ABOUT

Modern gray house with yellow front door, three stories, and a sloped green lawn.

Introduction

FUSE Design Studio strives to think about a more inclusive design experience. We believe that listening to and learning from our clients is the most important thing. That is why FUSE was created: to provide a more holistic design approach for the client by making them the foundation of the design process from beginning to end.

History

FUSE Design Studio was founded by owner Timothy “TJ” Helms. After several years in the industry working with architects and landscape architects; interior designers; civil, structural, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical engineers; code, building envelope, kitchen, and historic preservation consultants, he developed a passion for the design process. His desire was to FUSE the client’s vision with the expertise of the design team and allow the client to be the bedrock of the design process. The portfolio of work that Timothy has contributed to over the years includes K-12, adaptive reuse, hospitality, mixed-use, multi-family residential, retail and restaurant, single-family, sports and recreation and workplace.  

White beach house with light blue shutters, metal roof, and stone base; two-car garage.
Isometric rendering of a large house with a pool and patio.

Process

Our process starts and ends with our client’s vision; that’s why we refer to our first discussion with the client as the FUSE session. In this session we listen to the client detail their vision for the project, we ask in-depth questions to encourage conversation, and we discuss benchmarks with the client to help better understand the desired end product. We take the information we collect during the conversation and FUSE it with the knowledge of the design team to begin the design process.


Our first step is to develop an inspiration board with the client. We use the inspiration board to spark the design process. Throughout the lifespan of the project, we engage the client in design discussions and encourage them to participate in design charrettes, pin-up sessions, and page turns. Our process also involves participating in site visits, walk throughs, and site investigation to ensure the final drawings are consistent and to verify the construction reflects the client’s vision. This process promotes our client’s vision from conception to completion.