MERIDIAN ATELIER · the Wordmark
MERIDIAN ATELIER · the Wordmark
A modern house with a long cantilevered roof over its drive, under a stormy sky (AI-generated)

What the firm does

The Meridian Disciplines

The firm designs your home and oversees its build through six specialties.

What are the Meridian Disciplines?

The Meridian Disciplines are the six specialties of Meridian Atelier's full-service home design in Los Angeles: building design, interiors, landscape, furnishings, technical drawings and oversight of the build and purchasing.

One firm directs all six, so your home's design, drawings and build follow one plan.

01

What does each discipline cover?

Choose a discipline to see its four parts.

  1. Building DesignThe house itself
  2. Interior DesignThe rooms inside
  3. Landscape & OutdoorThe grounds
  4. Furnishings & StylingThe furniture and art
  5. Technical DocumentsThe drawings
  6. Project Governance & ProcurementThe build and purchasing
A white architectural model of two blocks, parted by a thin beam of light (AI-generated)
A house's corner where smooth plaster meets dark wood cladding at a tall window (AI-generated)
A glass guest house beside a pool at dusk, in line with the main house (AI-generated)
Daylight falling down a tall opening in a wood wall under a high ceiling (AI-generated)
Discipline 01

Building Design

It shapes the house itself: its floor plan, its exterior, its ceilings and any new building on the property.

What it covers

  1. Floor plan changes

    Walls come out or move, so the rooms connect and daylight reaches farther into the house.

    • Walls removed to open up rooms
    • Structural changes for a new staircase
    • Additions that enlarge the house
    • Layouts planned around your furniture

  2. Exterior changes

    A new exterior sets the house's character: its windows, its roofline and the materials on its walls.

    • Facade redesigns
    • Window and door layouts
    • New rooflines
    • Cladding in stone, wood or plaster

  3. New buildings on the property

    Each new building on the property matches the main house in its shape and its materials.

    • Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) for staff or rental
    • Pool houses with changing rooms and kitchens
    • Guest houses and guest suites
    • Private gyms and home offices

  4. Ceilings, views and proportions

    Ceiling heights, views through the house and room sizes change until every room feels in proportion.

    • Ceilings raised or lowered
    • Views through the house to the garden
    • Windows sized and placed for better light
    • Room sizes that feel balanced
Services that include it
Design and DrawingsThe Master Plan
A heavily veined marble kitchen island with a black cooktop set into it (AI-generated)
A shower with one black stone wall and a brass rain head, crossed by a band of sunlight (AI-generated)
A long stone hearth under a media wall in a living room with a city view (AI-generated)
Oak dressing-room drawers and shelves, lit from within (AI-generated)
Discipline 02

Interior Design

It shapes the rooms inside, from the kitchen to the closets, around how you live in them.

What it covers

  1. Kitchens and pantries

    Each kitchen works like a professional's and still looks like part of the house.

    • Main kitchens
    • Second and catering kitchens
    • Back kitchens and pantries
    • Bars and entertaining counters

  2. Bathrooms

    Each bathroom brings its surfaces, fixtures and cabinets together as one calm room.

    • Primary bathrooms with spa features
    • Powder rooms and guest bathrooms
    • Steam showers and shower enclosures
    • Pool bathrooms and outdoor showers

  3. Living and entertaining rooms

    The rooms where you gather get easy paths through them, good sound and screens built into the walls.

    • Living rooms and entrance halls
    • Media rooms and home theaters
    • Dining rooms and breakfast nooks
    • Wine cellars and tasting rooms

  4. Closets, offices and laundry

    The working rooms of the house store more without looking crowded.

