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If you are looking to build a custom home for your family, you might have wondered if you need an architect or designer to make plans for your house. This is a fair question, and one we will address in this article.
We crafted Our Design Build Process to address this question and make design + build more integrated + simple for our clients.
In this article, we go through options for design for your custom home build in 2026. We talk about pros + cons of working directly with architects, how our team manages design, and what things to consider when deciding on who to hire to design your dream home.
Here is the TLDR so you can find each section to learn about architects and design build for custom homes.
- Types of Custom Home Design
- Buying House Plans Online
- CAD Draftsman Home Design
- Architect Custom Home Design
- Why We Prefer Design + Build
- Doxa Custom Homes Design Process
- Which One is Right For You?
- Conclusion
Types of Custom Home Design Cookeville
Buying House Plans Online
- At the lowest price level, people begin by searching on Google for house plans and purchasing a set of plans online. Online house plans are a great way to gather inspiration when you begin to plan your custom home build.
- Ultimately, this method offers the lowest level of customization and the least amount of detail. You typically see mid-level custom homes or semi-custom home builders using existing plans for their custom home builds.
Cad draftsman home design
- The next level up is hiring an independent CAD Draftsman to draw up a set of house plans for you. This option provides you some more customization within limits, as most CAD Draftsmen are skilled in the software and less skilled in home design.
- This is a great low cost option if you have a napkin drawing that you want to be more detailed to further develop home drawings for as your custom home build gets closer to construction.
- The most expensive and detailed option is hiring a licensed architect to design your custom home. Architects who specialize in home design are experts and are compensated as such, sometimes charging as much as 5%-10% of the cost of the home build for design services.
- For houses that are extremely complex or cost over $2.5M, it often makes sense to consider working with an architect to get the level of detail and execution you will require with that level of house. Design + Build is our favorite option and can also appeal to the ultra high net worth individuals who want a more integrated home design + build process.
DESIGN + BUILD CUSTOM HOME FIRM
- Our Design Build Process provides a level of leadership where we manage both the design + construction of your dream home. Typically, Design Build firms will collaborate with designers and architects and oversee the entire design and build process.
- Design + Build is perfect for busy professionals + founders who don't want the hassle of managing all the different people involved in bringing their dream home to life. Design build typically costs anywhere from 2% to 8% of the total custom home build price, but depends heavily on the level of detail in the vision of your dream home.
Buying House Plans Online
For those looking for more cookie cutter or basic houses, there are many websites online where you can buy pre-made house plans. On average, these house plans can range anywhere from $400 to $2500 for a set of basic construction prints. These house plans are readily used by many semi-custom home builders as well as home builders who are focused on production over legacy.
If you do buy house plans online, make sure a builder will have enough detail to build the house that you want to have. Many of these house plans lack detail that can make building confusing at times. The best way to buy house plans online if you can find them is finding the CAD file version of the prints. If you buy the CAD file, a Draftsman or Architect can then open the plans in their software and make edits to your home. CAD File plans are the most valuable for that reason, and you can then print them out and add more detail to make them ready to build with.
Pros
- Great for basic or cookie-cutter houses
- Most economical option and used by many production and semi-custom builders, readily available
- Quick and thousands of options available
Cons
- Not very customizable and not unique
- Plans often lack level of detail that makes home build simple and clear
- No expert guidance on home price or if home plans make sense on your land.
QUICK TIP: If you buy plans online, try and buy CAD File instead of PDF or Prints. Look for (.dwg) or (.dxf) file format so that you can hire draftsman or architect to customize home to your needs.
CAD Draftsman for Custom Home Design
The next level of Home Design is done by trained CAD Draftsman. These technicians often have no degree or an associates degree, and simply specialize in creating blueprints and layouts using CAD software. Draftsman range anywhere from $0.45 to $1.00 per square foot to draw up house plans and get a basic set ready for construction.
