Custom Home Designer and Builders
Good people. Real value. Incredible homes... Let's build yours.
START WITH DESIGN
Learn about our design process.
HAVE PLANS?
Submit your plans and we'll provide a cost estimate.
COST TO BUILD
Understand building costs and book a 15-minute budget check.
Architecturally designed homes, managed from concept to completion.
START WITH DESIGN
Learn about our design process.
HAVE PLANS?
Submit your plans and we'll provide a cost estimate.
COST TO BUILD
Understand building costs and book a 15-minute budget check.
30 years of designing and building custom homes.
Derbyshire manages the full design and build journey across Geelong, the Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula, creating homes that are fully custom and designed around each client’s lifestyle, brief and vision. Our in-house design team takes the time to understand what matters most, then shapes a home that looks the way you want it to look, works the way you need it to work, and is informed by real construction knowledge from the beginning.
With the care of our small family-run team, we focus on craftsmanship, quality and a building experience that feels personal from start to finish.
How does it work?
- You engage us to design your home
- We work with an architect or designer in our network to design your home
- Derbyshire guides the process, helping ensure the design is achievable from both a construction and budget perspective
- We build a great home
OUR PROCESS
01 | 15 MINUTE DISCOVERY CALL
A quick chat about your project, your land and your budget, so we can understand your goals and see if we’re the right fit.
02 | INITIAL CONSULTATION
Join us for a coffee and a complimentary, pressure-free meeting where we talk through your vision, scope, budget expectations and how we work.
03 | DESIGN
Concept design, plans, renders and interior design, then we make your home buildable through pricing, engineering, detailed documentation and permits.
04 | BUILD
Watch your vision come to life. We work with trusted trades and our site supervisor ensures quality and progress on site.
Design Process
Our in-house design process begins with understanding how you want to live, what style you are drawn to and what matters most in your future home.
You bring your ideas, inspiration, priorities and plans for the future, and we ask detailed questions to build a clear picture of how the home needs to function, feel and look. That includes everything from how you use your spaces and whether you entertain, to what storage you need and how you want the home to flow.
From there, we shape a custom design around your lifestyle, your brief and your style preferences, developing the layout, room sizes and relationship between spaces. We also think carefully about natural light, materials, proportion and the overall character of the home.
Because Derbyshire also builds the homes we design, we can guide the process with a realistic understanding of budget, buildability and construction complexity. Once the concept is developed, we move into floorplans, elevations, renders, pricing and documentation, helping prepare the home for construction.
TESTIMONIAL
Scott & Sharon
“We had never built a home before, but Pete and his team at Derbyshire Homes made it such a stress-free and enjoyable experience. It was fantastic that Derbyshire worked closely with an architect and their interior designer, as this made the process seamless for us. We were involved in every step along the way and never felt pressured to go in a particular direction.
We are so happy with the beautiful home they designed and built for us. The building journey was 100% worth it, and we just love coming home every day to our beautiful home.”
A Practical Next Step
If you’d like a realistic range, we’re happy to help. Book a meeting or send through your query using the link below. We’ll come back to you with some guidance and an estimated budget to get things moving.
No obligation – just a clear range and path forward for your project.
Derbyshire Story
Building a home should feel exciting. Too often, it feels stressful, generic and harder than it needs to be.
That is why Noel started Derbyshire Homes when he was still a young builder driving his old green kombi.
He saw an industry producing too many homes that felt like variations of the same thing. Too many clients were being pushed through a process that should have felt personal. Building a home should be something to be proud of.
Thirty years on, the industry still has the same problems. So we’re still here to do things differently.
At Derbyshire, we guide our clients through a design and build journey that is more personal, built on relationships and collaboration. We take the time to get it right and work closely with our clients, architects, engineers and trades to achieve the best outcome at every stage.
As a small family-run team, we take on a limited number of projects each year. That means every home gets the attention it deserves. We get deeply involved in every project, and that care shows in the final result.
Over 30 years, our approach has stayed clear:
- No wasted space. Every area should be functional and add value.
- Clear pricing. Comprehensive estimates based on current quotes help reduce budget blowouts.
- Strong trade relationships. When you work with good people and treat them well, the result is better workmanship.
- Design that reflects the client. Every client is different, and every home should be too.
- A better building experience. Building your home should feel exciting, and worth celebrating.
- Quality craftmanship the first time creates less work later.
Peter Derbyshire
Managing Director
FAQs
If your question is not shown below, please don’t hesitate to give us a call on (03) 5221 8409 or email us through our online enquiry form.
Is your home design service fully custom?
Yes. We do not work from standard plans or pre-designed layouts. Every home is designed around the client, the site, the lifestyle they want, and the budget they want to work within.
What’s included in your design stage, so I can really see what I’m getting?
Our design stage is detailed and thorough. We like to produce renders and concept designs, not just floor plans, so you can clearly visualise your future home. This stage also includes detailed pricing estimates and specifications for the products and finishes involved. We also have an interior designer you’ll work with, so you have a much clearer picture of what’s included before the build contract is signed.
Can you help us design to a budget?
Yes. Because we also build, we understand how design decisions affect cost. We can give practical guidance early in the process to help align the design with your budget and avoid heading too far down the track on ideas that are not the right fit financially.
Do you also build the homes you design?
Yes. Derbyshire manages both the design and build process, which means the design is shaped with real construction knowledge and a clear understanding of buildability and budget from the beginning.
How long does the design and build process usually take?
The timeline can vary depending on the size and complexity of the home. As a general guide, the design process usually takes around 4 to 6 months, followed by 10+ months for construction.
Do you handle permits, engineering and documentation?
Yes. We can assist with all required permits, from heritage overlays and town planning through to building permits. We also coordinate the engineering and documentation needed to move the project forward.
Where do you build?
We build across Geelong, the Surf Coast and the Bellarine.
