For custom homeowners

Craft your dream home before you break ground.

Imagine a home, beautifully designed, healthy, at a lower cost, and stress-free. Created with a fraction of your time and energy, faster than you knew possible. That's the promise. We're a design-management studio for custom homes: one team running everything before construction - the architect, the design (by us, or by your chosen designer), every finish selected and priced, even obtaining permits, with one point of contact. Add what you need: due diligence if you're still buying land, healthy-home upgrades, eyes on site through the build. You're brilliant at what you do; this is what we do - stay as involved as you need, and nothing significant is decided or spent without you.

Not theory: 20+ Austin homes designed, permitted, built for less, finished better.

AI-generated bedroom render in a soft neutral palette

The work — in four optional steps

  1. Know the ground

    Buying land for your home? We run the due diligence first - what it can carry, what it costs to build, whether it fits the life you're planning - before you commit. We can support your realtor through the search.

  2. Core service

    Design the home

    We take the lead, the glue for the whole team: architect, designer, engineer, builder, suppliers and beyond. Select us as your designer, or champion the designer you already love, we're happy either way. We'll support your team to create a build-ready handover, with all discounts passed straight to you, because of the upfront fee we've agreed with you for total transparency.

  3. Clear the path

    We help you move very quickly to permitted plans, using the same process behind our 20-plus successful first-time applications.

  4. Watch the build

    If you want independent eyes on the site once construction is underway, we can be there for you.

Also part of the package: a home-organizer consultation early on, so storage and millwork get built around what you actually own, not a guess. Our expert organizer consultant is also one of the region’s leading white-glove moving services, so we can guide you towards the ultimate peaceful transition — right through to the very last box.

The Groundcraft difference

Standard model... it's all on you.

8–15 months

YOU
Realtor
Architect
Engineers
...and more
Builder
Suppliers
Subs
Permits
Designer

Groundcraft — your one point of contact

5–9 months

YOU
GROUNDCRAFT
Realtor
Architect
Engineers
Designer
Builder
Suppliers
Subs
Permits
...and more

Our only agenda is you & your home: we work on a flat fee - no percentages, no markups, no commissions or kickbacks on anything you buy, and supplier discounts pass straight to you. The savings we find usually outweigh our fee: a better home, for less all-in, with the stress handled - in effect, the cheapest line on the budget.

Who this is for

People building their own home - first time or fifth; currently living in central Texas or based elsewhere. Bring your own designer if you have one you love: we'll support them to flourish, and run the collaboration around them, or we can design with you.

Long before we were professional designers and developers, we built our own homes in the UK and US, and discovered how easily it can become a painful full-time job. We've experienced the problem first-hand, which is why we're here: to make the journey to your beautiful new home as easy as possible.

From sketch to built

Line-drawing sketch of an arched wine and bar lounge nook with wingback chairsSketch
Finished color render of the arched wine and bar lounge nook, believed to be the Speakeasy projectRendered
Speakeasy wine and bar lounge
Line-drawing sketch of an arched coffee-bar and pantry nookSketch
Finished color render of the arched coffee-bar and pantry nookRendered
Arched coffee bar and pantry nook

HEALTH… the one thing we'll try to "sell" you on (but make no money from)

Your home will look beautiful - we want it to feel truly beautiful. Healthier-home design - air, water, light, materials - from invisible upgrades to wholesale building changes, never compromising the design. As passionate health advocates, guiding you towards taking your healthier-home upgrades as far as you do or don't want them is a huge thrill for us.

Want to geek out? Click here →
Daniel and Mel Brown smiling together in a close-up photo

Book a consult. Bring your land, your plans, or just the dream. One conversation: what it can carry, what it should cost, and how we'd make the whole journey easy.

818-918-0149studio@groundcraftdesign.com@groundcraftdesign