bjella architects

Questions & Answers

Designing a custom home.

Straight answers to the questions we hear most — from choosing an architect and planning a budget to designing for a mountain, a lake, a beach or the desert.

Working with an architect

Desert Lantern House at dusk, its glass upper level glowing above stone walls, a fire pit and lit infinity pool in front — Scottsdale, Arizona How to Choose an Architect for Your Custom Home Eight practical questions to ask when hiring a residential architect, and how to tell whether a firm is the right fit for your custom home. Copper Clad Eclectic Home at dusk, a copper-clad wing glowing above a stone-walled pool terrace — St. Louis, Missouri How Much Does an Architect Cost for a Custom Home? What custom home architects charge, how fees are structured, and what drives the cost of designing a one-of-a-kind house. A guide from a studio practicing since 1993. Covered terrace with lounge seating above wide pool steps, the elevated reflecting pond spilling into the pool as a waterfall — Miami Seashell House, a custom home in Florida Working With an Architect Out of State: How Remote Custom Home Design Works Can you hire an architect who isn’t local? Yes. Here is how long-distance custom home design works, and how to make it smooth. Inside the glass dining room: white chairs around a round glass table, hills and valley on three sides — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California What Does “Custom” Really Mean, and Is an Architect Worth the Cost? What “custom” really means in home design, how to tell a truly custom home from a customized plan, and why an architect is worth the cost. The house seen from the planted hillside below, a glass room projecting out beneath a slatted sunscreen — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California Architect vs. Home Designer vs. Design-Build: What’s the Difference? Understand the differences between hiring an architect, a home designer, or a design-build firm for your custom home, and which is right for your project. The arched great room and pool deck with loungers, board-formed concrete walls and steel framing — Arc House, a custom home in Palm Beach, Florida Do I Need an Architect to Build a House? When you legally need an architect, when it’s worth hiring one even if you don’t, and what the alternatives are for building a new home.

Planning, budget & land

Lattice wood entry doors beneath a curving wood soffit, with a band of glass separating the roof from the stone wall — Copper Clad Eclectic Home in St. Louis, Missouri How Long Does It Take to Design and Build a Custom Home? A realistic custom home timeline, from first design meeting through move-in, with typical durations for each phase and what can speed up or slow down a project. Modern Zen Mountain House at night, its curved wood-lined roof glowing above stone walls, lit steps and a planted garden — Calabasas, California How Much Does It Cost to Build a Custom Home? What drives the cost of building a custom home, typical cost-per-square-foot ranges, and how to plan a realistic budget before you begin. Stone facade with steep gables, a planted green roof, a timber pergola and steel-framed glass walls behind a curved stone terrace — Timeless Gable Estate, a custom home in Nashville, Tennessee How to Evaluate a Lot Before You Buy It A practical checklist for evaluating land before you buy: views, sun, slope, soils, utilities, zoning, and more. Advice from a custom home architect. The Inland Oasis in Boca Raton, Florida: a drum-shaped rotunda with a circular roof trellis among palms in warm late-day light Remodel vs. Rebuild: How to Decide Should you renovate your existing house or tear it down and start over? Key factors to weigh, from cost and structure to location and sentiment.

Designing for your setting

Wide front elevation with timber porches, stone masonry, white-barked trees and a curved driveway — Heavy-Timber Mountain Home, a retreat in The Yellowstone Club, Montana Designing a Custom Mountain Home: What to Know Before You Build An architect’s guide to designing a mountain home: siting, views, snow loads, wildfire, materials, and how to blend modern design with a rugged landscape. Lakeside tower home tower minnesota — Nashville, Tennessee Designing a Custom Lake House: What to Know Before You Build How to design a lake house: shoreline rules, siting, views, year-round comfort, and materials that handle water, weather, and winter. Advice from a custom home architect. Living room with a cream sectional and woven chairs, floor-to-ceiling glass opening to palms and the Pacific Ocean in golden light — Wings in Flight House, a custom home in Honolulu, Hawaii Designing a Custom Beach House: What to Know Before You Build How to design a modern beach house: coastal regulations, flood and wind protection, salt-resistant materials, views, and indoor-outdoor living. Courtyard view across native plantings to a flagstone patio, plunge pool, fire pit and two timber-crowned roofs — Desert Rotunda Home in San Antonio, Texas Designing a Custom Desert Home: What to Know Before You Build How to design a modern desert home: passive cooling, orientation, shade, materials, washes and wildfire, and bringing the landscape into the house. Rear pool terrace at dusk with loungers, stepped slate paving, concrete garden walls and the glowing house above — Sky Deck House, a custom home in Miami, Florida Designing a Custom Florida Home: What to Know Before You Begin What to know before building a custom home in Florida: hurricane codes, flood zones, coastal rules, humidity, and design strategies for indoor-outdoor living. Canopy Pavilion on a hillside in Kauai, its tiled infinity edge pool running toward the Pacific beyond palm trees Designing a Custom Tropical or Island Home: What to Know Before You Build What to know before building a home in Hawaii or another tropical island setting: climate, regulations, shipping and logistics, materials, and open-air design. White kitchen with long island and sink facing a cooking alcove lined in stainless steel under a concrete ceiling — Riverfront Minimalist Penthouse, a interior in Minneapolis, Minnesota Designing a Luxury Penthouse or Urban Loft: What to Know Before You Begin How to design a luxury penthouse, apartment, or loft: working with existing structure, building rules, light, views, storage, and custom interiors.

Design ideas

Arched colonnade with lit stone columns and glass walls, the water visible through the room, an outdoor shower at right — Modern Classical Pavilion & Home in Palm Beach, Florida Modern vs. Contemporary vs. Classical Architecture: What’s the Difference? Modern, contemporary, and classical architecture are often confused. Learn what each style means, how they differ, and how they can work together in a custom home. Kitchen at dusk with a cream cast iron stove under an arched clerestory, open bookshelves and a round table — Copper Clad Eclectic Home in St. Louis, Missouri How to Design a Luxury Kitchen What goes into designing a luxury kitchen: layout, storage, appliances, lighting, materials, and the details that make a great kitchen work beautifully every day. Inside the glass dining room: white chairs around a round glass table, hills and valley on three sides — Modern Zen Mountain House, a custom home in Calabasas, California Tricks of the Trade: An Architect’s Guide to Maximizing Your Home’s View Forty design strategies for capturing a view, from framing and layering views to glass floors and view axes, shown in the Modern Zen Mountain House.
Desert Lantern House at dusk, its glass upper level glowing above stone walls, a fire pit and lit infinity pool in front — Scottsdale, Arizona

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