Designing to cost. Staying within budget. Simple concepts, right? Not really. It takes a lot of work to bring a project in under budget. It takes even more work to do it while delivering maximum value.

Mastering the concept of designing to cost can set the stage for success. It has taken leaders of successful architecture and design/build firms many years to acquire the experience and knowledge necessary to design to cost. Here, owners of three such businesses share a few best practices with Residential Design & Build magazine.

Budget comes into play at the very beginning of every project, says Kevin Harris, chair of the AIA’s Small Project Practitioners Knowledge Community advisory group, and president, Kevin Harris Architect in Baton Rouge, La. “We respect the budget. We stay within the constraints.”

Harris knows as projects progress, homeowners become exposed to products, materials and opportunities previously unknown to them, so their world of possibilities grows. It’s important to approach the process with the mind-set of negotiating scope of work rather than price. “Being able to tell a client or owner how much a project will cost, or how much to expect to pay, is critical,” Harris adds.

Harris’ rule of thumb is to involve someone who prices supplies day in and day out. “My personal opinion is I can’t do this without involving the builder. It’s all about the costs. Not getting price feedback is where people fail because prices vary daily. Custom houses haven’t been built before, so there’s no formula to follow,” he says. “All our work is custom. As such, they’re all a prototype, so there are no estimate books or rules of thumb that apply.

So, we developed a procedure where we meet with clients, produce schematics and stop. At this point, we introduce the builder to the client, and if the project is a go, then we say to the builder, ‘Here are the plans; give us a preliminary price. Be thorough and you should be within 10 percent of the final price. Tell us all your assumptions,’” Harris says.

When costs need to be reined in, it’s time to turn to the client for honest input. The areas requiring adjustment change with every client, Harris says. For example, to some clients the red knobs on the cooktop are important, and for others, he adds, it’s the countertops, the plumbing fixtures, or the lighting that are important.