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esabet
Joined: 17 Apr 2009
Posts: 4
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 Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:30 am Post subject: Help with New Single Family Home Design |
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My wife and I are designing our new home. Our aim is at a center hall colonial with an Estate look.
We have some floor plan ideas and were looking for some ideas and help wit the design.
Would this be the right place to post this question?
Thanks.  |
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phansford
Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Posts: 832
Location: SW Ohio
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| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:50 am Post subject: |
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This is as good as any other place. 
There are a number of residential designers and architects that post on this forum. You should be able to get some assistance. |
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esabet
Joined: 17 Apr 2009
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:56 am Post subject: |
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Great!
The I guess i just make a PDF file of the plans and attach it!
Thanks. |
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liv4ever76
Joined: 19 Dec 2007
Posts: 43
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| Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 12:44 pm Post subject: Residential designer |
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Hi,
I'm a residential designer in the L.A. area. I work with clients all over the nation.
Please visit http://www.myspace.com/liviashi and http://www.liviashi.com for samples of work.
Let's work together!
Thanks,
Livia |
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SDR
millennium club
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Posts: 1845
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:49 pm Post subject: |
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| What, pray tell, is an "Estate look" ? |
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phansford
Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Posts: 832
Location: SW Ohio
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| Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 4:39 am Post subject: |
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| SDR wrote: | | What, pray tell, is an "Estate look" ? |
That's realtor talk - which is fine. Each person seems to have their own definition. I always ask my clients to show me a picture or direct me to houses they like. (or that look "Estatey"). This could be a oversized porch, it could be masonry walls at the drive way with a gate, it could be dramatic entry feature.... you just never really know.
I have a client that is wants his property to be more of an estate, partly to help establish the value of the property. My client will be constructing masonry garden walls rather than a fence. Redesigning the front entry drives - they are already gated. (The property is a well-known historic house that sits on acreage but fairly close to the road due to topography). There is an outbuilding - actually a carriage house/barn that was a tannery in the 1840's (It sits not less than 20 feet of the road - now used as a guest house).
The house has had three building campaigns. 1830s-40's - A two story timber frame structure. The joists viewable from the basement under this portion are logs. Late 1920's - Tudor Addition and the original house Tudorized. This portion of the house is beautiful. Then a crappy 1980's addition in faux Tudor by a local residential designer. (Luckily this is limited to a master bath and garage addition). I will be posting this house on our website in the near future. The point being the house is now very long and thin and helps with the Estate look.
You folks in San Francisco just have trouble finding a flat enough lot to be Estatey. |
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esabet
Joined: 17 Apr 2009
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 6:24 am Post subject: |
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| phansford wrote: | | SDR wrote: | | What, pray tell, is an "Estate look" ? |
That's realtor talk - which is fine. Each person seems to have their own definition. I always ask my clients to show me a picture or direct me to houses they like. (or that look "Estatey"). This could be a oversized porch, it could be masonry walls at the drive way with a gate, it could be dramatic entry feature.... you just never really know.
I have a client that is wants his property to be more of an estate, partly to help establish the value of the property. My client will be constructing masonry garden walls rather than a fence. Redesigning the front entry drives - they are already gated. (The property is a well-known historic house that sits on acreage but fairly close to the road due to topography). There is an outbuilding - actually a carriage house/barn that was a tannery in the 1840's (It sits not less than 20 feet of the road - now used as a guest house).
The house has had three building campaigns. 1830s-40's - A two story timber frame structure. The joists viewable from the basement under this portion are logs. Late 1920's - Tudor Addition and the original house Tudorized. This portion of the house is beautiful. Then a crappy 1980's addition in faux Tudor by a local residential designer. (Luckily this is limited to a master bath and garage addition). I will be posting this house on our website in the near future. The point being the house is now very long and thin and helps with the Estate look.
You folks in San Francisco just have trouble finding a flat enough lot to be Estatey. |
Hi phansford;
You are 100% on the money! I did not use the correct terminology!
In reality we are aiming for a center hall colonial that is about 8000 s.f. (excluding the basement).
