Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers about house plan reviews, renovation costs, design essays, and how Good By Ecake actually works — written by Jon Ecake from Austin, Texas.
About Good By Ecake
Who writes the site, what it actually covers, and why the regional focus matters.
Who writes Good By Ecake?
+I do — Jon Ecake, a residential designer based in Austin, Texas. I've been specifying interiors and walking job sites for the better part of twelve years, across Austin, Phoenix, Atlanta, Seattle, and Minneapolis. Every article goes out under my name because my measurements, invoices, and consulting notes are what back the claims inside it.
What does the site actually cover?
+Four beats. House plan reviews — honest breakdowns of plans from the Architectural Designs marketplace. Before-and-after renovations with real budgets. Decor cost guides with regional pricing drawn from paid invoices and active quotes. And The Home Files, longer-form essays on how the spaces we live in shape the people living in them.
Why are your cost numbers city-specific instead of "national averages"?
+Because national averages lie to almost every reader. An Austin kitchen remodel in 2026 is not the same labor market as Phoenix or Minneapolis. I only publish cost numbers for markets I've done consulting work in — Austin, Phoenix, Atlanta, Seattle, and Minneapolis — and I break the ranges out city by city. If I can't back a number with an invoice or a current quote from one of those cities, it doesn't appear.
Do you take on new design clients through the site?
+No. Good By Ecake is an editorial project — reviews, cost breakdowns, and essays drawn from my work. The articles are meant to give you the decisions worth making and the questions worth asking a local designer or contractor wherever you live.
Can I submit a project, correction, or cost data from my own market?
+Yes, please. I read every message sent through the contact page. The things I most want to hear about: renovation projects with before/after photos and real budget notes, cost anecdotes from markets I don't yet cover, and corrections on anything I've published.
🗺️ House Plan Reviews
Independent reviews of plans sold on the Architectural Designs marketplace — we review, we don't design or sell.
What is a house plan review on Good By Ecake?
+An independent, opinionated read on a specific house plan. Each review covers square footage and dimensions, circulation logic, what the plan does well, where it would cost you comfort, climate fit for the base facade, and realistic build-cost estimates for Austin, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Seattle markets in the current year.
Do you sell the plans on this site?
+No. The technical drawings belong to the original plan designers on Architectural Designs. Every review includes a direct purchase link that goes straight to the original designer's listing — that's where the plan is actually sold. Good By Ecake earns an affiliate commission if you buy through the link, and that arrangement is disclosed on every house plan article.
Are the reviews honest, given the affiliate relationship?
+A review that only repeats marketing copy isn't useful and doesn't build trust. I call out circulation problems, climate mismatches, and layout decisions I would push back on — because that's the information you need before you commit to a plan. Read the "Points I Would Push Back On" section in any review to see the tone.
What kinds of plans do you typically review?
+Single-story main-floor-master plans, two-story family plans, Hill Country and modern farmhouse variations, narrow-lot urban plans, and expandable plans with flex space or bonus rooms. Most of what I review sits in the 1,800 to 3,500 square-foot range — that's where the bulk of my consulting work has been.
Can the plans be modified once I buy them?
+Yes. The original designer on Architectural Designs typically offers modification services for foundation type, exterior materials, room sizing, and sometimes garage orientation. I flag in each review which modifications are worth asking about based on that specific plan's weak points.
✨ Before & After Renovations
Real projects with real budgets — facade makeovers, kitchens, bathrooms, and whole-home transformations.
What kinds of renovations do you cover?
+Exterior facade makeovers, kitchens, primary bathrooms, 1970s split-level reworks, and outdoor living projects. I lead with facades and full exteriors because those are the transformations where material and paint choices deliver the most dramatic visible impact for the budget.
Are these real projects or design concepts?
+Mostly real projects I consulted on or observed across Austin, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Seattle. A smaller portion are concept-level design studies that show what a specific style of transformation would look like on a specific architectural starting point — and those are clearly labelled as concepts inside the article. I never present a concept as a completed project.
Do you include actual renovation costs?
+Yes — line-item budget ranges sourced from paid invoices and active contractor quotes in the relevant market. The numbers are a realistic band, not a single "average," because scope and finish level can swing the final cost 30 to 50 percent. Labor and permit costs are broken out separately from materials where the information is available.
How do I find transformations for a specific room?
+Use the category filters inside the Before & After section — Exterior, Kitchen, Bathroom, Living Room, Bedroom, and Outdoor. You can also filter by era of the original home; most of the renovations on the site address 1970s through early-2000s housing stock, which is where most current US remodel demand actually sits.
