Four ways to fix the layout of the house you already own
They all teach or deliver a different layer of the same skill. Start wherever you are. Nothing here makes you pay for the same thing twice.
What this work normally costs.
A professional design process runs five phases. This is the chart I built in my practice because I explained it so many times.
Programming and Schematic Design together are 40% of the design fee. They're also the only two phases a homeowner is emotionally invested in, because that's where it gets decided where the rooms go, how you move between them, and what your mornings are going to feel like. Everything after is executing a decision that has already been made.
In my own practice, those two phases on a renovation ran $2,800 to $5,600, inside a full design fee of $7,000 to $14,000.
Every offer on this page is that same 40%, at a homeowner's scale.
The Four Offers
The Home Flow Lab $47
What it is: A forty minute recorded workshop, plus the Friction Audit worksheet.
What you can do at the end: Name the three flow problems and point at exactly where they're happening in your house. You'll finish with one plain sentence describing what's actually wrong, which almost nobody can write before they watch this.
What it does not do: It won't fix anything. It teaches you to see, not to solve.
Who it's for: Anyone who knows the house is fighting them and can't say why. Also anyone house hunting, because you'll spot these problems when you tour a potential house once you know what they look like.
One thing worth knowing: the Friction Audit is the first step of the Home Flow Method, so if you go further.
The Home Flow Method $497
What it is: My full design process, self paced, six modules plus a bonus. The first 40% of a professional design process, at a homeowner's scale.
What you can do at the end: You'll have a flow plan for your specific house. You'll know what your structure and your site will actually allow, what each change roughly costs relative to the others, and how to phase the work so you don't pay for the same thing twice OR live through a renovation that’s harder than it needs to be. You can hand that plan to a contractor, or work from it yourself.
What it does not do: It does not design your house for you, and nobody reviews your work. That's the honest limit of a self paced course, and it's why the Review exists (see below).
Who it's for: Anyone who's willing to do the work and would rather spend $497 than several thousand.
Guarantee: Complete Modules 1 through 4 and submit the worksheets. If you don't have a plan you believe in, I'll refund you in full within 30 days.
The Flow Plan Review $297
What it is: You send me your completed Module 4 worksheets and the plan you drew. I record a 15 to 20 minute video walking through what works, what doesn't, and what I'd change, and send it with a short written summary.
What it does not do: One plan, one recording. No live call, no revisions, no second pass, and I don't redraw your plan. I critique the one you made based on the requirements you created in the first Module of The Home Flow Method.
Requires: Completed Module 4 worksheets from The Home Flow Method. If the work isn't done there's nothing for me to look at.
Who it's for: The Method student who has a plan and one nagging question, which is usually what if I got this wrong and nobody tells me.
Capacity: I take 10 a month.
The Home Flow Consult $1,997
What it is: I do it for you. Two virtual sessions, a PDF flow plan drawn by a licensed architect, a recorded walkthrough so you can rewatch it and show your spouse, one round of revisions, and a final plan. The Home Flow Method is included.
What you get at the end: A flow plan you can hand to a builder, and an understanding of why every move on it is there.
What it does not include: A 3D model, a full drawing set, or construction documents. This is Programming and Schematic thinking, narrower in scope than what I sold in practice, which is why it costs less than the fee schedule it comes from.
Who it's for: Someone about to spend real money who wants the design decision made correctly by a professional before writing the first check.
Capacity: Four a month, so I can devote the time and energy it needs to do it right. When the calendar is full, it's full.
What a flow plan is, and what it isn't
Everything on this page produces a flow plan: a diagrammatic floor plan with arrows, zones, drop zones and spatial notes, showing where things go and how people move between them.
It is not a construction drawing set, it is not stamped, and it is not a permit submittal. If your jurisdiction requires stamped drawings, if your house has historic preservation requirements, or if what you want to do is complex, you'll need an architect licensed in your state. I'll tell you so now rather than let you find out later (I’ve seen that before because I’ve been the architect people hire “later”).
see the full scope of services here
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What's the difference between the Home Flow Method and the Home Flow Consult?
The Method ($497) is a self paced course that teaches you to design your own flow plan. The Consult ($1,997) is a licensed architect designing it for you across two virtual sessions, with one round of revisions and the Method included. Same phases of the design process, different amounts of your own labor.
Q: Is a flow plan the same as blueprints?
No. A flow plan is a diagrammatic floor plan showing rooms, zones, circulation and spatial notes. It's what you hand to a contractor to explain the project, or what you work from yourself. Construction documents are a separate, later phase, and they're drawn by a licensed professional in your state.
Q: Do you work with clients outside Colorado?
Yes. Everything is virtual and pricing is flat rate regardless of where you live. I'm a Colorado licensed architect based in southwest Colorado and I work with families all over the country. Where state licensure matters (stamped drawings, permit submittals, complex structural work), you'll need a licensed professional in your own state.
Q: How much does an architect cost for a renovation?
In my own practice, a full residential design fee ran $7,000 for a renovation under 1,500 square feet and $14,000 for larger ones. Programming and Schematic Design, the two phases that decide the layout, were 40% of that: roughly $2,800 to $5,600.