What is the most underutilized space in most homes? The answer is right under foot, it’s your basement. For many the basement is a damp, musty space, devoid of natural light, disconnected from the rest of the home, useful only for storage. This is unfortunate, because I see the basement as useful lower level living space, and you should too.

Water management:

Moisture is the most common problem found in basements and left unattended can lead to noxious odors, constant frustration, and mold. If water is infiltrating your basement, its time to do some investigation:

1. Clean your gutters and downspouts to make sure they are clear of debris and directing water away from the foundation.

2. Look at the ground around your foundation to make sure it is properly sloping away from the house.

3. Evaluate any wall penetrations like windows, doors, pipes and wires to make sure they are properly flashed and sealed.

4. Check for cracks and movement in your foundation walls.

Before finishing your basement it is critical that the space remain dry, otherwise you are wasting your time and money.

Access:

The basement stair is often utilitarian in nature. Lacking grace or a sense of destination, it acts as a barrier, instead of a connection. Consider replacing the walls that hide your stair with new open railings and architectural details to make it special. Highlight this important connection and you will draw people down into the lower level of your home.

Finish:

If you want to reclaim your basement, treat it with the same creativity and attention to detail as any other space within your home. Select finishes on par with the main level living spaces, and continue architectural details commensurate with the vocabulary of the house. Details like this go along way towards turning your basement into lower level living space.

Creativity is also important. Undoubtedly there will be things like pipes, ducts and utilities that must be dealt with and concealed. Instead of impediments, consider them opportunities for design. Sculpt bumps in the wall to make an architectural niche; transform unsightly bulkheads into custom ceiling features. Clever details like this will make your space unique.

Light:

Large windows flood a space with light. Unfortunately, your basement sits partially if not mostly under ground, and the installation of large windows may be impractical. If your basement lacks natural daylight, don’t skimp on lighting. Installing dimmer and scene selector controls will give you flexibility to manage light levels and set the desired mood for your lower living spaces.

In most homes, a finished lower level can increase the usable square footage of the home by more than 25%, and at a fraction of the cost for a new addition. This is but another way to reclaim underutilized space within your small home, adding space without adding space.

With the economy in recovery, homeowner confidence is returning and we are seeing a marked increase in remodeling activity. But many homeowners are surprised to find that, even with excellent credit scores and solid incomes, financing options for a major remodeling project are much more limited now. Before the recession, lenders routinely approved loans based upon the projected value of what a home would be worth after remodeling. No more; that lending practice is dead and not likely to return soon. The new reality is that lenders will not loan against the future value of your home. For most of us, that leaves the Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) as the only viable financing vehicle for home improvement projects. So here are a few tips on how to navigate the HELOC process. 1. Shop carefully for the best lender: The amount of equity you can tap is restricted by the lending institution’s Loan to Value ratio (LTV). Most lenders today work with an 80% LTV; meaning the maximum amount of total debt you may secure with your home is limited to 80% of your home’s appraised value. But Federal Credit Unions often have more attractive terms. Recently some of our clients have secured loans with a 90% LTV by joining a Federal Credit Union. Don’t assume that you can’t join; you may be surprised to learn how easy it is to qualify for membership. 2. Put your home’s best face forward: Appraisers are human and subject to the same emotions as the rest of us; they will reward a well kept home with a higher appraised value. Prepare your home as though you were having an open house to sell it. Remember the three “P” rule: pick-up, put away, and primp. A neat home seems larger and gives the impression of being well maintained. And don’t’ forget the yard – a good cleanup and mulching will go a long way! 3. Brief the appraiser: Meet the appraiser personally and tell him how much you think your house is worth and why. You know the quirks of your home and your neighborhood better than they do. Don’t be shy, but don’t be aggressive; just let them know what your research suggests. 4. Help the appraiser: If you have plans of the house, make a copy for the appraiser. At the least, have a copy of your survey plat available. If you know when your home was built, tell them. Make a list of improvements you’ve made since you purchased the house (descriptions only – not dollars). 5. Challenge the appraisal: If you don’t agree with the appraisal, speak up. Don’t bother if it is a small amount, but if it is significant you should contact your lender and ask how to challenge the appraisal. 6. Phase your renovation: Many of our clients use a strategy I call the Equity Bump. Essentially, this means focusing first on projects that will have a disproportionate impact on the value of the home relative to the value invested. Then the home will re-appraise for more and you can borrow against that increased equity for the next project. 7. Repeat as necessary. I am not an expert in financing, but I deal with it everyday on behalf of my clients. Let me know if you would like to have a more in-depth discussion of financing options. I’m glad to help if I can.

