The Custom Architectural Design & Permitting Process

Interior of a modern kitchen with white cabinets, a large island with a white marble countertop, pendant lights, hardwood flooring, and a large sliding glass door leading outside custom-designed by Rexford Design.

Every custom ADU, home addition, or residential remodeling project requires a precise, code-compliant set of blueprints to secure municipal building permits and guide your construction team.

At Rexford Design, our step-by-step design process bridges the gap between your unique lifestyle vision and the complex regulatory requirements of local building departments across the San Francisco Bay Area, North Bay, and East Bay.Refined over four decades and hundreds of successful projects,

Jeffrey R. Rexford’s collaborative framework transforms your initial goals into highly detailed, 3D computer-generated models, technical construction documents, and engineering plan sets. From conducting early site-feasibility checks to managing end-to-end permit submittals in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Healdsburg, the Town of Sonoma, Napa, The East Bay and San Francisco, we provide the rigorous oversight required to ensure your contractor delivers exact, flawless structural results.

Ready to discuss what is feasible and structurally possible on your lot? Contact Rexford Design.

Step 1: Design Discovery & Consultation

Floor plan of a house kitchen area with adjacent pantry, formal dining, breakfast, and family spaces, featuring counters, appliances, and measurement details.

We will discuss your project in detail and schedule an initial site visit with everyone involved in the decision-making process. Our aim is to thoroughly evaluate the current situation, maintain an open dialogue to understand your unique lifestyle vision, and identify the specific spatial or mobility problems driving the need for the project. We will also host an honest, upfront conversation about what you are willing and able to invest in the design and construction phase. From there, we draft a transparent design agreement for your review; once you are completely comfortable with the parameters and the initial payment is made, we officially move forward.

STEP 2: Preliminary Study & Existing Conditions

Architectural blueprint of a kitchen with upper and lower cabinets, measurements in inches, including dishwasher and several electrical outlets.

Once your project is added to our schedule, our preliminary property data gathering and local zoning code research begins. Jeffrey conducts an on-site visit to precisely measure the existing conditions and take comprehensive structural photographs. We complete an accurate existing conditions layout and a detailed site plan. Through collaborative design meetings, we further develop your goals and potential architectural solutions, drawing at least two distinct schematic variations for your review. These custom designs are presented as three-dimensional, computer-generated preliminary models so you can easily visualize the spatial flow.

Step 3: Developing the Architectural Construction Documents

Illustration of a modern kitchen with white cabinets, a large island with stools, stainless steel appliances, and wooden floor, with sliding glass doors leading outside.

Once you approve the preliminary 3D schematic model, we further develop the layout and convert it from a dimensional model into the Preliminary Construction Documents (The Plan). During this transition, clear communication is our highest priority. We host multiple online interactive meetings during this critical development stage, giving us the opportunity to tightly focus the custom design and make necessary structural adjustments. This streamlined, collaborative design process keeps everyone in the loop and ensures you, Jeffrey, and your future contractor remain perfectly aligned.

Step 4: Finalizing Technical Construction Drawings & Cost Engineering

Architectural floor plan of a house showing room layout, measurements, and design details, including a bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen, home office, closet, and utility room.

Construction Documents (the Plan) are the instructions on how to build the design. These documents hold a vast amount of data for the permit process and construction team. During this phase, engineering reports and technical drawings may include civil, soils, structural and energy calculations.

Preliminary construction costs of the current design can now be done.

If necessary, this is also the time to value engineer the design to align with the target investment.

The permit process is complicated and lengthy. Rexford Design has decades of experience with the building departments of most of the cities and counties of the San Francisco Bay Area region, including the city of San Francisco, the East Bay and the North Bay. Our services include the Permit Submittal process, responding in a timely manner to Building Department comments, and permit issuance. We partner with you and your contractor to navigate the bureaucratic twists and turns of today’s ever-changing permit processes and regulations.

STEP 5: Permit Submittals / Issuance

A modern kitchen with white cabinets, a large island with a white countertop, stainless steel appliances, pendant lighting, large windows, a wood floor, and sliding glass doors leading outside custom-designed by Rexford Design.

Step 6: Construction Supervision & Project Management

Active construction begins. Securing your municipal building permit is not the end of our advisory partnership. As your Principal Designer, Jeffrey Rexford is available for Project Supervision throughout the active construction phase. We interface directly with your building trades, conduct critical site visits, clarify architectural intent on the ground, and provide the professional oversight needed to ensure the physical build accurately reflects the exact layout, standards, and craftsmanship detailed in your approved plans.