But on one of his final projects under his father’s banner – a series of high-end renovations in Noosa Heads – something clicked. Each apartment had a different designer, many from Melbourne and all with strong reputations for high-end, architectural work.That experience, working closely with multiple designers across complex, bespoke renovations, crystallised the direction he wanted to pursue. “I knew that was the angle I wanted to go in,” he recalls. “High-end, architectural builds. That’s where my passion was.” The feeling wasn’t entirely shared at home. His father and business partner weren’t keen on changing direction, and Grabbe made the call to step away and start again under his own name. Or more accurately, under a name that declared his intent: Gold Leaf Constructions. From day one, the focus has been on detailed, design-led, high-end builds and renovations. Fifteen years later, that’s exactly where the business sits. FROM TENDERS TO TRUE PARTNERSHIPS Like many builders, Gold Leaf initially operated in the traditional tender model – pricing jobs off completed drawings and competing in a race to the bottom. Too often, Grabbe saw that the “winning” builder was simply the one who had missed the most in their costings. “Whoever made the most mistakes seemed to get the job,” he says. “We were always thorough with our costing and could explain to clients what we had allowed for. That helped, but the whole tender model didn’t align with the quality and service we wanted to deliver.” Over time, the company completely shifted its approach. Instead of stepping in once plans were finished and budgets already misaligned with reality, Gold Leaf now positions itself right up front at the concept stage. Clients engage the team under a preliminary agreement, and builder, client and designer walk the journey together from early vision through to turnkey handover. 15 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 07, ISSUE 12 GOLD LEAF CONSTRUCTIONS
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