            In the current economy, and with growing awareness of green concepts, it seems the desire for "big" houses is on the decline.  This gives architects and remodelers an exciting opportunity and challenge: to make smaller houses live "large".

          To me, a house should be tailored so that every square inch has purpose and usefulness in the daily life of its inhabitants.  This concept is critically important in smaller homes.  In the next couple of blogs, I will discuss different ideas and methodologies to customize your home, and maximize the utility of its space.

Repurposing under utilized space:

          I thought I would start with an example (my own home); I had a formal dining room that we used 2-3 times a year at best.  I came to realize that we were wasting this valuable square footage in our home, so I repurposed the room.  Installing a wall of built-ins, I created a space for the family computer, with a mixture of concealed storage and bookcase / display shelves.  I took the leaves out of the dining room table so it would comfortably seat 4 (previously it seated 8-10) and repositioned it against a wall in the room to maintain natural circulation paths.  The remaining 4 chairs were dispersed into other parts of the house.  The dining room is now used daily for craft projects with the kids, for surfing the net on the computer, or for browsing through an ever growing stack of magazines.  The 2-3 times a year we need it for formal dining; with a few minutes of straightening up and minor rearrangement of the furnishing, it still serves its original purpose, and the new built-ins are perfect for serving.

           I added 168 square feet of useful space to my home without changing its footprint.  Repurposing a room is a great way to reclaim the under utilized spaces within your home.  In my case, the combination of formal dining and a library / office space made perfect sense. If you have a space like this in your home, maybe its time to stop thinking about what it is, and start thinking about what else it could be.

 

Check back in for future installments of "Adding space without adding space"

 

We have all seen countless advertisements on HGTV, for their "dream homes".  It's an enticing sales pitch.  A uniquely designed, fully decorated home, on a picturesque site.  Who wouldn't want that?   

Well, I see every home as a "dream home" waiting to be realized.  Far too often we focus on the negative aspects of our homes, instead of looking for opportunity and potential.  Intoxicated by television and print images, we "dream" of someday aspiring to have this or that, and it usually looks nothing like what we currently have.  As an architect who has devoted himself to remodeling homes, I love showing clients that their "dream home" is right in front of them. 

So what is it about these "dream homes" that make them so appealing?  To me it's the attention to detail.  Every space is tailored like a custom garment.  Architectural detail is not sacrificed, it is celebrated.  For many, the images flashing across their television screen define "home".  You can have this too!  And you don't need to move to the wine country of Sonoma, California.

Your house should be more than just a roof over your head.  It should be unique.  "Dream homes" evolve from the collaborative efforts of professional architects, master builders, and trusting homeowners.  Let me show you how to make your "dream home" a REALITY. 

                              

                                 We specialize in transforming older homes from ordinary to Extraordinary.

  We experience the world in three dimensions, yet most of the drawings I produce when remodeling homes throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C. are representative of only two dimensions (plans, elevations, sections, etc).   This can pose a major challenge when trying to express the complexities of a design to my clients.  It is difficult for most people, architects included, to fully visualize a space when looking at two dimensional drawings.  Fortunately, computer aided drawing programs allow me to construct three dimensional models that I can inhabit with my clients.  The power of this technology is amazing, and is an essential tool used in all of my designs.

