Start Here: A Guide for Homeowners
You’re ready to transform your home — but the process feels overwhelming. Where do you begin? At LSD Studio, we hear this often. The truth is: a great project doesn’t start with blueprints or mood boards. It starts with clarity, intention, and a roadmap you can trust.
Here’s how we guide our clients from first ideas to finished spaces that feel both personal and timeless.
Step 1: Define Your Requirements
Before we design anything, we get clear on your “why.”
Programming: Who will use the space? What needs to happen here?
Aesthetics: What do you love in your current home? What materials, colors, and spaces inspire you?
Budget + Timeline: Are there non-negotiables, deadlines, or trade-offs?
At LSD Studio, our job is translating human needs into spatial realities — not just “a 20' x 10' addition,” but the experience you want that space to create.
Step 2: Build a Roadmap You Can Trust
Once we understand your goals, we create a comprehensive proposal — your project foundation.
Our proposals typically include:
Project Requirements — summary of goals
Scope of Work — each space, clearly defined
Project Vision — initial design direction
Construction Budget — estimated implementation costs
Design Services — phases and fees
Project Roadmap — timeline, consultants, permits
This plan ensures alignment before design begins.
Step 3: Research & Feasibility
Before diving into layouts, we do the technical homework:
Zoning + Code: setbacks, height restrictions, HOAs, historic requirements.
Site Conditions: trees, utilities, drainage.
Building Systems: electrical, plumbing, HVAC capacity.
It’s not glamorous — but it saves time, money, and stress later.
Step 4: Schematic Design — Exploring Options
This is where we test possibilities. Multiple layouts, massing studies, or addition placements. Each option includes trade-offs and opportunities.
Your role: stay engaged. We guide, but you set the direction.
Step 5: Design Development — Where Vision Gets Real
Here the design takes shape:
Dimensions and spatial relationships
Wall, window, and door placement
Material selections and finishes
Fixtures and details
This is often our clients’ favorite stage. Renderings and samples bring the project to life.
At LSD Studio, we emphasize craftsmanship and materiality — limestone, oak, metals with patina. Materials aren’t afterthoughts; they are the soul of a project. This is where beauty and function converge.
Step 6: Documentation — The Details That Make the Design
Charles Eames said it best: “The details are not the details. They make the design.”
We translate vision into buildable instructions. For permitted projects, we prepare city submittals. For all projects, we provide precise drawings so builders understand our intent completely.
Step 7: Construction & Implementation
With drawings approved, the vision becomes reality. We provide oversight, troubleshoot challenges, and ensure design intent is honored.
Your role here varies: some clients stay closely involved, others prefer us to handle day-to-day decisions. Either way, our goal is the same — a seamless process and a space that feels unmistakably yours.
Understanding the Process at a Glance
Schematic Design: explore major options — high client involvement
Design Development: refine details + select materials — medium to high involvement
Documentation: translate into precise drawings — low to medium involvement
Construction: build the vision — flexible involvement
Ready to Begin?
The design process can feel daunting, but with the right guide, it becomes exciting — even joyful. At LSD Studio, we combine clarity, craft, and creativity to transform homes into spaces that feel both grounded and inspiring.
