Trendsetter Homes Win HIA Award for Custom Built Home in Marmion
Trendsetter Homes, Perth custom home builders specialising in architectural design, has won the HIA Perth Housing Awards 2025 in the Custom Built Home $1.2 million to $1.7 million category. The award recognises a Marmion residence recently completed.
What Judges Look For in Award-Winning Custom Home Design
HIA judges evaluated entries using a 100-point scoring system across four criteria. Quality of workmanship receives 50 points, making it the most significant factor. Design effectiveness, including environmental sustainability accounts for 20 points. Innovation receives 15 points, and visual and market appeal comprises the final 15 points.
Custom home builders competing in the $1.2-$1.7 million category needed to demonstrate excellence across all four areas.
Agostino credits the win to specific engineering decisions made during planning. His 20 years of experience building custom homes in Perth showed in how the design handled the site’s constraints.
“The built form structure is intricate in detail,” Agostino says. “Every inch of the 777-square-metre site has been constructed on, but we maintained abundant natural light and cross-ventilation throughout.”
How Custom Home Builders Handle Complex Site Constraints
The Marmion site created three engineering problems that architectural home builders typically face on compact urban blocks.
The undercroft needed a gentle access slope whilst managing floor heights across two street frontages at different elevations. The design had to stay within Perth council height restrictions on the ground floor whilst achieving 4000mm ceiling heights. This single specification affected structural calculations and excavation depth across the entire build.
“We had a 4-metre high retaining wall requirement for the undercroft excavation,” Agostino explains. The site had no hardstand area for deliveries, requiring traffic and pedestrian management protocols for every contractor.
Ground floor excavation went 1000mm below natural ground level. The team pulled out an old, deteriorated brick fence and installed anchored footings for new boundary construction. This happened at the same time as the retaining wall installation, coordinating builders, concreters, and excavators in a tight space.
Custom Home Design: Indoor-Outdoor Living Integration
Judges commented specifically on how the main living area demonstrates architectural home design principles. The space combines kitchen, family, and dining areas whilst connecting to outdoor zones through commercial-grade sliding door systems.
“We designed the room to flow from internal to external without visual breaks,” Agostino says. “The alfresco, pool, and firepit areas work as continuations of the living space, not separate zones.” This approach maximises usable space on the compact 777-square-metre block.
Garden and pool lighting illuminates the interior at night through floor-to-ceiling glass. During the day, northern orientation brings in sunlight from morning through late afternoon.
Judges noted how individual spaces keep their purpose whilst combining into what Agostino describes as “the family element of living that was in the brief.”
Premium Materials in Custom Home Construction
Three material selections distinguished this project from typical residential construction.
Standard residential projects use 600mm by 600mm tiles. Trendsetter specified large-format porcelain sheets measuring 3230mm by 1600mm. The larger sheets reduce grout lines significantly across the floor area, creating visual continuity that makes the space feel larger.
Cobblestone inserts break up sections of the washed aggregate driveway. This adds texture variation and marks the entry sequence from street to undercroft access.
The kitchen has an integrated appliance cupboard with an electric TV lift mechanism. When appliances are not needed, the timber veneer door shows an unbroken elevation. Turn on the appliances and the door retracts into the base cavity whilst the benchtop slides back. Close everything up, and you get a seamless timber surface again.
How Do Custom Home Builders Prevent Construction Problems?
Agostino points to the planning phase as why unexpected problems stayed minimal during construction.
“Certain problems came up, but we had already looked at them during planning,” he says. “We knew when these would hit us on site and had time to work out solutions beforehand.”
This thinking applied to roof structure installation, boundary fencing coordination, and utilities work. The team mapped each build phase, looking for where things could go wrong, then sorted them out before contractors showed up.
What Should You Expect When Building a Custom Home in Perth?
Building on a fully used 777-square-metre site needs different engineering thinking than standard residential construction. Compact urban blocks in Perth demand creative solutions.
Clients looking at similar projects should expect a detailed geotechnical investigation before design finalisation. Perth’s sandy soils and limestone substrates affect foundation design. Coordination between structural, hydraulic, and electrical consultants before construction kicks off helps avoid costly changes later.
The large-format tiles and custom joinery systems used here needed to be ordered months ahead of installation. Premium imported materials require longer lead times than standard residential products.
Traffic management becomes necessary when sites lack hardstand areas for deliveries.
The Marmion project shows that tricky sites do not need design compromises when you work out engineering solutions during planning, not during construction.
About Trendsetter: Perth Custom Home Builders Since 1997
Trendsetter Homes has been building custom homes in Perth for 28 years. Established in 1997, the company focuses on architectural home design and custom residential construction across metropolitan Perth. The company holds Building Contractor registration BC 10254 with the WA Building Services Board.
The company has won multiple HIA Perth Housing Awards, including Custom Built Home $1.2-$1.7 million (2025 winner), Townhouse/Villa Development up to $750,000 (2019 winner), and Custom Built Home categories (2018, 2020, 2021 finalist).
Previous Master Builders WA awards include Renovation/Addition over $1,000,000 (2018 winner) and Multi-Unit Development finalist positions.
Trendsetter holds active memberships with the Housing Industry Association and Master Builders Association WA.
Contact Perth’s Award-Winning Custom Home Builders
For information about custom home design and construction in Perth, ring Trendsetter on (08) 9446 2822 or visit the team at Level 1, 3 Teakle Road, Osborne Park WA 6017.
Ready to build your dream home? Let’s start the conversation today
Frequently Asked Questions About Custom Home Builders in Perth
How much does a custom home cost in Perth?
Custom homes in Perth vary widely based on design complexity, site constraints, and material specifications. The award-winning Marmion home fell in the $1.2-$1.7 million category. Clients should discuss budgets directly with custom home builders during initial consultations.
How long does it take to build a custom home in Perth?
Construction timelines depend on design complexity, site conditions, and council approval processes. Custom home builders factor in design development, approvals, and construction phases. Complex sites with engineering challenges typically require extended planning periods.
What makes architectural home builders different from volume builders?
Architectural home builders work with custom designs tailored to specific sites and client needs. Volume builders use standardised plans. Custom home designers coordinate architects, engineers, and specialist trades to solve unique site constraints.
Do I need a registered builder for a custom home in Perth?
Yes. Western Australian law requires all residential construction over $20,000 to use a registered building contractor. Verify registration through the WA Building Services Board. Trendsetter holds registration BC 10254.
Article published October 2025. Award information verified through Housing Industry Association Perth Housing Awards 2025 results. Company credentials verified through WA Building Services Board registration database. Material specifications and construction details provided by Michael Agostino, Managing Director and registered builder.
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