Your Design &
Drafting Hub
What could your block become?
Designed around the way you live.
Every great home starts on paper.
Send us your address and what you’d like to do. We’ll check the zone, the lot and your council’s controls.
Homes we've drawn
Bellevue Hill
Bellevue Hill · Knock-down rebuild · 380 m² · 5 bed · 4 bath · 2 car
Wahroonga
Wahroonga · Two-storey home · 410 m² · 5 bed · 4 bath · 2 car
Vaucluse
Vaucluse · Two-storey home · 345 m² · 5 bed · 4 bath · 2 car
St Ives
St Ives · Knock-down rebuild · 360 m² · 5 bed · 4 bath · 2 car
Mosman
Mosman · Two-storey home · 360 m² · 5 bed · 4 bath · 2 car
Coogee
Coogee · Two-storey home · 290 m² · 4 bed · 3 bath · 2 car
Randwick
Randwick · Duplex · 420 m² · 8 bed · 6 bath · 2 carSame block. A different house.
Fibro cottage to family home
A tired 1950s cottage replaced with a two-storey home in stone-look render and timber.
1970s brick to two-storey
White brick, dark cladding and a timber garage door.
Triple-fronted to pavilion home
A long, low single-storey home on the same wide lot.Houses, rebuilds, duplexes and extensions.
New homes
Single and two-storey homes designed around your block, your brief and your budget, documented for DA or CDC.
Get a quote→Knock-down rebuilds
We check heritage, flooding, bushfire, trees and sewer lines before we draw a line.
Get a quote→Duplexes
Side-by-side or front-and-back, tested against lot size, width and the CDC code.
Get a quote→Granny flats
Secondary dwellings up to 60 m², placed around sewer lines, setbacks and privacy.
Get a quote→Alterations & additions
Ground and first-floor additions that sit with the house you already have.
Get a quote→DA, CDC & CC sets
Complete drawing sets with BASIX, shadow diagrams and the documents your council or certifier needs.
Get a quote→A proposal shaped around your home.
Every home and every block is different, so we prepare a tailored fee proposal for each project. Tell us your address and what you have in mind, and we’ll come back with the likely approval path and a clear proposal before any work begins.
- Turnaround
- DA/CDC drawings back in as little as 24 hours. Standard turnaround 48–72 hours from design confirmation. If we miss the agreed turnaround, that round is free.
- Your proposal
- Scope, stages, revision rounds and when payments fall due, all set out up front.
Our own team in every state.
We design and draft homes Australia-wide, and we can coordinate the whole project: surveyor, engineers, energy assessor, certifier or council, through to hand-over to your builder.
Five clear steps, from first look to final set.
- 01
Site check and quote
Send the address. We check zoning, lot and controls, then send a tailored fee proposal.
- 02
Measure and concept
We measure up, or work from your survey, and test layouts against the controls.
- 03
Design and drawings
DA/CDC drawings back in as little as 24 hours. Standard turnaround 48–72 hours from design confirmation.
- 04
Lodgement
We prepare the DA or CDC set with BASIX and help with any questions from council or the certifier.
- 05
Construction drawings
Construction drawings for your builder, so the home is built as it was designed.
The people who draw your house.
Enamul Imu
Director & CEO
Farzana Rahman
Principal Architectural Designer & Managing Director
Samiha Ali
Drafting & Design Specialist
Efaz Ahmed
Civil Engineer
Syed Mohammed Bakibillah
Civil & Site Engineer
Sam Rahman
Marketing & Operations Manager
Amanda
AI Presenter & Customer SupportA few words from our clients.
A few of our Google reviews, from more than 100 residential projects.
★★★★★Imu and the team at Zen Drafting Studio have now done 4 projects for us and are working on the 5th. That says it all really. We've used a lot of drafting places over the years and Zen is easily the most communicative one we've found. You never have to chase them.
★★★★★They were very quick to respond, came out to see me at night, listened closely to what I wanted and had the first draft back to me inside 48 hours!
