Southlake Ridge

Project Overview

When we took on Southlake Ridge, the private homeowner in Charlotte, NC had a specific problem: their design was strong, but nobody outside the studio could see it yet. They needed 3 renders that would change that.

MISPLACED: A sprawling single-family wood-sided estate with stone base, covered patio, and multiple wings set in a wooded lot — not multi-family.

The Challenge

Stakeholder alignment was part of the challenge. Multiple decision-makers had different priorities for what the renders should emphasise, and we had to find compositions that satisfied all of them without diluting any single perspective.

Balancing aesthetics with accuracy is always the tension in this work. The private homeowner wanted images that looked aspirational — but the architects needed every proportion, setback, and material call to be precisely as drawn.

Our Approach

The rendering pipeline was set up to handle 3 outputs efficiently. Shared lighting rigs, consistent material libraries, and a standardised colour pipeline meant every image maintained the same visual standard.

We ran the first round of test renders at reduced resolution to get quick feedback on composition, materials, and overall mood. This let us catch issues early when changes were cheap, not late when they weren’t.

Feedback cycles were structured. We presented renders in context — placed into the marketing layout or presentation deck — so the private homeowner could evaluate them as their audience would see them, not as isolated files on a white background.

The Result

We delivered the complete package of 3 renders within the agreed 2-3 weeks window. The private homeowner confirmed the images are now central to their sales and approval materials.

Need renders for your own project? Tell us about it — we’d like to hear what you’re working on. Or see more work like this.