            Incorporating a 3-D design approach, I am able to walk clients through a virtual remodel of their home.  Together we remove walls, enlarge window openings, and explore different cabinetry and casework options. The interactive nature of a virtual model offers my clients the unique opportunity to inhabit their remodeled home before the first nail is driven on the "real" project. This goes a long way to building client confidence in the decisions they are making.

            Designing in three dimensions is of great benefit to me as well.  The freedom of a virtual environment allows me to balance technical know-how with artistic vision, resulting in a sophisticated, cohesive design solution.  I learn from the model as I build it, refining every detail until it is just right.

 

The construction of a 3-D model is no small undertaking, but its value during the design process makes it well worth the time and effort for all parties involved.

One of the most frequent questions that I get from new clients is this: Should we buy a new house or remodel our current home?

I always point out that moving - even to a home of the same value - has its own inherent expense.  Between Realtors, appraisers, home inspectors, title attorneys, and professional movers, it is not unusual to spend an additional 10% of the purchase price just to make a lateral move. A family can easily spend $50,000 to $100,000 just to move to a different home in the same price range.    

Occasionally, this makes sense - all homes are not created equal, and some homes just can't be improved enough to justify the expense. But for most families, the equation quickly tips towards remodeling when they factor in the intangible value of a known neighborhood and good schools. Throw in redecorating expenses, years of landscaping, and a wealth of family memories wrapped up in a home and the decision is made. Take the best of what you already have and improve upon it.

 Here's an example of the strategic, but dramatic changes we made for one family recently:

           Before & After:

The room is not just brighter -- although the new architectural lighting was a critical element of our design.  Notice the new windows that emphasize the proportions of the room.  And the new French doors where the picture window was; this really brings the outdoors-in.  We made many other improvements to this space (as indeed we did to the entire home) but it looks like it was always supposed to be this way.  The family has already forgotten how dark the home used to be!  

Maybe the best possible new house is hiding inside your existing home already. 

 

Scale - no, I am not talking about that thing we all dread stepping onto in our bathroom or at the gym.  I am talking about proportion and the spatial qualities of an object or entity in relationship to its surroundings.  Scale is measurable, but more importantly it has a sensory component.  When you walk into a room, how do you feel?  Does something seem off?  Maybe the windows are too small, the room is too narrow, and the couch blocks circulation paths.  Everything around us acts to define scale, and therefore, has an affect on our sense of it.

If a room feels too big; architectural treatment of the ceiling and floor planes might be incorporated to create different zones within the space.  If a room feels too small; large window openings and strategic removal of vertical wall surfaces offer new views and a sense of openness. 

Scale can also establish a hierarchy and create focal points.  Like a road map, inhabitants and guests are lead by these architectural cues, and drawn through the spaces of a home.  Proper understanding and manipulation of scale informs every decision that goes into a successful design.

That room you walked into earlier... the one that seemed a bit off.  Imagine how differently it would feel with large windows that flood the space with sunlight.  A boxed bay widens the room creating a niche for the couch, restoring the natural circulation paths into and through the room.  Adjustments like this have the power to modify your perception of a space, redefining its scale.

Beginning a new design is thrilling for me; meeting my new clients, learning about the quirks of their particular house, realizing that I can help them.  For me, there is always a rush that is like....well, like new love.  Sure, that may be a little over the top.  But only a little.

The funny thing is that even after twenty five years, I never really know where the design will take me until I'm in the thick of it.  It's as though I sit down to sketch and the ideas just flow from the tip of the pen itself.  Its a bit of alchemy -- the ingredients are science, technology pshychology, philosphy and art, all mixing together to create architecture if the stars align just right.

That's not to say there is no method to it, for there is.  As you might expect, I begin by learning all about my clients and how they experience the house, both  inside and out.  Then my team always prepares a set of measured drawings of the house as it is.  But the magic doesn't really begin for me until I study those drawings.  Oddly, my mind seems more free to roam through the "virtual" house than it does the actual physical structure.

