Time for a home renovation?

by Charles Hendricks | Feb 14, 2024 | aging in place, architecture

We are hearing from a lot of people that want to stay in their current home but need to make a few changes to get it just right. It’s a great time to start planning your renovation as builders are planning for the remainder of their year. So I thought I would share some upgrades you might want to consider for your home.

Home upgrades to consider

1. Kitchens are a common place to start working on your home. You can improve the function of your space while upgrading your aesthetics. As the kitchen has become the heart of many homes, this can also have a great impact on daily family gatherings. This historic home needed an addition to get their light and open kitchen to work while maintaining the historic character of their home.

2. While doing a renovation, it is always a good idea to look at energy upgrades to improve comfort and lower your energy bills.

3. Create an accessible home so that life’s changes will not prevent you from staying in the home you love. Door widths, kitchen function, first-floor bedrooms, and roll-in showers are just some of the aging-in-place ideas you could focus on during a renovation.

4. Getting organized in your mudroom is often another added change when we have the opportunity to renovate lifetime homes.

5. Adding a “game” room for this home was an important part of the project as our client needed a place to display their trophies.

6. As we start to think about spring weather, I know a lot of people will start dreaming of new decks and patios.

We have designed solutions for new home office space, storage closets, first-floor bedrooms, basement family rooms, and more. The first step of the design process for a renovation is to record what you like, don’t like, and what challenges you have with your existing home. Then give us a call and we can help balance your dreams with your budget with what your home can offer.

What special design feature makes a dream home?

by Charles Hendricks | Feb 12, 2024 | architecture, Uncategorized

If you could have one special thing in your new custom home, what would it be?

We have awesome opportunities to help people create their dream homes. The first meeting we have with custom home clients is an interview where we talk about everything that they want in a home to achieve the life they want to live in a particular place. This process is how we design dream homes.

I have talked in the past about the difference between a new home and a custom home. Our custom home design process allows us to walk with our clients through their Wishlist to find the special strategies that make their home just right. It is a process where we get to know our clients and use empathy as a design tool. This emotional investment into each project takes energy, time, listening, and experience to get it just right. It is the why in why we do custom home design.

Over the years we have had some really special, unique things in the dream homes we have designed, like the ones featured below – and more. Check out the special features below to inspire your own dream design features of your custom home.

What are your dream home amenities?

Indoor basketball court

Indoor Pool

Open kitchen

Open riser stair

Glass walls

Interior brick walls

Two story porch

Spa-like bathrooms

Wrap around decks

Double islands

Car guy garages

Sunrooms

At home gym

Golf simulator

No step shower

Solar PV

Listen to Hear

by Charles Hendricks | Feb 7, 2024 | architecture

One of the key characteristics of a good designer is someone who listens well. I was speaking with one of our teammates about how to articulate this skill to others, and I used the phrase “Listen to Hear”. This started a conversation about listening / hearing / comprehending.

Listen to hear, not to respond.

This idea is one that I picked up from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – we have to listen to hear, not listen to respond. The natural tendency is to listen to respond, and when you do that, your agenda will impact what you are taking from your clients. At the same time, as a design professional with years of experience, I am being hired to use my knowledge to take the goals of a project and translate that into the dream. Even if the client doesn’t know the magic work triangle for a kitchen, we know it and automatically use it in our projects. Even if the client doesn’t know the magic ratio for a comfortable stair in their dream home, we know it and automatically use it in our projects. However, we cannot know the exact ways our clients want to live in their dream home on their dream property without listening without filtering that through our preconceived ideas.

Some of the tips we use to listen better are:

1. Stop thinking about how you will respond to something said – slow down, process what is being said, write it down, and then ask more questions.

2. Listen intently and be interested in body language, words used, who is saying it, and how the others you are designing for are responding to the language being used.

3. Be a reporter – ask questions, and more questions, and more questions.

4. Watch their body language, let them stray in the conversation, go down a story trail, explain the why so that you understand the design goal and what is behind it.

5. Avoid judgement. If you need to offer a best practice, explain why the request sparked that comment and let the dreamer tell you why they want what they want. It will almost always lead to something that works with best practices and fits their goals and dreams.

6. Process the ideas, goals, and dreams, from all parties involved in the new project, equally so that you can develop the best possible solution for that particular project.

While “listening to hear” is a bit of a confusing phrase, the reality is that you engage all of your senses and absorb the why in what is being said in order to design the best possible solution.

Life as a small architectural firm

by Charles Hendricks | Feb 5, 2024 | architecture, Uncategorized, Work

As a small architectural firm, we have to stay flexible and have a wide understanding of building types. We work with lots of clients with the common characteristic between them is that everything we do is custom. How we approach the project, what we design, how we deliver information is all custom to what our client needs and wants. That has led to some wonderful opportunities in many places across our area.

