Before designing a new home, it is our recommendation to have the lot you want to build on first.  That way the home can be designed to best fit the lot, with the best views, and you don’t risk having to redesign it due to the limitations of the lot.  That being said, please don’t…

When selecting a contractor to work with, it’s important to first talk with past clients to obtain feedback on their experience.  Before agreeing to work with a contractor, it’s important to know what they did well and what their weaknesses are. It is important to remember while listening to feedback, that no contractor can be…

While not always feasible, we recommend making all your selections before signing a construction contract.  Paint colors, cabinets, plumbing fixtures, hardware, tile, light fixtures, etc., ALL the selections.  When selections aren’t available when ready to sign a construction contract, we will include placeholder allowances for those items in the contract, but this is not ideal….

Often, the budget discussion can be a difficult one to have with clients.  Even when clients are seemingly forthcoming about their budget, we sometimes later learn that they weren’t completely honest about their budget during initial conversations.  I understand the logic, many people think if they say they have less to spend that will help…

While it is true that some designers prefer to design only with their own personal preference of style, most designers, ours included, are more interested in designing in your style.  We genuinely want to deliver a product that you find pleasing, but everyone’s tastes are different.  The more that you can communicate and share, the…

We’ve tackled this subject matter previously, but it’s an important topic that warrants another look.  I was pleasantly surprised when a client told us that one of our competitors told her it was $x/sf to build a custom home.  This didn’t make sense to our client as they had no plans to look at, much…

Design with resale in mind.  I’ve heard it repeatedly and I must disagree.  There is an exception to my opinion, that being if you plan on selling soon (next 2-3 years).  Even then, I find it a bit presumptuous to assume you know what the next owner will like or assume they won’t like what…

Normally I write about something specific to my company, Custom Dwellings, or at least our industry.  Today, however, I want to address a much broader topic.  How much is too expensive?  I have covered pricing in some other posts, but this has less to do with construction or design and more about service in general. …

Early in the design process, we create an estimated line-item budget for the project.  We don’t share every little item in our budget (do you really need to know or care how much is budgeted for silt fence…do you even know what silt fence is?)  However, for items where the homeowner’s decisions can have a…