Fabl Design plans additions, remodels, ADUs, and custom homes for homeowners across Knoxville and Knox County. We work in the city's Recode zoning districts every day, so we know what your lot will carry before design gets expensive.
Every service we offer, delivered locally — with drawings your builder and your permit reviewer will both understand.
From first sketch to construction-ready plans, we shape spaces around how you actually live — additions, remodels, ADUs, and new custom homes.
Site planning, hardscape, and planting design that connects your home to its yard — patios, entries, and outdoor living that feel like part of the architecture.
Photoreal interior and exterior renderings so you can walk your project, make decisions with confidence, and align every stakeholder.
Measured, verified documentation of your existing home — the foundation any thoughtful remodel or addition should start from.
We prepare, package, and shepherd your submittals through the local review process — so your project keeps moving.
A curated network of vetted builders we've worked with — matched to your scope, budget, and timeline.
Before design begins, confirm the district your lot sits in. The Knoxville zoning map lets you search by street address or parcel number and shows the base district plus any overlays that affect what you can build.
Zoning maps are for general research only. Verify districts, overlays, and permitted uses with the Knoxville planning department before making decisions — or send us your address and we'll confirm it for you.
The district your lot sits in sets your setbacks, height, and how much of the site you can cover. Here's a quick reference we use during schematic design in Knoxville.
Knoxville's oldest, most uniform large-lot neighborhoods. Intended to keep new construction and additions compatible with an intricate, established development pattern.
Traditional low-density single-family neighborhoods on larger lots with generous setbacks. Two-family dwellings only by special use approval.
Low-density single-family development on smaller lots with tighter setbacks — the most common infill district in Knoxville's older streetcar suburbs.
Medium-density neighborhoods of single-family, single-family attached, and two-family homes. Townhouses may be allowed by special use approval.
Mixed medium-density residential — single-family, attached, two-family, townhouse, plus low-rise multi-family and pocket neighborhoods by review.
Medium-density mixed housing that often serves as a transition between single-family blocks and commercial corridors.
Knoxville's highest-density residential districts. RN-6 still permits houses and townhouses; RN-7 is aimed at townhouse and multi-family development.
Any residential lot not served by sanitary sewer must be at least 20,000 sq ft regardless of district.
Design-review overlay covering districts such as Old North Knoxville, Fourth & Gill, and Edgewood-Park City, administered by the Knoxville Historic Zoning Commission.
A lighter-touch design overlay that protects the scale and form of a neighborhood without regulating every material detail.
Applies to steep slopes and ridgetops across Knoxville, limiting how much of a hillside lot can be disturbed.
Calibrates new housing in established neighborhoods so infill construction matches the surrounding development pattern.
Regulates construction in mapped flood hazard areas along the Tennessee River and its tributaries.
Knoxville's standards for a second, smaller dwelling on a residential lot — attached or detached.
These figures are general guidance for early planning — final requirements depend on your parcel, overlays, and any prior variances. Verify with the Knoxville codes department or the official zoning ordinance. We confirm them for your address before design begins.
This project expands an existing home with a new two-story addition, larger L-shaped front porch, and new side entry. The addition includes a garage on the lower level and a 340 SF office on the second floor, accessed directly from the existing home's upper level. Matching shed dormers and aligned roof forms bring more natural light, increase usable space, and create a stronger connection between the existing house and the addition. The result is a larger and more functional home that maintains the character of the existing residence.
This project completely remodels and expands an existing home with a new sunroom, enlarged primary suite, large side addition, and expanded front porch. The design opens up the previously divided interior, creating stronger connections between the kitchen, living, dining, front porch, and backyard. A new garage and workshop take advantage of the site's changing grade, while the additions are carefully integrated with the existing home's scale, materials, and roof forms. The result is a more spacious, connected, and functional home designed to support both the homeowners' current and future needs.
This project adds a multi-level garage addition to an existing single-family home, connected through a two-story connector that improves circulation between the house, the garage, and the backyard. Responding to the site's changing grade, the design integrates multiple garage levels while introducing a new deck, contemporary material palette, and generous glazing. The result is a functional addition that complements the scale and architectural character of the existing home.
Knoxville replaced its old zoning ordinance with the Recode code (Appendix B) in 2020, and Knoxville-Knox County Planning administers it alongside the City's Plans Review and Inspections office. Blockface-average front setbacks, impervious surface caps, and the H-1 historic and hillside overlays drive most residential design decisions here — we confirm all of them before we start drawing.
Nearby cities and area guides that pair well with the Knoxville page.
Also in East Tennessee — zoning, setbacks, and permitting for Chattanooga homeowners.
Every city we serve across East Tennessee, plus how permitting differs between them.
Statewide overview of our Tennessee services, regions, and zoning maps.
8 Indiana city pages with local zoning detail.
Tell us about your space and what you're hoping to do. We'll write back within one business day.