The “Starter Home” is Dead But a New American Dream Will Rise

by Charles Hendricks | Jan 16, 2026 | aging in place, architecture, family, Multifamily Design

We have all heard the “American Dream” of a white-picket-fenced yard surrounding our 1,600 sf brick 3 bedroom 2 bath home with a deck and big backyard. That sounds amazing in 1980 when that dream cost around $55,000. With the average income of that era you could easily qualify for a 30-year mortgage and still take a family vacation. As we move into 2026 that same home will cost around $500,000 if you can even find one for sale. With the median income in 2026 for a family the stretch mortgage is in the range of $350,000. As a result a townhouse has become the new “starter home” and even that can be a stretch as demand outpaces construction. With short supply and high demand for home ownership, we are seeing the average age of a first time home buyer go up from 1980 when it was 29 to today where the average is 40.

As we see the demand for townhouses to fill the void for first time home buyers, we are also seeing a growing demand for luxury townhouse solutions. Families are making these communities that now offer clubhouses, community pools, landscape maintenance, playgrounds, and dog parks their lifetime homes. In 2025 townhouse construction hit a record market share of over 18% of all single-family home starts.

Is there a better way?

Another approach that is emerging in many communities is multi-generational dream homes, accessory dwelling units, and tiny houses. Each of these bring flexibility to the dream. The ADU backyard movement provides diversity of housing in a community at a lower price point. It can be used as an ADA compliant unit or a secondary income to support a higher mortgage. The tiny home enables a lower price point for purchase of a home with the option to do an addition in the future if needed. We are working on multiple projects that fall into each of these categories.

The new American Dream builds a stronger future

The new American Dream often brings a higher level of design than the 1980 brick ranch adding style, durability, energy-efficiency, and indoor environmental quality as driving factors. The new dream brings families together, builds stronger communities, and deepens a focus on quality over quantity. I am excited to see the future we are shaping with these innovative project types.

10 Tips to Go Green This Thanksgiving 2025

by Charles Hendricks | Nov 21, 2025 | family, Holiday

Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude, family, and—let’s be honest—a lot of food. As we look ahead to Thanksgiving 2025, it’s the perfect time to commit to making your celebration more sustainable. By incorporating just a few eco-friendly practices, you can reduce your waste and carbon footprint without sacrificing any of the holiday joy.

Here are 10 tips to make your Thanksgiving celebration green:

In the Kitchen & Shopping:

Shop Local for Your Feast: Commit to buying ingredients from your local farmer’s market, a Food Co-op, or a farmer in your area. This not only supports your community but drastically reduces the transportation distance and associated carbon emissions of your meal.
Skip the Paper and Plastic Bags: As you head to the grocery store, always remember to take your reusable bags.
Use a Reusable Roasting Pan: Skip the increasingly popular, but environmentally unfriendly, disposable roasting pans. A sturdy, reusable roasting pan is a better choice for the environment.
Compost Leftovers: Instead of throwing away vegetable scraps, turkey bones, or uneaten leftovers, remember to compost them. This diverts food waste from landfills, where it would otherwise produce methane gas.

On the Table:

Use Cloth Napkins: Americans use an enormous amount of paper napkins each year. Help reduce this paper waste by switching to cloth napkins for your celebration.
Use the Fancy China and Silverware: Ditch the disposable plastic utensils and paper plates. Using your permanent China plates and silverware not only elevates your table setting but prevents single-use waste from ending up in a local landfill.

Hosting & Travel:

Ask Guests to Bring Reusable To-Go Containers: You’re guaranteed to have leftovers! Help your guests take food home sustainably by asking them to bring their own reusable to-go containers instead of relying on disposable plastic or aluminum.
Use LED Bulbs: Use LED bulbs to light your celebration. They use significantly less energy and last much longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.
Remember to Recycle: Be mindful of all the extra packaging that comes with holiday groceries and new items. Set aside bins and remember to recycle all eligible packaging instead of throwing it away.
Carpool: If you are traveling or hosting guests, plan to carpool. By reducing the total number of miles driven individually, you can collectively lower the carbon emissions associated with your holiday travel.

