There are many different reasons why you might decide to hire an architectural designer when building or remodeling your home. 

For one thing, you may have some municipal regulatory hoops to jump through, which only an architect can help with, such as when you need to submit official drawings for approval by the county or city you live in. 

But beyond that, it’s important to know exactly what an architectural designer does and can do for you aside from the obvious skill set.

In this post we will map out for you the benefits of hiring a professional home designer for your home project, and also the negative impacts of not seeking out this type of help.

Before beginning any design project, any architect worth their salt will sit down with a client and listen carefully, not only to hear what their living needs are, but to understand what their aesthetic is, what style of home they like, and HOW they like to live.

For example, what kind of home layout would a client most enjoy? And what type of physical environment are they most comfortable in? How many people will be inhabiting the house, and therefore how many rooms would they be needing? What type of energy sources do they prefer? What kind of lighting do they like? How would they like to heat and cool the house through the seasons, etc. etc. etc.

These are considerations that must be discussed upfront. Even if the client does not yet know the answers, they will begin thinking about what their options are and what is important to them. At the very least, you have started a necessary conversation before the building work begins.

Equally important to understanding a client’s living standards and needs is understanding what their home construction budget will be.

I cannot stress how important this is – communication between the designer and client is crucial, both before and throughout the design process. With regards to the budget limitations of a project, it will hinder and slow the design process if the architect does not completely understand both the costs of building methods and materials, and the actual construction budget of the client.

Being in the home design-and-build business for a long time, I’ve seen it happen – where a designer shows the design to the client, and, “Oh, that’s a big beautiful mahogany wood and subway tiled kitchen…but, we could never really afford that!” 

This is an important and not-so-often discussed aspect of what an experienced and talented architect can do for a client. 

As an architectural designer, I often tell my clients that if they use my home design services, they will make back every penny they spend on me. It seems like a ridiculous, hyperbolic statement, but in many cases, it’s true. Let me explain…

Sustainable Building Solutions = Energy Savings = Money Savings

If a home designer knows about alternative, sustainable building systems such as passive solar, water catchment, or geothermal heating and cooling, and can incorporate these systems in the design of a home, they can give the homeowner exponential energy cost savings in the future.

Especially now, with energy costs skyrocketing, and sustainable building systems becoming more standard and affordable, the potential to save money with alternative energy systems has never been more real. The implementation of well-designed energy systems in a home can mean a significant reduction in monthly heating, cooling, and electric costs, as well as a greater level of comfort for people living in the home. For example, the spacial orientation of a home, itself, can reduce temperature and humidity fluctuations, and therefore has the potential to affect living conditions within the home. It also can effectively reduce energy consumption, regardless of the type or amount of heating and cooling systems being used in the home.

There are numerous ways an architectural designer can tangibly help a client save money on their home. But, ultimately, it depends on the home designer – their experience and passion for designing homes that are sustainable and practical for the modern homeowner. The following are other ways an architect can help a person save money on their home:

• Integrity and durability of construction materials and methods used

• Using economical and sustainable materials where applicable

• Longevity – not having to rebuild or repair the house within the owner’s lifetime

• Future design change scenarios are considered and can be more easily implemented if needed

• Recommendations for quality contractors with reasonable rates – and builders that won’t make costly mistakes

• And so on…

In reality, there are so many things that can go wrong with the construction of a new home. If you decide to go it alone and refrain from hiring a professional to design your new home, know that there can be serious drawbacks.

Suffice it to say, it will most likely cost you more in the long run if you do not hire a professional.

Things that can go wrong:

• Future troubles with the building inspectors – not meeting building requirements will generate costly fees.

• Not knowing about building standards and procedures, you may end up hiring a contractor who really doesn’t know what they’re doing. This is problematic in so many ways – to put it succinctly, it can make your life a living hell.

• You can end up with a home that is not energy efficient – because you just didn’t know about efficiency. And so your daily energy costs are way above what they really need to be.

• Builders make mistakes – often. If you let a builder make structural decisions without oversight from an engineer or architect, chances are good that they’ll get it wrong. As a result you can end up with a home that simply isn’t safe to live in.

• The layout you designed for your home may not, in reality, be the best solution for you. An experienced architectural designer will know to ask you the right questions. Not having this type of professional help with a home design can often lead to a homeowner going, “Oh, why didn’t I do it that way!”

…And so it goes – you may have good intentions, wanting to save money and do it your way. You might have some design skills, and, how hard can it be, really? Well, if you decide to take a chance and go this route, who knows, you might get lucky, but we at DPS Design emphatically do not recommend it 🙂