Services

Sweetgrass Design Studio can help you with a wide range of projects, from advising on the initial feasibility of a project to the complete design of a new structure.

Project Feasibility

We are available to consult on projects large and small. We can help you with site and zoning review. Small design changes or code interpretations can allow projects to work in difficult or unusual locations. Working with cities on new codes such as Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) are not straight forward; experience helps when working with city staff to navigate the process. We can do a quick look and evaluate whether your existing home or pending new property purchase has the potential to achieve the results you desire.  Brian’s years of experience looking at and designing hundreds of projects will help gauge the feasibility of your project.

Smaller Projects & Sequenced Renovations

Creating a new mudroom in the home or reworking a kitchen to create a dining nook are two examples of relatively small projects that can have a big impact on the enjoyment of your life.  To do such a project, plans are needed so that you can make sure you are getting the best solution. Plans are needed to procure apples-to-apples bids from contractors. We can quickly and efficiently produce simple plans and specifications for you. Examples of work this scale are shown in the projects section.

Sometimes you want to do projects in stages. We can help you imagine the end result and look at your renovation as a series of projects that add up to a great result. Having a master plan helps you envision a sequence of work that makes sense functionally and financially.

Building Design

Sweetgrass Design can help you to produce plans and specifications for the following larger projects:

·         Renovations and Additions

·         New Homes

·         Vacation Retreats- New construction and renovated structures

·         Multi-generational Homes –Including aging in place and Accessory Dwelling Units

Sometimes you have an example of a plan that meets your requirements and needs small changes to fit the building site or your needs. We can quickly draw those plans up so you can get bids from contractors and start building your dream.

You may have a scrapbook of ideas that aren’t developed and require a more involved process. You may need to look at several options in order to make decisions. We have a simple process to help you make the decisions; the result is a great project that is tailored to your specific needs.  See the Design Process tab to learn more about this.

Fees

We work on an hourly fee or a fixed fee contract. Our first meeting is free, this is when we find out what you are trying to do and talk to you about how we can help. After that meeting we will send you a written proposal describing the work we would propose to do and what the cost would be. In most cases this work is broken down into phases with the anticipated costs for each phase. Rates are $120 per hour.