Design

A recent project I am working on at Larson Brenner Architects gives me another example of how a good designer can add value to a project. The home is in the Design Development stage, so the basic form and plan have been finalized but the details are still being adjusted. The images below illustrate how Larson Brenner utilizes 3d visualization tools (in this case Google Sketchup) to study variations in design to communication options to the client. With better visualization the client is able to make more informed decisions. The image above depicts the completed Schematic Design - a classic midwestern farmhouse exterior. Narrow gable forms, 1 1/2 story height, shed porches and box out bays, white clapboard siding, black shingle primary roof and galvanized metal porch roof. This image depicts a taller plate height and a modification of the roof eave detail to provide more of a midwestern greek revival aesthetic. Image above represents mostly a color study variation of the original f...

While at my regular job - Larson Brenner - I received a phone call a few days ago. It was from someone who had been designing their own cabin. Subsequently the design was given to a builder who's draftsman tried to complete the design and drawings. Well it turns out that he did not like the design. He was still enamored with the floor plans, but not the exterior appearance. The image below is of the original design. I was asked to see if I could take a shot at improving the appearance of the home without significantly altering the floor plans. He also wanted to maintain the basic chalet style roof line that he had started with. I agreed to work on an hourly rate basis to provide the services. I modeled the plan quickly in Sketchup and did several minor alternatives. In the end we landed on the final solution as shown below. Hopefully this is illustrative of a little bit of value an Architect can bring to a project. They can turn an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. G...

The Worlds Best Small House Plan has just been introduced at Simply Elegant Home Designs! The home design - the Scandia Modern Cottage  is actually a plan that Simply Elegant has had on the market, but has taken on a complete remodeling.  The result is the worlds best small house plan.  See images below and be sure to check out the videos. A modest interior, but with abundant natural light and a carefully designed open floor plan it fills large.  Check the interior video out at  small modern cottage interior   The exterior is simple and unique.  A modern cottage design.  Check out the exterior video at small modern cottage exterior The Scandia Modern Cottage was designed by Minnesota Architect Ron Brenner.  He had this to say about the project. “ Is the claim that this is the worlds best small house plan a little much? Perhaps; but I am very excited about the design.  To me the design if fresh and the floor plan functions beautifully. ...

Simply Elegant Home Designs has added a new Concept Plans gallery page at Concept Plans and Custom Home Design .  The page has a flash gallery of home designs that we have started, but are just waiting for the right client to fully develop.  These concept plans basically represent a starting point towards the design of a new custom home. A shingled cottage home design that could serve as a great mountain cabin plan or beach house.   A modern cottage with an open floor plan and a beautiful front porch .  The roof lines are simple , yet dramatic. A mountain lodge with wrap around porch ! Simple yet unique farmhouse plan with a wrap around porch and a main floor master bedroom .  Classic Midwest Living !  An elegant cottage home design with a welcoming front porch. You can check out more of the gallery at   Concept Plans and Custom Home Design

Simply Elegant Home Designs has updated the design of our Modern Cottage House Plan - The Afton .  We liked the old design for it's modern simplicity, but wanted to provide a fresh version for those with a bit more traditional sensibilities.  I've highlighted some of the changes below. BEFORE Here is our previous design.  Nice - so we just wanted to add a few touches to make it a bit more traditional. AFTER The new front elevation.  We added a an "eyebrow roof" above the wrap around porch , added muntins to the windows and changed the color tones of the exterior.  These changes give the home design a more soothing feeling and give it more of a beach cottage aesthetic.  By the way you can check out an exterior animation at  Modern Cottage Exterior Video View from rear yard.  We added a wrap around porch that connects to the screen porch .  This is a great home plan for outdoor living Interior image from dining area through kitch...

I recently ran into a photo of a simple bathroom design that I wanted to share with you.  It's a really skinny, small, simple, unique and fantastic powder room within a 1910 Georgian Mansion in San Francisco.  Check it out below. This powder room is a contrast of the very modern and the very ornate.  It starts off as a very spare space with almost awkward proportions.  Add to that the modern wood vanity, vessel sink and faucet.  This is contrasted by the "crazy" - but well designed tile pattern, reinforced by the stained glass window and the ornate mirror.  Detail view of the tile pattern.  I cannot imagine the man-hours that went into this.   But you have to admit it's very cool. All in all a very quirky but beautiful powder room.  So todays lesson is this: Keep it simple but pay attention to the details. A contrast of styles can be very dramatic. If you want to learn more about this bathroom you can check out the link where I found it: http...

