Architects Have Great Tools! - Interior Design Study

Architects do have some great tools, and here is one more example of how they can use them.

The interior great room images below of this particular cottage house plan were created using a 3d modeling tool called Google Sketchup. I used the tool to carve out the basic design inside and out, but I wanted to study variations of the design in order to present to my client.

Here is the Great Room space. Simple with white walls and vaulted ceiling - nice and clean!

Added a white washed wood ceiling and a little color on the walls.

Added a beam treatment to the ceiling and went back to the monochrome color scheme.

Added white washed wood ceiling between the beams.

Wood beams, white washed wood ceiling and a little color on the walls.

This example illustrates how just changing a few elements within a design can dramatically alter the character of a space. And Sketchup is a great tool for visualizing that space.

Design Value - Rustic Cottage House Plan

It's been a while since my last posting. Been busy over the holidays. Also, I have been working on a couple of new interesting projects. I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at one of them. The project incorporated a modified design process in order to save time and money.

The design below is a rustic retreat to be constructed on lake property in Tennessee. The client found a plan that was originally designed by John Tee Architect. The plan did not meet all of their family's needs, but represented a pretty good starting point. So they purchased the plan and commissioned a major reworking of the design. I worked in Association with a plan customization company named Architectural Overflow to perform the re-design. The images below reflect our work.

lake side elevation

side elevation

If you are interested in finding the most possible value in Design then this might be a good approach to consider. Find a plan that works reasonably well, purchase the plan, then have a good residential Architect adapt the design to truly reflect your needs and your site. What this really does is gives you a good starting point in the design process and saves time and $$$ exploring concepts that might not work well for you.