Why I love designing houses

As this is my first ever blog post I feel required to introduce myself a little, or at least what drives me to design houses.

I have been passionate about home design since my parents bought an old farmhouse while I was in High School and we spent the whole summer tearing it apart, and putting it back together. Some of my best memories from that year involve kicking down a brick chimney with my younger brother, having contests about who can lift the most plaster and lathe in their shovel, and drawing up plans for what my brothers’ and my bedrooms would look like.

My parents (with some input from me I like to think) did many “out of the box” designs on that old house. We gave up limited closet space for built in desks in teenager bedrooms to have a place to do homework. We tore down the wall between the front room and the kitchen, before open floor plans were trendy. We also eliminated the need for a dining room altogether by putting floating chairs around the kitchen island. In the end my parents made a barely 1600 square foot house work for the 7 of us. They made the saying “Love grows best in little houses just like this” absolutely true.

I learned many things from that little farmhouse renovation that I always try to incorporate into home designs. 1) Size doesn’t matter, no matter the size a house can be customized to uniquely fit the needs of the family that will be living in it. 2) Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box, some of the best ideas reside there. 3) Putting yourself into your home design process gives you ownership, pride, and expression in your home.

20 years later I still try to incorporate these ideas into my designs. In this blog I will talk about my most recent projects, my new house we moved into a little while ago, and the “out of the box” ideas I love. Hopefully, it will inspire you to design and build your own custom house, and maybe you will let me be part of the process of turning your dreams into reality.