important document to your chosen design professional. They then take it from there to develop the design / layout / space that not only uses their skill and flair, but ensures it becomes a space that you (and other occupants) LOVE.
The professional is not restricted but guided by this document. Have a look at Your Unique Home Design Personality course, here.
But WHY use Creating Design Clarity service BEFORE engaging with a professional designer? Simply because it saves you a considerable amount of time, money, and frustration! (Let alone embarrassment), and guarantees your home will support and increase your mental wellbeing:
- 12.4% to 29.6% of all renovation work in NZ and Australia is rework – the cost is directly passed to you the client. This budget blowout is avoided by following the creating design clarity process.
- 42.3% of people who have completed a renovation using an Interior Designer, Architect, Kitchen Designer, or DIY (makes little difference) whether you are in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, or the USA), were unhappy with the finished project. Their most common statement was “there is something just not quite right with the overall look and feel”.
These findings were from independent research by Endless Definition, which surveyed 1,265 homeowners throughout NZ on my behalf.
To clarify; they were NOT unhappy with the quality of their, or a tradie/designers standard of work (those are different stats!), but with the look and feel of the space once the project had been completed.
39% of people in America were unsatisfied with the look of the finished project. These findings were from research out of the USA with 1,013 homeowners who had upgraded their bathroom, or remodelled their kitchen, or repainted their living room/lounge, or repainted and changed the decor in their bedroom, or repainted the exterior of their house.
All of these homemakers wished they had spent more time understanding and creating design clarity.
Do you want to take the gamble or not? For less than 1 to 5% of the cost of your next renovation, you can ensure you: (a) minimise the amount of costly rework, AND (b) significantly increase the likelihood of you loving your finished project. Take Your Unique Home Design Personality course prior, and stack the odds in your favour!
My group support for you and your progress is over a 14-week period where I provide 7x fortnightly Q&A Breakthrough Sessions. You also get access to our private member-only community, where our ‘Fearless Happy Homemakers®' hang out during this time.
90% of homemakers document their design personality in 10 weeks. However, you have full access to Team Cope support and group coaching for 14 weeks. The self-paced structure is based on you putting in 7+ hours (part-time) per week for 10 weeks.
The 14-week period is to accommodate “life's hiccups” by providing an extra 4 weeks to the member-only area. In addition, you can extend your access to this ‘Fearless Happy Homeowners®' member-only area for further development beyond the course outline.
As an aside, my husband Simon Cope teaches 900+ undergrad and post-grad students at Massey University every year for 10+ years as part of his “giving back” to the next generation of business students. He and I understand when life “throws a spanner in the works” 😟
So, feel confident that you will be able to do the course within the next 10 weeks with full support, at your own pace. PLUS you know you can come back anytime in the future to revise the course material.
Creating Design Clarity uses the best learning management system available online to deliver cutting-edge e-learning to you.
The course is dynamic, engaging, and also offers the best and latest e-learning techniques to help you absorb, retain, and document your unique design personality simply and easily. The Creating Design Clarity ‘Your Unique Home Design Personality' course is viewable using multiple devices, like your smartphones (iOS or Android), tablet or iPad, laptop, and desktop computer.
You are taught in a ‘flipped classroom’ environment where I provide you with a balanced mix of rich media like images, video (how-to and teaching), audio, and PDF files, combined with homework and exercises for you to do offline and online.
The course comes with downloadable resources (worksheet booklets and various cheat sheets) that complement my easy-to-follow videos.
In addition, over the 14 weeks, there are 7x LIVE group coaching sessions. These enable you to engage and chat about where you are at with your upcoming project and ask questions, etc. They are recorded just in case you miss one, so you can review them.
You also join our inner-circle closed-group for members, where you can ask me questions and engage with other homemakers.
Hopefully, this gives you sufficient confidence to be able to learn this way. I suggest you purchase Your Unique Home Design Personality course and see if it is for you.
