Tips and Advice For Custom Home Building

From the steep hillsides of Laguna Beach to the custom parcels overlooking the Newport Harbor and Crystal Cove, building on coastal topography is engineering-intensive. Oceanfront lots come with heavy soil considerations, precise shoring needs, and strict height limitations. ​Julie Laughton’s 40-year track record gives homeowners complete confidence in tackling even the most demanding lots. ​If […]

New homeowners often make the mistake of hiring a contractor for a “quick fix” or an interior designer before knowing if structural walls can even come down. This piecemeal approach leads to wasted money, mismatched aesthetics, and instant buyer’s remorse. ​The One-Stop Solution: At Julie Laughton Design Build, we walk the property with you—even while […]

Older homes in Laguna Beach and Newport Beach often have great “bones,” but awkward 1980s layouts that block natural light and ocean views. ​The Visionary Advantage: It takes a trained eye to look past outdated finishes and see what a home could be. Because Julie Laughton is a female architect, interior designer, and general contractor, […]

The ink is dry on your closing docs. Every month your new home sits idle waiting on plans and permits is a month you’re paying a mortgage on a house you can’t enjoy. Traditional remodels stall out because the architect takes three months to draw plans, the engineer takes two months to review them, and […]

You just made one of the largest financial investments of your life buying a home in coastal OC. The last thing you need is the stress of refereeing a battle between an architect and a builder. The Problem with Multiple Contractors: When something goes wrong on a job site—a window is ordered the wrong size, […]