CAD Draftsman are fully capable of producing different levels of house plans, but ultimately they are not trained in architecture or classical home design. They are great at bring someone else's vision to life, so make sure to have a clear design if you decide to hire a draftsman.
Pros
- Quick and Cost Effective for Customized House Plans
- Can edit existing plans and do various iterations to perfect the home layout
- Often design homes using common sense that aren't over built and expensive.
Cons
- Not as skilled typically in traditional architecture or home design
- Plans still lack detail, though may have more than online sets of plans.
- Designs still have to be shopped out to numerous builders who may not understand vision of designs.
QUICK TIP: Be prepared to have to know more about the vision of the home build than the builders you share these plans with, as the draftsman might not be able to capture the level of detail necessary to cast a vision that the builder can understand.
Architects for Custom Home Design
The most expensive route is hiring an architect who specializes in high-end home design for your home. These architects are true experts at home design, and it shows in the level of detail they include in the construction drawings and design itself. Architects like to be involved throughout the build process, and charge a fee of anywhere from 5% to 10% of total Custom Home Price to design your home.
So for a $1,000,000 Custom Home Build, you will be paying the architect somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000 to design your home. This is a large cost, but also provides the most detail. To be frank, many builders do not enjoy trying to build homes designed by architects, as they can be overly complicated and expensive to build.
One of our favorite architects in the country is Tiek Design Group, and they design traditional American masterpiece homes. Check out their website to see what our vision is for design + build and how American homes should be built.
Pros
- High level of expertise and detail to make sure no details are missed.
- Capable of designing the most beautiful homes, have very powerful software and rendering capabilities.
- Can sign off on prints where necessary, and can perform structural analysis of home design.
Cons
- Overly complex designs that can be expensive to build
- Have to manage both architect/designer and home builder
- Expensive and can be overkill for houses under $1M
QUICK TIP: If you are building a house under $1M, consider other options for Custom Home Design. In our experience, houses over $3M are good candidates for working with an elite architect to design a home of that caliber.
Why We Prefer Design Build Custom Homes
Our favorite option and one preferred by many who are looking to build a custom home is design + build. The design + build process is simply one company managing both the design and build of your custom home. This integrated process takes time and energy on your end during design, but becomes simple and more passive during construction.
Typically, we see custom home design + build range anywhere from 2%-5% of custom home build price. This price can vary based on the complexity of the home being designed, but design + build ends up being slightly less expensive than an architect for home design.
Pros
- Integrated Design + Build makes the whole process simple even for complex custom homes
- Have expertise in home design, able to design legacy homes that are able to be built
- Can provide detail + value engineering both while giving updated pricing.
Cons
- More expensive than pre-made plans
- Have less detailed plans than architects
- Not for cookie cutter or basic homes, overkill for homes under $600,000
Doxa Custom Homes Design Build Process
Which One is Right For You?
The option that will serve you best will depend on what type of house your are building and the level of complexity. For more complex homes, it makes sense to work with an architect or design build firm to design your home.
If you are building a more modest or simple home, you can get away with buying plans online or working with a CAD draftsman for your custom home design. Ultimately it is up to you to decide which option provides you with the most value for your dream home build.
Conclusion
Hiring the right designer is important when designing your custom home. There are a few options that people regularly use, the most popular being buying plans online and having multiple builders bid on the project.
For those interested in legacy homes or higher-end finishes, a design build firm is a great option that gives you an integrated system for design + construction. For the highest end homes, an expert architect will provide tons of value to you.
In Cookeville, Lebanon, + Murfreesboro, we have a good mix of different types of builders and designers. The question you have to decide for yourself is "Which type fits me and my home the best?". A truly custom home built to last 100 years requires more detail in planning to execute well.
If you’re dreaming about a home that is built to last 100 years or more, our team at Doxa Custom Homes is ready to guide you through every step of the design and build experience. We believe this is the best option for those looking to build family legacy homes in Cookeville, Sparta, Crossville, Lebanon, and Murfreesboro.
Reach out today if you think you are a good to work with a design build firm for building your dream home
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