You have 60-days to evaluate it, and if it is not for you, then simply contact me, and I will refund 100% of your money, and we will shake hands and part as friends. OK? Click here to learn more about Your Unique Home Design Personality course and whether it is right for you!
The online teaching space has rapidly changed from 2020 onward. Technology is endlessly improving to your advantage.
I am very fortunate to be married to Simon Cope. He is a very passionate and dynamic lecturer at Massey University in New Zealand. He teaches 1st-year Principles of Marketing, 2nd-year Social Media & Digital Marketing, 3rd-year Omnichannel Retail Marketing, Post Grad Advanced Digital & Social Media Marketing, as well as regularly teaching on their MBA programme.
Why do I tell you all of that? Because over the last 10+ years, he has taught over 900 students a year, of whom ~1/3 are based around the world. Massey is a world leader in distance teaching. Simon is one of Massey University's top lecturers, (as voted by the students with their yearly L.O.T.Y. Awards (Lecturer Of The Year Award). Simon has and will continue to mentor me and help me create world-class how-to material for you to easily understand. This results in you creating your personal design brief (in a fun and exciting environment) using the latest teaching techniques.
The course is a mix of short videos, an easy-to-follow workbook, and exercises that are a mix of offline and online, as well as live group coaching each week.
NOTE: It is not a teaching ‘lesson' like at university. I am not teaching you to become an interior designer. It is a fun environment that unlocks your design personality. 😊 Check it out here.
Read what Amy Baker has to say about learning her design personality and doing it via an online course here.
Payment can be either:
- Direct credit into our bank account (details given when ordering), or,
- Credit or debit card, or,
- PayPal balance.
With all of these options, we do not see or store your account/credit card details.
In addition, there is a 60-day 100% money-back guarantee from when the course begins.
You have from the day the course STARTS until 60 days into it to decide whether you are satisfied with the course. At any time within that 60-day period to get a 100% refund.
i.e. We provide a 60-day money-back guarantee.
All we ask is that you complete the course work from Pillar #1 to Pillar #3, and attend two of the LIVE Q&A Sessions to show us that you at least gave it a try.
If, after completing these lessons, you decide that the programme isn’t for you, simply let us know, and you’ll receive a swift and full refund. We will “shake hands” and part as friends. The ‘fine print' is here. OK?It’s really as simple as that!
Homemaker Who Will Use A Professional Designer
Does this sound like you? You are planning on using an architect, interior designer, kitchen designer, landscape designer, or a ‘design & build company' to do your renovation/build from scratch. Perfect! You take the course and give them a copy of ‘Your Unique Home Design Personality', and they will instantly know you and your wants and needs and can immediately start their creative juices going!
DIY Homemaker: Handyperson
You plan to do as much as possible yourself. (You know what a drop-cloth is, and you own numerous battery-powered tools.) You may or may not be creative, but if you are like my husband, Simon, you take instructions well and love to build under the guidance of a creative. Therefore, between you and your creative partner(?) you design and build. Or you could be a hybrid homemaker that will still engage a design professional and be actively involved in decisions with them).
In either of these situations, you take your documented ‘Your Unique Home Design Personality' and within the course go to the next step, and create ‘Your Ultimate Design Brief' as a “compass” to guide your decision-making and creative choices for your specific project.
If you are either of these types of homemakers, you can be inspired to turn your dreams into reality. There is so much more you're capable of than you realise.
Like you, I have helped many other homemakers overcome overwhelm, gain clarity and confidence, receive increased happiness from their home environment, and be the ambassadors of their home.
When you are ready to make your dreams a reality, you unlock all the potential you have to seriously step into your project, confident and informed—in any role or way you are comfortable.
The KEY is to take action; to be HEARD and to PARTICIPATE actively in the decision-making.
When all is said and done, taking Your Unique Home Design Personality course enables you to create a great project experience, and a home you will enjoy living in (and will provide you with increased happiness) when it's completed. That alone is worth all the effort, energy, and investment you'll put into it.
