Design
Measurements, collaborative concepts and 3D renderings give shape to your ideas.
1874 Design Studio project photography. Project locations are not shown.
Service area · Hamilton County
Design-Build Remodeler in Fishers, Indiana
1874 Design Studio is a design-build remodeler for homeowners in Fishers. Fishers is a Hamilton County city of about 105,000 people (Census estimate, 2025). We design your kitchen, bath, basement or whole-home renovation. Then our trusted trade professionals work alongside our design and project management teams to build it.
A division of Knapp Supply Co.Full-service remodelingStructural remodels & additionsDesign, selections & 3D renderings
Hamilton County
Remodeling in Fishers
Inside Fishers city limits, building and zoning permits come from the City of Fishers, not Hamilton County. We provide the building permits and the structural engineer your project needs. Most homes here were built in the 1990s or 2000s.
1874 Design Studio projectPermits and codes
What should Fishers homeowners know before remodeling?
Inside Fishers city limits, the City of Fishers handles building and zoning permits. Most homes date from the 1990s and 2000s. Extra rules apply to homes in a mapped flood hazard area and to work inside a drainage easement.
Hamilton County is divided into nine planning jurisdictions.
Local guide · Fishers
Permits and the statewide code
The City's Permitting and Inspections Department issues residential permits through an online portal. It lists separate permit types. Among them are a Residential Building Permit, a Basement Finish Permit, and plumbing, electrical, and heating, cooling or gas permits. Building permits are part of what we provide for your project.
Work on one- and two-family homes is held to the statewide 2020 Indiana Residential Code. It is based on the 2018 International Residential Code with Indiana amendments. It took effect across Indiana on December 26, 2019, and every local government must require compliance with it. The state's current rules table still lists it, for one- and two-family dwellings, as the code in effect.
Local guide · Fishers
Basement finish inspections
Fishers has a dedicated Basement Finish Permit with three inspections: underslab, framing and all trades, and final. Before the framing inspection, the structure must be weather tight, with all windows and exterior doors installed. All plumbing, electrical, mechanical and framing work must be complete by then. Insulation cannot go in until the framing inspection is approved. No one should occupy the finished space until the final inspection is approved. Those inspection points shape the order of the work in your basement.
1874 Design Studio projectLocal guide · Fishers
Zoning and design review
Fishers' Nickel Plate Review Committee reviews and approves architectural drawings and civil site designs. Its review covers developments in the Nickel Plate districts. When your project does need zoning review or HOA approval, we help prepare the materials.
Local guide · Fishers
When Fishers homes were built
Half of the homes in Fishers were built in 2002 or later, according to Census estimates for 2020-2024. The city has about 38,900 housing units. Roughly 61 percent were built from 1990 through 2009, and about 14 percent before 1990. About 76 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied. A similar share of all housing units are detached single-family houses.
Local guide · Fishers
Floodplain and drainage
Inside a Special Flood Hazard Area, Fishers' development ordinance requires structures to be protected from flood damage below the Flood Protection Grade in the situations it lists. That grade is the regulatory flood elevation plus 2 feet. Fishers' development ordinance applies this to basements. New construction or a substantial improvement of a home in the floodplain must have its lowest floor, basement included, at or above that grade. For construction in or adjacent to a Special Flood Hazard Area, the city requires a completed Federal Elevation Certificate. It must be provided once the finished floor reaches its final elevation.
For an existing building in the Special Flood Hazard Area, the ordinance applies that protection to an addition or improvement costing 50 percent or more of the value of the structure before the work, not counting the land. It also applies to an addition or improvement to a structure that has had a previous addition or improvement since the community's first floodplain ordinance. If your home is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, the flood map belongs in the first design conversation.
Drainage easements are a separate question from the floodplain. Fishers requires a Drainage Easement Permit for construction, grading or improvements inside a drainage swale or easement. The city names sump pump re-routes in that list. A basement plan that moves your sump pump discharge into an easement brings that permit into the project.
Services
What does 1874 Design Studio remodel in Fishers?
We design and build kitchens, bathrooms, basements, laundry rooms, mudrooms, home offices and whole-home renovations in Fishers.
