Home Remodeling & Additions to Grow Into

Renovating your home with a remodel or addition requires thoughtful manipulation of the existing architecture to create spaces molded to you. We take the time to learn about our clients, what they value most; what they want to change and what they want to protect. This allows for truly considered architectural and interior design, with spaces, materials, fixtures, and furniture that create a strong cohesive aesthetic.

We believe a good plan leads to seamless execution. Our process takes the guesswork out of project scope & design vision, using detailed plans & 3D renders. You'll be introduced to contractors we’ve come to trust over the years, helping you find the right fit for your project and ensuring smooth progress.

We advocate for our clients and the design vision during construction, being there to solve any issues as they arise and making sure everything turns out as planned.

Thoughtful Renovations, Remodels & Additions To Transform Your Home

“SDL are creative and up to date with the latest trends. Sam has a particularly strong eye for design. He did a thorough job guiding us from conceptualization to assisting us with material selection. He was attentive to our requirements, and designed a functional and beautiful kitchen.”

— ERIN, C - CLIENT

Featured Remodel & Addition Projects

Our Process

  • Pre-Design

    We’ll start with permit history research to understand site constraints, followed by an on-site dimensional survey. We’ll draft an existing plan set of drawings and set up a meeting to review your project goals & budget to lay the foundations for the rest of your project.

  • Schematic Design

    Initial concepts are worked out, with your first look at conceptual plans, sketches and/or volumetric studies to help you get a feel for your project. Presenting multiple options, we’ll work with you to help you arrive at a design direction you’ll love.

  • Design Development

    Your project’s vision comes to life. We’ll collaborate to select fixtures and finishes, including visits to vendors. We’ll create a set of detailed plans, including 3D renders to dial in the specifics. Once the estimation set is ready, we’ll set up contractor interviews to find the perfect fit for you and your project.

  • Permitting

    With a general contractor picked and a rough estimate in hand, we’re ready to produce a final set of permit drawings. We’ll be working with any specialists that are required such as structural engineers and Title 24 energy calculation specialists. Finally, document preparation and permit submittal.

  • Construction Support

    Construction begins. We’ll help tie your project together with finer interior design details, including furniture selections. We provide extra details in response to any changing or found conditions. All the while, advocating for you to ensure your project’s vision stays on track during construction.

FAQ

  • This differs greatly depending on the type of project (the individual service pages can offer more detailed information). However, to give you a general idea, for a major remodel & addition project the design phase to permit submittal usually takes between 4-6 months (2-4 months for smaller projects), depending on the decisiveness of the client, the availability of specialists like structural/ geotechnical engineers, and how quickly a contractor is chosen. Permit review times vary greatly between different jurisdictions and on the type of project. However that time is valuable; during that period we produce specific construction details for your contractor and finalize the interior design so that your contractor can hit the ground running once your permit is approved.

  • Depending on the age and condition of an existing structure it may be cheaper to remodel an existing building rather than build new, especially in dense urban locations. However remodel projects can easily become a ‘Ship of Theseus’ where you might spend more in labor to replace parts than you would have spent in new building materials.

    As this question might require heavy consideration depending on the project, we can determine what the best path for you is through an optional Building Feasibility Study in the early stages of a working together.

  • After a consultation to evaluate the scope of the project, a total design fee will be assessed, this fee is then split between the 5 different phases of the project, giving you financial runway as we work through the project.

  • Depending on the scope of a project you may decide to live elsewhere during construction if possible. Although living in your home during construction is often viable, there are some drawbacks:

    1. Interrupted services like electricity, water, gas and sewer can be inconvenient, although you’ll likely have forewarning of outages.

    2. Noise during construction is a big detractor for those who work from home, but if you’ll be at work during the working day then this shouldn’t be an issue.

    3. Making your home’s entries and hallways clean by the time you get home can eat into valuable contractor time, which in our experience also extends a project’s timeline by 15%.

    4. That increase in time also equates to an increase in cost, again about 15%.

    We can find a solution that works best for your needs, whether that involves phasing the project to minimize disruption, building an ADU first that you can live in during construction, or other means.

  • We certainly do! Before we embark on any project we will always offer a consultation so that we can get to know each other and see if we’ll be a good fit. If so, we’ll be happy to provide design services, including consultation, for projects big or small.

Service Areas

Contra Costa County Alameda County San Mateo County Santa Clara County Sonoma County Napa County Marin County San Francisco Solano County

…and throughout the Bay Area.

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