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As planned, the big task on last weekend’s to-do list was to paint the nursery. Before writing this post I had secretly decided on the color “abyss” (Kyle didn’t have a strong preference either way), but I soon found myself rethinking every option and ultimately chose “baby black seal” instead (which seemed to be a crowd favorite). […]
[Psst! Thanks to many of you, our house is currently the top pick in the “small” category in Apartment Therapy’s Small Cool contest! There’s still a week left to vote and then the top entries from each size category move on for a chance to win $5k!! If you want to “favorite” us, just click […]
We did it. After nearly 6 years of rocking a minimalist (err, brutalist?) yard, we finally bit the bullet and hired a landscape architect. But before we show you what he came up with, let’s get everyone up to speed on the traumatic history of our yard. It all started in ’06, when we became […]
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably heard that the National Archives recently released an online version of the 1940 census. I hadn’t thought much about it until last weekend when my brother pulled up info on the family that lived in the house we grew up in (built in 1919). I love a […]
Maybe it’s early nesting, the change of seasons or Kyle’s recent trip to the allergy doctor, but we spent all of last weekend purging, organizing and cleaning our little house. (We also took lots of new photos, so look out for that in the coming weeks!) One of the items on the to-do list was to have […]
An architect is a qualified professional that not only designs your home or remodel but acts as your advocate throughout the entire process. A good architect will listen, they’ll be honest about how much things cost and how long things take and they’ll use their years of expertise to navigate an onerous permitting process, help vet potential contractors and be there for you during construction. If you don’t have an architect, that work is either done by you or the builder and compromises and sacrifices will inevitably happen.
This depends largely on the size and scope of the project and where you’re located. In some jurisdictions it’s easy and straightforward to get a permit, in others it can take 6 months to a year or longer. We usually advise clients to budget 3 -6 months for design for smaller projects and 12 months for larger projects. Permitting timelines can extend those estimates. Construction can take 4-6 months for small remodels or 16-18 months for custom homes.
Absolutely! We love to see what clients like (or don’t like!) and we’re used to gleaning the important info from all sorts of media – photos, sketches, diagrams – we’ve seen it all!
Maybe – this really depends on the housing market and how much time you have before you make an offer. It also depends on the property itself. If you’re looking at a house with a steep slope, we may advise that a geotechnical and structural engineer make their own evaluation. This can add more time based on people’s ability. We can usually make some basic recommendations based on our knowledge of the local codes, but it’s not a replacement for a more thorough feasibility study. If possible, we usually recommend that people make an offer contingent on a more thorough analysis. What we don’t want to do is give you a rosier outlook only to find that there were some unexpected issues with the property.
Depending on the scope of the project, phasing can be a practical approach. However, we usually advise that homeowners do everything in one phase if possible – this not only takes less time but simplifies the permitting process and is a more appealing process to contractors. When you phase a project, you have repeat mobilization costs that create a more expensive project in the end than doing it all at once. We’re happy to talk through phasing options though as each project is unique and sometimes it does make sense.
Yes! For us, interior design is an integral part of our process. We enjoy working with homeowners to think about their homes holistically and have extensive experience in all aspects of the design process.
In our experience, successful projects have homeowners that are engaged but trust us and the process. They ask questions and are clear communicators. They make timely decisions and speak up if something doesn’t feel right. They’re transparent about budget and schedule constraints so there aren’t missed expectations.
Say hello. Tell us about your project.