Client guides / US
Architect, designer, design-build or contractor: who first?
In 2025, 29% of renovating US homeowners hired a general contractor, 8% hired an architect, 8% an interior designer and 5% a design-build firm (Houzz, 8 Home Remodeling Trends to Watch in 2026, covering 2025 projects). Most people call the builder first, and for a lot of projects that is right. For others it means paying for drawings twice. This guide sorts the decision by project type, explains what each professional may legally do, and shows where the fees differ.
14 October 2026 · 7 minute read
In this guide
- A decision table: which professional to call first for each kind of project
- What architects, interior designers, design-build firms and contractors may legally do, with the statutes
- Who US homeowners actually hired in 2025, from Houzz
- Design-build against design-bid-build, in plain terms
- How each professional charges, and where to find the numbers
Start with the project, not the profession
The labels matter less than the order. Call the wrong person first and you either pay for a design the builder then redraws, or you get a price for work nobody has designed yet. The table below is the order that avoids both.
| Your project | Call first | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Paint, floors, fixtures, cabinets, no walls moved | A contractor, or an interior designer if the hard part is choosing finishes | Cosmetic work needs no architect in the five states we checked; California, for example, exempts nonstructural, nonseismic interior alterations, fixtures and cabinetwork (CAB Consumer's Guide). |
| A kitchen or bathroom in the same footprint | A kitchen and bath designer, a design-build remodeler or an interior designer | Layout and finishes within existing walls. In 2025, 8% of renovating homeowners used a kitchen and bath remodeler and 7% a kitchen and bath designer (Houzz). |
| Opening or removing a load-bearing wall | A structural engineer, plus an architect if the layout changes across rooms | Every state exemption stops at structure: Texas at a substantial structural or exitway change, California at structural or seismic components, New York at structural safety. |
| An addition, an attic or basement bedroom, or an accessory dwelling unit | An architect, or a design-build firm that has one | New habitable space must meet code minimums for room size, ceiling height and escape openings (2021 IRC R304, R305, R310), and the structure needs a licensed designer. |
| A whole-house renovation | An architect first, then a contractor; or one design-build firm | Somebody has to sequence trades, hold the budget and carry the permit set. That is design work before it is building work. |
| Not sure what the project is yet | An architect's first meeting, or a design-build consultation | Both will tell you what you are actually asking for before you commit to a price. |
What each one may legally do
Architect
A licensed architect may design anything, including the structural and seismic components everyone else is barred from in California (CAB Consumer's Guide, read 10 October 2026). The title is protected: in Texas, someone working under the single-family exemption may not call themselves an architect or use any title containing a form of the word (Occupations Code 1051.606). In the five states we checked, an architect is not legally required for an ordinary single-family remodel; our guide on whether you need one goes state by state.
Interior designer
Twenty-nine states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico regulate interior design. Title acts protect the name; practice acts regulate the services and can let a designer submit documents for permit review (CIDQ legislative map, read 10 October 2026). Illinois says no interior designer is required for a single-family home, and interior design work with no life-safety or structural change needs no architect (225 ILCS 305/3). The limit is the same as for everyone else: nothing structural, nothing that affects safety.
Design-build firm
AIA describes design-build as one entity handling both design and construction (AIA, How to work with an architect, read 10 October 2026). Who inside that entity does the design is the question. Florida lets a certified or registered general contractor offer design-build without an architect's licence only if the architectural services are offered and rendered by a licensed architect (Statutes 481.229(3), 2025). Ask for the architect's name and licence number.
Contractor
A contractor builds, and in all five states may also draw plans for an exempt house within the limits above. The California Architects Board tells homeowners to verify a contractor's licence with the Contractors State License Board, and to make sure the architect and contractor agree the plans are suitable for permit, bidding and construction before work starts. On doing it yourself it is blunt: unless you are experienced in construction, you probably should not attempt to build your project yourself (CAB Consumer's Guide).
Who homeowners actually hire
Houzz's 2026 study of 2025 projects is the clearest picture we have of what people do, rather than what they search for.
| Professional | Share of renovating homeowners |
|---|---|
| Any professional at all | 91% |
| Specialty trades | 48% |
| Construction professionals (contractors, builders, design-build firms, kitchen and bath remodelers) | 41% |
| General contractor | 29% |
| Design professionals (architects, interior, landscape and lighting designers) | 22% |
| Builder | 13% |
| Kitchen and bath remodeler | 8% |
| Architect | 8% |
| Interior designer | 8% |
| Kitchen and bath designer | 7% |
| Landscape architect or designer | 6% |
| Design-build firm | 5%, up two points on the year |
| Lighting designer | 2% |
Most people go straight to a builder. In the same study, 37% of homeowners with a budget exceeded it in 2025, and scope or design changes (31%) and unanticipated complexity (32%) were among the main reasons (Houzz). Those are the problems a design stage exists to catch, and most projects skip it.
Design-build or design-bid-build?
