Our Process
Site visit
Our process begins with an initial site visit. Aerial photography, 3D terrain and surveys are excellent supplements to begin designing your home, but none of these should replace an in-person site visit. We’ll review the site and note special conditions and specimen trees, as well as any unique view corridors. This will help us lay out a basic site plan that will begin to drive the overall design.
conceptual design
Following the site visit, we’ll work together to determine the basic program of the home and unique or appealing characteristics of important spaces, program notes and inspirational images are excellent resources to discuss at this stage.
We’ll use this information to begin shaping the site design, keying in on natural topography & features, sun orientation, important views and surrounding properties impact or potential impacts on your property.
We’ll begin to shape these diagrams into the floor plans and elevations of your home. We’ll study the overall mass of the home, working from the roof plan through the foundation. We can begin overlaying 3-dimensional images onto the site aerial images and photographs and in many cases determine exactly what your views from living and deck spaces will be.
We’ll continue to meet and refine the design in various formats and in many cases with the involvement of other consultants (Landscape Architects, Structural Engineers, and Interior Designers).
As we continue to develop the drawings, and depending on the level of service requested, we will focus on interior elevations of the main living spaces and begin to develop the interior millwork and cabinetry drawings. The style of home will often define the style of interior millwork, this is everything from cornices and door casings to stair details and fireplace surrounds.
Cabinetry drawings will generally focus on the kitchen and kitchen island, but also include custom vanity cabinets, built-in bookcases, media centers, and outdoor kitchens just to name a few.
Interior Millwork & Cabinetry
Once the conceptual design has been completed, we will begin the construction documents phase. These drawings are the instructions for the builder to bid and eventually build your home. Again, depending on the level of service requested, these drawings can define in very high detail the exact specifications of your home or simply be a guideline for the builder and homeowner to specify the general requirements for the home. There will typically be two milestones during the construction document phase, one at 40% completion and another at 80% completion. This allows the contractor to bid the project to confirm the budget is being met and make adjustments as necessary prior to completing the construction documents.