Search “design-build cost” and you will find plenty of firms explaining what design-build is, and almost none willing to talk about what it costs. Fair enough — every project is different. But you deserve a straight answer about how the pricing works before you sit down with anyone. Here is how design-build projects are priced in Ontario in 2026, and what that means for your budget.
Two numbers, one team
A design-build project has two parts to its price: the design fee and the construction contract. That is also true when you hire a designer and a general contractor separately — the difference is who carries the responsibility. With design-build, one team prices the plan it drew, builds what it priced, and answers for both. There is no gap between the person who promised the number and the person who has to deliver it.
What the design fee runs
Design fees in Ontario work the same whether the studio builds or not. As a general 2026 guide in the GTA, hourly rates run about $150 to $250 an hour, per-room flat fees often land between $1,500 and $5,000, percentage-based fees commonly sit at 10 to 15 per cent of the project budget on larger full-service work, and per-square-foot design fees generally run $8 to $15 a square foot. We cover the four structures in detail in our guide to what an interior designer costs in Ontario.
The design fee buys the documents the project is built from: measured drawings, layouts, elevations, finish selections, and the permit set where the work needs one. On a design-build project those drawings are priced by the same people who will build from them — which is why the construction number that follows tends to hold.
What construction runs
Construction is where the real money lives, and it depends entirely on the rooms and the scope. Rather than one vague number, here are our current, honest 2026 ranges by project type:
- Kitchen renovation costs — also available for Burlington
- Bathroom renovation costs — also for Burlington and Mississauga
- Whole-home renovation costs — also for Mississauga and Burlington
- Basement renovation costs
Is design-build more expensive?
The honest answer: the fee structures are comparable to hiring a designer and a contractor separately. What changes is where the risk sits. When the design and the pricing come from different companies, the gaps between them — a detail the drawings did not resolve, a finish the quote did not carry, a site condition nobody owned — surface mid-build, as extras. When one team owns both, those gaps get caught on paper, where fixing them costs a revision instead of a change order. You can see how that plays out in practice in design-build versus hiring a general contractor.
How we do it at Studio Kimi
We are a design studio first — led by a BCIN-registered designer — with our own trades for the build. The design fee is set from the scope and agreed before any work starts; the construction estimate follows the drawings, not the other way around. And because the plan is priced by the people who will build it, the number you approve is the number we stand behind.
The honest part
No article can price your project — and you should be careful with any that claims to. The only real number comes after a Discovery meeting, once we have seen the space and understood the scope. If you are weighing design-build for a renovation in Oakville, Mississauga or Burlington, get in touch and we will walk you through both numbers, in plain language.
Frequently asked questions
How much does design-build cost in Ontario?
A design-build project is priced in two parts: a design fee (in the GTA, commonly a flat fee per room of $1,500 to $5,000, roughly $8 to $15 a square foot, or 10 to 15 per cent of the budget on larger work) and the construction contract, which depends on the rooms and scope. The design-build structure itself does not add a premium — it changes who carries the risk.
Is design-build cheaper than hiring a designer and contractor separately?
The fees are comparable. The savings show up in fewer mid-build surprises: because one team draws, prices and builds, gaps between the plan and the quote are caught on paper instead of surfacing as change orders.
What does a design-build fee include?
The design fee covers the drawings and documents the project is built from — layouts, elevations, finish selections, and the permit set where needed. The construction contract covers the build itself, carried out by the same team that drew the plan.
See what your renovation might cost
Get a ballpark for your project in about a minute — by type, size, and scope.
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Recent Studio Kimi projects
A few of the Mississauga and Oakville homes we have designed and renovated:
- Mona — whole-home new build, Port Credit
- Duncan — design & build, Oakville
- Maple Grove — whole-home renovation, Oakville
- Erin Mills — kitchen & bathroom renovation, Mississauga
- Sandwell — interior design, Oakville
- Orleans — whole-home renovation, Mississauga