AIA's consumer page describes the two routes. In design-build, one firm designs and builds. In design-bid-build, the architect produces documents, contractors bid on them, and you sign a separate contract with the builder you choose. AIA's consumer guidance says design fees in design-bid-build tend to be 5 to 20 percent of the overall project budget (AIA, How to work with an architect, read 10 October 2026).
| Design-build | Design-bid-build | |
|---|---|---|
| Contracts you hold | One, with the firm | Two: architect, then contractor |
| Who checks the builder's work | The same firm that built it, unless you add an independent review | Your architect, who answers only to you |
| When you know the price | Early, often as a budget range that firms up | After bidding, once the drawings are complete |
| Competitive pricing | Usually one price | Several bids on the same drawings |
| Best suited to | Projects where speed and one point of contact matter most | Projects where independent design and a tested price matter most |
| What to ask | Who is the licensed architect, and is the design fee a separate line? | Will you help with bidding and visit site during construction? |
Neither route is cheaper by default. Design-build saves time and coordination. Design-bid-build buys an independent set of eyes and a market price. The CAB's advice to get architect and contractor to agree the plans are buildable applies to both; in design-build you are asking one firm to agree with itself, so put it in writing.
How the fees differ
Our guide on what an architect costs for a renovation has the full picture. The short version, by professional, is below.
| Professional | Usual fee shape | What published sources say |
|---|---|---|
| Architect | Hourly, a fixed sum, a percentage of construction cost, a rate per square foot, or a combination | AIA's consumer guidance describes typical ranges of 8 to 15% for new construction and 15 to 20% for remodels, with hourly the most widely used structure at small firms (AIA, read 10 October 2026). Angi's 2026 marketplace average is $6,625 across 1,642 projects, read from search results and weighted to small jobs. |
| Interior designer | Hourly for design time; flat fees for full-service work | Marketplace figures only: HomeAdvisor shows $50 to $200 an hour for design time and Angi's 2026 guide cites $100 to $500 an hour in high-demand areas, both read from search results. |
| Design-build firm | A design fee inside the construction contract | No survey figure in the sources we used. Ask for design as a separate line so you can compare it. |
| Contractor | A bid, or cost plus a margin | Covered by your bids, not by this guide. |
A sensible order
- Write down what you want and the whole budget: fees, permits, construction and a contingency (CAB Consumer's Guide).
- Decide whether the work touches structure, exits or new habitable space. If yes, start with an architect or engineer. If no, a contractor or designer can start.
- Whoever you call first, check the licence and ask who is doing the design. Keep the design price and the construction price as separate numbers.
- Get the people who will draw and build to agree, in writing, that the drawings are suitable for permit and construction (CAB).
Questions people ask
Should you hire an architect or a builder first?
If the project moves structure, adds space or spans several rooms, the architect first, so the builder prices a defined design. If the work is cosmetic or stays within existing walls, a builder or designer first is fine. In 2025, 29% of renovating homeowners hired a general contractor and 8% an architect (Houzz, 8 Home Remodeling Trends to Watch in 2026).
Do I need an architect or an interior designer?
An interior designer for finishes, furniture, lighting and layout within existing walls; an architect when walls, structure, exits or the building envelope change. Twenty-nine states, DC and Puerto Rico regulate interior design (CIDQ), and Illinois says interior design work without life-safety or structural changes needs no architect (225 ILCS 305/3). AIA lists interior design among the services architects offer, so one firm can sometimes do both.
Does an architect design or build?
An architect designs and, if you ask, administers the construction contract: visiting site, checking the work against the drawings and certifying payments. Building is the contractor's job. In design-build one firm does both, and in Florida that firm must have a licensed architect provide the architectural services (Statutes 481.229(3), 2025).
What is a disadvantage of design-build?
You lose the independent designer. In design-bid-build your architect checks the builder's work and answers only to you; in design-build the firm checks itself, and you usually get one price rather than several bids. The trade is speed and one point of contact. Ask who the licensed architect is and keep the design fee as a separate line.
Are design-build firms worth it?
For a kitchen, bathroom or straightforward remodel where speed and a single contract matter, often yes; 5% of renovating homeowners used one in 2025, up two points (Houzz, 8 Home Remodeling Trends to Watch in 2026). For structural work, or anything you want independently checked, weigh the loss of a separate architect. Either way, check the contractor licence and ask who signs the drawings.
Sources
- Houzz, 8 Home Remodeling Trends to Watch in 2026 (2025 projects) · Homeowner survey
- AIA, How to work with an architect · AIA consumer page
- California Architects Board, Consumer's Guide · Official
- Texas Occupations Code 1051.606 · Official statute
- Florida Statutes 481.229 (2025) · Official statute
- 225 ILCS 305/3, Illinois Architecture Practice Act · Official statute
- New York Education Law 7307 · Official statute
- ICC, 2021 International Residential Code, Chapter 3 (R304, R305, R310) · Model code; local amendments vary
- CIDQ, interior design legislative map · Industry body
- Angi and HomeAdvisor cost guides, 2026 · Marketplace data, read from search-result text; pages not checked directly