We need joy to live, otherwise we are just surviving

by Charles Hendricks | Dec 31, 2024 | Charles Hendricks, citizen architect, community, Empathy, family, Holiday, Leadership, Local Leaders, Office Culture, Rotary, team

I have been selecting a word of the year for several years now, instead of making a resolution that I forget about before the first week of January comes to a close. It is not always a word that guides me during the year, but focusing on a word has had some power a few times as I was going through some rough patches in life. Grace is a word that I have adopted a few times and I feel like I have grown a lot into accepting things I cannot change and giving myself grace along the way. After a rather rough 2024, I think I need to focus on a new word for 2025. As I look to the year ahead, I know there will be challenges, but I am going to focus on joy this year. I am going to try to allow the frustrations and challenges in life to have less weight than the joy that I will have this coming year. I know I have a blessed life and have been given many opportunities that others have not been given. As I think back over the past year and all the challenges faced, I can see there was more joy than frustrations, I just gave the frustrations power.

In an effort to remember joy first, here is a list of some of the things that brought me joy this past year.

I got to see the Northern Lights for the first time. One of my clients shared images from his home under construction.

My youngest daughter graduated high school, traveled to Europe, and found the right college for her next chapter. My oldest daughter continues to thrive, impress, and conquer the world. They are both wonderful humans and bring me joy on a regular basis.

I got to celebrate Mariya as she entered the next chapter of her life while hanging out with some of our awesome Harrisonburg team members.

The MTC foundation formed and held its first fundraising event. I was able to support the event through social media promotion and giving time to the organization.

I got to see the Orioles win over the Yankees in dramatic fashion and share the experience with family (not all of which were thrilled with the outcome of the game). We also got to see a lot of fish, which is fun, and should always be part of a baseball game trip to maximize joy.

Another year of supporting WNRN’s books and brews was a highlight, especially when one of the authors is also one of your clients.

We got to see the finished cabin in West Virginia, the saved historic building in Broadway, the saved porch in Rockingham, the modern house in Rockingham, got a new office in Charlottesville, and started another project at Eastern Mennonite School – all of these and those not mentioned (especially those cool houses we have under construction that I will do updates on later) bring so much Joy!

Fireworks are fun and I had the chance to enjoy some thanks to Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance and the Downtown Lottery. If you like fun things like fireworks you should support HDR too. Downtown also got a lot of new art work to fill our town with joy.

I made it to the Hot Air Balloon festival this year and the weather was nice enough that the balloons got to float away.

Our Rotary Club does amazing work allowing me to serve community through so many events including the Harrisonburg Soapbox Derby and partnering with We Serve at Eastern Mennonite High School to stuff stockings and clean up the highway. The best part of Rotary are the friendships we get to build and the difference we can make together in our community. The sense of joy in making our community better is endless.

We were able to host 12 artists for First Friday and I think they all made a least one sale at their shows. If nothing else, we added exposure to their work and celebrated the beauty of art creation in our community. Supporting local artists is a great source of joy.

I was able to attend a lot of musicals this year including Beetlejuice, Twelfth Night, Tina, Fiddler on the Roof, and Annie. Regardless of what you heard, I enjoy going to see these talented performers.

Dad and I attended our first JMU Men’s basketball games and they won.

I got to attend some amazing concerts to see some amazing talent including Judy Chops, Who Shot John, Wood Brothers, The Steel Wheels, Christone Kingfish, AJR, Almost Monday, mxmtoon, Nickel Creek, Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir, EMS Touring Choir, and more.

The Harrisonburg Rockingham Child Day Care Center opened! You want JOY, visit a daycare.

Our clients fast food oriental restaurant finished construction and opened and I got to eat some of their amazing food!

Red Wing Academy brings me so much joy each year playing at our First Friday event in December.

I got a Charlie Brown cake for my birthday!

Our Rotary Club took on the challenge to plant new Peace Poles in the community and register existing Peace Poles on the international Peace Pole map. This effort is so fulfilling, spreading Peace in our world that is so focused on violence. The Peace Pole is an internationally known symbol of Peace and stand as a daily reminder that we each have a role in spreading Peace on Earth. True Joy comes from helping build a stronger community.

