I received a question asking about putting tiles on a shower ceiling or not. The person asking the question said they were tiling the walls all the way up to the ceiling.

Tiles on shower ceilings are somewhat optional these days. They add cost, so often they are not done. But tiles on the ceiling are a step up in quality and make the ceiling easier to maintain. If you do not tile the ceiling, be sure to use moisture resistant drywall, sometimes called green board. It’s designed for use in damp locations. As you would imagine, steam will tend to cling to the shower ceiling, especially in the corners. If you have a nice gap at the top of the shower door to let the steam vent out, a drywall ceiling, properly painted should work fine. (more…)

Here are a few guidelines that might be helpful. (more…)

A number of the houses I have designed have included home gyms. There are a number of considerations to keep in mind when designing a home gym.

First and foremost would be sound. I think it’s best to place the home gym on the lowest floor of the house to reduce the noise transmission from the exercise equipment. If this room can have a concrete slab floor, as you might have in a basement space, that would be best of all. Treadmills, stationary bikes, and other exercise equipment such as that produce droning vibrations that can be transmitted through a wood framed floor/ceiling assembly. (more…)

I was asked recently to comment for an article about the point at which we feel at home when travelling to a foreign country. When have we acclimated to the culture, language and place enough so that we feel the place is now our home? Here are the comments I gave the reporter.

 I understand that your emphasis is on feeling at home in another location other than where you normally live. Others can speak to the time when we feel comfortable with the place, language, and culture. What I would suggest is that the place we reside has much to do with attaining that feeling of “home.” (more…)

Congratulations to Joseph Truini on a great and timely article entitled “5 Reasons Architects Are Worth the Money When Redoing Your Home.” If you missed it, it was posted by Popular Mechanics and MSN Real Estate. I was impressed enough to post the following comment on the article:

With the state of the economy right now, remodeling makes a lot of sense. It’s hard to sell a house, but with construction costs way down, remodeling your current house into your dream house is a great idea. Plus you don’t have to pay real estate commissions or moving costs. That money can help buy you your new kitchen cabinets and countertops or the screened porch you’ve been wanting. (more…)

Over the years, I have seen a strong trend away from wood-burning fireplaces toward gas fireplaces.

There are two reasons for that. First is the cost. Traditional, all masonry fireplaces are very expensive to build. The entire chimney must be built of masonry and the tall column of cement blocks, bricks, and terra cotta flue liner is very expensive. Plus, a true masonry fireplace requires a foundation to carry the weight. That adds more cost. Pre-fab metal units have taken over the marketplace for cost alone. Some pre-fab fireplace companies are Heatilator, Majestic, and Heat-n-Glo. These fireplaces have some limitations on the size of the firebox opening. If I need a particularly large opening, I turn to Isokern. This is a fireplace that is made of a special type of concrete block system, but it does not require the full masonry flue. So it is a compromise between the design freedom of the traditional masonry fireplace and the cost benefits of the pre-fab units. (more…)

We all know how important first impressions can be. Our opinion of something or someone is formed quickly upon our first encounter. That’s one reason you should pay attention to the design of your front door, entrance, and the entire arrival and entry experience when designing your house. You won’t get a second chance. So be sure you present the image and feel that is consistent with the overall house.

One aspect of the entrance to a house that you may overlook or under-appreciate is the concept of transition from public to private. This is a concept I discuss in some detail in Designing Your Perfect House. The minds of human beings seek order. Our minds don’t like abrupt changes. We are most comfortable with gradual transitions. If you consider the sensation when you step from your dark bedroom in the middle of the night and turn on the light in the bathroom, you get a pretty good idea of how harsh a change can feel. Our psyche reacts to changes in spaces, albeit subconsciously, the same way. Sudden shifts from one type of space to another can be jarring and disconcerting. (more…)