Free · 9-page PDF · 2026 Edition
The Custom Home Cost Guide.
What custom home design and construction actually cost in Metro Atlanta — with the math most firms will not show you. Design fees, $/SF benchmarks, a worked 6,000-square-foot example, and the ROI of comprehensive construction documents.
Get the guide ↓What's inside
Nine pages, no fluff.
The guide pulls together everything we wish someone had handed us before our first custom home project. Real numbers, real math, no sales theater.
01
A letter from Daniel
Why custom home pricing is opaque, and what to do about it before you talk to any designer.
02
Design fee ranges
The 2–10% spread, what moves a project up or down inside it, and where most luxury projects actually land.
03
What design fees include
The four phases of a complete engagement — concept through permit-ready construction documents.
04
Construction costs by tier
$/SF benchmarks for standard, high-end luxury, and ultra-luxury construction in Metro Atlanta in 2026.
05
A worked 6,000 SF example
End-to-end math — construction, site prep, design fee, engineering — with hidden costs of incomplete documents broken out.
06
What incomplete documents cost
The conversation no one wants to have, the three ways ambiguity inflates your budget, and how to avoid it.
07
The Builder's Eye
The seven-dimension review every set of drawings passes through before it leaves our studio.
08
Pre-call prep
A short checklist of what to think through before any first conversation with a designer — ours or anyone else's.
09
How to reach us
Three ways to start a conversation if and when you're ready — no obligation, no sales sequence.
Why we gate it
So we know who’s asking.
You’ll download the PDF instantly. The reason we gate it: your details go to Daniel personally so he can follow up — if you want to talk through anything in the guide, he’d rather hear about your project than not.
Your email stays with Daniel Allen Designs. We do not sell it, trade it, or pass it to any third party. No automated email sequence will hit your inbox after the download.
— Daniel
From the studio behind the guide
Designed by someone who built first.
Daniel Allen Designs is a luxury residential design studio anchored in Metro Atlanta and serving custom-home clients nationwide.
30+
Years of design experience
20+
Years as a custom home builder
7
Dimensions in the Builder's Eye