I love mentoring, teaching, and sharing about architecture, building science, aging-in-place, using empathy as a design tool, and of course the history of the depot. This past year we hosted job shadow students in our office. I also had the chance to teach at Massanutten Technical Center. On the Road Collaborative students visited our office as did the Bridgewater historical society. We had the Central Virginia chapter of AIA visit the office to hear about our work.

Probably the best joy filled highlight of the year for me is how many times I have had a crowded table at my house filled with family or been invited into April’s house to join her crowded table. It is an awesome blessing in my life to have such a large group of family so close and we even got to spend some time with family from out of the area this year. I may not be the best cook around, but with April by my side (who is an excellent cook), we were able to make several meals that kept everyone happy this year.

Finally, what could be more joy filled that hanging out with Santa! Even better, finding out once again that I am Santa’s favorite Architect.

Photographers work in this blog post include Digital Minerva, Charles Hendricks, Asha Beck, and Herr and Company.

Tribute to Roger N. Bryant

by Charles Hendricks | Jun 3, 2024 | family, team

Written by Raymond E. Gaines.

Tribute to Roger N. Bryant

1958-2024

Roger Bryant, who spent over half his life with The Gaines Group, passed away peacefully on May 25, 2024. Roger’s life embodied creativity, adventure, family, and faith, but not in that order.

Roger was a man of deep faith. When I first met and hired him, the list of hobbies on his employment application included Gospel singing with his family as item number one. The depth of his faith became apparent to me as I got to know him over the 33½ years that we worked together.

Roger was a family man, even though he remained single his entire life. He often spoke of his love of family when he would talk about his nieces and nephews and his relationships with his parents, grandparents, siblings, and aunts and uncles. Roger was always there for them as they navigated the good times as well as the illnesses and tragedies of life. He participated in at least three family reunions annually, and typically organized the Labor Day gathering at the family home. He also spoke fondly of the times he spent on the Cowpasture River and at Douthat State Park each year with his family.

Roger was a world traveler. When I first met him, he had just returned from Europe. He spoke of multiple trips to Europe and “the islands”, often traveling to sing with the family. He visited The UK, Germany, and Russia over the years that we worked together, and told many amusing stories arising from these trips. When he retired, he was following his brother-in-law, Bob, on his quest to run marathons in all fifty states, watching the races with his sister, Belva. I do not know if he ever completed that particular quest.

Finally, Roger was a talented designer and mentor. His hands-on knowledge of building materials and his ability to use them in aesthetically and stylistically pleasing ways is a talent that few possess. Roger was comfortable with any style, particularly with Virginia Vernacular. His body of work also includes Georgian, French Provincial, Prairie, Contemporary (whatever that is) and a touch of Art Deco. He would always share that with our younger staff. You have most likely touched Roger’s work from his years as an industrial designer prior to 1989.

Roger’s design talent was not limited to just the built world but he was a genius at floral arranging. He did the flowers for multiple weddings over the years, and would personally arrange sympathy flowers when they were called for.

He was a loyal friend and colleague from the day he started work in January 1989 until his retirement at the end of June 2022. He watched my three daughters grow up, and mentored one of them as an interior designer. He provided a living example to them, and all of us, of how to be a Christian in today’s world.

Rest in peace my friend.

Architect Mom

by Charles Hendricks | May 11, 2024 | family, team

By Architect, Adrienne Stronge.

Architecture can be a demanding profession. There are deadlines, client demands, and even construction emergencies. Design also has a way of infiltrating your very existence, and it can be impossible to shut off your brain when you’re trying to solve a particularly complicated problem (often solved at 3am or in the shower as you turn your vision around and around in your head). It is very hard, if not impossible, to only be an architect from 9-5 on weekdays.

It becomes even more difficult when babies are added to that picture. I was 14 years into my career before I had my son, who was born in 2020. My world turned inside out because while my job / career had been my primary focus for over a decade, now I was hyper-focused on this tiny little babe who had me wrapped around his finger. His sister joined us in 2023, and they bring me more happiness than I ever expected.

