About Downs Designer Homes
Downs Designer Homes is a multi award-winning house design and building company specialising in affordable luxury homes.
Downs Designer Homes was established in 1992 to make luxury homes more affordable and attainable. Since then, we have grown to become one of the most highly awarded house design and building companies in Australia. We believe our success has come from our commitment to making the house design and building experience as flexible, exciting, enjoyable and positive as possible. Our past customers’ testimonials and awards reflect the attention to detail and dedicated service that have come to define us.
Downs Designer Homes: Building luxury designer homes just the way you want them.
At Downs Designer Homes, we are proud to have earned a reputation for efficient, cost-effective house design and building. Whether you are building your new home from an existing design or using one of ours, we tailor everything to make your new home as “you” as possible. Bring your own house design plans to us, choose from our selection of architecturally designed luxury homes, or start the whole process from the ground up. The Downs Designer Homes philosophy is that you, the customer, are the driving force behind every house design, and we are just here to realise your dream.
Thanks to our experience in both house design and building, we are able to provide extremely efficient and cost-effective service. Downs Designer Homes functions as both a house design and building one-stop-shop and as a contract builder, should you wish to bring your own designs to us. We understand what you, your architect and your contractors need, and liaising with everyone to make the whole process as smooth as possible is our specialty. With almost 35 years of on-the-job experience, our senior staff are true experts at designing and building new luxury homes to your individual specifications.
Cut out the middle man. With Downs Designer Homes as both your designer and home builder, you can save time, money and headaches.
By cutting out the middle man, we at Downs Designer Homes have greatly streamlined the house design and building process. When you choose us, you get all the functionality of both a designer and a home builder, but without the hassle of dealing with different people. Working with one firm in this way allows you to be much more hands-on and involved, which means a final house design that more accurately fits your original vision.
It all comes down to communication. By removing all the potential barriers between different elements of the house design and building process, your wants and needs are easier to put into action. Efficient communication means efficient work, which ensures lower overall costs and faster completion. Most important of all, if you want to make changes mid-way through – and trust us, you will – just let our home builders know. We regularly redesign homes and alter the house building process, so we can accommodate your house design changes with minimal fuss.
If you are working from your own plans, the same thing applies. At Downs Designer Homes, we understand architecture, project management, building and every other aspect of the house design and building process.
Your design, your home, your dream
Downs Designer Homes: Building your home to suit you.
At Downs Designer Homes, we are firm believers in the old adage that “the customer is always right”. This is especially true when designing your own home – you should have the right to customise it down to the last brick to suit your needs and lifestyle. Whether you already have your own architectural plans, you want to work from our designs, or you’d like to start from scratch, we are here to make your dream home a reality.
No two Downs Designer Homes have ever been the same. With the endless number of customisations and personal touches you can make, every single project ends up totally individual and unique. You decide what your dream home will look like, how big it will be, what additions or upgrades you want to include, and we provide you with an instant obligation-free estimate. Then we can elaborate on your ideas, and together take the first steps towards building your home and realising your dream.
Throughout the design and building process, you have the final say. Our job is simply to listen, consult, design and build the homes our customers want. You might want fewer bedrooms but huge living areas, or you might need a billiard room, wine cellar or triple garage. Whatever you envision, just tell us, and we’ll take care of everything, from concept drawings to colour consulting
Our Values at Downs Designer Homes
Every home can be a luxury home. At Downs Designer Homes, we go above and beyond.
The difference between everyday houses and Downs Designer Homes’ luxury homes is in the details. If you take a look at some of our award-winning luxury homes, you’ll notice that the lines all seem very clean and crisp. How do we do it? Well, this is one of the ways in which Downs Designer Homes goes above and beyond. We look at little details like hiding downpipes and guttering inside pillars or behind facades, so the aesthetic look of your luxury home is preserved. Small touches of consideration like this make your new house prettier and worth more. It isn’t much more work for us, but it all adds up to a far better-made and more valuable house for you.
It’s this attention to detail that has earned Downs Designer Homes its reputation for going the extra mile. We think of all the little things that others might overlook, such as extra power and light points, overhead kitchen cupboards, rainwater tanks and pumps, 6x6m double-car garages with extra-wide doors, and full-width concrete driveways. When we design homes, we even offer the services of a professional colour consultant, which means we can take care of your needs all the way from initial design to interior decor. See our full list of standard inclusions for more detailed information on what goes into every luxury home we design.
Downs Designer Homes: When designing and building a house, you come first.
Designing a building like a luxury house requires transparency, openness, flexibility and accountability. At Downs Designer Homes, we disclose all our fees and prices upfront, we are realistic with our timeframes, and we invite you to be as much a part of designing and building your house as you wish. We guarantee that you will have direct contact with the house builder for the duration of the project – we’ll even lend you a hard hat if you like.
If you have any questions – anything at all – we are more than happy to answer them. At Downs Designer Homes, we have found that open communication between the house builder, designer and homeowner is the key to making the process of building and designing a house as smooth as possible. Our extensive discussions throughout the design phase help us to iron out beforehand all the little things that might otherwise pop up during building. And you can rest assured that there will be no hidden fees or charges – what you see is what you get.
