Assembling Your Dedicated Home Build Team: A Step-by-Step Guide
Embarking on a new build or renovation can be one of the most exciting (and expensive) projects you’ll take on. And like any major investment, how you begin matters. The home build process and the timeline for building a home can vary by scope. And, we’ve seen time and time again how the order in which you assemble your home build team can impact everything from budget to the final livability of your home. While it may seem natural to begin with a general contractor or architect, we believe there’s a better way – one that leads to a smoother process, fewer surprises, and a home that truly reflects the way you want to live.
Below, we’re sharing a simplified overview of the sequence we recommend, along with why it makes such a difference.
1. Start with Your Interior Designer
It may sound unexpected, but the interior designer is often the best first step in your custom home journey. Why? Because we start with how you live, not just how the home looks.
We help you identify your priorities and preferences early on: lifestyle goals, functionality needs, personal style, and long-term vision. This foundation informs everything from the layout and flow of the home to the materials that shape its character.
An experienced designer can also help you articulate what you love (and what you don’t) even when you aren’t quite sure how to describe it. We become your translator in the design process, helping the rest of your team understand how you want to feel in your space, not just what you want it to look like.
2. Select an Architect Who Aligns with the Vision
With your goals clearly outlined, the next step is collaborating with an architect or building designer whose aesthetic sensibilities and communication style align with yours. Your interior designer can help you identify the right fit – someone who will not only bring design ideas to life, but also listen closely and adapt when needed.
When architects and designers are brought into the conversation together, the result is a plan that functions beautifully, feels cohesive, and reflects both the exterior architecture and the interior details.
Bringing in the architect after you’ve already aligned with your interior designer ensures that your vision is consistent from the very beginning.
3. Vet Builders Who Value Design Collaboration
Once plans are in motion, it’s time to bring in the builder, but not just any builder. You want a team that values the design process, not just the construction and one that is collaborative and communicative with the design team.
At this stage, your designer and architect will have helped clarify your vision, priorities, and initial selections. A thoughtful builder will work alongside this existing team to bring the plans to life with accuracy, quality, and budget transparency.
When a builder joins a well-aligned design team early, it creates the opportunity to price selections realistically, identify areas to flex or trade, and eliminate delays or rework later in the process. And the result is that the timeline for building a home is more predictable and smooth. The best builders aren’t just executing a plan. They’re collaborating with the professionals who helped shape and design it.
4. Add Specialists at the Right Time
Once the core home build team is in place – designer, architect, and builder – you can begin layering in the rest:
Landscape Designers: to ensure the interior and exterior work together
Lighting Designers or Audio/Visual Specialists: to plan behind-the-walls infrastructure before construction begins
Cabinet Makers or Millwork Vendors: to craft the details that make a space feel custom
Trade Vendors: who can support finish selections, appliance specs, and material procurement
Each of these partners plays an important role, but their impact is magnified when they’re brought in at the right moment – never too late, never too early.
Why This Order Matters in the Timeline for Building a Home
When your team is assembled in this thoughtful sequence, each player brings their best work to the table. They start with collaborating instead of correcting. Plans are developed with clarity. Budgets are shaped by real selections, not guesses. Construction is smoother because expectations have already been aligned.
We’ve seen the alternative: a client who selects a stock plan that doesn’t suit the lot… a builder who can’t provide a budget because the design goals haven’t been defined… or a designer called in too late, working in fast-forward to meet deadlines they didn’t help create.
The difference lies in the order.
Looking for Your Home Build Team?
If you’re just getting started (or even midstream) and wondering who to reach out to, we’re always happy to connect you. At J. Myers + Associates, we’ve had the pleasure of working with talented, trusted professionals throughout Oregon and beyond. We can connect you with talented architects, Oregon custom home builders, and the like. Need a referral? Please feel free to reach out.