This stage happens before we ever even design anything. We will talk together about your needs, wants, and desires, and I will have questions for you that may help you dig a little deeper into things you may not have thought about yet.

We will discuss your preliminary budget to make sure that it aligns with what you are wanting to accomplish, so it is helpful for you to have an idea of what your budget will be prior to us having these conversations.

For my part, I will then begin what is called the Pre-Design stage, and this involves checking local zoning and building codes, any deed restrictions, and information about the site, etc. This helps to lay the groundwork for design to begin, so you may not see a lot going on in the way of deliverables, but it is all vital to the project so that we can minimize surprises later on in the progress of the project.

This stage is where I start to develop a basic design. In this phase, the building will begin to take a rough shape. I will, after gathering all of the information from the previous phase, start by developing drawings that illustrate spatial relationships, scale, and the generic forms of the project. I typically present these ideas in loose sketch form, and they may or may not be computer-generated. At this stage, it is often simpler to work by hand on trace paper.

These schematic design ideas should not feel finished - because they’re not. They are meant to serve as a starting point for our collaborative process, so they should help to inspire you with new ideas.

When I present these ideas to you, it is very likely that you may like elements from both schemes, and that is okay. You are not expected to “pick one and move on”. This is, again, a collaborative process! We may borrow features from both, thus becoming a hybrid of sorts. Sometimes we may need to meet a few times before we all feel settled on the schematic design, with my having made changes based on your feedback each time. When you have settled on one of the designs (or a hybrid of the two), we will then move on to the next phase of design.

At this point in the project, it is wise to begin discussions with a contractor, if you don’t already have one involved. Having a contractor involved earlier rather than later in the process can be beneficial for all as they can offer their expertise when it comes to costs, material availability and construction methods.

In this phase, we begin to refine the design and start talking about more detailed items, like interior layouts, window locations and sizes, and what materials, both interior and exterior we are thinking of using.

I will design and help with the selection of all items that get built into the project, such as cabinetry, lighting and plumbing fixtures, bathroom vanities, and finishes such as flooring, wall coverings, and paint colors used in the project. Throughout this phase, we will look at samples and cut sheets that I have curated for your review, and we can discuss options for all of these materials and finishes. If there are other items you would like my help with selecting, we can discuss my additional services as well.

You will notice that during this phase, the drawings will become much more detailed and begin to look like final plans. They are not yet a buildable set of drawings, but we will be much closer to a set that can be submitted to the city for permit. When we have nailed down the majority of these major decisions, we will be ready to move on to the next phase, Construction Documents.

This phase takes all the information about all the spaces and organizes it into a detailed set of drawings and specifications that will be used by the Contractor for pricing and construction. Think of this set as an instruction manual. The resulting set of construction documents will include sheets with drawings such as a Site Plan, Floor Plan(s), Exterior Elevations, Building Sections and Wall Sections, among others such as details and Electrical/Lighting Plans.

We will submit the project for local permitting near the beginning of this phase to ensure any necessary changes can be folded in before the drawings are finalized. The permitting process will largely depend on the local jurisdiction, but for Walla Walla, this is a fairly straightforward and simple process, and having drawings that are stamped by a licensed architect helps to somewhat expedite the process.

This phase will require less input from you since most of the decisions will have already been made. We will meet to confirm any outstanding finish selections or cabinetry design decisions.

Once a contractor is selected and construction begins, I then act as your agent on-site, monitor progress, review applications for payment from the contractor, and ensure conformance with the contract documents. This does not mean that I tell the contractor how to do their work; I just make sure they are doing the things they have contractually promised to do.

Involving me in the Construction Observation phase allows the project design vision to be integrated into the details of the home seamlessly. Architects and Contractors think very differently - which is good - but not every Contractor’s decision balances function and aesthetics.

I will visit the site weekly to meet with the Contractor and Subcontractors to answer any questions and review progress and conformance with the Contract Documents, and I will then share progress photos and send a weekly field report following each site visit.