Design Ideas, Judged by What They Cost You Later
There is no shortage of inspiration online. What is harder to find is someone telling you which ideas are cheap, which are expensive, which are expensive only if you decide late, and which ones you cannot undo once the drywall is on.
That is what these pages are. We build this work, so every idea below is described with what it does to the space, what it does to the budget, and what it commits you to. No photograph is going to tell you that a waterfall island adds a slab, or that moving a shower drain three feet means opening a slab floor.
How to use these
- Read the trade you are planning for the design decisions specific to it.
- Check the cost guide linked on each page for the numbers.
- Bring the ideas you like to the site visit. We will tell you which ones your house will accept cheaply and which ones fight the building.
By trade
| Trade | What the page covers |
|---|---|
| Kitchens | Islands, layout, opening walls, storage, counters and lighting. |
| Bathrooms | Niches, curbless showers, drain position, tile and ventilation. |
| ADUs | Layout under 600 sq ft, ceiling height, privacy and outdoor space. |
| Garage conversions | The door opening, floor height, ceilings and where the bathroom can go. |
| Room additions | Out or up, roof geometry, the connection, and light in existing rooms. |
| Whole-home renovation | Circulation, light, ceiling height and what to do while walls are open. |
| New homes | Orientation, storeys, ceiling heights, circulation and storage. |
| Fire rebuild | The decisions that arrive after a loss, in the order they arrive. |
| Patio covers | Solid, lattice or louvered, post placement, ceilings and drainage. |
| Outdoor living | Zones, shade, outdoor kitchens, fire and what to run while trenches are open. |
| Pavers and hardscape | Patterns, borders, colour, where the cuts land and how joints age. |
| Roofing | Colour, profile, matching the house, and what to do while the roof is off. |
| Windows and doors | Proportion, head heights, opening sizes, operation and trim. |
| Flooring | Continuity, direction, plank width, subfloor and transitions. |
| Painting | Testing properly, undertones, sheen, ceilings and exteriors. |
| Plumbing | How far fixtures can move, repiping, water heating and pressure. |
| Electrical | Panel capacity, lighting layers, switching, outlets and future provision. |
| Foundations | Whether movement is active, the repair options, and how to read a quote. |
The three questions worth asking about any idea
Does it move water, gas or a load?
This is the line between a finish decision and a construction decision. Paint colour, tile, cabinet style, fixture finish — those are reversible and priced roughly by taste. Moving a sink, relocating a range, taking out a wall, changing a window opening: each one pulls in a trade, an inspection and sometimes an engineer. The design idea is often free. The consequence is not.
Does it have to be decided before or after demolition?
Anything that changes rough plumbing, rough electrical or framing has to be decided before the walls close. Anything that is surface — hardware, paint, light fittings, even counters in some cases — can be decided later without penalty. Homeowners routinely agonise over the second category early and rush the first, which is exactly backwards.
Is it a change order or a redesign?
A change order is a line item. A redesign is a new permit. Knowing which one you are asking for, before you ask, is the single most useful thing a homeowner can bring to a project meeting.
Tell us about your project kitchen
Send us the basics — the size of the kitchen, whether you want to move any walls, and roughly when you would like to start — and we will come out, take measurements and put a written scope and estimate in front of you within about 48 hours of the visit.