Home Design & Remodeling for San Francisco

Architectural, landscape and interior design services for new build homes, additions, remodels and beyond.

SDL Residential Design has grown from a humble design firm in Sonoma in 2014 to an experienced design team helping clients in the greater San Francisco area and throughout the Bay.

We provide a full service solution for clients looking to build a new home, guest house or ADU from the ground-up, expand their existing footprint with an addition or simply renovate their kitchen or bathroom. We work with our clients to create a design, introduce you to contractors, and work with specialists like structural engineers to finalize the construction drawings required for a building permit from San Francisco. We also work with you to pick out interior design & finishes, and produce layout and installation drawings for your contractor. Then during construction we’re on-hand for you and your contractor to provide additional details and problem solving if issues come up.

We pride ourselves on working closely with our clients from the beginning until after a project is completed, providing as much knowledge, opinion, and coordination as needed. Behind us is a large network of professionals who are ready to support our clients and their projects.

A black new build home looking over Sonoma Valley.

“As residential designers for our kitchen and bath remodel, Samuel and his team have skills that cover several disciplines that would otherwise require hiring a separate architect and interior designer. Samuel took stock of the current style of our house and blended designs for a new state-of-the-art kitchen and bath”

— RANDY C. - CLIENT

FAQ

In San Francisco not all permits are created equal, so depending on the type of project you may wait a couple of weeks for an over-the-counter permit, vs months for a larger remodel. San Francisco has many permit types available to streamline most remodel projects; for bathroom/ kitchen remodels that are primarily cosmetic (e.g. not removing walls or relocating plumbing) a “No Plans” Over The Counter (OTC) permit can be issued, otherwise plans must be submitted with the permit application.
For new-build homes San Francisco has a reputation for excessive review times upwards of 2 years before applications are approved.
San Francisco has a diverse range of architectural styles, building ages and property types; from small, flat inner-city lots, to steep hillsides with poor accessibility. All these factors affect the economic feasibility and aging properties normally require extensive remodeling, but most properties in San Francisco are constrained by available street frontage for equipment and materials that often makes remodeling the more economical option.
As this question might require heavy consideration depending on the project, we can determine what the best path for you is through an optional Building Feasibility Study in the early stages of a working together.
After a free consultation to evaluate the scope of the project, a total design fee will be created on a flat fee basis. This flat fee is then split up between the different phases of the project, giving you financial runway as we work through the project.
2024 saw the adoption of state-wide regulations that aimed to ease the housing crisis by making the construction and use of Accessory Dwelling Units more flexible. This included expedited timelines for permit review, and relaxed building setback, height and parking requirements. However there are still site-specific constraints that may make an ADU untenable, so before design begins we would advise using a Building Feasibility Study to outline design parameters.
San Francisco has a fast-track for simple ADU permits that can be utilized, however many properties fall into a special category (e.g. Historic or Legalization of an existing structure) which can easily extend their permit review timelines
We certainly do! Before we embark on any project we will always offer a free consultation so that we can get to know each other and see if we’ll be a good fit. If so we’ll be happy to provide design services, including consultation, for projects big or small.