Yes.

Needed:

--Measured, dimenssioned drawings of existing conditions in and adjacent to the proposed space;

--Photographs of all walls in existing space;

--Lists of needs and wants;

--Budget and schedule

if you have illustrations of desired or appealing features, they can also be helpful.

Your biggest challenge may be identifying and selecting an experienced and talented professional at a distance, since this is usually a highly personal decision.

Good luck!

Remotes for additions/renos are VERY difficult. Whole new construction remotes are hard enough and I've had a few requests for remote additions here which I've declined for a variety of reasons. I'm not saying it can't be done but working with existing walls, structure, plumbing and what not makes the endeavor tough from both a design and liability standpoint.

How far away are you from a city that might have a professional that may come there? I ask because for the local projects I've driven up to two hours one way for the insistent folks (I get paid for the travel time but that's tiny when compared to a typical projects cost so think of it that way).

What I'd suggest is try to find someone who does what I do....come to your house and over the course of 4 or 5 hours measure up the place and sit down with you and any other decision maker(s) and in a dynamic design session over your dining room table, design the addition. I call these charrettes and do them all the time. And when I'm there at the house in mid-charrette I can stop and say "Hmmm....do we have the headroom if the stair is placed there?" and get up and go check the dimension right then.

To take some of the mystery out of these here's some photos:

But the best of luck with your build. Exciting times ahead!

A lot can be done over Skype these days. Plus emails. After an initial brainstorming design exploration stage, where you provide all of the measures and pictures, you need an experienced contractor boots on the ground partner to move to the next step. They are going to need to answer questions that the homeowner won’t be able to. To get into costs and specifications of your project, you’ll need finalized plans that are accurate. And they will be the ones responsible for providing truly accurate measurements to the designer.

Find a good contractor to partner with. This isn’t the “get 3 bids“ thing. You’re going to choose the best guy long before you have actual plans. You will collaborate with him and the designer for the best value result that your funds will provide. That won’t be the cheapest result in many cases, where structural issues have to be considered.But it could be using IKEA cabinets and LVT floors, which would be the cheapest solution. Cost is different than value.

It would be beneficial to invest in the "remote" designer visit the site at least once, to see the project/site and meet you. Not mandatory, but beneficial.

I agree with Mark - at least one visit to see the site and what is involved.