I get a lot of questions about painting brick - should you or shouldn't you? As long as you prep the surface correctly, and use the right kind of paint, it can look great - like this little painted brick cottage in Houston Texas. I often advise my clients to "open up" the living spaces of their homes, if they're trying to make the spaces flow better and feel … [Read more...]
Cozy Contemporary Cottage for an Artist in the Berkshire Mountains
Burr and McCallum Architects have a portfolio of interesting projects, including this western Massachusetts cozy contemporary cottage. I like the exterior of this home - the shapes and details are traditional, but they're put together in a contemporary way. Instead of the strict symmetry you see in most Traditional homes, this is asymmetrical, but balanced. The colors are … [Read more...]
Beautiful Custom Contemporary Home is a Quiet Background for a Family’s Life
Houses with character appeal to me - I don't care what style a house is, I don't care who the Architect is, and I don't care what neighborhood it's in. None of those things are required for a house to be well-designed, like this beautiful custom contemporary home. So why am I showing you a house with ALL of those things? A very Modern home, designed by McGraw Bagnoli … [Read more...]
Why Tudor Style is a Great Fit for Small Homes
I've always liked Tudor style 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 Tudor”. I hear … [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 for better home design" 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 … [Read more...]
Five Strategies for Better Green Home Design
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 home design. … [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...]
The 3 Big Things That Have the Most Impact on New Home Construction Costs
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 new home construction costs, you'll end up cutting costs at the very end of the process, resulting in an … [Read more...]
Craftsman and Bungalow Style Homes
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 and Bungalow style” 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 … [Read more...]