Check out a few. Look at their work in person. Get to know them and make sure that they get to know you.

Take your time deciding. Building a home is a LONG INVOLVED PROCESS if you want to get it done right and with the $$$$it costs we would hope that you would want to do it right.

Work with an architect who hears YOU not an egotist who wants to build what they want to build. Hire someone who's aesthetic is in accordance with yours. i.e. don't choose someone known for their minimalist style and expect them to design you a great Victorian....

Most importantly, STAY ON SITE. If you are not there every step of the way things get muddled. Don't rely on even the architect's recommendations for a General Contractor to oversee your project. STAY ON TOP OF EVERY DECISION. Educate yourself.

Also expect things to move slowly. Get a finish date and a promise with penalties to the GC if you are not in your home on time. Be there, become friendly with the people working on your home. They will most likely be your go to people for repairs and renovations in the future.

Architects are costly. The good ones know their trade and a lot about the processes involved in the trades of the sub contractors. The good ones are invaluable.

Best of luck to you in finding the architect who will work well with you.

Warm Regards,

Karen & Joseph

for Decorative Philosophy

Below is the lovely Egbert Street Home built by a local architect in 1996 for Karen's parents.

Her parents rented a small place to stay about 2 miles away and were on site EVERY DAY.

The builder was there everyday as this was the only home he was building at the time as per my Dad's request in the contract. He was asked to finish on a certain date and this was written into the contract and it was adhered to. Mom & Dad were there every day too.

Takes a lot but worth it to not get frustrated when you are anxious to move into your new home!

Absolutely excellent advice from first two commenters. We just completed a remodel, total of 18 months from hiring architect to completion. I will add: Hire only those recently experienced with your local permitting and planning departments and your inspectors. And CAD is a godsend. Make sure everyone is up to date and skilled on it and communicates with each other. Miele sent the CAD for my chosen appliances to my cabinet guy who, after his input of it, anticipated that the oven door would not clear the door trim. That type thing has a domino affect. Yep, details all the time. I also got my own software, like sketch up and paint, so that I could play with ideas, layouts, built in design elements etc. on my own. This saved me time and provided a starting point for communication.
I want to emphasize that you need to educate your self every step of the way, ask questions until you understand, listen to professionals' input, and stay on site. Example, my desired stain color on my desired wood and grain were NOT compatible due to the nature of the wood but I had to research this when they kept not achieving my gray-ish hardwoods. I changed woods and am fine with the grain. I ended up going in a different direction entirely.

we have not completed our decor. The pics above are partly what we pulled from storage. The interior designer we used to narrow bedroom rug selections and window treatments is coming back in for art distribution and adjustment. I'm more into function and gardening than shopping and decor so pulling her in occasionally for narrowing options and helping with shopping, which I am not into, makes it less stressful. I commented above but much of what I had typed did not show up. IPad app? Communicate with your partner before any meetings and hold each other tight with love and respect. Listen. The professionals can't deliver in a confused environment with different expectations and goals. I suggest yoga and deep breathing/meditation as well.

We hired an architect and spent about $10k on a preliminary plan, which didn't feel quite right. When we interviewed contractors respected in our resort community in order to get a rough order of magnitude for that design and ultimately select a co tractor, one of the contractors felt the design was wacky and recommended that a design guy (the design part of design and build) take a look. We followed his recommendation and the design guy pointed out some issues. We worked with him and ended up with a design that made sense. The contractor and design guy worked closely together throughout the project. The contractor came highly recommended by former customers (who we met, and they showed us their houses), which was important because we were building a house 3 hours from where we lived and would only be able to visit the site every other weekend. The contractor was honest, and communicated often. We were very lucky to have him, and one year in we are very happy with the end product. We have since shown our house to his prospective customers...

Thanks all for the input and guidance; I will heed your advice. I am a somewhat a techy so if any of you have ideas on software/CAD prgrms, pls let me know. I saw the recommendation for Sketchup and will take a look.

Thanks again!

-Dave