I am not teaching you to become an interior designer. It is a fun environment that unlocks and documents your design personality. 😊
Besides, the course comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee. If you don't like the course or my teaching, then ask for a refund!
Start today! Finish in ~10 weeks time.
You get lifetime access to the course material, with interactive live support provided for 98 days (~14 weeks) after the course starts.
The course takes, on average, ten (10) weeks to complete, if you commit to ~7 hours per week to it.
Some homemakers will complete it in three to eight (3-8) weeks if they dedicate ~20 hours/week to it.
A small minority will take ten to fourteen (10-14) weeks (part-time) depending on their personal circumstances. “Life happens!”
I recommend you set aside approximately 3-10 hours per week (depending 100% on you) to do the fun and exciting homework! NOTE: This is not a dull, lecture-format course.
Regardless of how long it takes you personally, there are seven (7) fortnightly group LIVE Q&A Breakthrough Sessions where I mentor and guide you, along with you getting invaluable feedback and encouragement from me and the other participants.
Click here to enroll today.
- Ten modules (10 Pillars)
- ‘LIVE Q&A Breakthrough Sessions' for ~ 1 hour in a group coaching environment online each fortnight for the 14 weeks of the course starting.
- Private Member-Only community area during these 14 weeks.
As you watch and complete the exercises, you are discovering and documenting your design personality.
Your design personality includes learning:
- What you like, love, and hate when it comes to colours, textures, patterns, styles, features, accessories, layout, and so much more.
- Your colour psychology as related to your home (Part of the principles of interior design)
- Your design psychology (Part of the principles of architecture)
They draw out your emotions, opinions, and observations over your lifetime to build a personal ‘design file'. These exercises help you discern what you love and what you don't in design, a process that takes time.
Through these exercises, you'll keep discovering ideas, thoughts, and connections related to colour, texture, mixed styles, shapes, and form. They immerse you in the world of design and prepare you for the preliminary design phase, whether you work with a professional designer or tackle it yourself.
Going To Use A Design Professional?
In Pillar 7 (approximately week 7 of the course), you will finish documenting your unique home design personality to design DNA level.
You have the option of completing the course at this stage if you are wanting a design professional (interior designer, architect) to do the creative process of selecting the exact colour palette, decor, items, design of the space, etc for your project room/new home.
You give them a copy of your unique home design personality, and they instantly understand you (and your partner) and can immediately start the creative process, with you both confidently knowing the outcome will be a complete success!
100% DIY?
If you are 100% DIY, or want to be actively involved with the decision-making process with a designer, then the final exercise involves creating a workboard linked to your Ultimate Design Brief for your first fearless home project. It's a practical application of your newfound insights, providing a clear direction for your design endeavours.
You now use it as a compass to guide your decisions, avoid overwhelm, anxiety, and budget blowouts, and know you will love the finished result!
Read more about these exercises in my blog post here. Or see where they fit into Your Unique Home Design Personality course here.
As a qualified architect and interior designer, I have made sure this course is all about YOU understanding YOU before you start any project; the up-and-coming home improvement project you have in mind, along with the 2+ others you will (statistically) tackle in the future.
By YOU understanding YOUR home design personality, this gives you (even more) confidence to tackle all the decisions that a room makeover entails:
- You are able to easily ignore specific trends and fads that do NOT match your design personality.
- You are able to politely ignore biassed advice from your “in-laws' or any well-meaning person,
- You are able to easily and quickly embrace styles, trends, colours, patterns, textures etc that DO match your design personality.
- You are able to minimise costly and disappointing rework that is the main cause of project budget blow-outs. (Anywhere from 12.3% to a whopping 29.6% of the budgeted project costs.)
- You avoid joining the 42.3% of homeowners who pretend they love their room makeover but actually are not happy... They are disappointed or even ashamed by it… but they have no budget left to fix the problem. If only they knew what and where the problem was exactly “there is something just not right”…
- You guarantee you join the elite and small group of 24.6% of all homeowners who LOVE their completed renovation or room makeover.
