Houses are more than shelter from the elements; they’re home to our lives, the people, and pets we care about most. Yet most of us live in a building designed for someone else, or for no one in particular. Production homes, usually in a new development, may allow home buyers some choice in finishes and perhaps selecting a floorplan from a few options, but the house is pre-designed. Custom homes start from scratch and are designed specifically for you and your needs.
If your goal is to have a home designed and built specifically for your family, a custom residential architect can help. Every project is unique, and there is flexibility in the process, but each of the following steps are critical to get you the home you want.
![]()
Jason EpsteinAgrarian Estate, ESM Architects
The Hard Stuff Part 1 – Who and How Much
One of the biggest questions to answer before you start a custom home project is defining your budget. Knowing what resources you have available is helpful before talking to an architect.
“The budget has to include all the costs,” said Brad Ewing, AIA with ESM | RWA Architects. In addition to purchasing land, “there are ancillary costs – developing the site, installing a driveway and utilities. Then the structure costs to build the building. And soft costs – architecture, engineering, surveyor, permits, and furnishings.”
While some people are able to go all-in on a project, there are other options. Your project can be phased over a few years to spread out the costs over time: working with an architect on design and buying the land, later developing the site, and finally building the house itself.
“It’s important to be honest about the budget upfront,” said Michael Mauch, AIA with ESM | RWA Architects. “A lot of people don’t want to share because they ‘don’t want to ruin the creativity’ but the reason projects don’t get built is the budget. Knowing how much you feel comfortable investing in your new house has so much impact on size, materials, and length of time for the project. If an architect doesn’t know the numbers, you’re going to be disappointed in the end. You might design a house you love but can’t build it. We want our projects to get built.”
Finding an architect is like finding a doctor but you’ll be spending more time with your architect than the doctor, so you want someone you trust and that you feel comfortable with. To get started, ask for referrals from neighbors and friends, check out design award winners, or look at firm websites. Once you’ve identified a couple of architects, reach out to schedule introductory meetings. At those meetings,
have some questions ready and be prepared to tell them your budget and what you’re thinking about for your new home.
“The best projects have been when the client has done a little bit of research, checked the website and has questions,” said Robert Busch, FAIA with drawing dept. “There are no dumb questions! You want to find someone who listens, who takes notes about what you want and what’s important to you, who will look at your Pins and discuss them with you.”
That first conversation or meeting is an opportunity to figure out if your project and the architect are a good fit. Architects offer different types of services beyond design, so making sure that the needs of your project match their available services is as important as your interpersonal dynamics. After finding your architect, they can help in selecting the other professionals needed on the project, from the contractor to the structural engineer.
“We’re the conductor of the orchestra,” said Mauch. “All these pieces - surveyor, engineers, AV specialists - need to be conducted. A good architect can recommend those, and we build that team so the homeowner doesn’t have to find and manage everyone. We’re involved all the way through the end of construction.”
An architect has design expertise and a lot of experience. Their role is to guide you through the process, making it a little less stressful knowing you have an expert in your corner.
“Once you have the relationship with the architect, having the general contractor be part of the team early on is advantageous,” said Busch. “The architect, contractor, and the structural engineer all look at the project through a different lens and bring something different to the design process to advocate for the client. It gives owners more information and choice.”
The Hard Stuff Part 2: Where to build
In an ideal world, an architect would be selected before land is purchased. Why? Because you need the right spot to build your dream home.
“We recommend that we walk the property with someone before they buy it,” said Mauch. “Designing to fit the site is important and it’s what we do. When we look at a site, we’re thinking of 20 different things that have implications before we put pen to paper to design. Where does the sun come up or go down? What’s in shade? What about the trees? Nobody likes to cut a tree down, so can we design so it can stay?”
Soil type, drainage, and topography are important factors in considering sites as they impact what can be built and where on the lot your house can be located. Before buying a property it’s important to know if the site can accommodate the home you’ve been dreaming about.
“The land dictates the design,” said Ewing. “If you definitely want a walk-out basement, but you’ve bought land that used to be a cornfield and is totally flat, it’s not that there aren’t ways to design it, but it doesn’t always work.”
Custom homes are built in every setting – rural, suburban, and urban – and each has different challenges.
“If you have a big lot in the middle of nowhere, there are conveniences but there are challenges with water, sewage, and utility delivery,” said Busch. “You might need $150-200,000 just to make the site ready to build on. Urban infill sites are going to be hard because all the easy locations have been bought, what’s left is vacant because it’s challenging. It’s not just the design, it’s having enough space to build – will you need a crane to move windows and doors or get around trees? Where will workers park their cars and store materials?”
