A: The process of obtaining design assistance can be difficult for the homeowner because there are often no clearly defined boundaries among various home improvement design professionals. Ultimately, you need to find the individual or organization that understands the nature of your project and can serve your needs. The best way to do this is to contact several residential designers, architects and contractors. Tell them what you want to accomplish and see who is the right fit for what you want to do. If they are quality professionals, they will be honest about what they can and cannot do for you.

Some contractors who can only build what you tell them usually prefer to build according to plans supplied to them, and will provide little design assistance. At the other extreme are designers or architects who only design but cannot build. The most common complaint I hear about many designers and architects is that because they are not in touch with construction costs, many beautifully designed projects are never built because they end up costing more than the owner expected.

Falling in the middle are "design-build" contractors who provide varying degrees of design assistance in addition to construction. Some design-build contractors can provide a complete package to the homeowner. The biggest advantage I perceive with the design-build process is that the designer and contractor are one and the same and they will know what type of design works and is the most cost-effective. With design-build, the homeowner also has only one entity to deal with and doesn't have to worry about coordination.

Incidentally, don't confuse residential designers with interior designers or decorators, who mainly focus on selecting finishing touches such as picking carpets, drapes, paint colors, etc. Residential designers specialize in design layouts, while architects have even more formal training in structural considerations, and sometimes these professionals can also provide decorating assistance, as well.

In summary, look for a qualified company that can meet your needs and don't worry so much about whether they are called architect, residential designer or contractor.

by Kathy Maynard, reprinted courtesy of HomeAdvisor.com