Part of an Architect’s job is evaluating products and materials for projects we’re working on. It’s surprising how much time I spend talking with suppliers about materials – even those I use frequently, that I’m completely familiar with, and that I’m comfortable recommending to my...
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Homeowners spend a lot of time picking out cabinets, countertops, backsplashes, appliances, and lighting for their kitchens, but sometimes, not enough time thinking through basic functions. A frequent example of that is the height of a raised countertop on a kitchen island, sometimes also called...
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That big, blank space over the fireplace mantle is just sitting there. It looks empty and bare. And it’s just about the right size for a big flat screen TV. Why not put a TV over the fireplace? It’s a good idea, right? Nope, it’s a bad...
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A friend of mine put me on the spot when she asked me over to take a look at the new home she was looking to purchase. "I'm not sure what I should be looking for" she asked. "What is quality construction?" For the price, sure,...
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My clients and I talk a lot about the materials we’ll use on the outside of their homes, especially windows, siding, roofing, brick, and exterior stone veneer. Stone in particular is a frequent topic, because while everyone knows what stone looks like, they aren’t often aware...
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I bought my first car when I was fifteen years old. My dad had it dragged back to our garage, and I spent the next year – until I was old enough to drive – taking the car apart, fixing it, and eventually putting it...
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Do you know what a bedroom egress window is? If you’re building or remodeling a home, you should. Houses can be dangerous places. They’re usually built of wood and other flammable materials, they’re full of electrical wires, and the people that live in them sometimes forget...
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A big home office used to be a fairly common room in the homes I’ve designed, back when “working from home” required a separate, private room. It had doors to close it off from the rest of the house and lots of home office built...
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I clearly remember everyone talking about a "paperless society" a few decades ago. It was the dawn of the "digital era", and all the buzz was about how email and digital documents would soon almost completely replace printing anything on paper. Digital documents have certainly become...
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You probably have a special piece of furniture that you sit in at your house - a chair, couch, sofa, recliner, rocker, or bench - maybe it's a chair so comfortable that it moves with you from house to house, until it's worn to threads. You...
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