Yes – LBA fees are separate from and in addition to contractor costs. Your contractor's quote covers the physical construction. The LBA fee covers the design thinking, drawings, and coordination that determine what gets built and how. Think of the LBA fee the same way as permit fees: a professional cost, paid separately, that makes the whole project work better.

This is the most important question – and one that requires an honest answer. Construction costs in DC/MD/VA depend on scope, materials, site conditions, contractor availability, and timing. They cannot be reliably estimated without design drawings. What I can do is help you understand the likely range for a project of your type and scale, based on 35 years of local market experience. That conversation happens during your discovery call – at no charge.

Contractor estimates are typically based on a conversation rather than a defined scope – a practical reality at the early stage of a project. They include allowances (placeholder prices for items not yet selected, like tile, fixtures, and cabinets) and contingencies for unknowns that surface during construction. As those decisions get made, costs adjust. This is standard industry practice. Architectural drawings before construction help everyone – client, architect, and contractor – work from the same defined scope, which reduces surprises on all sides. The calculator above illustrates exactly this – the same budget, with and without a defined scope.

It’s an illustration, not a quote. Starting from a fixed budget, it compares the same money spent two ways – going straight to construction versus defining the scope first. Most of any budget builds your home either way; the real difference is what undefined scope tends to cost you in change orders, which are typically billed at a higher markup than your original, competitively-bid work. The takeaway is simple: design clarity before construction usually puts more of your budget into the home itself. Every actual fee is scoped and confirmed before any engagement begins.

Structural engineering (for load-bearing changes or additions) and MEP engineering (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) are specialist consultants needed on some projects. How they're billed depends on the engagement: sometimes they're a pass-through you pay the consultant directly, and sometimes they're coordinated under the LBA scope, with the LBA fee adjusted to cover them. Either way, you'll know whether they're needed and how they'll be handled before that work begins. Because their fees vary with the complexity of the project, they're confirmed as part of scoping rather than quoted as a flat figure.

No. Phases can be engaged independently. If you already have a clear direction and want to move directly to Phase 02, that's fine. Phase 03 is entirely optional – many clients take the Phase 02 package and manage contractor conversations themselves. The structure exists to give you options, not to lock you into a sequence.

Phase 02 includes 1 round of design revisions and up to 2 meetings. This is enough for the vast majority of projects to reach a resolved, contractor-ready design. Additional revision rounds or meetings beyond that are billed at an hourly rate – stated clearly in the engagement agreement before work begins.

Phase 03 depends on factors that don't exist yet: how many contractors will be approached, the complexity of the design package, and how much coordination is needed. Once Phase 02 is complete, I'll give you a clear fee estimate before any outreach begins. You can also manage contractor conversations yourself using the Phase 02 package – at no additional cost.

I'm the architect, not the builder – and that's deliberately in your favor. I create the design and drawings; a licensed contractor does the actual construction. Because I don't profit from the build, my only job is to represent your interests: a design that fits your goals and your budget, and drawings clear enough that contractors bid the same scope. Keeping design and construction separate is one of the simplest ways to keep a project honest.

Your contractor is welcome – the design package is built to hand to whoever you choose. If you don't have one yet, I can point you toward contractors I've worked with in the DC, MD, and VA area, but you're never obligated to use them. The drawings are yours; they work with any qualified builder.

It means exactly what it says – I'll develop one concept exploration of a single space in your home at no charge. Not a teaser, but also not the final answer – it's one idea of many that could be explored. The purpose is mutual: it gives you something real to react to, and it gives me enough context to understand whether the project is a good fit. Additional directions are available as paid add-ons from $500.

Yes. The $350 fee is applied as a credit toward Phase 02 if you continue. If you decide not to proceed, you've paid $350 for 60–90 minutes of my time at your property – a professional opinion on your home's potential and constraints.

An interior designer generally focuses on finishes, furnishings, and how a space feels – not moving walls, additions, or anything requiring a permit. A design-build firm designs and builds under one roof. That's convenient, but it also means the same company that designs the work prices and profits from building it – and often marks up the cabinets, tile, and fixtures it buys in volume, with those costs bundled into a single number rather than itemized. There's nothing improper about it; it's simply a model where the incentives sit on the builder's side of the table.

Tailored Space is built the other way around. You get an independent licensed architect who can change the structure and the floor plan, produce permit-ready drawings, and has no financial stake in the construction cost – I don't sell materials, take markups, or build the project. That means the scope is defined clearly and competitively bid, so the pricing you see is the pricing there is. You get design judgment that's accountable only to you.

Then you've lost nothing, and we've both learned something useful. The first concept is one idea of many – a starting point to react to, not a take-it-or-leave-it proposal. If it's not right, that reaction tells me a lot about what is right; if the fit isn't there at all, you walk away with no cost and no obligation. That's exactly why the first concept is free.