Designing a house is easy, anybody can do it … at least that’s what most people think. The reality is that there are literally thousands of nuances that when all added up make the difference between a house that suits your needs and one that simply keeps you from getting wet when it rains.
There are all sorts of reasons why designing a house can be hard, and just because you’ve lived in a house does not mean that you would actually be good at designing one. There are nuances that separate good from great and those are the moments that architects live for creating.
- Sometimes there are mixed goals between the “shareholders” – what one person values is disproportionate to what their partner values. This is probably the most common challenge that we address during the design process.
- Failing to consider lifestyle and focusing on “checking the box” – we want everything to work in concert together. This is truly the embodiment of when a thing is greater than the sum of its parts.
- Understanding what rooms are the most important for your life – I wrote a post back in Feb 2010 called “Clients and Online Dating” back before anyone knew this site existed and that post focused on the idea of “what you want” versus “what you think you want” versus “what you actually need”. Despite the fact that nobody read that post, it comes up on every single job I have ever worked on.
- Understanding the flow – how you move from space to space. What exactly defines a space in the open-plan concepts, how do you identify spaces without actually putting four walls around it?
- Considering the land around the house – creating outdoor spaces the support the actual space they serve, the art of extending views both inwards and outwards, as well as the introduction and creative use of natural light.