“As the expert, when a homeowner says, for example, their home must be 8,000 sq. ft., we assess all the rooms, then we do quick furniture layouts. Adjusting room sizes very quickly gets us down to 3,500 sq. ft. and we still accomplish all they want. Then you get down to finishes, and ask if they must have mahogany, or can you do something cheaper but still keep it nice? Once you get beyond this, you start looking at details,” Crasi says. “I can show you how to do a beautiful library, but I can also show you how to do that with simple applied moulding. There are different ways of creating nice features.”

One possible reason for failure to design within budget could be the education architects receive. For the first five years in architectural school, about 99 percent of it is spent learning basic theory, Crasi explains. “Education is just the beginning. They don’t teach residential architecture in school. What you need to do is put yourself where those things are happening. Anyone going into the architecture field needs to work summers in the real world and get beat up building homes so they know how to draw things properly.”

Finalizing Realistic Goals

Balancing client goals with budgets requires a process of investigation to prequalify the client, says Jerry Gloss, AIA, principal, Knudson Gloss Architects in Boulder, Colo. Walking clients through this exhaustive process helps determine the difference between their goals and reality. “Once that’s revealed, we can finally say, ‘We think we’ll have a 3,200-sq.-ft. home with all the cool things you want.’”

The point is to establish a realistic budget. For Gloss, this means creating the most perceived value for the client. If clients reveal a million-dollar budget, he will work backward to figure out realistic square footage, he says.

“If they hold back, the house suffers, and it doesn’t allow the architect to get as much bang for the client’s buck. So at the end of the deal they’re not getting what they could afford, and might end up asking, ‘Why do I have plastic laminate countertops?’ and blame you for it,” Gloss says. “You can’t discount their expectations, but you must show if it’s a reality.”

Certain core costs to a home don’t change, such as kitchens, bathrooms, garages and electrical service, he says. Adjusting square footage and revisiting product selections are areas to trim costs. “Look at major line items first. Lighting, we can cut $10,000 off that and clients can have an allowance to pick cheaper fixtures. Instead of $45,000 for tile, let’s give them an allowance for $35,000 and they can pick something cheaper.”

Gloss is designing a series of homes that include catering kitchens, which require one and a half more products; that’s expensive square footage, he says. At the same time, the homes include four-car garages rather than three-car garages; that’s not so expensive, he adds.

Sometimes lost in the cost-cutting process is a home’s structure. “All those invisible parts of a complicated roof form, or an elaborate deck that must be flashed in. All that gets covered up by drywall, and ultimately if it could be simplified, you could save plenty of money. Take out some corners, take out the complexities of the structure, and you can get $15,000 to put back in the interior,” Gloss says.

It can take many years to develop the ability to accurately assess client expectations. Those in the home building game for longer periods of time have more insight than those new to the market, he adds. “I was in the building trades 25 years ago, so I’m working on really old information. Still, the old rules of thumb carry through. At the same time I think it’s difficult to do a project today without using the design/build process. Honestly, this firm has not done a bid set of drawings in — forever. When we did do bid work, it was whoever made the biggest mistake that got the job, which is not a good way to run projects,” he explains.