The first call for any home decision.

Before You Commit

The biggest mistakes in a home project often happen before anything is built or bought. A purchase made without the right questions asked and due diligence done. A remodel that compromises future sellability. A sequence of decisions that made sense individually but created problems together.

Canopy is the thinking partner you bring in before you commit — to stress-test ideas, weigh your options, and make sure the plan you’re building toward is the right one for how you choose to live.

Sometimes the most valuable advice Canopy offers saves you from the wrong deal entirely.

  • Buy, sell, build, remodel or hold

  • Pre-purchase advisory: what to look for, what to ask, what to avoid

  • What a site will allow: zoning, setbacks, creeks, coastal rules and the permits a project will need, reviewed by a land use planner before you buy or design

  • Investment perspective: which improvements enhance value, which don’t

  • Lifestyle strategy: how to make your home work for the way you live

SCHEDULE A CONVERSATION

Project Advisory

Home projects are complex and the decisions that matter most often come without warning. A structural issue discovered mid-renovation. A contractor’s change order that needs an independent read. A design direction that feels off but is hard to articulate.

Some clients want Canopy in their corner for the moments that matter most. Others want us to lead the project on their behalf. Either way, you get the same advantage: an advisor who has been with you since before the project began, who knows your goals, your home and your team, and who will still be there long after move-in.

Project Advisory

  • Independent guidance through new construction, remodels, and renovations

  • Budget and scope review with no stake in any contractor’s outcome

  • Early identification of problems before they escalate in scope and cost

  • Straight answers to the questions that matter: Is this bid competitive? Is the timeline achievable? Does this change order make sense?

Project Management and Owner’s Representation

When you want Canopy to lead the project on your behalf, we manage the people, the paperwork and the money, and keep you informed in plain English.

Before design

  • Setting the budget, schedule and priorities with you, in writing

  • Finding, interviewing and recommending the architect, engineers and consultants

  • Reviewing consultant proposals and contracts before you sign

Design and permits

  • Running design meetings and keeping decisions on track

  • Checking plans against the budget at each stage

  • Coordinating permits and agency review with Sean and your design team

  • Reviewing consultant invoices

Bidding and contracts

  • Preparing the bid package and inviting qualified builders

  • Comparing bids side by side, scope to scope

  • Reviewing the construction contract with you before you sign

Construction

  • Regular site visits and owner meetings

  • Reviewing every change order and payment request before you pay

  • Tracking budget and schedule, with a short written update every two weeks

  • Flagging problems early, with options, not just news

Completion

  • Punch list and final inspection

  • Closeout: warranties, manuals, as-built drawings and final payments

  • A handoff into Ongoing Stewardship, so nothing is lost after move-in

Prefer just a second opinion? Canopy also offers one-time reviews: a bid, a contract, a change order or a set of plans, billed for our time.

Team Assembly

The quality of your project begins with the quality of your team. Finding the right architect, contractor, or landscape architect isn’t just about credentials — it’s about fit, track record, and whether their strengths match your specific project.

Decades of working alongside residential professionals in Marin, Sonoma, and San Francisco has produced something more valuable than a list of recommendations — it’s produced an honest picture of who does exceptional work, who communicates effectively, and in some cases, who is the right fit for which kind of project. That knowledge is hard to come by and impossible to Google.

  • Architects, engineers, contractors, consultants, and landscape architects, plus a trusted real estate agent if you need one, identified and vetted for your specific project

  • Reviewing plans and proposals with a design-informed eye and respect for the budget

  • Translating industry language so you walk into every meeting prepared

  • Managing team dynamics so every expert can do their best work

Ongoing Stewardship

The project ends; ownership doesn't. A home should work for the way you live today and hold its value for whenever you move on. Canopy stays with you after move-in, an advisor who already knows your home, your goals and your team, so you never start from scratch.

  • Trusted referrals for everyday needs: the right handyman, AV installer, landscape crew, or real estate attorney 

  • Maintenance strategy and long-term planning for your home as an asset

  • A yearly walkthrough to plan maintenance and upgrades before they become repairs

Every engagement is shaped to your project and begins with a complimentary conversation. Canopy is paid only by our clients, never by commissions or referral fees. Advisory work is billed for our time, never in proportion to the size or cost of your project. When we manage a project, our fee reflects its scope and is agreed in writing before we begin.