To Add On or Not To Add On

The other day, I found out that a friend decided that they wanted to move because they wanted a better house. They went through the effort to look everywhere for the perfect house. After a long search, they finally found a house that they really liked, but as expected, it's cost outweighed how much they really liked it, and it still was just not the perfect house for them.

I wondered why don't they like the house that they live in now? They had lived there for a long time, and it seemed to work well for their lifestyle up until then. After lots of questions and trying to find out, it came down to really one thing, the Kitchen. They HATED their kitchen. They said that they even looked at adding on to their house to build a nicer kitchen, but it just was not an option because they would never recoup the cost to build an addition. So, they gave up on the idea all together and still have a kitchen that they hate.

So here is the problem, this is why I started this blog, because I am one of this families friends, and Architect, I even went to high school and to college with this friend. We talk about our jobs and ideas all the time. (Our wives hate it.) So when a problem comes up involving their home, their architecture, they think to ask a contractor first, "How much it would cost to add on to their house." Instead of asking me, their friend and Architect, how they could make their kitchen better, and make it a kitchen that they loved instead of hated. This, I think, is the typical thought process when it comes to someones home. Why would anyone need an Architect to design a remodel for them, it will only drag out the process and cost more money. Right?

This is an everyday Architecture In Real Life problem. People buy a standard plan that is mass produced, and live with the results and make it work for them. And usually, they hate it, or they hate something about it. They try to figure out a solution, and ask a contractor what they should do. Now, I like contractors and builders. They do a great job at what they do. They build things, and usually do a great job at it too. But think about a contractors business, the bigger the job, the more money they make. So really, the logical thing for a contractor to do would be to say, "Yes, you NEED to add on a new kitchen to your house, there is no other way." More work for the contractor to do, and "Yes I have the perfect "Special" (Plan that I have built before that I know I can make a profit on) plan that will work for you."

Side note...

Usually an Architect makes a percentage of the cost of the addition or building too. People should get paid for what service they give. There is a benefit to having something well planned out verses something built with a lot of square footage, that is just tacked on to your existing problem with a lot of shiny new things inside. The benefit? $100,000+ vs. $10,000. Big difference right?

There is a better way! You can get a new Kitchen by changing the way a space works. Or spaces in my friends' home. Their home is a standard plan, tri-level home. (Bedrooms upstairs, Bedrooms, Laundry, and Living Room downstairs; and Kitchen, Dining, and Couch room / Sitting room in the middle.

Now, my definition of room types is different than the standard "Real-Estate-Agent" terms. Todays "Living room" or the room that is close to your front door that you put some couches in that sometimes people use, when they come over to visit, I call the Sitting room, or Couch room, because that is what usually uses the room, for most houses, their Couch. It comes form the old days when a a proper house had a parlor to invite your guest over to have tea. Nice Right? I do not know too many people that still invite people over everyday for tea. (Maybe they do, they just have never invited me over yet.) The real "living" room is the room usually with the TV, the place where you spend all your time, LIVING, in your house. Some Real-Estate Agents call it a Family room, a Rec room, Great room or a Bonus room.

OK, got a little sidetracked there.

Anyway my point is that my friends have a "Couch" room, that they use sometimes, it is not where they LIVE. If the room was to be walled off, they probably would not notice too much of a difference in their daily life and use of their house. So really, this room to me and to their lifestyle, is a pretty room, but really just empty square footage. Right now as their floor plan sits, they have a 10x10 kitchen with a wall between their 15x10 couch room, and an open plan dining area and an entry. In between is a wall and next to that wall a lot of usable space that usually sits empty.

Use the square footage that you have in your home for the spaces that you use the most, you pay the same amount no matter what the mortgage is right? So if you like to watch TV or movies, make a nice room to watch TV or movies, and cut back on the "couch" room. If you like to have people over for parties, then make a "great" room that is open planned and party oriented to allow lots of people in a space that connects to the outside.

My point...

That a standard plan never works for everyones lifestyle, and most people do not know what kind of space or room will work best for them. That is where an Architect comes in. An Architect, a GOOD one, will help figure out what you really will use in a home. Then they design it and get it built on a budget. Then you will never HATE a space again.

My good friends have lots of extra empty square footage to make a kitchen that will work for them and still be able to have a sitting room, or "Couch room" to use occasionally, and they don't need to add on a huge addition, that they will never be able to re-coup the costs on. It will take a little design effort but in the end, they will have a space that works for them and fits the way they live.

The "Cookie Cutter Plan"

I find it funny to walk down a typical sub-urban neighborhood and look at all the similar houses that are built even on the same street. Each person or family that lives in these standard homes is very different, they have different needs, and lifestyles. How then could each different person settle for the same plan, because some Realtor told them that this "special" plan would suit their needs the best, even if the same plan was built multiple times on the same street?

Don't take this the wrong way. I have lived and now live in a "cookie cutter" house plan, but for a good reason. Take the first house that I purchased, a standard split entry, 3 bedroom and 1 and a half bath plan. A GREAT starter home; it was the perfect plan for me and my new family, well at least this is what my Real-estate agent told me. It was true though; it was perfect for my wallet, not my lifestyle or family.

This same floor plan was repeated and built multiple times in my neighborhood, with a few variations available. In my little subdivision 2/3 of all the houses were my house plan. That means that 2/3 of all the people in my neighborhood were exactly like me. They had the same likes and dislikes as me, and lived their lives exactly like me, Right? That is why they lived in the same house plan as me, Right? Actually, it was the wallet thing again. It was a shelter to live in when they were home, that they could afford. They made it work for them, or adapted it to the way they lived. In most cases it probably did not even work with their lifestyle at all, and they did not even like it. I mean how in the world does a family of 7 share 1 bathroom that is connected to the "Master" bedroom? Wow, that reminds me of the opening scene from "Muppets From Space" when all the Muppets are getting ready for the day with just the one bathroom for all the Muppets. You have Animal looking for a shower and ends up washing in the toilet because everything else in the bathroom and house is occupied by a King Prawn, a Cow, Fozzie Bear taking a shower with a rain coat, and a long line of every other creature waiting to get in and use the bathroom. It is like a Womens' Restroom at halftime, Crazy!

A little history…

One of the first cookie cutter plans out there was the "Sears Modern Home" or a home designed and sold in the classic Sears Catalog. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Catalog_Home) These plans were built way back in 1908. Basically they were a House in a box, that Sears would ship to your purchased property. Just pick the plan that you liked best, and it was on its way, nails, wood and batteries included. These were inexpensive and just about anyone could afford the American dream, to own your own home. The economy of scale came into play here. Mass produce something, and you could make it more affordable for the everyday Joe. It is just Joe, John, Jimmy, Jason, Jordan, and Jerry would have the same plans even though they lived in different places and in different climates, and had different needs and lifestyles.

Ok, enough Architectural History for one post...

Real Life Architecture

Once when I was working with a client on a home renovation, a neighbor asked me; "Why would someone ever need an Architect to design a new house, or remodel for a house?"

After spending so many years in school, and taking multiple tests to become an Architect, this really intrigued me.

Why, with all the cookie cutter "cool" house plans that you can find online, hundreds of contractors looking to tell you how they would build your house, and "custom" home builders that will build it fast, cheap and put a roof over your head; Why? Why would you ever need an Architect to design your home unless it was like a mansion or something?

With this question posed, I have decided to write a blog about this subject, and hopefully get the word out, to let people know what they are missing, and what they could have in their lives for the same price as a standard cookie cutter plan.

So this blog is to talk about why you would ever want an Architect to design something for you. So ask questions and hopefully I am able to share my experiences and answer some questions the best that I can.