    • Dressing rooms
    • Home offices and studies
    • Laundry rooms and mudrooms
    • Built-in storage and display cabinetry
Services that include it
Design and DrawingsThe Master Plan
A covered outdoor kitchen joined to the house, a flagstone path across the lawn (AI-generated)
An infinity pool at night above the lights of a city (AI-generated)
A backyard seen from above: a pool, stone paths and planted beds (AI-generated)
An agave's shadow on a plaster wall, cast by a garden uplight (AI-generated)
Discipline 03

Landscape & Outdoor

It shapes the land around the house: its terraces, pool, paths, walls, planting and lighting.

What it covers

  1. Outdoor kitchens and lounges

    Outdoor places to cook, dine and sit take the same finishes as the rooms indoors.

    • Outdoor kitchens, bars and grills
    • Fire pits and outdoor fireplaces
    • Covered patios, pergolas and cabanas
    • Outdoor dining and lounge areas

  2. Pools, spas and water features

    Pools, spas and fountains, drawn to exact dimensions, become part of the architecture.

    • Infinity pools and level-edge pools
    • Spas and cold plunges
    • Fountains and reflecting pools
    • Lap pools

  3. Driveways, paths, walls and steps

    Stone and paving carry people and cars across the property and mark its edges.

    • Stone and paver driveways, paths and patios
    • Retaining walls and outdoor stairs
    • Boundary walls, fences and entry gates
    • Decks and raised terraces

  4. Planting, lighting and drainage

    Planting, garden lighting and drainage give the grounds privacy and order, by day and by night.

    • Planting plans, formal or native
    • Garden and tree lighting
    • Drainage and the slope of the ground
    • Privacy screens and planters
Services that include it
Design and DrawingsThe Master Plan
A furniture plan of a living room drawn on a grid (AI-generated)
A speaker and its remote resting on wool, linen and leather (AI-generated)
A bronze sculpture lit on a white pedestal in a living room (AI-generated)
A sculptural floor lamp casting patterned light beside an armchair (AI-generated)
Discipline 04

Furnishings & Styling

It chooses the furniture, fabrics, art and lamps, each sized and placed for its room.

What it covers

  1. Furniture layout

    Each large piece takes its place so the furniture shapes the room and the paths through it.

    • Sofas and sectionals for living rooms
    • Dining, console and coffee tables sized to the room
    • Custom beds and headboards
    • Outdoor furniture layouts

  2. Fabrics, window treatments and technology

    Fabrics, rugs and motorized shades control light, privacy and sound, with the home's technology built in.

    • Motorized shades, TVs and sound systems
    • Area rugs for comfort and quiet
    • Custom upholstery for seating and built-ins
    • Bedding, linens and cushions

  3. Art and objects

    Artwork, sculpture and objects, found and placed by the firm, give each room its character.

    • Artwork for focal walls
    • Sculpture, ceramics and objects
    • Display pedestals and gallery shelving
    • Objects placed to draw the eye

  4. Lamps, mirrors and accessories

    Decorative lighting, mirrors and accessories finish each room.

    • Chandeliers, pendants and sconces
    • Floor, table and desk lamps
    • Custom framed mirrors
    • Barware, desk sets and other accessories
Services that include it
Furniture and ArtThe Curation Commission
Rolled construction drawings beside a black scale ruler (AI-generated)
A kitchen shown half as a wireframe model and half as a finished rendering (AI-generated)
A screen showing a schedule of materials with makers, model numbers and notes (AI-generated)
A gloved hand marking a correction on a construction drawing (AI-generated)
Discipline 05

Technical Documents

It produces the drawings and schedules your builder and your city need, and 3D views that show you the design before it is built.

What it covers

  1. Construction and permit drawings

    Plans drawn to exact dimensions go to the city for approval and to the builder to build from.

    • Floor plans drawn to exact dimensions
    • Electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling layouts
    • Wall elevations for tile and cabinetry
    • Permit packages and California energy-code (Title 24) documents

  2. 3D renderings and walkthroughs

    Realistic 3D views let you see the design before any money goes into construction.

    • Photo-real renderings of key rooms
    • Exterior renderings in daylight
    • Virtual walkthroughs
    • Daylight and evening lighting studies

  3. Schedules and specifications

    The schedules list every fixture, finish and appliance by maker, model and quantity in The Design Codex™, the firm's master drawing set.