Almost every day I ask myself why more people are not taking advantage of this crazy building market.  By crazy I mean this is a ridiculous buyers market.  The answer seems to be fear.  We can't seem to get away from all the bad news.  Just turn on your tv or your computer and you get nailed with it.  I cannot say if the fear is justified or not.  Each persons situation is unique, and so it is up to them to determine for themselves.  But I can tell you that right now there are some really good opportunities for those that choose to pursue them .   If you have been thinking of building a new home or remodeling your existing one I suggest seriously pursuing it.  If not, you may just be missing the opportunity of a lifetime.  I have been in this industry for more than a few years now, and I cannot remember any time that the market has been more favorable for the buyer / client.  Here are a few of the big reasons: Interest rates are ridiculously low. Contractors and subcontractors ar...

Simply Elegant Home Designs is now using Google Sketchup to better describe the interior design elements of their house plans.   Ron Brenner of Simply Elegant had this to say.  "Better visualization of the product results in more thorough understanding of design intent and better translation by the builders.  We have been using 3d visualization for some time to illustrate building exteriors, and have discovered how valuable that visualization is.  It seems a logical next step to illustrate the interior design elements of a home with 3d.  Nowadays Architects have so many good tools to work with, and so why not use them?  The idea is to use the tools available to us to create a better product and a better service.  I think that some day we may not be issuing 2d plans, sections and elevations, but we will be issuing 3d virtual models.  And some day builders may have a television monitor at the job site in lieu of a plan desk." The animation below illustrates the interior cabine...

The mudroom has become an increasingly important space in home design. This space has transitioned over the years from nothing more than a small hallway with a coat closet into a zone that serves multiple needs. I now spend much time thinking about the function of the mudroom zone in our home designs. Here are a few of the potentially important features of the mudroom zone: A Bench - Where you can sit down and put on your boots. Lockers - A place where you can quickly drop off your coat and hat. Dump Desk - A storage space for dropping off the mail or briefcase. Powder Room - The mudroom zone is a great place for the powder room because it is a more "discreet" location and convenient on your way in or out of the house. Laundry Area - The mudroom zone is a great place for the laundry. This space is convenient to the activity areas of the house, but since it is "around the corner" it is a bit more acoustically separated. Hanging storage for the laundry can s...

Some time ago I posted my opinion of the top 10 web places to find good house plans.  I have now updated that posting by dropping in one new name.  LaMiDesign has been inserted into the number 4 position.  It is a great place to find truly modern house plans. Please check out the revised top 10 list. Top 10 House Plan Websites

I ran across this criticism of Architects and the green movement the other day.   http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-007-prioritizing-green2014it-s-the-energy-stupid/?full_view=1 It was written by Joseph Lstiburek; a renowned building science expert and royal smart ass.  Many Architects and Engineers do not like Mr. Lstiburek because of his criticisms.  I think mostly because he is all too often right; and he always has facts to back his claims up. Lstiburek's basic criticism is this.  Architects and Engineers are creating "Green Monuments".  Buildings that are hailed Green and win awards; and yet they statistically are not saving any energy over their non-green counterparts. I tend to agree with many of his criticisms.  I have felt for some time that we get caught up in all the new exciting technology - so much so that we forget the basic principles of good environmental design that the Ancients knew, and that Edward Mazria re-taught us over 30 years a...

I just wanted to pass on an FYI that I have now posted links for various green resources along the sidebar of the Simply Elegant Home Designs Blog.  Over the next weeks I will be refining the listings.  Since there are so many green resources available to us I want to try to edit the list down to provide useful "common sense green" information, and to eliminate as much redundancy as possible.  I will also be adding a links page to my Simply Elegant Home Designs website. Again, you can see the links along the right sidebar of the Simply Elegant Home Designs blog.  And by the way, I welcome your suggestions.