★★★★★They did a really good drafting job and helped me through the DA application process, making everything much easier. Professional, helpful and easy to deal with.
★★★★★Professional, knowledgeable and easy to communicate with, with a genuine focus on achieving the best outcome for their clients.
Guides for homeowners.
What to check before you commission drawings. Free to read, no sign-up.
Why Council Asks for More Information (and How to Avoid the Delay)
A request for information can stall a DA for weeks. These are the usual triggers, from missing survey data to drawings that don't match each other, and how to avoid them before you lodge.
Read the guide→
BASIX Explained for NSW Homeowners
BASIX sets energy, water and thermal targets for NSW homes. Here's when you need a certificate, what it changes in your design, and why it has to match your drawings exactly.
Read the guide→
Knock-Down Rebuild in Sydney: What to Check Before You Start Drafting
Before a single line is drawn on a knock-down rebuild, a few site checks decide what you can build. Zoning, heritage, flood, bushfire, trees and sewer lines are the big ones.
Read the guide→
Can My Block Fit a Duplex? A Plain-English Site Check for NSW
Lot size and width, zoning, slope, driveway access and council minimums decide whether a duplex works on your block. Here's how to read your site before you spend on design.
Read the guide→
Granny Flats in NSW: CDC or DA, and What Your Block Needs
Granny flats are popular for family and rental income. Here's what the rules generally require, when a CDC works and when you'll need a DA, and the issues that catch people out.
Read the guide→
Why You Need a Detail Survey Before Drafting
Accurate drawings start with an accurate survey. Here's what a detail and contour survey shows, why it matters for height and overshadowing, and what happens when it's skipped.
Read the guide→
How to Read Your Drawing Set: A Homeowner's Guide
Site plan, floor plan, elevations, sections, shadow diagrams. Here's what each sheet in your set shows, what to check, and how to give feedback that keeps your project moving.
Read the guide→
How to Prepare for a Residential Drafting Project
What to gather before you engage a drafter: site documents, a clear brief, a realistic budget and a sense of the approval path.
Read the guide→
DA vs CDC: Which Approval Path Is Right for Your Project?
A Development Application (DA) is assessed by council on its merits. A Complying Development Certificate (CDC) is a faster path for projects that meet set standards. Here is how to tell which suits your project.
Read the guide→
5 Common Mistakes Homeowners Make With Drafting Plans
An unclear brief, missing site information, overlooked planning controls and late changes. Five common mistakes, and how to avoid them.
Read the guide→How much do house plans cost in Sydney?
Each project receives a tailored fee proposal. The fee reflects the type of home, its size, the approval path (CDC or DA) and the consultants involved. Send us your address and what you'd like to build, and we'll come back with a clear proposal before any work begins.
CDC or DA: which do I need?
A Complying Development Certificate (CDC) is a faster approval from a private or council certifier for projects that meet every standard in the state codes. A Development Application (DA) is assessed by council on its merits and suits sites with heritage, flooding or bushfire constraints, or designs that need some flexibility. We'll tell you which path generally suits your block.
How long do drawings take?
Once your design is confirmed, our standard turnaround for each drawing round is 48–72 hours, and many rounds come back in as little as 24 hours. If we miss the agreed turnaround, that round is free. Approval times then depend on the council or certifier.
Do you deal with council for me?
We prepare the documentation, coordinate consultants such as surveyors, engineers and BASIX assessors, and help respond to council or certifier requests for information. The approval decision itself always rests with the council or certifier.
What do I need to get started?
Just your address and a short description of what you'd like to do. Photos, an existing survey or old plans are helpful, but not needed for your tailored quote.
What can you build on your block?
Send us the address. We’ll review the zoning, the lot and your council’s controls, then outline what the site can generally carry and the likely approval path. There is no charge for this review.
Request your site analysis
We reply the same business day.
- 01Zoning and the planning controls on your lot
- 02CDC or DA: the likely approval path
- 03Heritage, flood, bushfire and tree constraints
- 04What the block can carry: house, duplex or granny flat