- You receive ongoing joy and feelings from the physical environment you spend ~70% of every day in.
Would you like to join this elite group of Fearless Happy Homemakers? Learn more here.
You then confidently engage with a design professional for them to use their design flair to truly reflect YOU.
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- The design professional will know exactly which direction to take the project in, so they ALWAYS have your best interests in mind, from matching styles, colours, textures, patterns, and blending these all to match your design personality.
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- The Design Professional is able to easily ignore specific trends and fads that do NOT match your design personality.
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- The design professional is able to easily and quickly adopt styles, trends, colours, patterns, textures etc that DO match your design personality.
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- Able to minimise costly & disappointing rework that is the main cause of project budget blow-outs. (Anywhere from 12.3% to a whopping 29.6% of the budgeted project costs.)
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- Because the design professional understands your needs so well, you avoid joining the 42.3% of homeowners who pretend they love their room makeover but actually are not happy... Unfortunately, the homeowner is disappointed or even ashamed by it… but have no budget left to fix the problem – if only they knew what and where the problem is exactly “there is something just not right”… The design professional never finds out – they are just not used again or given that all valuable referral to another job…
- You join the elite and small group of 24.6% of all homeowners who LOVE their completed renovation or room makeover.
- Homemakers who are about to use an architectural or interior design service professional. I now provide a 3rd-party (outsource) service on behalf of these professionals by empowering you to do some homework before you engage with that professional. You either came to me directly or were referred to me by your chosen professional.
- Homeowners who are DIY and are NOT going to use a professional and want to design and potentially paint or do the entire renovation or makeover themselves. Once again, by understanding your design personality, you can then confidentially match your colour personality and design style with your upcoming project, along with minimising costly and disappointing rework. Plus, it ensures the finished space is an ongoing source of joy for you.
My course was created for any homemaker anywhere in the world – whether you own the house, or you are renting.
The key thing is that I am NOT teaching any particular philosophy like Feng Shui, Vastu Shastra, or Kanso.
Primarily, I have developed the ‘Austin Home Method’® for you to document your (and people that share your home's) personal preferences, design styles, and colour personality.
If there is any Western design style or one of the Eastern philosophies (or any other preferences that come out of the process as a preference for you), then you will document it.
Your completed ‘Your Unique Home Design Personality' is 100% all about YOU. You then give a copy of it to a professional designer of your choice. Or, you use it as a compass to guide you when DIYing your home. If this intrigues you, then learn more here.
Here are a mix of homemakers and design professionals who have taken this course and their raw opinions.
If you cannot make one of these scheduled sessions, then you can send me your question prior to the next session, and I will make sure I answer it then (and you watch the recording).
Or, you can post it in our private member-only community, where either myself or one of the ‘Fearless Happy Homemakers®' from your course (or a past course) will give you solid and sound advice!
Once the course “finishes” after 14 weeks, you have the option of getting ongoing support in the member-only group for a small monthly investment. (Beyond the 14 weeks, you still get lifetime access to the course material). Simply contact me, or ‘Team Cope’ and we will do our best to help!
One of the foundational pillars was initially developed in the 1970s, by psychologist Dr Angela Wright. She explored how colour affects our mood, and found links between colours and human behaviour that are objective. i.e. they are the same for everyone. She then researched how this relates to people's individual design style. In the 90s, mathematical correlations between colours were discovered, which confirmed the objectivity of Wright’s theory.
I have developed this process further and made it understandable and comprehensive for you to use in your home design to achieve satisfaction with the finished project.
From a professional's point of view, this is not something ‘new’ or ‘woo woo’ but part of the principles of interior design psychology.
NOTE: I am NOT teaching you the science behind proven theories. Nor am I teaching you the theories. You want ‘how-to', not a 9000-hour apprenticeship, to become a qualified interior designer.