As for the "Estate Look" I am more or less reffering to the exterior look. W arre considering either "field cut" limestone with limestone window surrounds (and other similar detailings) or a mixture of brick with limestone surrounds, water table, quoins, etc..
For the time being though our focus is at the layout design of the house!
As we speak I am putting the basic layout of the house on CAD and once I have a rough sketch then I will post it in PDF format.
Hopefully I can get some constructive opinions on this forum! 
Regards to all. |
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csintexas
millennium club
Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 2174
Location: USA
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| Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:45 am Post subject: |
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Wow sounds like you have a nice budget to work with. Why on God's green Earth would you want to skimp on design? Are you going to get some high school students to build it for you?
_________________
-Chris Stewart
http://bcshdb.blogspot.com >
The B/CS Home Design Blog |
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esabet
Joined: 17 Apr 2009
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 12:52 pm Post subject: |
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| csintexas wrote: | | Wow sounds like you have a nice budget to work with. Why on God's green Earth would you want to skimp on design? Are you going to get some high school students to build it for you? |
Who talked about skimming on design. I am a developer myself and have hired a good and reputiable architect but when it comes to my own house I don't think I can get enough opennions, do you? |
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csintexas
millennium club
Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 2174
Location: USA
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| Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:18 am Post subject: |
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Yes. What is our opinion worth? We know nothing about the site or your family needs. A nice house consist of more than some floor plan you happen to like with some elevation added to it.
And by the way this is the first I have heard about an architect being involved.
"My wife and I are designing our new home."
"As we speak I am putting the basic layout of the house on CAD"
Does your reputable architect not know how to draw?
Sorry I just get a little tired of clients coming in with the ugliest most bizarre plans imaginable and wanting me to just polish it up for them. Don't you think this world has enough McMansions yet?
_________________
-Chris Stewart
http://bcshdb.blogspot.com >
The B/CS Home Design Blog |
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SDR
millennium club
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Posts: 1845
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:48 am Post subject: |
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Mr Stewart
Nothing that the public reads or sees on television or in the real estate listings would lead the prospective owner to believe that a home should be designed with a particular site, or client, in mind. Discussion and descriptions are limited to a "look" and a list of (more or less luxurious) materials.
So it shouldn't be surprising that, while capable architects go hungry, the client's money is ill-spent and the occupants of these interchangeable, anonymous dwellings, not suited to their particular needs nor planned and sited to connect them with their (expensive) plots of earth, remain unsatisfied, and start looking for another home -- again seeking "curb appeal" rather than inner satisfaction.
It really isn't their fault -- that's what they (we) have been led to want. (For the same reasons, size -- often far more than is necessary or comfortable -- is equated with worth.)
But you know that. Carry on.
SDR |
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phansford
Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Posts: 832
Location: SW Ohio
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| Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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| SDR wrote: | Mr Stewart
Nothing that the public reads or sees on television or in the real estate listings would lead the prospective owner to believe that a home should be designed with a particular site, or client, in mind. Discussion and descriptions are limited to a "look" and a list of (more or less luxurious) materials.
So it shouldn't be surprising that, while capable architects go hungry, the client's money is ill-spent and the occupants of these interchangeable, anonymous dwellings, not suited to their particular needs nor planned and sited to connect them with their (expensive) plots of earth, remain unsatisfied, and start looking for another home -- again seeking "curb appeal" rather than inner satisfaction.
It really isn't their fault -- that's what they (we) have been led to want. (For the same reasons, size -- often far more than is necessary or comfortable -- is equated with worth.)
But you know that. Carry on.
SDR |
SDR - Interesting comments (not to hijack this thread), but I had a similar conversation today with someone in a related field. We both agreed that architects and the actual skills needed by a contractor are neglected on the TV.
TV focuses on the mechanic who is operating the nail gun and the chop saw. So much so that even the actual role of a Quality Contractor is overlooked. Contractors need to be experienced in scheduling, budget management, procurement of materials, organization of trades, and so on - this is the real meat of the work.... not the finish carpenter (the aforementioned mechanic) who may have great skill in his particular field but is not the sole reason a project is successful. There are plenty of good craftsmen working for contractors who can't control a budget or a schedule (thus burdening the project). Contractors are reduced to hammer jockeys.
