Stacy Paulson Design + Build

Stacy Paulson Design + Build Austin, TX based
Design firm by Stacy Paulson
A creative visonary with an eclectic eye for design & a viligant, methodical drive.

Stacy Paulson Design + Build is an Austin based company. Stacy has an eclectic eye for design accompanied by a viligant, methodical drive that she and her team bring to all her projects. While always attentive and understanding of her client's needs, she is also a creative visionary blending new ideas with existing elements. She is adept tackling an entire home design and remodel, setting realistic expectations for costs and timelines, while maintaining as little impact to her client's home lives as possible. Always apporachable with any thought or idea, Stacy consistantly communicates with clients regarding the status of their individual projects, and handles unplanned interruptions with the utmost professionalism. All of this while having F U N! Stacy has a great rapport with numerous vendors and subcontractors, who offer unparalleled professionalism and quality. She is responsive to sudden, inevitable changes, communicates clear expectations concerning cost and scheduling, and will bring any project to completion - design vision, execution, and lastly fruition. An organized project manager, the SPD team delivers quality and completed work on time and on budget.

09/22/2026

A good contractor doesn't hide behind allowances or skip the paperwork. Here's what I mean.

If there's no contract or no permit process, that's not a shortcut, that's a warning sign. It might feel like it's saving you money right now. It won't in the long run.

Same goes for a scope that's mostly allowances instead of actual materials. A few is normal. A ton of them, especially unrealistic ones, means nobody's done the real math yet. That math needs to happen before construction starts, not during it.

Because here's the truth about remodels: they rarely go according to plan. Something shifts. A wall opens up and there's a surprise behind it. The difference is whether your contractor is there, in person, walking it through with the trades, or whether you find out after the fact.

That's why I'm on site every single day.

Want a second opinion on your project or your contract? Email me at [email protected].

When we opened up this garage wall on a recent second-story addition, we found something that could have cut power to th...
09/18/2026

When we opened up this garage wall on a recent second-story addition, we found something that could have cut power to this family's entire house for four to six weeks.

The wall was completely rotten. And it wasn't just holding up framing, it was holding the breaker box on one side and the point where power came into the house on the other. My clients were living in this home the entire time we were building. Rebuilding the wall the normal way meant no electricity for over a month. That was never going to happen.

So we stopped. We brought in the engineer to re-work the LVL beams. We built a new wall just inside the rotten one. Then we had to figure out how to run wiring from that electrical box up to the second floor and across the house to the new laundry room and office, all while the framing we'd just moved was now blocking the path we'd planned to use.

That meant meeting after meeting with framers, electricians, carpenters, even our landscaper and stucco guys, all to solve one problem: keep the power on the entire time we fixed this. We also had to figure out what caused the rot in the first place, so it doesn't happen again to the new wall.

All in, this single discovery cost almost $47,000 and added about two weeks to the schedule.

This is exactly why every project I build includes a contingency from day one. Not because I expect the worst. Twenty five years in, I've learned walls hold secrets.

Save this. If your contractor hasn't mentioned a contingency yet, ask them why.

Caught Ivan mid-install on our Redbud project, and this is exactly what good tile work looks like before anyone sees the...
09/16/2026

Caught Ivan mid-install on our Redbud project, and this is exactly what good tile work looks like before anyone sees the finished room.

The difference between a good tile job and a rushed one is in the details: thoughtful layout, balanced cuts, consistent grout lines, and the time it takes to get all of that right before the first tile is ever set.

Here's what you're actually paying for when it's done right. Planning the layout so the cuts land where they should. Patience with waste that a rushed job skips. A floor that still looks right ten years from now, not just on install day.

The cheap bid usually skips the planning step. It looks the same on paper. It does not look the same in five years.

Good trade partners are not a line item you cut to save money. They're the reason your space still looks right long after the invoice is paid.

Save this before you get three tile bids that all look the same on paper.

Here's something most people don't think about until they see the invoice: hourly billing means every call, every email,...
09/14/2026

Here's something most people don't think about until they see the invoice: hourly billing means every call, every email, and every quick tweak adds to your number. You don't find out what it actually costs until it's already on the bill.

Flat fee works differently. We agree on your number before a single hour is billed, and that's what it stays. No surprises. No wondering why a phone call showed up as a line item.

That's the whole point of a flat fee: predictability. You should be able to call your designer without doing math in your head first.

Curious how it would work for your project?
Email me at [email protected] and I'll walk you through exactly how the number gets built, before anything starts.