The pillars are also grounded in science and therefore have qualifiable and repeatable outcomes. Hence, the ability to offer a satisfaction guarantee.
Unfortunately, with increasing demand on design professionals to affordably produce a finished design, creating design clarity for the client (you) can sometimes be fast-tracked or skipped.
I guarantee satisfaction because what I am offering you is:
(1) Proven science—assuming you do the homework! (BTW, it is not an arduous undertaking requiring or using much energy and vigor—just you taking a few hours each day to follow my step-by-step instructions), and,
(2) Based on 35+ years of personal experience not just designing but actually hands-on Kiwi DIY experience. My husband, his father, and I have personally designed, built, and redecorated over 70+ houses for our greater family. (Not for my clients; that is another large number of rooms or entire homes).
Click here to try Your Unique Home Design Personality course and see what you think. (100% money-back guarantee).
If you are already confident with choosing colours, design styles, textures, patterns etc, and are not swayed by trends that come and go, AND you LOVE to dwell & linger in your finished spaces, then my ‘Unique Home Design Personality' course is probably NOT needed by you. I recommend you look for design inspiration from others to elevate your knowledge. (You might want to read what Keren Wallace says here first.)
However, if you are lacking confidence in any of these areas… or you have previously DIYed (or used an architect and interior design services prior)… and “you feel there is something just not quite right with the finished room”… then you are part of the 42.3% to 75.4% of homeowners I recommend going back to basics.
This is to ensure YOU, and any designer you engage with in the future are given a copy of Your Unique Home Design Personality to use as a compass to go forward successfully.
Click here to learn about my ‘Creating Design Clarity Toolbox®’ course. My course is definitely a cheaper option compared to doing expensive rework that starts unnecessarily wasting anywhere from $1,700 and $7,000+ on each and EVERY project!
You only need to do the course ONCE for lifetime satisfaction with every room makeover you tackle in the future. Learn more here.
12.4% to 29.6% of all renovation work in home improvement and home build-from-scratch projects is reworked (it is a global industry problem)… and the costs are directly passed to you the client.
This is easily avoided by following ‘The Austin Home Method' within my course to ensure you are heard clearly, concisely, and accurately, and you don't change your mind unnecessarily mid-project or make bad decisions.
39% to 42.3% of people (anywhere in the world) who have completed a renovation using an Interior Designer, Architect, Kitchen Designer… or, DIY (makes little difference) are unhappy with the finished project.
Their most common statement was “there is something just not quite right with the overall look and feel”.
Their 2nd most common statement was “I wish I had spent (more) time learning what my design and colour preferences were prior to starting the project”.
These findings were from independent research by Endless Definition, who surveyed 1,265 homeowners throughout New Zealand (Aotearoa) on my behalf. I then found separate research out of the UK, USA, and Europe that verified these research findings.
Just to emphasise this – the homeowners were NOT unhappy with the quality of their or a tradie's or a professional designer's standard of work (those are different stats!), but with the look and feel of the space once the project had been completed.
39% of people in America are also unsatisfied with the look of the finished project. These findings were from research out of the USA with 1,013 homemakers who had upgraded their bathroom, remodelled their kitchen, repainted their living room or lounge, repainted and changed the decor in their bedroom, or repainted the exterior of their house.
All of these homemaker wished they had spent more time understanding and creating design clarity before starting their project.
Do you want to take the gamble? For less than 1% of the cost of your next renovation, you can ensure you:
(a) minimise the amount of costly rework, and
(b) significantly increase the likelihood of you loving your finished project.
Learn Your Unique Home Design Personality prior, and stack the odds in your favour!
That is why we pay all due taxes on this course (currently 15% GST) in New Zealand when you purchase it (included in the price).
Plus, we also donate 5% of all sales from this website to our partner charities and give you the option to select the one that means the most to you. You can learn more here.
If you can't find the answer to why you should or shouldn't learn Your Unique Home Design Personality before starting any form of room refresh, or full-blown renovation, or related question, then please click here and send me a message. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