 And that's when it gets truly exiting for me.  Once the house is loaded into my "mind's eye" I can explore and wander in ways that I can never in the real world.  I can walk through walls.  Heck, I can pick up the walls and fling them around.  I can see the house as it is and as it might be, all at once. 

It's like having 3-D X-ray; I can visualize the entire frame of the house as though it were a skeleton beneath a skin of plaster.  I can see exactly why the house isn't working for it's owners and what strategic moves will radically improve it.  And I know then, how to surgically alter the house; where to open new views, where to bring in light, and where to add or subtract space. 

It's intoxicating and it's satisfying -- like love!

#2 IN AN OCCASIONAL SERIES

Well, I was up on the roof of that 1960's contemporary in Chevy Chase, MD again yesterday, and the problem is MUCH worse than I imagined.  In addition to water vapor questions, we now know that the roof is actively leaking at every skylight (there are ten) and at the chimney.

In every case, the problem is faulty "flashing" - the material (aluminum, copper or bituminous membrane) used to protect joints between the main roofing material and the various items that pass through the roof.  Now, I've seen a lot of roof problems over the years, but this beats them all, hands down. 

We cut test holes into the flashings and water just poured out.  Not a little trickle, but like when someone cuts an artery; the water spurted-out in streams.  In twenty five years as a residential architect, I've never seen such a total failure of roof flashing. 

This bears a quick note about flashing; in all roofing systems, flashing is inherently the the most vulnerable link because it manages the joint where the main roofing material is interrupted by something else -- like skylights, pipes, chimneys, etc.  Roofs rarely leak in the main body of the roof, but more often leak at these joints, where flashing is the primary defence.  Faulty flashing = leaky roof. 

And a word in defense of skylights:  to paraphrase the NRA, "Skylights don't leak on people -- People (installing bad flashing) leak on people".  Most modern skylights are so water-tight you could use one for a boat.  And properly designed and installed flashing WILL NOT LEAK.   So don't shy away from skylights; but DO invest in quality and make sure a true professional is in charge of specifying and supervising the installation.

Final thoughts... Do not hire a roofing contractor just because a friend had a good experience with them.  That's just putting your fate in the law of averages - and sometimes you'll wind up on the wrong side of that average.

I am often asked if it makes sense to remodel a home in phases; and the answer is an unequivocal... it depends. 

On one hand, there are some great deals to be had today while the remodeling market is depressed; you'll get more for your money now than you will later when the market recovers. And it always costs more to build a project in parts than it does to build it all at once.  Think "economy of scale".

One the other hand, there's plenty of situations where phasing the work is a good way, if not the only way, to go.  As an architect devoted to residential remodeling, I'm seeing a strong up-tick in people taking this course lately. 

So here are a few issues that commonly factor-in when considering a phased renovation:

• Timing - A smaller project can finish sooner.  If you have a baby on the way, that's a strong motivator!
• Financing - If you are funding your renovations with a home equity loan, you might first want to tackle projects that deliver the maximum boost in home value.  Then the house will re-appraise at a higher value, your equity will increase, and you can tap that new equity for the next phase.
• Uncertainty - For any number of reasons, people are sometimes unsure if they want to commit to the entire project now; but they still want to get something done and feel like they're "moving ahead".

Many of my clients in the older neighborhoods of Washington DC and surrounding suburbs (Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac, etc) choose this path with great results.  But the critical step is to first develop a "Master Plan" -- a vision of what you want the home to eventually be, and how you are going to get there. 

This bears repeating: YOU NEED A MASTER PLAN!  Do not try this yourself at home -- someone's gonna get hurt.   Seriously, you can waste a ton of money if the phases are not thoughtfully planned with an eye on the big picture.  A small up-front investment in architectural design will reap huge dividends.