The North Georgia Custom Home Design Process
From Concept to Construction: A Seamless Design-to-Build System.
Designing a custom home in the Southeast requires more than just a creative vision; it requires a deep understanding of residential architecture and the local terrain. Whether you are building on a mountain slope or a lakefront lot, success depends on the alignment between your dream home ideas and the practical cost of construction.
We specialize in custom home design in North Georgia, providing the technical expertise and architectural services needed to bridge the gap between "just plans" and a finished residence. Our design-to-build approach ensures that from the first sketch, we are considering the realities of your site and the requirements of your home builder.
Why Our Two-Phase System Works for You
You might be asking:
“Why are you explaining your internal process? I care about results, not phases.”
Fair. Here’s the short version:
This process isn’t for us — it’s for you.
A successful build requires structure. By breaking our architectural services into two defined phases, we protect you from delays and ensure your North Georgia builder has exactly what they need for a smooth permit process and construction phase.
Phase 1: Custom Home Design
This is where your home starts to take shape — not as a dream, but as a plan. In this phase, we explore how your needs, preferences, and site characteristics come together in real space.
Our focus here is creative, iterative, and collaborative. You'll receive unlimited design revisions within your brief, giving you the freedom to refine layouts, orientations, and concepts without worrying about extra fees — as long as the core vision remains consistent.
We guide you through this process with visual tools, regular reviews, and a problem-solving mindset. You bring the goals; we’ll help shape the structure.
Phase 1 includes:
Site study (orientation, slope, access, zoning context)
Design brief development (lifestyle needs, aesthetic preferences, priorities)
Concept design: floor plans, elevations, spatial layout
Unlimited design revisions within the brief
3D modeling of the home and major spaces (so you don’t have to "read plans" to understand your home)
Basic material suggestions and massing studies
Early conversations with your builder (if known)
Goal of Phase 1:
By the end of this phase, you’ll have a fully resolved custom home design that aligns with your site, your vision, and your intended budget — ready to move into technical detailing.
Phase 2: Custom Home Detailing
With the design finalized, we now translate it into a comprehensive set of construction-ready documents — the drawings, dimensions, and callouts that your builder, engineer, and permit reviewer need to move forward.
This phase is about precision, coordination, and forward planning. While some projects will require engineering sign-off or architectural stamping, others will not — we’ll help you determine what’s needed and when. We can recommend professionals if required, or defer to your builder’s preferred contacts.
Phase 2 includes:
Full construction drawing set (floor plans, elevations, roof plans, sections, basic framing layouts)
Site layout
Construction details for critical elements
Dimensioned plans and elevations for use by trades
Basic fixture, door, and window scheduling
Recommendations for permit submission (note: submission itself is typically handled by your builder or permit expediter)
Goal of Phase 2:
To produce a clean, buildable, and clearly documented home design that reflects the decisions made in Phase 1 — with enough detail to support permitting, bidding, and smooth construction.
What a Typical Project Looks Like
While every custom home is different, the overall arc tends to follow a similar rhythm. Here's what you can expect when working with us — whether you're building on five acres in North Georgia or a tight lot in a mountain town.
1. You reach out with an idea
Maybe it’s a list of must-haves. Maybe it's a few Pinterest boards and a site you just bought. We start with a conversation to understand your goals, budget range, timeline, and constraints.
2. We develop and refine your design
We move through Phase 1, typically over 4–16 weeks, depending on complexity and your responsiveness. We explore spatial layouts, room flow, outdoor access, sun angles, and massing. You’ll review plans and 3D views and provide feedback until the design feels right.
3. We prepare the build-ready documentation
Phase 2 typically takes another 4–8 weeks. This is where we fine-tune dimensions, generate building sections and construction details, and create a clean permit-ready drawing set. If your project requires engineering, this is when we coordinate those pieces.
4. You or your builder handle permit submission
Most of our clients engage a local builder — either someone they bring to us or someone we’ve worked with before. That contractor typically submits the permit set and handles engineering coordination and construction supervision.
We support your build — start to finish
Supporting the Owner-Builder and Contractor alike. We believe that the best custom home design is a collaborative effort. Our process is designed to support the independent owner-builder who wants to build your own home with professional guidance, as well as clients who prefer a turnkey experience with a premier home builder.
Our role doesn't end when the drawings are done. We remain available throughout the entire build to support your North Georgia builder with clarifications and site-specific details. This "design-to-build" support is included in our fixed-fee structure, ensuring you are never left on your own during the most critical stages of construction.
What Pricing Looks like in 2026
Fixed fees. Flexible process. Transparent from day one.
We keep pricing simple and predictable — no hidden fees, no change orders. Everything you need to get from concept to permit is included in one clear structure.
Our custom home design service starts at $16,000 USD for homes up to 4,000 square feet of heated (interior) space, then $1 USD per additional square foot beyond that. This is a flat design fee, not based on time spent or revision counts. The price is determined by the initial design brief — not by the final outcome.
Don’t fit the the typical mold? For work that falls outside our standard project structure, we can tailor our involvement and provide services on an hourly basis as needed. Be sure to ask us how this could wrk for you.
You noticed our round table guarantee?
We stand behind our work — not just in quality, but in outcomes.
We are so confident in our architectural services that we provide a full guarantee: if our two-phase design-to-build process does not lead to a building permit for your custom home, we will refund your design fees in full. We understand that the transition from a custom home design to an active construction site can be complex, especially when managing the cost of construction or coordinating with a North Georgia builder. This guarantee ensures that whether you are an owner-builder or working with a professional home builder, your residential architecture is engineered for approval and ready to become your dream home in North Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, or North Carolina.
*Conditions Apply
Building in North Georgia? Let’s Start the Conversation.
If you are ready to move from Pinterest boards to a build-ready custom home, we are here to help. We provide the architectural services and local expertise required to navigate the complexities of residential architecture throughout North Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
FAQs
What should I bring to begin designing?
Ideally, a clear list of your needs and wants — room types, must-have features, aesthetic preferences, site location, and any zoning or HOA rules you know of. Don’t worry if it’s rough — we’ll help you shape it into a working brief.
Should I buy a plan online?
You can — but if you want a home truly suited to your site, lifestyle, and budget, you're often better off investing in custom design. Stock plans may look appealing, but they rarely account for things like North Georgia terrain, solar orientation, or local code variations. We can help you assess if modifying an existing plan is viable.
I already have a few plans and styles I like. Can you edit them to make them into my dream home?
Absolutely. Many clients start with ideas pulled from magazines, builder plans, or online sources. We can either develop a new design inspired by those, or adapt existing materials into a more tailored design — provided we have the appropriate copyright permissions.
Do you provide interior design?
No — we focus on the architectural elements. However, we’ve been around a while - if you need an interior designer, we’re happy to connect you with professionals we trust.
What if I need an engineer?
Not all projects require one — it depends on your location, size, and local building authority. We’ll help determine what’s necessary and recommend contacts if needed. In most cases, engineering is coordinated through your builder.
What does "unlimited design revisions" mean?
It means we’ll keep working with you to refine the design during Phase 1 — without extra charges — as long as your core brief doesn’t change. As an example, if you decide to move from a mid-century ranch to a two-story farmhouse mid-process, that’s a new brief and we’ll reset accordingly.
Do you help with permits or builder selection?
We prepare all necessary drawings for permit, but the submission is handled by the client or their contractor. If you don’t have a builder, we can recommend someone in your area, or we can organise to formally manage a tender process.