Whether your lot is in town or country, it will fall under a zoning code. Zoning defines how much of a site you can build on and what you can put on it. If you buy an empty lot in a commercial area, you might not be able to put a house on it. A lot in a suburban neighborhood may require your house to sit a certain distance from each neighbor or remain under a specific height. Your architect can help with zoning research before securing a property, and work with the city if zoning variances are needed.
![]()
Scott Pease PhotographyModern Arts and Crafts, RWA Architects
The Fun Stuff: Designing your dream
Once you’ve got your budget, architect, land, and an idea of what you want your house to be, it’s time to get into the details of design. Every architect has their own process to help you focus on what you want and need in a home.
“What I like to do is go to their current house and start sketching at their kitchen table,” said Ewing. “By seeing where and how they live you get ideas. And I’m asking them questions to get them thinking about what they want to do and the level of quality they’re after. There’s not a right or wrong answer, it’s driven by the client. We don’t have
a style. If you say you want modern, we’ll give you the best modern we can. It’s up to the client.”
A custom home starts from scratch and will require you to make a lot of decisions. Preparing by thinking about your current home – what you love, what you hate, how you use it – is as important as finding inspirational examples.
“We encourage clients to spend some time doing image searches,” said Busch. “It’s not helpful to hand an architect ‘this is what I want.’ Instead tell them what’s important to you. Collect images you find inspiring or interesting. It could be an image of a teapot or nature. Have 20 or fewer images, with notes about what excites you. If you’re hiring an architect to do a custom project just for you, then you have to be involved. It requires commitment, and that looks different for every project.”
A custom home is a big investment of time and money, so it’s critical to think about your future needs and how your home will adapt to meet those needs.
“Planning ahead is important but can be hard,” said Mauch. “Right now, you have three small kids, but in high school they’ll be big and bring their friends over. Or you’re 60 and the kids have moved out and you want to think about accessibility so you don’t have to move again. The more specific information we have about how you live now and your future needs, the better for the house design.”
Since a custom home is starting from scratch to create a home unique to you, in addition to the orientation, floorplan, and design, all the fixtures (plumbing, appliances) and finishings (tile, counters, paint) have to be chosen. Luckily residential architects have the expertise to help you navigate that process.
“There are hundreds of decisions in a custom home, and that can be overwhelming especially if you haven’t done it before,” said Mauch. “We like to get an understanding of how comfortable you are with us picking and making recommendations. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes we are asked, as professionals, to make all the decisions. But some people like to go to the showrooms and make decisions, and we incorporate those. Others like what they have now and want the same things in their new home. For most people, we present some options for you to pick.”
With so many decisions that need to be made, even before construction starts, the big question looms: how long will it take before your new home is move-in ready? And like everything, it depends.
“The design process alone can be six months,” said Ewing. “Sometimes it’s longer. A lot of clients are empty nesters planning their forever house, and they’ve been thinking about it for a long time. Younger families might think they want to go fast but they’re busy raising kids. We work with each client on the calendar for their project to figure out what’s realistic based on their available time and our experience with contractors.”
Some things – supply chain, availability of subcontractors, weather – are out of an architect’s control. But based on previous experience, they can help craft a realistic time frame for your project. A strong team developed with your architect will be in regular communication throughout the project to minimize delays and respond nimbly when issues arise.
“One reason you hire an architect is to get the road map so you know what the end project will be and eliminate much of the unknown,” said Ewing. “On any project someone has to answer all the questions that come up during construction. The more you lean on us, the more we can help you through the process.”
“Design is what I’m passionate about, but client advocacy is my job,” said Busch. “An architect is an independent, third-party approach to design. We don’t get paid extra if you pick a certain brand. We try to steer people to the right place, but they have to ask to get the help that they need.”
We hire lawyers to write contracts, doctors to set bones, and dentists to fill cavities. After years of training, rigorous licensing requirements, on the job experience, and annual continuing education, architects are the professionals to help you get what you want in your custom home.
Save the date to continue this discussion in person:
When: Wed., Oct. 22, 2025
Time: 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Where: Specialty North American/Northern Window and Door (Marvin Windows), 8180 Montgomery Road Cincinnati , Ohio 45236
This event is free to attend. Your
RSVP is appreciated.
The series, Architecture Matters, is supported by AIA Cincinnati. Learn more at aiacincinnati.org.
The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the American Institute of Architects or the members of AIA Cincinnati.