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Custom Home Starter Service

Our Custom Home Starter Service will help you define the vision, goals, and project requirements that will guide everyone through the rest of the design and construction process.

This is our signature pre-design service developed after ten years of working with clients to design exceptional custom homes. It results in a cohesive set of documents that spell out all your project requirements in one place making it easier, more efficient, and more straight-forward for you and whomever you work with to understand the project before you even start.

It’s a personalized framework for your specific project and has everything you need to move forward confidently, efficiently, and with intention (even if you’ve never done it before and don’t know where to start).

Vision Setting & Program Definition

Together we’ll define your goals, space requirements, and stylistic preferences for the project.

(Who, what, & why)

Project Budget & Timeline Trajectory

We’ll work through a preliminary project budget & timeline, exploring options that balance cost, size, and quality expectations.

(How much & when)

Site & Development Requirements

We’ll review your specific site considerations, zoning & developmental requirements, and agency approval process.

(Where & how)

Here’s what is included:

  • Project Brief – A 1pg document describing the essence (in a qualitative perspective) of what you want to achieve with your project
  • Program Document w/ Prelim Construction Budget – An itemized list of spaces and sizes of various project components with associated construction cost estimates
  • Construction Cost Metrics – Descriptions of various construction costs  relating to level of finish, project complexity, and design refinement
  • Tentative Project Timeline – A prelim project schedule based on project complexity, your preferred project delivery method, and caliber of design
  • Site analysis (if a site is already selected) – An analysis of your specific site features (topography, vegetation, views, microclimate, access, privacy, zoning)
  • Zoning & Regulatory Review – A review of the local planning & building regulations governing your project
  • Game Plan & Resources – A summary of your next steps and additional references/resources for your project such as contact information, links to resources, and other useful information specific to your project
  • Project Mood Board – Visual imagery of project inspiration and design style.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

A Custom Home Starter Service is perfect for you if:

  • You are in love with your property and want to create something special on it that will last many generations to come
  • You feel overwhelmed, confused, or anxious about how to start the process
  • You want something tangible and documented (documentation to refer to throughout the project) to move forward with a local designer, draftsperson or speak to builders for quoting, etc.
  • You aren’t sure how big of a house you need, how much it will cost, or how long it will take but you know you need to figure it out before you start
  • You understand the importance that planning ahead, defining the project requirements, setting goal settings, and managing expectations are to the success of your project and to your own mental health
  • You want to understand what to expect in terms of time, budget, and expectations what’s possible for your home, your land, and your budget, and whether your available resources match your needs
  • You have a lot of ideas, even some of your own sketches, but can’t get the design right on your own
  • You want the confidence of knowing you have a great design that fits you now and into the future AND clarity in knowing what to do next.

It’s important to select the site prior to creating designing the project so that your home is harmonious with the land (optimizing it for views, solar orientation, privacy, and other site features).

That said, if you don’t have a site picked out yet, we can work with you to nail down your project requirements, define your project goals and objectives, determine your “why”, and create a project brief that will aid you in selecting the best land for your project. We can go even further by creating some massing studies and test-fit various layout options to see which will work best for which types of sites.

Custom Home Starter Service is very similar to the pre-design services that we perform for our full-service architectural design projects.   Pricing depends on the complexity of the project and the scope of the final package.  Custom Home Starter Services start at $3,000 for small projects and can be over $6,000 for larger projects.

Absolutely! The purpose of the Custom Home Starter Service is for you to gain clarity on your project and its requirements. It’s your opportunity to learn more about the home building journey and its impact on your budget, timeline, and resources so that you can have a successful project. Also important to a great project is working with a team of professionals that you know, like, and trust and that is a good project fit. You’ll want to work with a designer that you feel good about and who can provide the level of service and type of design that will meet your expectations.

It’s also a two-way street. Just as you’re looking for the right designer based on design style, design process, personality, fee structure, and service offerings, designers are equally determining project fit also. As much as we would love to help everyone with their design project, we too must be intentional about the new projects we accept as a small boutique design studio so that we can maintain the high level of quality and design rigor that we’ve known for.

Let’s talk!

Are you interested in learning more about the Custom Home Starter Service? Fill out the form and we’ll be in touch shortly to discuss your project.

Custom Home Starter Service Inquiry Form

Project size, location, budget, schedule, other scope (accessory structures/auxiliary spaces)