You ask me all the time what a bathroom actually costs. So here's one. The whole invoice, one finished bathroom, nothing...
09/09/2026

You ask me all the time what a bathroom actually costs. So here's one. The whole invoice, one finished bathroom, nothing rounded and nothing hidden.

This one is a new build here in Austin, and it came in at $84,656.

Here's where it went. Tile and installation was the giant at $36,500, about 43% of the entire budget. After that: plumbing and fixtures, cabinetry and hardware, the quartz counters, the shower glass, the rug and towels, and the GC and project management fee. Every dollar accounted for.

One honest note. This bath was new construction. If it were a remodel, you'd add roughly $25,000 for demo, prep, and moving plumbing, and land closer to $110,000.

Nothing here is a marketing number. I show you the real total because guessing is how people get blindsided halfway through a project. You deserve to walk in with your eyes open.

Save this one. When you start pricing your own bathroom, come back to it. It's your reality check.

Ready to build your real number? Email me directly, [email protected].

09/07/2026

Happy Labor Day. Let's talk about labor, because that cheap bid you got last year? It wasn't actually cheap.

When Lee and his crew show up for an HVAC install, you're not paying for a box that blows cold air. You're paying for equipment and ductwork sized correctly for your home, electrical work done to code, controls and connections handled right the first time, and a full start up, test, and balance before anyone calls it finished.

Skip any of that and you might not notice for six months. Then you're paying twice, once for the shortcut and again for the fix.

I've worked with Lee for years because he never skips a step. That's not extra. That's the job done right.


This is what you're actually paying for when you hire licensed, insured trade labor on any part of your build. Not just the work. The accountability behind it.

What's the last "deal" that ended up costing you more? Tell me below, I doubt I'm the only one who's heard this story.

Follow along. We tag every trade partner who's earned it.


Ever notice how the contractor with the lowest number somehow always wins the job?Here's the truth after 25 years: anyon...
09/04/2026

Ever notice how the contractor with the lowest number somehow always wins the job?

Here's the truth after 25 years: anyone who hands you a flat number before they've walked your space isn't being honest with you. Real numbers take real information.

So let's do the opposite. Here's what three of the line items you ask about most actually cost.

Countertops. Priced by the square foot, and you're paying for the full slab. Builder grade quartz and granite start around $75. Fancy granite and quartzite run $175 to $210 and up. Specialty marble, onyx, and rare granite climb from there.

Tile. This one's all in: materials, waterproofing, prep, and labor. Basic subway or a simple 4x4 ceramic starts around $15 a foot. Cement, zellige, glass, and terrazzo run $25 to $60 and up. Specialty tile like terrazzo, and especially zellige, costs more to buy and more to set.

Plumbing fixtures. One full bath package, and labor sits on top. Big box starts around $700. A mid range Brizo or Kohler package runs $2,500 to $4,000. Waterworks or Newport Brass starts at $4,000 and keeps going. The brand tells you what's inside the box, and the higher end names are known for their specialty finishes.

So how do we get to your real number? It starts with a real working meeting, a flat fee design plan, where we design your space in detail and build your construction number right alongside it. No guesses. No moving targets.

This is Budget Month here on the page. All month, real numbers, real process, real talk.

Ready for yours? Email me directly, [email protected].

09/02/2026

This one took weeks and more decisions than we could count.
Every finish, every fixture, every line item.

The full number breakdown, top to bottom, drops next Wednesday.
No estimates, no rounding. A real, confirmed total.
Follow along so you don't miss it.

I came home with a few small paintings wrapped in tissue paper and packed way too carefully in my suitcase. But that's n...
08/31/2026

I came home with a few small paintings wrapped in tissue paper and packed way too carefully in my suitcase. But that's not really what I brought home.

I came home with a refreshed eye for detail, the kind that gets a little dull when you're heads down in the daily grind of a project instead of really looking at it.

I came home with more confidence in doing things my way. Not the trend, not what everyone else is doing. My way.

I came home with actual creative material, ideas I'm still sorting through and will probably be pulling from for the next year of work.

And maybe most of all, I came home with a refresh on what "enough" looks like. Enough space, enough detail, enough. That word means something a little different to me now.

This month was a bit different around here, more trip talk than project talk than usual. If you've been following along, thank you for indulging me. If you're new this week, welcome, we're usually a lot more numbers focused than this.

Which is a good segue, because September is exactly that. A full month of real costs, real budgets, and the honest answers to the questions people are usually too nervous to ask before they hire a builder.

I'm taking on fall projects now. Email me directly ([email protected]) if you want to start that conversation, budget questions welcome from the very first message.

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Austin, TX
78757

Telephone

+15124310401

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