Simply Elegant Home Designs is offering a new service to help potential plan purchasers visualize their house plan within the context of their own site.  For a nominal fee they can provide images of the desired house plan at their site address.  The images below provide an example of how this can work.  They depict various google earth views which increasingly zoom in on a specific site address in which a 3d house plan model has been inserted. This service can be particularly helpful for a potential plan purchaser because it allows them to get an idea of how the house plan might fit into their own unique site location prior to purchasing the full plan set.  Also, because google earth provides 3d terrain, it can also help to understand grading issues or identify special foundation conditions that might be required.   Simply Elegant Home Designs offers pre -designed home plans that are creative, simple, elegant, unique and green to individuals, builders and developers.   Their goal is ...

Architects have many great tools that they can work with.  And under skilled hands they can be a great benefit to their clients.  One such tool is a software program called Google Sketchup .  Sketchup is a 3d modeling program that is surprisingly easy to use.  The images you see below are of a house designed by  Larson Brenner Architects in Stillwater, Minnesota.  The images represent a series of color studies that were performed with Sketchup.  The basic design had already been completed and we were now at the stage of finalizing materials and colors for the roofing, walls, windows.  The top image is pretty much where we ended up and the images below represent the various intermittent studies. Pretty cool huh?  It is a great way to visualize your end product.  For more sketchup examples you can see the plans at  Simply Elegant Home Designs

In my real job (non-blogging) I am finding that more and more people are interested in building a more environmentally responsible and healthy home.   Leaving political discussions and arguments about “climate change” behind (I don’t like being preached to and I don’t like preaching), I believe there are many common sense reasons to build a “Green” home .   Here are two pretty good ones: Save you money $$$ in the long run Reduce your stress level – improve your quality of life If you want to build a Green Home there is an abundant amount of information available to you.   But start investigating Green and you begin to realize there can be a daunting number of decisions to make – and they all impact your construction budget in some way.   Building Green can start to look incredibly complicated and expensive - and neither of these notions is inherently “Green”.   Well it does not  have to work that way. So what I want to do, starting with this posting is to help you simp...

Another new animation has been added to the Simply Elegant Home Designs website and to You Tube.  You can get more information on the " Bayport Bungalow " as seen below by following the link.

Simply Elegant Home Designs has added another Animation to their website.  The animation is of the "Bayport Bungalow" in their design collection.  The company plans on providing animations of their entire house plan design collection.  

Simply Elegant Home Designs is now providing a new and better way to visualize new house plan designs.  They are creating 3d animations of their designs.  The animations will be posted on the Simply Elegant Home Designs website and on You Tube.  The first animation to be published is this Modern Farmhouse plan design. Simply Elegant Home Designs will eventually be able to provide animations of their entire house plan inventory.

Hiring an Architect to design a one of a kind home for you can be a time consuming and expensive endeavor.  The design process will take at least several months - maybe up to a year.  And the fee can run from 8% to 12% of the construction cost or even higher.  That being said I believe it is well worth it - but not everyone has that luxury of time and money.  So what I want to do here is present you with an alternative approach that can work for many people. The basic concept is to purchase a set of plans "off the shelf" directly from an Architect, and then work with them to customize that plan to your specific needs and tastes.  The two images below depict a house designed by Larson Brenner Architects in Stillwater , Minnesota.   It is a beautiful Cape Cod design. The client loved the design inside and out.  But the plan would not fit on their own lot configuration, the room arrangement did not satisfy 100% of their needs and their aesthetic tastes tended more towards the ...

There are probably a million house plan companies selling zillions of plans through the internet .  Most are terrible.  In my business I create one of a kind custom homes.  I can't tell you how many clients of mine have come to me after being frustrated looking through one plan book (or plan website) after another.  After exhaustive searching they will eventually break down and hire a competent house designer or an Architect. I definitely believe that if your needs are truly unique then you should hire a residential architect.  But if your needs and tastes are less specific you might be able to save yourself some time and money by going the pre-designed plan route. So I decided to publish a list of the top 10 house plan websites that I have run across.  Here goes. 8. Southern Living House plans  - Large collection of traditionally styled house plans.  All shapes, sizes and configurations. 7. John Tee Architect   - Architect designed homes in predominantly southern american st...