Last week I talked about strategic thinking for your house. But here’s what I’ve learned in my nearly two decades of residential architecture: most people think they should start the process of a renovation or a new build with a list of the “whats.” It often starts with a list that shows the desired number of bedrooms, bathrooms, size of closets, how many kitchen islands and how many cars in the garage. Those are certainly important and can be designed beautifully, but like the checklist I introduced a couple of weeks ago, if we don’t think a little more holistically about those lists, we really miss the opportunity to create homes that you love living in.
This is why we like to start with questions.
- Why is this renovation or new construction important to you or your family?
- What kinds of spaces do you love – what are your favorite rooms in your current home and why?
- How do you want to live here in twenty years?
Notice a theme here? We want to understand the why, not just the what.
Start with the Why
Good residential architecture isn’t only about the number of bedrooms, or about proportion or alignment or natural light, it’s about marrying all of those things with understanding how you want to live, now and in the years to come. Our job is to design spaces to make that possible.
And good design yields spaces you actually love –whether that’s the size of the kitchen that’s perfect for Saturday pancakes with grandkids, or the view of the lake, or the light in the morning when you get your coffee, or the wall that holds your favorite photos.
Designing for Why Means Adaptable and Beautiful
When we design not just for aesthetics or a checklist of rooms, but for how you want to live now and in the future, those beautiful spaces also adapt as your needs change. The well-appointed kitchen that cooks Thanksgiving meals for twenty works equally well for dinners for two, the main level bathroom is accessible for your grandmother’s Sunday visits, and the wide doors and hallways feel generous enough for strollers as well as wheelchairs.
For us, good residential architecture means beautiful homes that are the backdrops for decades of gatherings, quiet moments, milestones, and celebrations.