    • Lighting fixture schedules
    • Plumbing and appliance specifications
    • Finish schedules: paint, flooring, tile and stone
    • Door, window and hardware schedules

  4. Drawings during the build

    The drawings stay current through the build and settle questions before they cost you.

    • The builder's scope checked against the drawings
    • Design conflicts resolved before construction starts
    • Drawings revised to answer the builder's questions
    • A final record of the house as built
Services that include it
Design and DrawingsThe Master PlanFurniture and ArtThe Curation Commission
A calculator showing a project's material costs over a stack of paperwork (AI-generated)
A gloved hand measuring a baseboard joint with calipers (AI-generated)
A project's milestones, budget chart and structural specifications on printed sheets under a brass pyramid (AI-generated)
A mover in white gloves opening a wooden artwork crate as another carries a sculpture in a blanket (AI-generated)
Discipline 06

Project Governance & Procurement

It oversees your contractor and buys your furnishings, from the first bid to the last delivery.

What it covers

  1. Bids, budget and payments

    The firm compares the builders' bids and checks every payment request against the agreed scope and budget.

    • Builders' bids compared line by line
    • Each payment request checked
    • A forecast of the cost to finish
    • Unneeded change orders challenged

  2. Site visits and quality checks

    The firm visits the site unannounced and writes reports that hold the work to the drawings.

    • Unannounced quality checks
    • Site reports and lists of unfinished work
    • One standard of workmanship for every trade
    • Work checked against the drawings

  3. Questions, samples and changes

    The firm keeps a written record of every question, sample and change between you and the builder.

    • Answers to the builder's questions
    • Samples and the builder's detail drawings reviewed
    • A log of every approved change
    • No material swaps without approval

  4. Purchasing, storage and installation

    The firm orders your furnishings, keeps them in secure storage and oversees their delivery and installation.

    • Orders tracked from purchase to payment
    • Secure, climate-controlled storage
    • Damage claims and replacements
    • Delivery and installation in the finished home
Services that include it
White-Glove DeliveryAtelier ProcurementContractor Oversight
02

Questions about the disciplines

The Principal answers the questions clients ask most.

  1. The Principal, Arian G., leads all six. He is a design theorist with fourteen years in construction, so your home's design, its drawings and the oversight of its build answer to one person.

  2. No. Each Work Cycle, one of the firm's four services, brings together the disciplines its work needs. Phase I, a paid study of your home and your household, shows which cycles your project needs. Each commission begins with the design or the furnishings, and the other cycles join it.

  3. The design work of the first five takes one fixed fee, set from the hours your project needs. The sixth, which oversees the build and the purchasing, takes a monthly retainer, because how long it runs depends on your builder and your suppliers.

  4. No. A licensed contractor you hire builds it. Meridian Atelier holds no construction contract and takes no margin on the build. Its sixth discipline oversees your contractor on your behalf.

  5. Technical Documents makes them. It turns the design into the construction and permit drawings, the schedules and the specifications that your builder prices and builds from.

  6. Five are. Across the United States, the firm designs your home, documents it and chooses its furnishings, working with your local builder. The sixth, Project Governance & Procurement, runs only in Greater Los Angeles, where the Principal oversees each site in person.

A bronze vase on black stone in a dim living room, an armchair and a painting behind it (AI-generated)

The first step

Every project starts with one conversation with the Principal.

Send a short inquiry about the property and the household. The Principal reads it himself and, when the project fits, sets a 45-minute Discovery Call by video, or by phone if you prefer.

Begin an inquiry

Where to go next

The other three parts of the Method.

  1. The Meridian Disciplines

    You are here

  2. The Service Offerings

    How it works

  3. The Master Deliverables

    What you receive

  4. Neuroaesthetic Design

    How personality shapes a home

Or return to the pages above