Design Your Own Home Workshop?

We are currently experiencing an absolutely huge building boom! Since people have been staying home more, many folks have wanted/needed to make shifts in the way they occupy their space. This has led to home improvement projects, relocations, and of course, brand new home construction projects to better fit their evolving needs.

One of the biggest challenges people face when dealing with a home design project is narrowing down choices. With endless online pics of beautiful homes and ubiquitous articles on what features/rooms/designs a homeowner should include, narrowing the field down to what is beautiful, affordable, and functional for your individual situation and lifestyle is the real crux of the matter.

Additionally, another significant challenge homeowners face is direct access to experts who can help them. If your project is too small (like a one or two room makeover) hiring an architect can seem like overkill. Yet having one in your back pocket for counsel to bounce ideas off of and help you evaluate options can be invaluable.

If a project is large and too complex to do yourself, (like a whole home renovation or new home design) some homeowners lament the loss of control they feel when handing over the design to an architect or builder’s in-house design team. They feel a lack of collaboration, and wish they had more input and guidance throughout the creative design process.

Homeowners show up to a project with knowledge that can be placed into three columns: The first column represents the items, features, and design styles the owner knows they want with clarity and certainty — for instance, they might know they absolutely want hardwood flooring, or a kitchen with an island and breakfast bar.

The second column contains ideas that are undeveloped or fuzzy but still make the wish list — for example, they may know they want a strong indoor/outdoor connection but aren’t sure what spaces and design features will best achieve that.

The third column contains things they may not have thought much about, but through discussions with their architect they discover are features that become key elements in the final design, such as choosing a type of roofing that lowers home insurance premiums, or placing the laundry room close to the bedrooms rather than off the…