How Long Does It Take to Draw Plans for a House?
(A Custom Home Perspective)
When people ask how long it takes to draw plans for a house, they’re usually hoping for a simple number.
With custom homes, there isn’t one and that’s actually a good thing.
Because the honest truth is this:
I’ve seen a custom home go from a blank page to pulling a permit in as little as 3 months…and I’ve also seen that same process take up to 4 years and counting…
That range surprises people, but it perfectly illustrates why this question deserves a deeper explanation.
Custom home design isn’t about producing drawings as fast as possible. It’s about solving a complex, site-specific puzzle and translating a client’s lifestyle into a home that works, looks right, and can actually be built. In the high-desert mountain environments of the western U.S., that puzzle almost always comes with a few extra pieces.
Custom Homes Start With the Site, Not the Floor Plan
Most of the homes we design fall into what we call “New Century Modern” - a blend of modern, Scandinavian, mid-century modern, and mountain modern architecture.
These homes are rarely placed on easy, flat lots. Many of our projects involve:
Steep slopes
High snow loads
Seismic design requirements
Height restrictions
Easements and tight setbacks
Protecting view corridors
Each site introduces constraints that directly affect the design and the timeline. Instead of seeing those as obstacles, we treat them as part of the puzzle we’re solving. But they do mean that custom design simply takes more time than modifying an existing plan.
Why “Drawing Plans” Is Only Part of the Timeline
When someone asks how long it takes to draw plans, they’re usually lumping together the entire process. In reality, custom homes move through multiple phases:
Concept Design – establishing massing, layout, and big ideas
Schematic Design – refining floor plans and elevations
Design Development – resolving structure, dimensions, materials, and systems
Construction Documents – producing permit-ready drawings
Each phase builds on decisions made earlier. The more clarity there is upfront, the smoother and often faster the process becomes overall.
Why We Invest Heavily Up Front
One of the biggest reasons custom home projects slow down isn’t design, it's unexpected friction later.
That’s why we invest a significant amount of time early through our Blueprint Sessions. This is where we identify potential bottlenecks before they become delays, including:
Jurisdictional requirements
HOA design guidelines
Site constraints and easements
Height and massing limits
Engineering considerations
Spending more time upfront often saves months later in the process.
A Real-World Example: A Fast Custom Project (With Major Constraints)
One of our current projects is a great example of how a custom home can still move efficiently, even with stacked challenges.
This home involved:
A steeply sloped lot
Strict height restrictions
Easements limiting buildable area
Tight timelines tied to the client’s lot purchase
The clients felt rushed during due diligence and needed enough design clarity to feel confident closing on the land. We moved quickly, but intentionally.
The key to success wasn’t rushing drawings, it was communication. During onboarding and throughout design, we ask clients to provide inspiration images. Those images become a shared design language that helps us accurately convey intent and avoid unnecessary revisions. That alignment allowed us to progress efficiently, even within tight parameters.
The Biggest Variable: Client Decisiveness
Across nearly every custom project, one factor matters more than square footage, style, or complexity:
Client decisiveness.
Custom projects slow down when:
Too many outside opinions enter the process
Decisions are revisited repeatedly
There are “too many chefs in the kitchen”
Friends and family can offer helpful insight, but too many voices often derail momentum.
Projects move smoothly when clients:
Clearly express their wants and needs
Trust the process
Understand that decisions build on each other
Our goal isn’t to design the biggest or most complicated home. It’s to design a home that truly matches the client’s lifestyle and priorities.
Design Is Also About How You Think
Another often-overlooked factor in timelines is how clients process information.
Some clients:
Need visual references
Think best through images and 3D views
Want to experience spaces in person
Others:
Prefer plans and dimensions
Need time between meetings to reflect
Understanding how a client processes information and matching our communication to that has a huge impact on both decision-making and timelines.
So, How Long Does Custom Design Usually Take?
Every project is different, but a realistic expectation for a custom home is:
Several months of design before engineering begins
Additional time for engineering and permitting depending on jurisdiction
More time upfront, fewer surprises during construction
Custom homes take longer because they should. They’re not about speed, they’re about getting it right. Rushing the process can lead to delays and mistakes.
Final Thoughts
If you’re considering a custom home, the better question isn’t “How fast can the plans be drawn?”
It’s “How do we make sure we’re designing the right home from the start?”
When expectations are clear, communication is strong, and decisions are intentional, the process becomes more predictable and the final result far more rewarding.