It is important to understand what the goals of the project are and what you are trying to accomplish within this project, whether that be a small addition to create more useable space for your family, a large-scope renovation, or a brand new custom home. There are many Web sites that can be used as great resources to find pictures of different home styles, interior spaces, colours and materials you may like, but we have found that by utilizing the site Houzz.com you can create an idea book that we can explore together. Remember, you are not reviewing the site to find that one perfect design; you are going through and finding items that catch your eye which can be used to describe your project goals and, ultimately, create a Wish List. The more information that you can provide, such as room-by-room requirements and how you live and entertain, the more accurate our design will be upon presentation. Our detailed and interactive PDF Wish List that we provide will help guide you through all the questions and items to think about during your project.

Once you have created your Wish List, we can then work together to establish a realistic budget. Through initial discussions prior to starting any design work, it is important for us to understand what you can afford to spend, what you want to spend and even what the neighbourhood can warrant you spending. There are many points and directions that this conversation can take, but it is extremely important for us to be able to marry a realistic budget with a realistic Wish List prior to starting any project.

Every property has its own unique characteristics, qualities and zoning requirements. If this is a new custom home, it is important to walk the site and understand the topography, orientation and surrounding landscape. If this is a renovation and addition to an existing home, a detailed site measure must be completed so that all of the existing conditions of the house (such as mechanical and structural) can be properly documented. A key item for this portion of work is a survey or site plan. Most homes will have some sort of document that shows the existing home in relation to the property lines or boundary, however, a survey will be required in any event to satisfy city requirements such as zoning, building permit applications, site grading or other requirements as indicated.

Now that we have all of the information from yourself, as the client, as well as the local planning departments and other jurisdictions, we can now prepare a detailed design. These will include colour-rendered exterior and interior elevations and detailed floor plans illustrating room layouts, lighting, furniture, kitchen designs, floor finishing layouts as well as landscape elements, should the project scope include it. We are able to create a very detailed package to present to you as our client, now that we have received all of your ideas and thoughts!

Once the detailed design package is presented to you, we now have the necessary information to sit down and prepare a preliminary budget. Although the design package was created with the initial budget in mind discussed at the very beginning of the project, this step confirms where the design falls in line with that and provides a more accurate assessment of the true scope of work necessary.

Now that the design has been presented and a budget has been prepared and submitted, we now work with you as our client to incorporate all of the changes and revisions you wish to see. These revisions include modifying the design to work within the budget discussed, in conjunction with changes you may wish to see and review. Once these have been incorporated, they are presented to you for final review. Often, a few meetings will be required in order to get the design 100% perfect as this is, after all, a large investment and every detail has to be worked through and considered.