For over 30 years Chris has worked on all types of residential projects, with all kinds of people, in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Up North Minnesota, and beyond. He has been through it all, he’s seen the problems, he’s heard the questions, and he has dealt with the difficulties, all while making his clients’ dreams for home come true. So check out what’s on Chris’s mind today and benefit from his experience.
We had a homeowner that came to us after they added a two story space to their house. They had room available in their yard and added on to their house, but their problem was that they couldn’t figure out how to get to their new addition from their current home! They had never planned for how the new space would integrate into their existing home. Now, they would have to redo…
Our second pitfall is having unrealistic expectations. Let’s say you’ve avoided the first mistake, made the right decision, and you’re working with an architect. Now you have in front of you a design that you absolutely love. So, you do the wise thing in this market and you ask several qualified contractors to bid your project. You get the bids back and they’re no where close to what you can afford to spend. Now, you’ve spent a significant amount of money designing your home, completing…
Over the years, I have seen a lot of renovation mistakes homeowners have made and for the most part those mistakes were avoidable, but costly. People can spend thousands of dollars more than they need, not get what they want, and then what they end up with doesn’t really add value to their homes or the quality of their lives. With the right information, homeowners can avoid those mistakes and save thousands of dollars. The bottom line is your home is the most important investment you will ever make. Make sure …
The Monday after a home show always feels like I’ve run a marathon. In actuality I’ve spent three days sitting and walking around a ten by twenty foot booth. But during those three days I listen, answer questions, and explain what architects do. After answering the same questions and explaining the same process hundreds of times, my brain turns to mush!
Your kids have graduated from college and the last of the boomerangs has found a job and finally moved into an apartment of their own. After the celebration is over you may contemplate a radical downsizing so that none of your children will attempt to reenter the womb again. But is this reaction a good idea?
With 25,000 homes for sale in the Twin Cities area the question of whether you should move or renovate your existing home should be a simple one to answer. Surely the perfect home exists! But if you are considering renovating your home and choose to buy instead, then you also have a home to sell. Congratulations! You have just joined the ranks of 25,000 other home owners who are also trying to sell their homes!
A reader recently asked if the not so big concept is just a preference or is it a real benefit to everyone who is planning to build a home. For those not familiar with this concept, it is described by author and architect Sarah Susanka in her book, The Not So Big House. “Not So Big doesn’t mean small. It means not as big as you thought you needed. But as a rule of thumb, a Not So Big House is approximately a third smaller than your original goal but about the same price as your original budget. The magic is that although the house is smaller in square footage, it actually feels much bigger.”
Given enough time and money you can build anything! But a wise man counts the cost before he embarks on any endeavor. So a better question might be, when and how do I determine the cost?
As a residential architect, people often ask what types of projects interest my clients as an indicator of the overall economy. With record number of home foreclosures and short sales, most assume any movement in the residential architecture business would be in the area of additions and renovations. However, that assumption has proven false. In a housing market that has been at its lowest in decades, interest in custom designed homes is out pacing that of additions and renovations.
Recently I reviewed the latest data on the rate of return for money spent on remodeling projects and began to wonder when we started to think of our homes as investments? Growing up in the 60’s I don’t remember my parents talking about the current market value of our house. In fact, if they did it was because property taxes were increasing. They never planned to sell, so current market value wasn’t something they contemplated.