Can I submit my own renovation to be featured?
+Yes. Send me the project through the contact page with before photos, after photos, and whatever budget and contractor notes you're willing to share. I feature reader projects occasionally when the story is strong and the lessons are transferable to other homeowners.
💰 Decor Costs & Regional Pricing
Honest budget breakdowns — no national averages, no vague "it depends." Real invoices, real quotes, real brand-level pricing.
Why regional pricing instead of a single national average?
+Because national averages mislead almost every reader. Austin kitchen labor, Phoenix landscaping, Atlanta flooring, Seattle permitting, and Minneapolis siding are five different cost realities. A single "average" is useful to nobody living outside the median market it represents. Every cost guide on the site breaks ranges out for the five cities I actually work in.
Where do the numbers come from?
+Three sources. Paid invoices from consulting projects I've worked on. Active contractor quotes collected within the last twelve months. And named retail SKU prices — actual product costs from specific manufacturers discussed in the article (James Hardie siding, Benjamin Moore paint, specific quartz lines). If I can't cite a real source for a number, the number doesn't get published.
How often do you update the cost numbers?
+Every article shows the year of the figures. I revisit high-cost categories (kitchens, bathrooms, roofing, windows) at least annually as labor and material pricing shift. When prices move 10 percent or more in a named market, the article gets a visible update note with the new range.
What's covered beyond the item cost itself?
+Installation labor, permitting and inspection, demolition and disposal where it applies, and the hidden cost drivers most contractor estimates leave out — older-home substrate issues, code upgrades triggered by the work, and local utility connection or impact fees.
Can I use these numbers as a final budget for my project?
+Use them as a baseline, not a final quote. Your lot, your contractor's current workload, your jurisdiction's permit schedule, and the finish grade you pick will move your real project inside the published range. The range is broad because actual projects actually land across it.
📖 The Home Files — Design Essays
Longer-form reflective essays on place identity, home psychology, and what our spaces quietly reveal about us.
What are The Home Files?
+Essays — longer, more reflective pieces about how the spaces we live in shape the people living inside them. Topics include place identity, the psychology of color and layout, the emotional weight of specific rooms, and what twelve years of walking into strangers' homes has taught me about how people actually live. They're not how-tos.
How are the essays different from the renovation articles?
+Renovation articles are tactical — specific budgets, specific decisions, specific before-and-after outcomes. The Home Files are reflective — they ask why certain rooms feel the way they feel, why your entryway matters more than you think, why you can't stop rearranging one particular corner. Both are grounded in real work; the lens is different.
Are the essays based on research or personal observation?
+Both. Every essay cites named environmental-psychology research — Proshansky on place identity, Belk on the extended self, Cooper Marcus on home as a mirror, Goffman on front-stage and back-stage space — and anchors each concept with specific client observations from Austin, Phoenix, Atlanta, or Seattle. Full citations appear at the bottom of every essay.
Who are these essays for?
+Readers who want to understand their own home better before they change a single thing about it. If you've walked into a room and felt something was off without being able to name what, the essays are trying to give you the language for it. They're equally useful to a new homeowner and a twenty-year resident.
How long are the essays, and how often do you publish them?
+Each essay is roughly 1,800 to 2,500 words — long enough to develop a single idea properly. I publish a new Home Files essay every two to three weeks because these pieces take more time to write honestly than a tactical article does.
Using the Site
Accounts, publishing cadence, sharing, and how to reach me.
Do I need an account to read the site?
+No. Every article is free to read with no signup, no paywall, and no email gate.
How often do you publish new articles?
+House plan reviews and before-and-after articles publish weekly. Decor cost guides publish every two to three weeks as new invoice data comes in. Home Files essays publish every two to three weeks. Follow me on Pinterest or subscribe to the RSS feed to catch new posts.
Can I save or share articles?
+Yes — save to Pinterest, bookmark in your browser, or share the link directly. If you quote or reference an article on your own site or social account, a link back to the original is appreciated.
How do I contact you?
+Through the contact page, or via the email address listed there. I read every message and try to reply within a week. The topics I care most about hearing on: renovation project submissions, cost data from markets I don't yet cover, and corrections on any published article.
What's your relationship with Architectural Designs?
+Affiliate partnership — Good By Ecake earns a commission when a reader buys a reviewed plan through the purchase link in a review. That relationship is disclosed on every house plan article and on the About page. It does not influence the content of reviews; critical reviews of plans on the marketplace are published regularly.