Picture this Jame Hardie The Drawing Board website

Building a new house, or simply recladding an existing one, requires some thought, as you will be looking for materials that will last a lifetime. Luckily there is now a way you can consider and tinker with design options at your leisure.

A newly launched website by James Hardie, The Drawing Board, features innovative design tools that allow you to plan your home project without any rush, says the marketing manager at James Hardie.

"These include MySketch Tool that lets you draw a plan, which you can then submit to an architect, and the MyHouse Visualiser, which allows you to swap out various cladding products and colours so you can picture exactly how your home could look. These showcase contemporary and traditional designs."

Other useful and interesting features on The Drawing Board include information about the Smarter Small Home series of affordable energy-efficient houses. And there is a major The Drawing Board promotion that gives visitors a chance to win a $50,000 home makeover package. You can also find out how other New Zealanders, including Olympic gold medal winner Hamish Bond, chose to clad their homes.

The site puts a wealth of helpful building and cladding information at browsers' fingertips, with advice, checklists and inspiring ideas. The website is intended to be a catalyst for homeowners and designers.

"Readers visit the site to see what's new and find out how to engage architectural services. It includes profiles of accredited architects and designers throughout New Zealand."

Website: www.thedrawingboard.co.nz.

Story by: Trendsideas