I've always liked Tudor Revival-styled homes, but it seems I’m in the minority. In more than three decades of Residential Architecture practice, I've had one client express an interest in Tudor Revival style. One. I've mentioned it to a few other clients over the years, but the reaction I typically get is something along the lines of “yuck”, “ewww”, and “I hate … [Read more...]
Minor Repairs to Our Stone Walk Turns into a Bigger Job than We Thought…
So we've been in the new house about 7 months now, and after all the work we've done inside, it's finally time to start sprucing up the exterior. We were so excited to find this home, and the patio is one of the reasons why - it's just the right size and it was very well designed, well built, and well maintained by the previous owner (thanks Marilyn!). But progress hasn't … [Read more...]
Our 5 Rules for Better Home Design
Recently a friend asked me to help him figure out the proper size for a family room addition he was designing to expand his home a bit. He was looking for some "rules of thumb" that would guarantee a comfortable, “architecturally-correct” space – a short cut to good design, because lot of money was at stake and he didn’t want to do it wrong. Modest mansions owners want that, … [Read more...]
Updating a Master Bath in a Modest Ohio Cottage
Making the most of a small space is something we typically look for in a Modest Mansion, but sometimes, just a little more space makes everything work the way it should. I added a little more space when I designed this project, turning this cute little hall bath into a very comfortable and well-appointed master bath. … [Read more...]
Five Strategies to Make the Home You’re Designing More “Green”
It takes a little science and a little art to design a beautiful, livable new home that’s energy-efficient, uses less material to build, and connects with its building site. Those are some of the major ingredients of good design - and essential ingredients of "green" design. … [Read more...]
7 Ways to Hold Down the Construction Cost of Your New Home
You might think the only way to hold down construction costs on a house is to strip all the niceties away, and build a "bare bones" house. You’re partly right - adding lots of expensive goodies to a house can jack the price up quickly. But the real culprits are poor planning and waste. Plan your house a little better and you'll money left over for some bling. … [Read more...]
The 3 Big Things That Have the Most Impact on the Cost of Your New Home
You want the best house you can get, with an interesting, family-friendly layout, an attractive exterior, and nice finishes - without blowing up your budget. But if you get heavily invested (emotionally and financially) in a design before you have a handle on potential costs, you'll end up cutting costs at the very end of the process, resulting in an unsatisfying, … [Read more...]
How to Be Sure You’re Getting a Fair Price on Your New Home or Remodeling Project
A few years ago a gentleman stopped by our house to ask if he could give me a quote on trimming the trees in my yard – a fairly frequent event on my street, which has a lot of older trees. I've lived here long enough to have talked to dozens of tree trimmers. So I pretty much knew what to expect as soon as he pulled in the driveway in his spotless pickup truck. The truck … [Read more...]
House Style – Craftsman Bungalow
Craftsman/Bungalow Home Style – What’s It All About? Sometime in the early 2000’s my residential architecture practice got our first request for a “Craftsman” home, a trend that’s grown considerably since. I was already somewhat familiar with the style back then – I’d studied the landmark Gamble House in school – but I took some extra time to find more about what exactly … [Read more...]
American House Styles – Just the Basics
“What style is my house?” - that's a question real estate agents, architects, and contractors hear a lot. It's also a question we hear all the time from Modest Mansion homeowners. Figuring out the "correct" house style is both easier and harder than you might think – easier, because older homes often fall very clearly into one specific style – and harder, because generally, … [Read more...]