With Downs Designer Homes, you know where your money is going - all optional upgrades are taken into account before anything gets signed. As our whole operation is so open and transparent, you can see for yourself that our designers and house builders don’t cut corners – in fact, we work hard to squeeze as much as we can into every single home we do.
Before we start building your dream home
There are a few things we think you should look out for before you start building your new luxury house.
We think it’s important that you know a few things about building homes before you embark on your new project. The more informed you are, the better decisions you can make, and the happier you are in the long run. Read our testimonials to see how Downs Designer Homes’ policy of open, honest support has helped our past customers along. If you’d like any more information on what you’ve read here, feel free to call us on 0418 790 931 or email us at downsdesigner@bigpond.com.
House construction preliminary work
House construction can be a complicated process. It’s not just a matter of buying land and building a new house on it. Before your house construction can start, there are a number of stressful tasks you need to carry out, such as soil tests, contour surveys and a whole bunch of other permits, fees and checks.
Fortunately, if you build with Downs Designer Homes, we do this all for you free of charge, as part of our standard inclusions. We will keep you informed of exactly what needs to be done, and then we’ll do it, so you don’t have to. That way, we can ensure your house construction starts off without any hiccups.
Your new home’s orientation
The orientation of your home hugely affects the amount of natural light and ventilation it can use, as well as its resale value, so it is highly important to pay attention to this before building. A modern luxury house should be both well built and well oriented. At Downs Designer Homes, we perform free site checks as standard, and your home’s orientation is one thing we always put thought into.
In the Darling Downs region, a North East orientation is paramount. Your new house will capture the morning sun and benefit from the prevailing winds, saving you money on heating and cooling bills.
It’s not a plan until it’s written down
Preparation and planning might sound like a chore, but it is in fact the most exciting part of the whole journey, apart from stepping across your new luxury house’s threshold for the first time. Knowing in your head what you want for your new luxury house is one thing – but putting it down on paper and accurately visualising it is better. This helps you to think, and to work things out properly before you start the construction phase.
At Downs Designer Homes, we actively encourage you to put your house ideas on paper, or at least tell us so we can draw up a concept or construction plan. The more information we have, the fewer questions there will be, and the more accurately we’ll be able to build your new luxury house. Preparation and planning prevent delays, so we highly recommend it. And the best part is, it’s a lot of fun!
Testimonials
At Downs Designer Homes, we’re proud of our reputation for outstanding service. Here’s what some of our past customers have to say:
We chose Downs Designer Homes to build our new home and we're very glad we did. From our first meeting with Jeff Bubeck to discuss ideas for our home, it was friendly, caring, professional service all the way. Jeff and his team's attention to detail and quality of work was outstanding. We were kept informed of progress throughout construction, and any issues or changes were dealt with promptly. And the excellent service continued after we took possession of our new home and moved in.
Kerry & Di Betros
When we decided to build our new home we were looking for inspiration. We found it with Jeff Bubeck from Downs Designer Homes. Jeff and his team worked with us from the outset to firstly design and then build our award-winning home. We weren't afraid to do something different, and neither was Downs Designer Homes.
We were kept informed throughout and felt a real part of the entire building process. The end result is our luxurious dream home, delivered on budget and on time. We would recommend anyone thinking of building to make the call to Downs Designer Homes.
Robbie & Shelly Butler, Toowoomba
We chose Downs Designer Homes because our home presented us with serious engineering challenges. Jeff Bubeck worked with our Architect and Engineer to build a high-quality, unique structure without compromising the design.
We were particularly pleased with Jeff's calm and measured style which ensured that no matter how difficult the task, he was always able to get the tradesmen to provide us with a first-rate job. The end result is a superb house that is built to very demanding standards.
Bernie & Heather Baz, Toowoomba
Downs Designer Homes have just completed a lounge/dining room and deck renovation for us and we are thrilled with the outcome. I would recommend them for any size project – the process was rewarding, with ideas and plans developed into a lovely indoor/outdoor room. Good quality products and efficient tradespersons delivered a visually attractive and functional renovation.
We are very pleased we chose Downs Designer Homes.
John & Sue Pearson, Toowoomba
Jeff Bubeck of Downs Designer Homes has built six homes for our family and extended family, starting with our daughter Susan and her husband, our other daughter Samantha and her husband and parents-in-law.
Following the success of their experience we asked Jeff to build a home for us in Toowoomba, and later an investment home. Both times Jeff helped us with design and problem solving. Our experience was that we found the whole process to be headache-free and really quite exciting.
The home that Jeff built for us was that year entered in the South East Queensland Building Awards competition and won first prize in its category. Needless to say we were thrilled with the finished product and impressed with the standard of workmanship throughout.
We found Jeff to be a person of integrity, very well-respected in the building industry, and trusted and well liked by his peers. We would happily and sincerely recommend Jeff to anyone who is looking for someone they can trust to build a quality home for them – they will not be disappointed.
Barry & Dee Symons, Moore Park Gardens
There is no doubt we made the right decision in selecting Downs Designer Homes to build our house. We related well to Jeff and he understood our ideas, and a good partnership was formed. Jeff proved to be honest and the workmanship of his tradesmen was excellent.
Leo O'Keefe and Debbie Miller, Ramsay