Room and home additions in Rancho Santa Fe, designed and built by one team.

We do. Rancho Santa Fe is unincorporated, so plans for room additions go to the County of San Diego, and homes inside the Covenant also go through the Rancho Santa Fe Association's review. Our design and architectural team drafts the construction documents, a licensed structural engineer stamps them where the scope calls for it, and we manage the whole permit process for you.

Inside the Covenant, yes: any exterior change does. In the gated communities the architectural committee reviews it. We design to the standards and present complete submissions, which is what keeps the review short.

Eight to twelve months from the first visit to completion, with the Art Jury review and the County permit first.

Yes. Our Rancho Santa Fe wine cellar addition in the gallery did exactly that, built into the house with its own conditioning and racking.

With the number of variables in a project like this, it is not easy to estimate without knowing what you want. Where you live, the size of the addition, the age of your home and what the new room holds all change the number. In San Diego County home additions typically run from $350 to $650 per square foot, so a basic addition costs around $100,000 and bump-outs start at about that figure. What we promise is a fixed price in writing before the first footing is poured: at the design and bid presentation you see every line of the scope, the contract and the schedule together. The complimentary in-home consultation is where that number starts.

It depends on the room you add. A great room, kitchen or living room addition may add around 70 percent of its cost to your property value; something smaller, like an extra bedroom, office or bathroom, may add around 15 percent. The size and scope of the project, and the budget you put into it, decide how much the value moves. The bigger return is daily: a home that fits the family in it, and one you did not have to leave.

Building out adds a room on the ground level and is the most common kind of addition. It grows the house's footprint, so a new foundation is poured and some yard space goes to the new room. Building up adds a room, or a whole floor, to the second story, or adds a second story to a one-story house. It keeps your yard, usually needs no new foundation (the existing one may be strengthened to carry the weight) and needs a staircase inside, and your area's rules on house size and height apply. Your designer walks the lot with you and tells you which one the house and the property line allow.

A room addition, also called a bump-out, is usually a single-room structure built onto the house: a bigger kitchen, another bathroom or bedroom, a larger primary suite, a personal office. Added rooms are often built for one purpose, but not always: a combination office and guest room, or a sunroom that doubles as a second living room. It is less expensive than a whole home remodel and adds new life to an older home.

Yes. In-law suites, also called granny flats or accessory dwelling units, can be attached to the house or detached in the yard, and recent changes to state and local legislation have made them easier and less expensive to build on San Diego properties. They add square footage and substantial property value, give parents or guests a private place to stay, and are built with aging in place in mind from the start. Our ADU page covers the types, the rules and what we have built.