Design
What this covers
Section titled “What this covers”Story is a design-build firm, so design is something you buy, not overhead folded into a construction price. This area runs your renovation from first concept through to the completed design the build works from.
It exists so decisions happen in an order that holds: goals before concepts, concepts before detail, detail before anyone orders tile.
The phases
Section titled “The phases”A design-build project moves through five phases. Each ends in something you see and approve before the next one starts.
| Phase | What happens |
|---|---|
| Scope | Visioning, and the scope of work is defined |
| Schematic Design | Early design concepts |
| Design Development | Refining the chosen concept toward buildable detail |
| Final Design | The completed design the build works from |
| Build | Construction |
The phase a project is in is tracked on the project itself, so there is one answer to “where are we” rather than one per person you ask.
Each phase has its own place in the system and its own meeting types, and sign-off is recorded as an approval event with a date attached. Approvals notify you — the phase moving forward is something you’re told about, not something you discover later.
Not every engagement runs all five. Story supports design-build, design-only, build-only, interiors-only, and furniture-only scopes, and the phases follow whichever applies.
Visioning and the scope package
Section titled “Visioning and the scope package”Design starts before drawings. Visioning captures what you want out of the space, how you actually live in it, and your taste — through conversation and through questionnaires that get answers on the record rather than in someone’s memory of a walkthrough.
What comes out is the scope package: the defined scope of work. Everything downstream is priced and built against it, which is why it’s worth the time it takes.
Visioning attaches to the lead, so when the work is won, the design conversation carries forward into the project instead of starting over.
Finish selections
Section titled “Finish selections”Tile, fixtures, paint, hardware, cabinetry. Selections are made through the design phases rather than saved for a scramble at the end, and they’re drawn from a material catalog — so a choice carries a real, specified product behind it rather than a description.
Selections carry onto your quote as selection lines. The design decision and its price are the same record: choosing a different tile changes the quote, and you can see which line moved.
What you see as a client
Section titled “What you see as a client”You see the phase your project is in, and you’re notified when a phase is approved and the design moves on.
Your selections appear on your quote as lines you can read — what was chosen, and what it costs. Design meetings are scheduled against the phase they belong to, so an invitation carries the context of what’s being decided.
Related
Section titled “Related”- How a project works — where design sits in the project structure
- Quotes — how selections are priced
- Leads and intake — meetings and visioning forms before the work is won