What is the most basic information a residential client should be ready to give their architect?

If you have a goal of building a functional and beautiful home that fits your lifestyle, you must be willing to do your part in identifying your needs. Before meeting with your architect, create a basic fact sheet to take with you. This should include the following information: your budget, the approximate number of square feet, break ground date, and move-in date. Do you want a single level home or a two or three story home? If a multi-story home, do you want the top floor to be a complete floor with an attic above or the top floor to be located within the roof with dormers? Do you want a basement or attic? Name the rooms you want in your home including the approximate size of each room if you know it. Note which level of your home do you want each room located. For bedrooms, list the occupant(s) by name, size and number of beds in each room, and if there will be a bathroom attached. Do you want windows on your headboard wall? List all closets you want in your home and what level those closets should be located. Identify by name, age, sex, height, weight, left or righ-handed, shoe size, and special needs all occupants of the home. Additionally, identify by name, type, age, weight, indoor or outdoor pet, weight, and special needs of any pet in the family home. Building your dream home is an exciting time and an incredible opportunity. Please make the most of it by doing your homework!

The above list of information is a start, however, there is much more information I will discuss in my next blog. For your convenience, there are eight pages of basic information checklists in my book Designing Your Dream Home.

She moved because the order of light switches drove her crazy!

I ran into a friend this weekend who was with her friend. She introduced me to her friend and told her friend about my blogging. When I shared the recent blog I wrote about the guy who moved his family due to the location of a light switch, this woman immediately chimed in that she had moved because of the order of a gang of light switches. She said she had specifically told the electrian the order she wanted but for some reason the order she specified was not carried out. This particular group (gang) of light switches were some she used daily. She said she was never able to wrapped her mind around the order. As if she was playing charades, I saw her frustration first hand as she took her arms and fingers and acted out the way she would flip on and off several switches trying to find the one she was looking for! Daily she would find herserlf turning on the wrong switch. It became a daily source of irritation and eventually it was the catalyst that made her move!

These two blogs demonstrate why it is important to pay attention to the details of electrical plans. Chapter 7 of Designing Your Dream Home addresses electrical, HVAC, and plumbing details.