We are so fortunate to have a wide range of locations for our projects and a wide range of project types. This past year we have worked in:

Davis, West Virginia

Shepherdstown, West Virginia

–

Albemarle County, Virginia

Bergton, Virginia

Charlottesville, Virginia

Chesterfield, Virginia

Christiansburg, Virginia

Earlysville, Virginia

Elkton, Virginia

Farmville, Virginia

Floyd, Virginia

Harrisonburg, Virginia

Hinton, Virginia

Howardsville, Virginia

Lake Anna, Virginia

Lake Monticello, Virginia

Linville, Virginia

Massanutten, Virginia

Maurertown, Virginia

McGaheysville, Virginia

Midlothian, Virginia

Mt. Crawford, Virginia

Nelson Country, Virginia

New Market, Virginia

Orange, Virginia

Orkney Springs, Virginia

Palmyra, Virginia

Penn Laird, Virginia

Quicksburg, Virginia

Rockingham County, Virginia

Scottsville, Virginia

Singers Glen, Virginia

Sperryville, Virginia

Timberville, Virginia

Verona, Virginia

Waynesboro, Virginia

Weyers Cave, Virginia

Winchester, Virginia

Wintergreen, Virginia

Our project types varied, spanning from apartments, custom homes, kitchen renovation, deck addition, Golf Center, Christian Church School, Lumber Company, Furniture Store, Therapist office space, Gymnastics Studio, Affordable housing, pavilion, corn crib, fraternity, historic porch renovation, law office, food bank, industrial office renovation, community center, dental office, warehouse, manufacturing space, home addition, medical office, historic farmhouse renovation, townhouses, bathroom renovation, Barndominium, pool house, and a basement renovation. As a (relatively) small architectural firm, we love the opportunities to meet each client where they’re at for each design dream they have.

Style and Function designed for Luxury Homes

by Charles Hendricks | Jan 23, 2024 | architecture

We have had the opportunity to design beautiful luxury homes for a variety of clients with a variety of goals. The design of a luxury home always goes beyond aesthetics – we focus on creating a unique, functional, comfortable home that facilitates the life our clients want to live in this new place. Some of the considerations we make include the following:

Individual Style
- Luxury homes are a reflection of our client’s individual styles, tastes, personality, and experiences. This new home will be an expression of our clients through unique features, details, finishes, and spaces.
Enhanced comfort and livability
- We focus on a deep understanding of building science and aging-in-place design strategies to best address comfort and livability in every luxury home we design. Thoughtful space planning, quality materials, and attention to detail are just part of the process as we overlay moisture movement, humidity control, indoor air quality standards, and accessibility standards.
Low maintenance
- Using the right materials in the right place that have been time-tested provides durability for years in a luxury home. You don’t want to have to worry about fixing your home, you deserve to enjoy your home.
Seamless indoor-outdoor connections
- The integration of indoor to outdoor spaces through large windows and doors is a key to the luxurious feeling we want for each of our custom homes. We have also seen a surge of outdoor living spaces from decks to patios to pools.
Smart Home Technology
- There are luxury home enhancements that allow for control of lighting, climate, security, and entertainment through smart technology that we often integrate seamlessly into each design. You can manage your home easily and even predict issues before they become issues.
Personalization
- A knitting room, office, gym, basketball court, wine cellar, spa bathroom, hidden pantry, or even a home theater are some examples of how luxury homes are now being personalized. We work hard to figure out what the dream requires in spaces and we incorporate that into the new home.
Detail
- While the overall design and spaces are very important, so is the attention to detail. From cabinetry to trim we set the standards and team up with the experts that can deliver the quality that is deserved in each design.
Exclusivity
- A luxury home is designed in a way that creates an ambiance of exclusivity, style, and function. This is not to exclude anyone, rather it is to invite in the life you want to live in this new place.
Investment Value
- We work hard to understand the real estate market so that our clients can maximize their investment in their luxury home. While there are some things that you will want to do regardless of resale value – there are others we can guide you through so that you maximize your home’s value, should you take it to market. We don’t fall for the fads, we incorporate timeless high-quality design options in every project.
Innovation
- Our luxury homes are unique in their shape, forms, mechanical systems, and structural elements – but not just for the sake of being different. We work hard to understand the construction materials and systems available and to know how to build a luxury home to match your dreams most economically.

In summary, an architect is required to achieve a true luxury home that is personalized to your style and functional needs. An architect takes your home beyond the superficial aesthetics and delivers something specific to your dreams. The attention to detail starts in the mechanical system and extends to the cabinetry and trim. I have heard years after someone has enjoyed their luxury home how our design has made their dream life more possible.