How much room do you need at the bottom of the stairs? How big should your Foyer be? I received this question the other day.

Jackie asked: 

“We are reconfiguring our stairs and would like to know what is an adequate space to have from the last step to front door?  It is currently 74 inches – w/ the new configuration it would decrease to 60.  Is that enough room?  Thanks for your time.”

My Answer:

“In average-sized houses, 60 inches should be adequate. If the stairs are offset (off to the side) a bit from the front door, as they commonly are, this is even better. Either way, 60 inches is enough to greet your guests without having to stand on the stairs to do so. If your house is quite large in its other aspects, then this might seem like too small a space relative to everything else. 

You might try mocking this up. Lay a box or something the size of the first step in the position the new steps will occupy. Then try coming in the front door and see how it feels. Also try going to the front door to answer it as someone enters. This will give you a good feel for the appropriateness of the space. If that feels right, then it will work fine.”

Selecting interior trim for your house can be a challenging task. But there’s a good trick you can use to help you make the right choices.

Trim is known as “casing” and “crown molding” in the business of construction and architecture. It includes the pieces of wood around windows and doors, baseboards, chair-rails, and crown molding. Modern style houses usually have a minimum of casing or trim. But more traditional style homes might have quite a lot of casing and crown molding. Sooner or later, you will have to select and/or approve these items. Read the rest of this entry »

Are some of your bedrooms too hot or too cold? This is a common problem in new homes. Often the master bedroom will be fine, but the other rooms get too cold or too hot during the night. The culprit is not necessarily your Heating and Air Conditioning unit. The culprit is the closed door.

Your guests won’t tell you if you have a problem. They’re too polite. Your kids probably have their door open when they are small and don’t have a problem.  Your teenagers probably don’t talk to you much anyway. How can you know if there’s a problem? It’s a good idea to spend a night in each of the other bedrooms in your house, particularly the guest room, if you have one, to see how the temperature goes with the door closed for eight hours. And do this on a cold night and a hot night. You might be surprised at what you find. Read the rest of this entry »

I received a question from a reader about radon emissions from granite countertops the other day. I wrote a blog post about this a while ago. But this question comes up over and over again, so I thought I would post her question and my answer in the hopes it would be helpful to others.

Question – I am thinking about purchasing granite countertops for our kitchen and bathrooms, but I have been reading some horror stories about granite and radon. Now I read your web site, and you say not to be concerned. How can I be sure that the granite I’m chosing doesn’t emit radon? I am honestly very worried after reading about it online, but then you say it’s not true at all. Read the rest of this entry »

As this cold winter wears on, we all think of ways to warm our chilly bones. One great way to do that is to spend some time in a sauna. Not only will you warm your body to the bone. You’ll enjoy the emotional and health benefits the dry heat can bring.

I have designed many houses that included a sauna. It can be an important part of a complete home spa experience. The easiest way to build one is to buy one of the prefabricated units, such as those offered by Finlandia Sauna or Cedarbrook Sauna. These are easily assembled and can sit in the corner of an existing room. They are great to have in your exercise room or as part of a nice luxury bathroom. Read the rest of this entry »

Up until now, concrete cracks have been the nemesis of the construction industry. In fact, there’s an old joke that there are two types of concrete. The first type is concrete that has cracked. The second type is concrete that hasn’t cracked…yet. But is there something new on the way?

Concrete “flatwork,” that is, concrete poured in slabs for floors, sidewalks, driveways, and roads, is particularly prone to cracking. It will shrink as it “cures” and crack. And it will continue to swell and shrink when it gets warmer or cooler and be susceptible to developing more cracks. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s freezing cold across much of the United States. Are you wearing passive solar clothes to stay warm?

I know it sounds like an odd question. We tend to think of using solar design for houses, not clothes. I’ll explain.

If you know it’s a cold day, do you think about what you’re going to wear? Of course you do. You might wear several layers. The layering forms more tiny air spaces around you and increases the insulating effectiveness of your clothing. You might pick out dark colors. Even if you don’t think of this as “passive solar dressing,” it is. dark colors absorb the radiant energy from the sun better than light colors. I’m sure when you’re outside on a cold, but sunny day, you walk on the sunny side of the street to stay warmer than you’d be on the shaded side. Ah! Passive solar principles, again. It’s nothing more than proper insulation and receiving the free energy benefit from the sun. Read the rest of this entry »

At this time of year, it seems everyone is making their predictions for 2010. Why should I be any different. But my predicitions come with some advice. So here goes.

First, the housing market will slowly recover, but it won’t feel like a recovery. It will be like suffering from a fever of 102 degrees and now it’s only 100 degrees. You feel a little better, but still feel poorly. Unfortunately, there is a lot of housing inventory still out there to be absorbed. That is going to take a while. Read the rest of this entry »

Your Family Room or Great Room may be difficult to design if you want to arrange furniture to view television and your fireplace at the same time. You are presented with what I call the Television and Fireplace Location Dilemma.

Traditionally, fireplaces were placed in the center of the wall. The furniture was then grouped around it. When television first entered the American home, the screens were small and the television was simply another piece of furniture. Today, television screens are large and arguably the most prominent feature in the room. Usually the television is placed on another wall, so it has enough space. But this means your furniture arrangement must “aim” at both the fireplace and television at the same time. This is pretty hard to do. One poor solution that often is presented is to place the television above the fireplace. This helps with the furniture arrangement, but placing the television at this height only works if you are lying in bed while watching. If you are seated in a sofa or a chair, this is too high and puts an uncomfortable strain on your neck. Are there any other solutions to this dilemma? Read the rest of this entry »

It’s the holiday season and that means your house must adapt to accommodate a different number of occupants than normal. When design your new house or design your remodeling project, consider making your house flexible by thinking through how your house will live during the holidays.

I know that in our house, with four adult children and their family and friends visiting, we often have a packed house. We wanted a house that was not too big, but would be able to adapt to different needs. We wanted a house that was flexible. Read the rest of this entry »