When planning and designing your new Maui custom home, you’ll be thinking about the day you move in and begin your new life there. Living in this new home is always part of the design process. Part of the design involves considering your lifestyle, now and in the future.
Architects usually have a general process they use to get to the point of a finished. Every project is different.
The desire to “speed up” the process is a temptation, but you don’t want “quick and dirty” drawings for such a large investment. That’s why it’s important not to rush the process, and be open to possible changes.
Creating Your Home’s Plans
Do you or your spouse have your own business and need an office? Are children a part of your life, or are you planning on welcoming children in the future? Is there a gourmet in your household? Or do you and your spouse enjoy entertaining family and friends frequently? All these aspects come into play when your architect sits down to begin the design process.
Another aspect of the final design is discussing your goals, which can include:
- Timeline for building
- Budget
- The home’s character and feel
Having clear goals and knowing what you want is always helpful, but it doesn’t mean you have to have a complete and final design at your first meeting.
Of course, your needs aren’t the only thing that an architect has to consider. Building codes and regulations, permits, environmental concerns, and any “green” aspects of your home (such as solar panels or water gathering systems) also have to be considered when drawing up plans for your home’s final design.
In addition to the initial interview, your architect will also need information about the location where you plan to build—if you’ve already found and purchased the land. If not, the “where” will have to be addressed before you continue with the design.
Open-Minded Flexibility
What if something you were interested in at the outset turned out to be not as good an idea as you’d hoped?
Flexibility is about keeping an open mind to a new strategy or idea that may appear during the process of design. It’s about discussing things with your architect when they appear. If something doesn’t seem as appealing as it did when you first sat down to discuss the new house, it’s important to mention it right away, not waiting until the designs are nearly finalized.
Be willing to consider changes that may not be what you originally had in mind, but can improve the design and the final product for the better.
So How Long Does It Take?
After an initial consultation, where both clients and architects come to an agreement, the design process can take about four months. A basic design schedule can look like this one:
- Signing the agreement
- Gathering information from the client and other sources
- Research and documentation
- Feasibility and schematic designs
- Development of design and seeking permit documents
- Permit submission and construction documents
- Review of the permit, corrective actions, and issuance of permits
Other factors can add to the timeline, such as presentations to a design review board for a planned community.
Call Pro Draft For All Your Architectural Design Needs
Considering a custom home in Maui? Pro Draft is ready to help with architecture, drawings, blueprints, permits, and to answer all of your questions before the first day of construction. We’re happy to help and will work to ensure your project is exactly the way you envision.
Call Pro Draft today at (808) 579-9050 or 1-800-499-4699 from the Mainland