Frequently Asked Questions

Our firm specializes in bespoke single-family home design, serving clients across the South Carolina Upstate, Midlands, and in Western North Carolina. 

We help our clients bring dream homes to life, whether it's new home construction, remodeling and additions, or thoughtfully curated kitchen and bath spaces that seamlessly blend style and function.

Beyond custom homes, we design accessory dwelling units (ADUs), crafting innovative solutions for additional living space. Our meticulously detailed house plans capture your vision while adhering to local building codes, ensuring a seamless design and permitting process.

To support informed decision-making, we provide construction cost estimating, helping you plan with confidence. During construction, our professional observation services ensure that your project is executed to the highest standards, maintaining quality and design integrity.

From concept to completion, we take a holistic approach—guiding you every step of the way to create spaces that are as beautiful as they are functional, perfectly tailored to your lifestyle.

We specialize in transforming ordinary outdoor areas into extraordinary living spaces that seamlessly blend with nature and your lifestyle. Our comprehensive design services encompass a wide range of elements, from elegant patios and sturdy decks to fully-equipped outdoor kitchens and cozy fire pits. Our approach is highly personalized, taking into careful consideration your unique lifestyle, the specific layout of your property, and your outdoor living aspirations. Whether you're looking to create a serene retreat for relaxation, an entertainment hub for hosting gatherings, or a practical space for everyday outdoor activities, our team has the expertise to bring your vision to life. We pride ourselves on striking the perfect balance between functionality and aesthetics, ensuring that every custom outdoor space we design not only meets your practical needs but also adds beauty and value to your home.

The timeline for a project is a dynamic element that depends primarily on the project's scope and complexity. Once these parameters are clearly defined, we develop a comprehensive project plan outlining key milestones, deliverables, and resource allocations. This plan serves as a roadmap, guiding the project from start to finish. 

Yes we do! We believe that a vitally important first step is to conduct a Feasibility Study before any design work is done. This research determines the codes and zoning, HOA architectural requirements, setbacks and buildable areas of your property. It also includes a suggested orientation of your new home to capture the passive solar energy of the sun.

Absolutely. The last thing anyone wants is to spend time and energy on a design only to find out it's not viable. The Feasibility Study helps to address the possibilities before the design process even begins. Additionally, we use RSMeans Data to generate construction cost estimates for your project at least twice during the design process to help you stay within your budget.

We've created a comprehensive Project Survey that will help us know what you want to experience from your home project. It will likely prompt you to think about some options you haven't considered before. You can also help us by providing ideas you have gleaned from magazines and websites like Houzz and Pinterest.

Yes, we specialize in sustainable, energy-efficient home designs. Whether you’re interested in LEED certification or passive solar design, we can create a green home that reduces energy costs and minimizes environmental impact.

Yes, we can seamlessly integrate smart home systems into your custom home design, enhancing security, energy efficiency, and overall convenience. Our approach ensures that these systems are thoughtfully incorporated to complement your lifestyle while maintaining the home’s aesthetic and functional integrity.

For security, we can incorporate features such as smart locks, video doorbells, surveillance cameras, and alarm systems that provide remote monitoring and real-time alerts for peace of mind.

In terms of energy management, we can integrate smart thermostats, automated lighting, and energy-efficient appliances that help optimize energy usage and reduce utility costs. These systems can be programmed to adapt to your daily routines or controlled remotely for maximum efficiency.

For whole-home automation, we can design a fully connected environment where lighting, climate control, entertainment systems, and even motorized window treatments can be managed effortlessly through voice commands, mobile apps, or centralized control panels.

Our team works closely with technology specialists to ensure a seamless installation, allowing you to enjoy a sophisticated, intuitive, and future-ready home that enhances both comfort and convenience.

Curtis Showvaker, our Certified Professional Building Designer, brings over five decades of experience to create custom home designs that perfectly reflect your lifestyle and preferences. He works closely with you, carefully listening to your ideas and needs to ensure every aspect of the design aligns with your vision. Using advanced 3D modeling technology, Curtis helps you visualize your future home, making it easy to refine the design until it's exactly what you want. As a LEED Green Associate, he incorporates sustainable and energy-efficient principles into his designs, creating comfortable, healthy living spaces that minimize environmental impact. Curtis's comprehensive understanding of construction techniques and building science ensures your design is not only beautiful but also practical and feasible to build. With his expertise in construction cost estimating, he helps you stay within budget while bringing your dream home to life.

We love to create unique homes. If you are building your forever home and have no intention of ever selling it, we can be as creative as you like - the sky's the limit! If you don't plan to live there long-term, then we will focus on a design that has a broader appeal to potential buyers when you sell. In either case, we will design you a home that is comfortable, healthy, and energy efficient.

We use Revit Building Information Modeling (BIM) software to create an accurate 3D model of your new custom home or remodeling project, and stage it with realistic furnishings and materials to help you know what your new home will look like before the first shovel touches the ground.

Yes! We use Lumion software to create photorealistic and artistic renderings of your new home or remodeling project.

Designing a new home is an iterative process. We will likely explore several layouts and ideas before reaching the ultimate goal. We will present these options to you by sharing screenshots, PDFs, or by Zoom or face-to-face design review meetings. You can help streamline the schedule by providing timely feedback so that we can continue the process to reach the final design.

We have completed a variety of different projects and have likely encountered similar issues to anything your project would pose. That said, there is a first time for everything, and we are confident we can solve your issue. We love a challenge!

The earlier we assemble the best team of professionals for your particular project, the better. Having the key members of the project team involved in the early stages of the design allows them to have input pertaining to their role in your project. This is a major contributor to completing the project on time and within your budget. We will suggest for your consideration the team members we feel are a good choice. If you find team members you'd like to consider, we will interview them on your behalf to see if they are a good fit. The final choice is yours to make. We will plan team meetings at selected times to get input from the team members involved at that stage of the design process.

Yes, we prepare your houseplans to ensure your project complies with all local regulations. Your builder is typically the one who submits this set of documents to your building official along with the application for your building permit. If the building official requests additional information, we revise the houseplans so they can issue your permit. 

Yes, we offer periodic construction observation during the construction phase to ensure that your design is being implemented properly. This service is available throughout the SC Upstate, Midlands, and Southern NC.