If your vision for your home is something that hasn't been done before, choosing the right architect and interior design becomes one of the most impactful decisions you'll make. Our advice is simple: interview architects who have meaningful residential experience. Interview architects who genuinely want to do residential work. If possible, interview architects who have designed their own home or have wrestled with the same decisions you're about to make.

Here's why. There are plenty of talented architects in Iowa who have little interest in residential design. That's not a criticism. Every architect has a lane. But at Form Function Studio, we believe custom residential design is one of the hardest disciplines in architecture to truly get right.

Pizza Hut Residence - Lake MacBride, Solon, IA

A great custom home requires getting to know one or two people, sometimes an entire family, intimately enough to translate their dreams, aspirations, values, frustrations, hopes, and habits into architecture. The ultimate goal isn't simply creating a beautiful home. It's creating a home where the people we serve can look at the design and say:

"We're at peace and excited with this. This feels like us."

The challenge is that, in our country, we've largely turned residential architecture into a commodity. Pick a style. Pick a floor plan. Move on. We challenge that notion. There is a better way that we want to create accessibility to.

A better question is:

What can this home also become for two generations after you?

Designing a custom home is a unique act of trust. Families place their wants, needs, dreams, and resources into a basket and hand it to a design team. Our responsibility is to create a home with enough care, intention, and adaptability that it can be loved and lived in, not only by the people building it today, but potentially by their children and grandchildren as well.

We often see values passed through generations. Maybe it's a commitment to hard work. Maybe it's faith and worship. Maybe it's hospitality, community involvement, education, or stewardship. Those values become part of a family's DNA.

The opportunity for great residential architecture is taking those values and weaving them into the DNA of the home itself, while allowing the architecture to evolve over time without losing its original intent or character.

So how do you find an architect capable of doing that?

Look for Residential Experience, Not Just Architectural Experience

Not every architect wants to design homes, and that's okay. But if you're pursuing a true custom residence, don't be afraid to ask direct questions:

How much of your work is residential? What do you enjoy about residential design? Have you ever designed your own home? What have you learned from working directly with families?

You're not simply hiring technical expertise. You're hiring someone who is passionate about this particular type of work. You're hiring a steward for your dreams. That matters.

Pavilion Farm Residence - Central City, IA

Look for a Collaborative Design Process

A residential architect should be collaborative by nature. They should ask thoughtful questions, challenge assumptions, and create opportunities for meaningful conversation throughout the process. Great residential design doesn't happen in a single meeting. It requires pauses. Reflection. Exploration. Sometimes even healthy disagreement.

Look for a firm with a clearly defined design process that allows space for engagement at every stage. Because collaboration isn't about making clients feel involved - it's about uncovering insights that make the design stronger.

The result should be a set of construction documents that not only communicate clearly to a builder but accurately reflect the people they're being built for.

Look for an Architect With Clear Values

At Form Function Studios, we know we aren't the right fit for everyone. And we're okay with that.

Just as clients interview us, we interview our clients. Not because we're trying to be exclusive, but because alignment matters.

The best relationships happen when both parties share similar expectations, values, aspirations, and definitions of success. When that alignment exists, the experience becomes significantly better for everyone involved.

Building a custom home is a major chapter in life. These conversations can be hard, vulnerable, almost intrusive to the inner soul and spirit of someone. Yes, that's what makes for a great home. You should enjoy the process. Enjoy the conversations. Enjoy the discoveries. Honestly, you should enjoy the hell out of it.

Lakewood Revival Residence - Cedar Rapids, IA

Look for an Architect Who Stays Engaged During Construction

Some architects disappear once the permit is issued. I wouldn't recommend that.

No matter how complete or well-documented a drawing set may be, questions are going to arise during construction. Decisions will need to be made. Conditions will change. No matter what, a series opportunities or adjustments will present themselves.

And when that happens, nobody knows the home better than the team that designed it. Not the builder. Not even the homeowners. The design team understands and has documented the intent behind every decision. They are your support line.

Form Function believes our responsibility doesn't end when the drawings are completed or the permit is approved. The process isn't finished until a family turns the lights off for the first time in a home that was designed specifically for them.

Look for an Architect Who Cares About Craft in Their Own Life

This may be a little less obvious than the others, but I think it's important.

Architecture is a profession that allows us to shape experiences and environments every day. Yet many architects never have or really seek the opportunity to build their own dream home or walk through a renovation for one. That's okay.

What matters is whether they care about craft, intentionality, and design excellence in their own lives as much as they encourage their clients to. You can often see it in how they work, how they engage their community, how they care for their existing spaces, and how they talk about design.

When architects value craft personally, clients feel that authenticity. And in the age of information and answer overload - authenticity matters the most.

Finding the Right Fit

Finding the right residential architect in Iowa isn't about finding the biggest portfolio or the flashiest website.

It's about finding a partner who is passionate about residential work, committed to collaboration, grounded in clear values, engaged through construction, and capable of translating who you are into architecture. Because at the end of the day, you're not simply building a house. You're creating a place where your family's values, traditions, and stories can continue to unfold for generations to come.

And that's worth getting right.

How to Find a Residential Architect in Iowa Who Gets Your Vision