craft: an activity involving the skill in making things by hand. As I have mentioned many times, the construction process is one my favorite parts about being an architect… Building Your Home – working with the contractor on details and materials and watching our design become reality – is the most exciting part of the

This is our 11th post in our What To Expect from Your Architect series in which we document the process of Working with an Architect. We are following the progress of our contemporary house project in Lake Wylie, South Carolina and sharing the stories with you here on the blog…  During the last meeting with

Tomorrow is officially the first day of Spring and it’s also International Earth Day! So… for today’s post, we’re dreaming in green and celebrating the fact that Spring is finally here! When the weather started getting warmer last year too we put together a collection of beautiful Modern Gardens – think Modern Porch or Patio. This

Today we’re getting “down and dirty” with more details on constructing a concrete foundation, illustrating step by step how it all goes together… A few weeks ago we shared a Construction Update on pouring the foundation on our Lantern House project, and since then we have gotten several questions about how things actually go together…So we’ve

In honor of International Women’s Day #IWD2015 on Sunday, March 8, I’d like to take a moment to highlight a few Women in Architecture who I admire and respect, but more importantly women who inspire and influence me on a daily basis… Women who #MakeItHappen in Architecture: Last year for IWD I wrote about “Women

Architects love to show off their glossy photos…. I too start my website with a large, beautiful image showing off a past residential project of which I am very proud. The photograph is one of my favorites. I know people get excited about it when they see it. Creek House by Studio MM Architecture in

During the Design Development Phase the architect “develops the floor plans, exterior and interior elevations, and details to further describe the character of the project.” Basically, the DD Phase is when most of the Design Decisions are made. What To Expect from Your Architect: Design Development We are in the middle of the DD Phase

Last year for Valentine’s Day we asked our friends and fans to post images of what home means – What Makes a House a Home? It was such fun seeing the responses (one favorite was a picture of a friend’s son and floor covered in paint!) that we thought we’d ask you all to share

Modern Details Today we’re revisiting one of our more popular subjects in The Architect’s Notebook, “Design is in the Details,” and highlighting a new favorite house. (Remember, I have a lot of favorite things… amazingly designed residences is one I should add to the list.) The Elizabeth II house by Bates Masi Architects: all images

Home is where the Heart is. As is probably evident from most of the images I share in my blog posts, my style is minimal and modern. I keep my home this way as well, but that doesn’t mean I don’t display photos and knick-knacks too. I realize as I look around that many of