For Cameron
& Sunny.
A first response to your enquiry — indicative scope, sizing guidance, price ranges, and a clear next step.
What you told us.
Cameron — thank you for the first message. Before drawings or numbers, here is what you have shared, reflected back so you can confirm we have heard you correctly.
Building in Laos this year. You are Australian, Sunny is Lao, and the build is residential in Don Dok, Vientiane.
Plot selected. Lot D2, deposit paid; purchase contract to be completed on your next return to Lao, expected within a week or two.
A direction, not yet a brief. No fixed square-metre figure or budget yet. Early discussions point to a small pool and, if possible, a separate mother-in-law suite. The full programme is what we work through during design.
You asked for a conversation. You offered to pay for it. We do not charge for the first call.
A visual language, taking shape.
The reference you sent over WhatsApp, set beside two early studio readings of it. Nothing here is fixed — this is a conversation in pictures, so we can confirm we are looking in the same direction before drawings begin.
You shared a one-minute AI sketch on 12 April with the note, “something like this style.” We have read it as a direction: stone-clad volumes, arched openings, a courtyard pool, terraced gardens, an indoor-outdoor life. The two studies that follow translate that direction into a tropical, Vientiane-buildable register.
Treat the studies as questions, not answers. They exist so we can agree the vocabulary — materials, posture, relationship to the plot — before we commit to a plan.
These studies are exploratory only. The brief, the plan, and the budget are written together — not handed down.
Three useful ways to think about size.
The right square-metre figure depends on how you intend to live, not only on bedroom count. Three configurations our foreign-resident clients tend to fall into — indicative, for discussion only.
USD 70,000 – 130,000
+ design fee
USD 110,000 – 220,000
+ design fee
USD 180,000 – 400,000
+ design fee + pool
Indicative per-square-metre ranges.
Final pricing depends on site, design complexity, and finishes. The ranges below, by tier, give you a working budget to plan around.
- Local hardwood frames, standard tile finishes
- Lao-market kitchen and bath fittings
- Standard glazing, mid-range hardware
- Basic landscaping
- Imported hardwood, quality tile, quartz countertops
- Imported kitchen and bath (Thai or Vietnamese mid-range)
- Double-glazed openings, soft-close hardware
- Designed landscaping with drainage
- European hardwood, stone or porcelain throughout
- Imported European appliances and fittings
- High-spec glazing, premium hardware, smart-home wiring
- Full landscape design + irrigation
Three illustrative homes.
Three worked examples to make the ranges concrete — the kind of figures you would see if you proceeded with us.
| Configuration | Tier | Construction range | Plus design fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 160 m² · Single-storey · 3 BR | Designer | USD 88,000 – 120,000 | + USD 3,000 |
| 240 m² · Two-storey · 4 BR + study | Designer | USD 132,000 – 180,000 | + USD 3,000 |
| 340 m² · Two-storey · 5 BR + pool | Premium | USD 255,000 – 340,000 | + USD 3,000 |
Construction-only. Land, government fees, soil testing, topographical survey, and pool engineering (where applicable) are quoted separately. Most builds land in the 200–280 m² range; smaller, simpler homes are achievable.
What happens from here.
Why the design contract, before a construction price.
An honest builder cannot quote a construction price before there is a design to build from. Anyone who does is guessing — and the guess will be wrong.
The Design Contract gives both sides something concrete: a complete drawing set, structural calculations, and a materials specification. Only then can we put a fixed construction price on the table and stand behind it.
The design fee is USD 3,000, paid in full on signature. If MLH is later appointed as the construction contractor, USD 1,200 of it is credited against the BOQ. If you do not proceed with MLH for construction, you keep the full design under a buyout provision in the contract.
- Conceptual design · 3 variations
- Three rounds of revision
- Full architectural drawings
- Engineered structural plans
- MEP layouts · electrical, plumbing
- Permit-ready drawing set
- 3D rendered visualisations
- Materials and finish specification
A thirty-minute call, this week.
Cameron, Sunny — thank you for the first email. Whatever you decide, we hope this is useful.
A thirty-minute call with Gary, or someone from the office. We go through your situation, the land, your sense of size and budget, and any outstanding questions.
To book, reply to the email this proposal arrived with — propose a couple of times, Gary confirms one. We are in Vientiane (UTC+7) and take calls outside Lao business hours when needed.
When you're ready
Ready for contract?
Open the design agreement and proceed at your pace.
Open the design contract