Design and construction are one project with us. Each project starts with measurements, one to three design concepts, 3D renderings and curated selections. You also receive an all-inclusive total cost.
Looking for an interior designer in Fishers? Our design work is the first stage of every remodel we build.
We also handle built-ins and fireplace remodels, structural remodels within a larger project, home additions and custom homes on your own lot, built from our own plans.
Kitchens
We design and build kitchens, including butler's pantries, coffee bars and pantry walls. Cabinetry options include WW Wood Products' Shiloh, Eclipse and Aspect lines. Countertop options include MSI, Cambria and Cosentino. We do not supply appliances, furniture or decorative items.
Bathrooms
We remodel bathrooms, including tub-to-shower conversions and zero-entry showers. We can also plan the room for accessibility and aging in place.
Whole-home renovations
A whole-home renovation brings several rooms into one design and one build, with structural changes where the plan calls for them. If the house is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, Fishers' ordinance applies its flood protection rules to an improvement costing 50 percent or more of the structure's value before the work, excluding the land, and to an improvement to a structure with a previous addition or improvement since the community's first floodplain ordinance.
Basements, laundry rooms, mudrooms and offices
We finish and remodel basements, with egress and a bathroom as typical parts of the project. We also remodel laundry rooms, mudrooms and home offices. We do not take standalone egress-window or waterproofing jobs. Fishers has its own Basement Finish Permit and inspection sequence, described above.
Working with us
How does 1874 Design Studio work with Fishers homeowners?
We work from our studio in Muncie, about 42 miles from Fishers by road. Our design and project management teams guide your project from design through construction.
That distance is measured by road from our studio to the Census Bureau's internal point for Fishers. Your own address may be nearer or farther.
Most of our clients live at home while we work. We protect the site, run air scrubbers and clean up daily.
Installation work carries a one-year workmanship warranty, and the products you select carry their manufacturers' warranties.
To talk through a Fishers project, call the studio at (765) 288-1874.
Design. Discover. Deliver. Difference.
Discover
Explore material selections, including name brands and boutique lines, with guidance on finishes.
Deliver
Review the project details and proposed total cost.
Difference
Design, project management and trade professionals come together for the build.
Other communities we serve
1874 Design Studio also works with homeowners in these communities.
All service areasFishers remodeling questions
Do I get remodeling permits from the City of Fishers or Hamilton County?
The City of Fishers issues building and zoning permits for homes inside its limits, not Hamilton County. Its Permitting and Inspections Department handles residential permits online. We provide the building permits for your project.
How do floodplain rules affect a Fishers remodel?
In the Fishers floodplain, a new home or a substantial improvement must have its lowest floor, including any basement, at or above the Flood Protection Grade. That grade is 2 feet above the base flood elevation. For construction in or adjacent to a Special Flood Hazard Area, the city also requires a Federal Elevation Certificate. For an existing home in a Special Flood Hazard Area, the ordinance's flood protection requirement applies to an addition or improvement costing 50 percent or more of the structure's value before the work, excluding the land, or to one made to a structure with a previous addition or improvement since the community's first floodplain ordinance.
Do I need a permit to re-route a sump pump in Fishers?
A Drainage Easement Permit is required if the new route runs through a drainage swale or easement. The city lists sump pump re-routes by name among work in an easement.
How old are most homes in Fishers?
Most date from the 1990s and 2000s. Census estimates for 2020-2024 put the median year built at 2002. About 61 percent of homes were built from 1990 through 2009.
Is 1874 Design Studio an interior designer or a builder?
Both, on the same project. We design your remodel with measurements, design concepts, 3D renderings and curated selections. Then our trade professionals build it, working with our design and project management teams.
Do you take small standalone jobs, like a single egress window?
No. Egress windows, waterproofing and structural work are not jobs we take on their own. Egress and structural changes are part of our work when they belong to a larger remodel, and egress is a typical part of a basement project.
What building code applies to a remodel in Fishers?
The 2020 Indiana Residential Code. It covers one- and two-family homes everywhere in Indiana, and the state still lists it as the code in effect.
Tell us what your home could be
Share the space you are considering, your ideas and the questions you would like to talk through.
(765) 288-1874420 S Ohio Ave, Suite 1874Muncie, IN 47302