If your remodeler’s design comes back over budget and you walk away, you should not be out the design fee. That is the short answer. New Spaces refunds the design fee if, after the Needs, Wants and Wishes® discovery process and at least three design options, none of the resulting designs fit the budget the homeowner set at the start.
What Is a Design Fee Refund Guarantee?
A design fee refund guarantee protects the homeowner during the planning phase, before any construction contract exists. Many design-build firms charge a fee for the upfront design and estimating work, which can run from a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending on project scope. That fee covers real time: site measurement, a discovery meeting, drafting, and pricing. The refund guarantee answers one question directly: if that work produces a design nobody can afford, who absorbs the cost? At New Spaces, the firm does, not the homeowner.
How Is This Different From the Fixed-Price Remodel Guarantee?
These are two separate promises covering two different stages of the project, and homeowners often confuse them. The fixed-price guarantee applies after a contract is signed: once New Spaces commits to a price for the selected design, that price does not move for estimating errors on New Spaces’ side. The design fee refund applies earlier, during the design phase itself, before any contract exists. If the design and pricing work cannot land inside the homeowner’s stated budget at all, across the minimum of three options New Spaces presents, the design fee is returned rather than kept for work that did not produce a buildable plan.
| Stage | What Is Protected | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|
| Design phase, before contract | The design fee paid for discovery and drafting | Refunded if no design option fits the stated budget |
| Construction phase, after contract | The fixed price agreed for the selected design | Held firm against New Spaces’ own estimating error |
What Counts as “the Design Doesn’t Fit the Budget”?
This applies to the stated budget range a homeowner gives New Spaces at the start of the Needs, Wants and Wishes® process, measured against the pricing attached to each of the three-plus design options presented. It is not a guarantee that every homeowner gets their first-choice finishes at their first-choice number. A kitchen remodel in Edina with custom cabinetry and a structural wall removal will price differently than a cosmetic refresh, and the design team will build options across that range rather than present one over-scoped plan and call it done. The refund exists for the case where, even after adjusting scope and finishes across multiple options, nothing workable comes in at the number the homeowner can spend.
Why Does a Design-Build Firm Offer This at All?
It removes the biggest objection homeowners raise about design-build: paying for design work with no guarantee it leads anywhere. A separate architect-plus-contractor path carries the same risk without the same backstop, since the architect’s fee is typically non-refundable regardless of whether the resulting plans fit what a contractor would charge to build them. New Spaces’ in-house design and build team prices as it designs, specifically so a budget mismatch surfaces during the design phase rather than after a homeowner has also hired a separate contractor and received a shock bid.
What Should You Ask Before Signing a Design Agreement?
Ask for the guarantee in writing, not as a verbal assurance. Ask how many design options are included for the fee (New Spaces presents a minimum of three), what happens if you want a fourth round, and what the refund process actually requires on your end. Ask whether the fee is fully refundable or partially refundable, since some firms advertise a “money-back” design fee that only returns a portion. Bring a real number to the first meeting. A vague budget range makes it harder for any design team, New Spaces included, to hit the mark on the first pass.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every design-build firm offer a design fee refund?
No. Many charge a non-refundable design or consultation fee regardless of outcome. Ask directly and get the answer in writing before paying anything.
Do I get three full sets of finished design options for the fee?
Yes, a minimum of three design options with corresponding pricing is part of the Needs, Wants and Wishes® process for whole-home, main level, kitchen and addition projects.
What if I like the design but the price is slightly over my budget?
That is a normal conversation about scope and finish-level adjustments within one of the presented options, not a refund situation. The refund applies when no option, after reasonable adjustment, lands inside the stated budget.
Does this guarantee apply to bathroom-only or small projects?
New Spaces’ primary focus is whole-home, main level, kitchen and addition projects in the Twin Cities metro. Confirm scope and guarantee terms with your designer at the first meeting for any smaller project.
If you are planning a kitchen remodel, whole-home remodel, main level or addition in the Twin Cities and want to know exactly what the design phase includes before you commit to a number, start with the kitchen remodeling services page or browse the project gallery to see how real budgets translated into finished homes. With over 40 years of experience guiding Twin Cities homeowners through this exact conversation, the New Spaces design team can tell you early whether a project is likely to fit your number. Call (952) 898-5300 or reach out to set up a first meeting.
What the Process Actually Looks Like, Step by Step
The Needs, Wants and Wishes® process starts with a first meeting where New Spaces listens before it draws anything, separating what a homeowner must have, what they would like, and what they would take if the budget allows. From there the design team develops the minimum three options, each priced to the dollar rather than roughly estimated, so a homeowner is comparing real numbers against real scope rather than a sketch against a guess. That pricing-while-designing approach is also what makes the refund guarantee practical: because every option is priced before it is presented, there is a clear point where a homeowner can say none of this fits, rather than discovering a mismatch months into construction.
For South Metro homeowners in Burnsville, Lakeville and Edina planning a forever-home upgrade, or Southwest Minneapolis and Mac-Groveland homeowners trying to modernize a 1920s or 1950s home without losing its character, the budget conversation looks different every time. A 1980s suburban kitchen and main level project carries different structural unknowns than a historic Minneapolis bungalow with original plaster and knob-and-tube wiring still live behind the walls. The design fee refund exists precisely because that variability is real: no design team can promise in advance that every home and every budget will land together on the first try, so the honest answer is to guarantee the outcome of the design phase itself rather than promise a number before anyone has looked at the house.