Architects are viewed either as unnecessary (by the lack of their mention) or needed only for code issues. Or people who have no concept of construction and only dream wildly beyond the clients needs or budget. Architects - like contractors - are successful when we meet the schedule and the budget. |
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labailout
Joined: 26 Apr 2009
Posts: 1
Location: Los Angeles
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| Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 2:26 am Post subject: do not forget landsacping |
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www.yaellir.com is a good example of how important it is to have a good landscaping design. Not only it may make the difference between sold and unsold property it also contribute to the beauty of the environment and that make people happy and enhance their life. The landscape is normally the first impression a buyer gets when he sees the property and it is priceless when it is right for the real estate agent. I'm highly recommend a Landscape Architect in Los Angeles, California she "saved" many transaction and I was honored to work with Yael Lir who has been a practicing landscape architect for over 27 years. Yael Lir is a firm believer that the art of landscape design has the power to educate and create a positive change in peoples lives. A licensed Landscape Architect with a Masters Degree in Horticulture, she has performed extensive research into various aspects of plant growth and development internationally for over a decade. Acutely aware of our planets limited natural resources, Yael Lir Landscape Architects are extremely creative in maintaining and enhancing natures treasures on each and every project.
_________________
Yael Lir http://www.yaellir.com is a firm believer that the art of landscape design has the power to educate and create a positive change in peoples lives |
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candwarch
Joined: 28 Apr 2009
Posts: 6
Location: Scotland
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| Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 1:29 am Post subject: |
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Anyone who commissions an architect by posting 'I needs some plans' on a forum like this, is asking for trouble.
Your choice should be based on experience, quality, style, geographical location and personal taste. Surely this can be done by looking at the Architects register for your country (if you have one) and browsing portfolios, talking to other people's experiences and looking locally at successful buildings.
_________________
Passive House Design, Zero Carbon Homes |
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phansford
Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Posts: 832
Location: SW Ohio
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| Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 5:06 am Post subject: |
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| candwarch wrote: | Anyone who commissions an architect by posting 'I needs some plans' on a forum like this, is asking for trouble.
Your choice should be based on experience, quality, style, geographical location and personal taste. Surely this can be done by looking at the Architects register for your country (if you have one) and browsing portfolios, talking to other people's experiences and looking locally at successful buildings. |
AN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE
I certainly do not disagree with that comment. However, here in the US there are a number of ways that people enter the housing market. And very few houses are actually designed by architects.
In fact, most developers (the people who invest in the property, subdivide it and install the roads and utilities) will limit the number of builders in the development and if you purchase a lot in the development you must use one of the 4 or 5 builders (who typically have a long standing relationship with the developers). Most homebuyers will go select a lot and a builder before they would ever think about getting an architect (of which I mean as someone who has the formal education and is licensed by the State).
The Homebuilder will typically direct the homeowner to their "designer" who typically is uneducated and does not have a license to practice architecture. It is not a requirement to be licensed to design a house in most if not all of the 50 states.
Finally - it is not uncommon for people to start by looking through house plan books for ideas, then going to the builder and his desigenr for the house to be "drawn up".
Certainly you have been reading the architect v. residential designer debate
Now all of this does not preclude that architects are not involved in residential design. They are - they typically are doing work for clients who understand the value of an architect. Or the builder is aware of the value of an architect (typically large scale builders who are willing to go to a well-known firm that specializes in residential design - typically these firms are also national or regional in nature.
You might enjoy reading Last Harvest by Witold Rybczynski . It tells the story of an American housing development outside of Philadelphia from property purchase by the developer to planning approvals to construction of homes.
I not sure the original poster is looking to contract with someone associated with this board to design their house (fortunately or unfortunately) but they seem to have house plan in mind and are looking for comments. That being said - like you, I would still like to see them contract a local professional in their area to assist them. |
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