Even with the tremendous support of my spouse who is our stay-at-home parent, balancing my career with being a mom is tough. I love what I do, but I’m also determined to always make my time at home count. My kids are already growing up so fast and I don’t want to miss out on time with them. A few things that help me:

Find your village.

Your village may be family, friends, neighbors, or even a network of other parents online (there is both a Parents in Architecture and a Mothers in Architecture group on Facebook). Figure out where you can go to vent or ask questions. Any time we’ve needed help, we’re always surprised at just how big that village can be.

Establish and communicate priorities.

Family always comes first, but there are days / weeks where I need to invest extra time into work to make things happen. I try to clearly communicate with my family the times I might be busy. Conversely, there are times that family priorities get posted to the calendar so that work knows that I am unavailable at those times.

Delegate and outsource.

It’s impossible to do everything. Even with one parent at home, we find ourselves short on time to tackle everything. Being comfortable delegating work to a team member or outsourcing household or yard tasks is important. My husband and I have always been hands-on DIYers, but now with kids, we recognize we can’t do it all and have hired help for portions of our to-do list. At work, finding or training a person you can easily delegate tasks to is important.

Establish routines.

Kids thrive on routines and while I’m the first to break routines on the weekends, we have a pretty good routine during the week. I always get some snuggles in the morning before going to work, and unless there is a rare event, I’m home for bedtime routines.

Make time at home count.

While it’s tough to be active and engaged after a long day at the office, I try to cram a lot of fun things into our weekends. I keep track of a lot of local events and playgroups so that we can have fun together. If I need to work, I try to push it until after the kids have gone to bed. We have already made a lot of great weekend memories!

With architecture being a profession that changes based on clients, jobs, and even design stage, and with kids changing every week as they grow and develop, finding a sustainable balance is something I’m sure will be a continuous struggle, but having a career I love and a family I adore makes it all worth finding that balance.

The Kitchen is the Heart of the Holidays

by Charles Hendricks | Dec 28, 2023 | architecture, family, Interior Design

By Aliyah D. White.

During a recent weekend, my family and old friends gathered around my parents’ kitchen and blessed the food for the first Christmas party they have hosted since before the pandemic. My parents’ kitchen has always been more than just a place to feed the body. The conversations and laughter that have been shared while my mom whips up medal-worthy meals and my dad whips up his delicacies, like beanie weenie, are some of my favorite memories from growing up. For as long as I can remember, the kitchen has been the central part of the house I grew up in, and during the holidays the warmth I feel there extends to the many people we welcome in from the cold.

Beulah Kitchen Addition

Frank Lloyd Wright believed that the hearth was the psychological center of the home. In the past the hearth was where families would gather around for warmth and cook their meals. But, as times have changed, it has become a bit obsolete as the anchor of the home. Central heating takes care of warmth, and the kitchen is now where meals are prepared and shared with loved ones. Someone, who I am sure was equally as wise as Frank Lloyd Wright, once claimed that the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach. So, as the location of where we make meals has shifted, so has the path to our hearts.

Elk Rock Vista

Coming home for the holiday season means spending time with family, sharing meals, and catching up on life’s big and little events. The kitchen is often the busiest room in a home and because food is such an important part of familial culture and heritage, the kitchen becomes the most treasured room during the holidays. It is where recipes are passed onto the next generation and family history is made more vibrant amidst delicious smells and tastes. Opening the kitchen to the rest of the home not only increases functionality of the room, but it can also nurture greater interaction among family and friends.

Hilltop House

The heart of your home may look very different from mine. We have designed kitchens that double as gathering spaces by using methods like opening them up to other living areas or adding large islands that can still conceal the mess that comes along with holiday cooking. Our work as designers is to ask you specific questions to figure out what would make your kitchen gathering space the dream you have always wanted. From renovation to new construction, we have seen so many different options and know what questions to ask to uncover just the right solution. In the gallery below, you can view a few of the kitchens that we have designed, each for a specific client’s needs.

So, as you gather together this year – if you find yourself thinking, “What if we made this little change?” give us a call to talk about your dream. We would love to help you figure out what is possible and what works best. We would love to help you enhance the heart of your home for future holiday seasons.