Luci wrote:

I know the correct answer for this, but I’d like to find out that it CAN be done differently – My husband and I will be building, (and by building I mean designing and having someone else build it) our retirement home in the near future, and I’ve found an “outside” that I like.  I don’t just like it, I want it!  I know you should design the floor plan first, then the outside, but I want to do it the other way around.  Any advice?

Thank you very much!

Luci

Here’s my answer:

Luci – Thanks for the good question. I have begun a number of projects with an image my client has found that captures the exact look they want. What we often do is to evaluate the plan of the house that has the “ideal” exterior and see how well that floor plan fits the program we’ve developed for the client’s Perfect House. Sometimes the plan can be simply adapted to suit my client’s needs. Sometimes it takes some clever redesigning to get things perfect. A good architect can even modify the exterior of the house to fit the revised floor plan and still retain the essence of the look of the house that captivated the client initially. The secret is that the exterior usually does not have to be a perfectly identical match to still look “just like” the exterior they had found and fallen in love with.

So don’t worry. Your Perfect House plan can usually be designed to give you Your Perfect House exterior look. It just takes some clever and creative thinking.

Best regards,

Bill

For more articles about home design, homebuilding, and remodeling, please visit my other site, www.about-home-design.com.

Shutters used to serve a functional purpose on a house. They were opened and closed regularly. Wooden shutters increased a home’s security when closed and allowed light and fresh air to enter the house when they were open. Shutters were usually closed and latched at night to make the home less susceptible to break ins. And, glass was very expensive. It needed to be protected during storms to prevent breakage and shutters served that purpose, too. Shutters were a key part of the function of the windows.

These days, windows are much more durable and we depend on security systems for home security. If you live in a hurricane prone area, you know the benefit of hurricane shutters. But normal window shutters are no longer used to protect windows. Shutters have grown to simply be a decorative feature on a house.

However, even if they are merely decorative, shutters should look like they could function. If they don’t they will simply look like a couple of panels screwed to the wall for no good reason. Giving the shutters the visual impression that they could operate properly will make the proportions of the window and shutter look correct and pleasing to the eye.

Shutters should be the same height as the window frame. The sash is the part that can open and close. It is the glass plus the wood that holds the glass. The frame is the next part of the window that the sash sits within. The shutter width should be half the overall width of the frame. If sized according to this rule. When the two shutters are closed over the window, they will neatly close over the complete window sash and frame.

Do not size the shutters smaller than the window frame or they will look silly. Operable shutters would never do their job of protecting the window if they did not completely close over it. So your fixed, decorative shutters shouldn’t look too small to fit over the window frame either.

Do not size them larger that the frame or they will look like if were closed they would lap over the window plus part of the wall and look just as silly. Some windows have an additional trim board around the window. Ignore this when measuring. A proper shutter should not lap over the exterior trim.

Shutters mounted with real hinges and shutter dogs always look best. The shutter dog is the piece of metal that holds the shutters back to the wall and is usually shaped like the letter “S” . But mounting shutters this way adds significant cost and this subtle detail may not fit within your budget. But you can always afford to get the size right, even if the shutters are purely for decoration and permanently screwed to the wall. All it takes is a bit of thought, planning, and a tape measure.

For more articles on Home Building and Remodeling, please visit my other website, www.about-home-design.com.

This soaking tub set in a secluded alcove gives a spa feel to this luxury bathroom

The bath is now the oasis, the place to retreat from the hectic world. soaking tubs are still there, altough more people claim they don’t have time to use them. But those people who do like them to be an experience. Reading, meditating, and just zoning out are the attraction. Plus spa tubs add to the look of the room, giving you the sensation of being somewhere you could relax, even if you don’t have the time right now.

I’m getting more requests for showers with no glass, no door and no curb. People have tired of cleaning the glass walls of a shower. They they love the look, but don’t like having to squeegee down the glass after they take a shower. Many people prefer having no glass except for the glass door. But even better, if you can make the shower area large enough, you can have a direct “walk in” arrangement with no door, at all. The entire shower can be tile or stone. The entrance area becomes a great place for towel bars and drying off. Having no curb is appealing to people, particularly if they anticipate aging in place and they don’t want to be forced to move out of their house if they ever lose mobility.

There is certainly a trend toward more shower heads, body sprays and rain head showers. These don’t help with water or energy conservation. But the trend is toward making your bathroom your own personal spa. If you opt for more water sources, be sure to have the mixing valves properly sized so the spray shoots out and doesn’t just dribble.

Air tubs are replacing water-jet whirlpools. This is because the air tubs let you use oils and bubbles without worrying about gumming up the plumbing. The motor for air tubs can be located in a remote location. This reduces the noise. Water-jet tubs can’t do that.

Heated tile or stone floors are more common. They are easy to install with electric powered mesh mats that are installed just beneath the tiles. They can operate on a timer so the floor is warm when you get up in the morning and then turn off later so you won’t have to remember to do it. Heated towel bars warm the spirit, too.

Lots of storage is critical. People need places for all of their things and they want them conveniently located. How many potions and appliances do you have? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a home for all of them, leaving you an uncluttered countertop?

A separate room for the toilet and/or bidet are standard for luxury baths. Sometimes there are even separate his and hers toilet areas.

Sit-down makeup vanities are much more common. Sometimes these are next to one of the sinks. But more and more these vanities get their own location, possibly even within the large master closet, provided the closet is more of a dressing room and not simply a place to hang clothes. It’s nice to provide a tiny sink at the makeup vanities so there is a water source.

