Why hire an architect?
Home construction can be one of the largest expenditures of a lifetime, but it is more an investment than an expense. Different from a new car or a big tv, home construction can be an opportunity to not only enjoy an improved living situation, but profit on your investment. Typically, the more care and consideration you put into a project, any project, the better your return. This applies to home construction: by being thoughtful, you will increase the quality - and therefore ultimate value - of the project.
To help transform home construction from a task into an opportunity, hire an architect with experience and vision. A good architect will help address such questions as:
- How much would be appropriate to spend, considering the neighborhood, quality of construction, and family needs?
- How might our needs change in the short or long term?
- What configuration would maximize the assets of our existing home and minimize the changes or additions necessary?
- How do we maximize resale value?
- What are the applicable legal codes and restrictions?
How does it work?
Initial consultation - $150 for a one-hour meeting; waived if project proceeds.
Architectural design services - charged hourly; discussed at initial consultation. Fees typically total about 5% of the cost of construction; remodels sometimes more, new construction less.
Services provided include master planning (what’s our long term “grand plan”?), documentation of existing conditions, schematic design, design development, working drawings (used to obtain permits), contractor vetting or referrals, consultations (structural, civil engineering), construction observation, color and material palette selection, and occasionally landscape design.
Why Margie Miller?
My specialty is listening to and working collaboratively with clients: I thrive on focusing on a project’s unique elements and challenges, seeking artistic, functional, and economically appropriate solutions that consider both the short term and the long term needs of the client. I don’t begin a project with pre-conceived ideas; I make an effort to respect the important proportions, scale and detailing unique to you, to your preferences, and/or to your home. With an artful hand, I aim to elevate even an ordinary room addition to the extra-ordinary, for you.
My design sense is rooted in nature. Maximizing natural lighting, considering solar orientation, carefully examining efficient use of space, energy, and materials, and building mindfully have always been essential design components to me. I endorse and practice a sustainable approach to building, and am supportive of innovative products and methods. For me, thoughtfulness and modesty are quiet yet fundamental elements of building green.
So if you are considering:
a home construction project, regardless of style, scale, or scope, whether historic or modern, whether it is an old-house remodel or all new construction, know that I am passionate about creating . . .
. . . a smart, beautiful, functional, and economically appropriate architectural solution especially for you.
I thoroughly enjoy understanding houses - and the people who make them homes.
Philosophy
