BHC Construction
Choosing a Custom Home Designer
Choose a home architect who has many years of experience designing fine homes. All architects don't have equal experience in the same style of architecture, or operating within the same budget. A custom designed house will cost you a lot more than a stock plan and therefore, it only makes sense to choose the best home architect you can find to design your home. This is not the time to be scrimping or cutting corners. A new architect may have lower fees, but he simply won't have the kind of experience that's necessary for a luxury home project. Make sure your Memphis area luxury home architect has plenty of experience designing the kind of homes that you have in mind.
A home architect has to have a professional degree from an architectural school, and should be a member of trade organizations and associations in his field. Your luxury home architect should obviously have a hefty portfolio of work to show you. This means that he should have plenty of experience designing fine homes on his own, and not just as an apprentice at another architect firm. The home architect should have experience designing homes in the style that you desire. If his forte is traditional or Victorian, and your styles run into contemporary, you might want to check out another architect to design your home, instead of letting him experiment on your property. When you visit his past projects, remember to check the side elevation and the rear elevations too. With so much money being invested in a custom design, you owe it to yourself to have a design that's completely beautiful, and doesn't just stop at a nice looking front elevation.
Your architect should work in a professional multi person office set up. You can assume that a busy in demand architect has assistants who can share his workload, and who can interact with you once the construction commences. This sort of after-sales support is very important even after the plan has been delivered. There are structural elements that will have to be considered, and only the architect who designed the plan will be able to advise you going ahead. On the other hand, a firm that's too large and where you don't even get to talk with the main luxury home architect more than a couple of times regarding your project, may not be able to give your home the kind of personalized attention you may need. Look for a balance that will combine personalized attention with a professional set up.
Recent Requests
We bought a one acre lot. We want to build a 8500-10,000 sq ft home. 4 Car attached garage. With a separate 3500 sq foot workshop/garage. Approximately what will it cost? We are not looking at the cheapest or the most expensive upgrades and expenses, just moderate. We have found floor plans we like that meet what we're looking for. They came from a book called ultimateplans.com. Plan # 161104. It has a main floor level, upper level floor plan and a basement level floor plan.
Susan Z
I need a one or two-story 3,000 sq. ft., 4br/3ba home built on 1 acre of land. How much?
Tracy M