Mindful Design #14: This house from the 1960's shows you how

Bonus Feature: The Jacaranda Spectacle of Johannesburg

Mindful Design #13: Too much light is ruining architecture and your mind

Bonus Feature: Sketch of a Yin and Yang moment found in a park in Joburg.

Backyard Millionaire Edition Part 1: Additional Dwelling Units

Bonus Feature: Meet Papa J - The DIY artist who secured his retirement with ADUs.

Mindful Design #11: A Client’s View of the Mindful Design Approach - KC’s Story

Bonus Feature: A house which echoes the hills.

Mindful Design #10: From problems to possibilities - unlocking urban potential in our cities and homes.

Bonus Feature: The stories buildings tell in Joburg’s townships.

Mindful Design #09: An antidote to the Pinterest vortex - inspiration from Madrid and Johannesburg.

Bonus Feature: Madrid’s amazing new public events machine.

Mindful Design #08: Find sanity in art, explore the hidden beauty of Johannesburg, and join us in shaping spaces with mindfulness.

Bonus Feature: Explore the “Brixton Monument” series that's all about spotting the good stuff amid the messiness of life.

Mindful Design #07: A blog post about how the wisdom of indigenous cultures can inspire us to create holistic spaces that are good for our minds, bodies, and pockets.

Bonus Feature: Why Joburg isn't all that bad

Radio interview with Thorsten Deckler on the benefits of the village model, how you can use it to create an income stream and improve your well-being and your neighbourhood.

Mindful Design #06: Learn about two iconic mega projects – one an utter debacle, the other a resounding success - and the question that each did/didn’t ask.

Bonus Feature: The story of Thorsten’s first building which he built with his dad.

Mindful Design #05: Some practical, almost always overlooked advice, that can help you win at building.

Bonus: Win some original art!

Mindful Design #04: Explore the raw sketches that capture the essence of the creative process better than any AI-generated images.

Mindful Design #03: Seven super important questions to ask yourself before you start the design process. Some questions might sound obvious, but some you might never think of asking yourself - your answers will define your project better than any Pinterest board or spreadsheet.

Bonus Feature: thethinking_hand’s take on the Guggenheim in New York.

Mindful Design #02: How every project should start to avoid building disaster!

Bonus Feature: Delve into the badass world of Johannesburg’s DIY bike movement.

Mindful Design #01: Read about the difference between mindless and mindful design – you’ll never opt for the former again.

“Price is only ever an issue in the absence of value” -Warren Buffet

Not understanding the difference between price and value is one of the biggest contributing causes to 70-80% of building projects going over budget. This post helps you understand why it matters to understand the difference between price and value. You will approach building with a new and powerful understanding.

This post helps you avoid the # 1 problem - lack of planning – and what you can do to avoid becoming part of the 70-80% of projects that go over budget.