Custom Homes

A custom home is an entirely new residence built according to your specific needs, desires, and requirements. Many home builders allow you to "customize" finishes and fixtures (also known as "picking your upgrades"), but a truly custom home is much, much more than choosing floor surfaces and kitchen cabinets.

A true custom home is designed from the ground up for you and your family. Working with an architect, you will describe your needs and desires and outline the type of spaces you would like to have in your new home.

Designing a custom home is a personal journey. We'll work with you to understand your family's needs, incorporating your day to day schedules, activities, and habits into your design so that we can help you determine the type of space you would like to live in.

High Performance Homes

Often times, when a layperson hears the term "custom home," the perception is that a custom home is a huge, lavish building with thousands of square feet of space, a 12 car garage, opulent fixtures, and grand features. While this is sometimes true, many custom homes are "high performance" buildings that manage to incorporate all the needs and wants of the owner while also observing space and budget constraints. In fact, the best perception of a custom home is that it's whatever the owner wants it to be.

At McLean, we enjoy designing high-performance custom homes. Working within the space constraints of a smaller lot to create a functional, innovative, and beautiful home is a challenge we enjoy - not to mention the fact that this is often the most environmentally-friendly type of architectural design (learn more about our green architecture services).

Design Fees & Construction Costs

Generally speaking, architect's fees for professional design services range from 6 to 8 percent of construction costs for a new custom house and 8 to 12% of the construction costs for an addition or remodel. Home additions and remodels are typically much more complex than ground-up construction, hence the higher fee.

The architects fee can also represent a significant savings in construction costs. Because McLean Architecture provides exceptional design and project documentation, it's much easier for contractors to bid "acuratly and aggressively," often resulting in competitive bids significantly lower than anticipated. Indeed, often times savings in construction costs
more than offset the architect's design fee.

The term "You get what you pay for," has more meaning when you consider these factors. Construction costs are where most of the up-front custom home expenditure resides, and any savings here will pay dividends in the long term. Not to mention the fact that a good architect will design an efficient and functional home that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, environmentally friendly, energy efficient, and site responsive.

These are values not easily perceived when just looking at fee structures. In almost all instances, the return on investment for the use of an architect's custom home design services is more than made up for during the life of the home. Contact us to discuss current issues and trends in the marketplace.

Choosing The Right Person To Design Your Next Home

As we've said, a custom home is whatever the owner wants it to be. For some, a semi-customized version of a spec home from a local builder is an adequate and affordable option. Others choose to work with an architect because they recognize that there is a big difference between a tract or builder home and a home that is designed by an architect. Whatever you decide, the good news is that there are many excellent builders and architects to choose from. As someone interested in a custom home, it's up to you to find the person one who will best convey your dreams and aspirations into a home your family will enjoy.

We think it's important for everyone to know that a good, efficient design by an architect usually saves money and almost always provides a better home for all but the smallest budget. At McLean, we strive to design high performance homes that are better, not just bigger. We like to build practical and sustainable homes that are personal, functional, and attractive.

Thank you for visiting the McLean Architecture website - we hope you will consider our suggestions and advice for your next custom home.