Your Home Starts With a Vision. We Help You Build It.
Before a single nail is driven, we work through every decision with you — layout, materials, design details, and budget. The result is a home that fits the way your family actually lives, not a plan we adapted from someone else’s.
Design is where your home is built — before construction ever starts. Every decision made clearly in the design phase protects your budget, your timeline, and your sanity during the build.
You Have a Vision. You’re Still Working Out the Details.
Most people who contact us aren’t ready to hand us a set of plans. They have a picture in their head — a layout that makes sense for the way their family moves through a house, features they’ve been thinking about for years, spaces they want to get right.
They’re not sure how to put that on paper. And they’re not sure how much it will cost until someone actually looks at it.
That’s exactly where we start. Our design process is built for people who are still in the thinking stage — people who want a collaborative partner, not a builder who hands them a catalog and asks them to choose.
Every Decision Made Before We Break Ground
We don’t start construction with open questions. Here’s what gets locked in during the design phase so your build starts right.
Layout & Floor Plan
We design your floor plan from scratch based on how your family actually uses space — traffic flow, natural light, room relationships, and the features that matter most to you. Nothing is pulled from a template.
Site Evaluation
We evaluate your lot before finalizing the design — orientation, grade, setbacks, utility access, and drainage. The best floor plan is one that works with your specific piece of ground.
Material & Finish Selections
Cabinetry, flooring, countertops, fixtures, exterior finishes — every selection is made before the budget is set. This is how we give you a real number, not an allowance you’ll blow through.
Budget Development
Once design and selections are complete, we build a full pricing breakdown specific to your project. You know exactly what you’re committing to before we ask you to sign anything.
Structural & Systems Planning
Ceiling heights, structural elements, HVAC zoning, electrical layout — the systems that affect how a home functions get designed intentionally, not figured out after the framing crew arrives.
Special Feature Design
Multigenerational suites, home offices, workshop spaces, aging-in-place features, outdoor living areas — if you have something specific in mind, we design it in from the start.
From Conversation to Blueprint
Here’s what the design process looks like when you work with Kainos.
Vision Meeting
We start with a real conversation about how you live, what you want, and what you’ve been thinking about. No forms, no questionnaires — just a discussion that gives us the foundation to design something that actually fits.
Site Review
We walk your lot — or help you evaluate lots if you’re still searching. The site shapes the design: orientation, grade, setbacks, and access all factor into what’s possible and what it will cost.
Design Development
We develop your floor plan and elevations with your direct input at every step. You review, respond, and refine until the design reflects exactly what you want to build.
Selections & Pricing
You make your material and finish selections with Britni’s guidance. Once selections are locked, we build your complete project pricing. You know the full number before anything is committed.
Designed and Built in Central Iowa
Every home here started with a conversation and a blank page.
About the Design Process
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Do I need to know what I want before I contact you?
No. Most people who reach out are still in the thinking stage — they have an idea of what they want but haven’t translated it into plans. That’s where our design process starts. We work through it together from the beginning.
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Do you work with an architect, or do you design in-house?
We design our plans in-house. Kenny handcrafts every blueprint, which means the person designing your home is also the person overseeing its construction. What’s on paper and what gets built are the same thing.
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How many changes can I make during the design phase?
As many as you need to get it right. The design phase is exactly when changes are easy and free of cost impact. We work through revisions until the plan is one you’re confident in — because once we break ground, changes get much more expensive.
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What if I already have some ideas or inspiration photos?
Bring them. Reference photos, magazine clippings, saved Pinterest boards — anything that communicates what you’re drawn to is useful. We use those as a starting point to understand your preferences, then translate them into a design that works for your specific lot and budget.
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How does design affect cost?
Significantly — and we explain those impacts as we go. Complex rooflines, vaulted ceilings, custom millwork, and premium finishes all move the number. Because we design our own plans from scratch, we can help you maximize what you get within your budget by eliminating wasted space and designing efficiently from the start.