Our Design and Selection Process for New Orleans Remodels

It depends on scope. Structural changes, additions, new builds and most historic district exterior work need stamped drawings. Kitchen and bath renovations inside an existing footprint often do not. We will tell you which category your project falls into at the consultation, and we can refer you to local architects experienced with historic and flood zone work.

Typically 4 to 10 weeks depending on scope. Historic district properties add another 4 to 8 weeks for Historic District Landmarks Commission or Vieux Carré Commission review. Long lead items such as custom windows and specialty tile are ordered during this phase so they do not hold up construction later.

No. The in-home consultation and initial estimate are free. We walk your property, discuss goals and constraints, and give you a realistic range before any design work or commitment.

Every selection category, tile, plumbing, lighting, hardware and counters, gets a defined dollar allowance in the proposal. When you select above or below it, you see the difference immediately as a documented decision. We set allowances at realistic New Orleans market pricing rather than at a low number that makes a bid look competitive and then corrects itself during construction.

In most cases yes, with the caveat that owner supplied items carry no warranty from us, and any delay or defect affects the schedule. We will tell you which categories are worth supplying yourself and which are worth leaving in our scope for warranty and lead time reasons.

Plywood carcass cabinetry with sealed edges and catalysed finishes, properly sealed natural stone, fibre cement or engineered siding, and impact rated or protectable openings. Humidity and hurricane exposure disqualify a good deal of what national showrooms recommend by default, which is why we run selections against local conditions rather than a generic specification.

For exterior work in a local historic district, yes. Windows, doors, siding, roofing and visible massing all fall under Certificate of Appropriateness review. We check selections against review criteria before you commit, so you are not redesigning after a denial four months into the project.

Yes. We regularly build from other architects' and designers' drawings and coordinate with them directly through construction. If you do not have one, we can point you toward local firms whose work we know.

Before construction begins, not during it. Every selection carries a lead time, and the ones with the longest lead times need deciding first, usually windows, doors, cabinetry and specialty tile. We give you a deadline per category rather than one blanket date, because a light fixture can be chosen far later than a window can.

Up to the point it is ordered, easily. After that it becomes a change order with a restocking cost and a schedule impact, and on custom items it may not be returnable at all. This is the honest reason the selections phase exists rather than being rushed. Changing your mind on paper costs nothing.