pillars of house design

Designing high-end custom homes has become my specialty with each home being treated differently getting the big picture right and making sure small details come together. If a client wants a covered area outside and you do not provide it, the big picture is incorrect.

My work is to make sure that whatever the client desires, I find a way to get it to them. Looking at our recent designs, they seem to be unique among other contemporary projects in their ability to incorporate process and culture into master planning from the start. There is also the attempt to find that unique combination of control over the environment and harmony within it.

The intention is to create an aesthetically pleasing result showcasing a respect and harmony with the outdoor environment. I have a few guidelines and not intended to limit or restrict creativity in design or construction, but rather to assure quality throughout any project we undertake. We like to call these the five pillars of design. These are presented in an order that represents the natural design process. Once these are understood, they can be applied to projects of any size, scale or budget.

Design language
The design language of every great space is documented in a common set of rules that have shaped the designs of generations of projects. These rules are tools to guide the conceptual layout of the outdoor living space, govern the way details go together and determine the appropriate materials to use.

While studying the historic shapes and decorative details of existing spaces can reveal what makes them work, designing a new space is not simply the act of copying the past. Ideas for new designs spring from the rules of traditionalism, does the space demonstrate style, proportion and consistency? When viewed from any angle, is it a unified solution? Does it give evidence of its quality and care over detail? Is it inviting? Inventing within the rules is one natural way of working with spaces.