Multiple types and levels of lighting are great. This lets you have one type and level of lighting for shaving and tooth brushing, but another level for relaxing in the soaking tub. And don’t forget about the light needed when it comes time to clean your spa/bathroom.

Regarding soaking tubs, there seems to be a trend toward deeper tubs that are smaller in footprint and not small swimming pools. It’s a philosophy similar to the tubs in a Japanese ofuro, except we don’t bath before entering the tub like they do. Still, the deeper tub allows full immersion in a slightly more upright position.

Privacy gardens are nice. This would be a garden visible only from the bathroom with a surrounding wall high enough to provide privacy without the use of window blinds or shades. This can give the bathroom a wonderful outdoor feel, even in climates that don’t permit outdoor living year-round. Sliding or patio doors can allow access from the bath to the privacy garden. And where the climate is right, the garden can even contain an outdoor shower, all in total seclusion and out of the view of the neighbors.

If you would like to read more articles about house and home design, please visit my other website, www.about-home-design.com.

Don’t overplay your hand. You might be holding all the cards right now, since every builder is very hungry for work. But pushing too hard can cause the builder to dig in and not want to negotiate no matter what. Effective negotiations should always leave both parties, the builder and yourself, feeling each came out well and didn’t have to give up too much.

My advice is that when you are negotiating, you need to always give the builder a comfortable reason to adjust his bid without him feeling like he is simply changing his number. No builder wants to be seen as saying, “I was trying to charge you that higher amount, but now that you’re pushing me a little, I’d be happy to only charge you this much.” It makes it look like he was trying to gouge the customer in the first place. So my suggestion is to always change the scope of the project a little bit, or suggest the builder ask his subs or suppliers if there is any way they can reduce the costs of the work. That way the builder can come back to you and say, “Now that we deleted the fancy tiles the cost has come down…” or “I really pushed my subs and got you these savings…”  This lets the builder be the hero in getting you a better price, even if part of the reduction actually came from their own anticipated profit. They never have to say they cut their price, even if they did.

One other good tactic is to simply say, “I have a couple of prices and we are going to make a decision tomorrow. Please give me your last, best price to help with the decision.” This opens another opportunity for the builder to trim his profit without setting a new precedent he may not want to be publicly known. But you’ll still get the benefit of the discount he quietly created for you.

Another good approach is to evaluate the price they gave you, determine what you think the price should be, maybe three to five percent less, and then say to the builder, “I need to get this price to “X” or else I can’t go ahead. If you can do something to tweak you price to “X”, I’ll sign the contract.” Of course, in this scenario, you need to actually be ready to sign the contract. Your target number needs to be realistic, too.

Some cost savings can come from simple changes that make the builder’s work easier to do or coordinate, yet still give you the end result you are wanting. I always ask the builder for his suggestions and ask him to identify any places we might be spending too much without a compensating benefit. I do this even if the price was below our budget. You never want to overspend unwittingly.

Negotiating with both parties interests in mind will get you a great price and leave the builder happy to have gotten the job. When everyone is happy, the work always turns out better.

Have you had success or an interesting experience with builder negotiations? Post a comment and share it with us.

If you would like to read more articles about house and home design, please visit my other website, www.about-home-design.com.

My husband and I just bought a house built in the early 60′s and it has the original white oak floors that have the aged yellow/orange look. I’m getting used to them, I think!  I don’t know what color to paint the walls that will compliment the floors.  I plan to invest in traditional wool area rugs with golds, greens, navy, and rusts colors.  I prefer lighter colors for walls but can’t seem to select one that doesn’t look so yellow.  Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

Here’s my answer:

The yellow/orange color you see in the white oak floors is probably not the wood that has turned this color. It is probably the polyurethane finish. Oil-based polyurethanes yellow considerably over time. If you wish to get rid of the yellow, you could simply have them refinished. When the polyurethane is sanded off, the underlying wood will look like new and be the original white oak color. We did this in a house we bought in Wilmington, Delaware many years ago. The house had been built in 1918 and the floors were very yellow and had black spots, too. Once they were refinished, they looked brand new and wonderful.

A new oil-based poly will yellow a little, but not nearly as yellow as one that is many, many years old. And newer polyurethanes tend to be more color stable than those from some years ago. If you want to totally avoid yellowing in the future, you could use a water-based polyurethane finish. The water based finish will not yellow and is a little more durable than even the tough oil-base polyurethane, but some people feel it leaves the floor looking flat and a bit lifeless.

For the wall colors, you might want to consider picking up the other colors in the rugs, but in pale tones. A very pale green, with even a slight grey cast and not yellowish, can be a very handsome color and is in style these days.

To learn more about polyurethane finishes, you might want to visit www.minwax.com. they are a long-time manufacturer of high quality floor finishes of all types. Their website is full of tips, advice, and product information.

If you would like to read more articles about house and home design, please visit my other website, www.about-home-design.com.

I refer to siding, brick, stone, stucco, and other sidings as the “weatherproofing” of the house. These materials keep the bulk of the wind and water out, but even perfectly installed siding material will still let in small, but significant, amounts of moisture. There is no effective way to stop this and it does not indicate the house is poorly built.

Do you remember the old black tar paper that used to be installed around a house before the siding was installed? That layer is the actual barrier against water infiltration. It is the true waterproofing of a house. These days, tar paper has been replaced with several high-tech House Wraps, like Tyvek and Typar by DuPont, Weathermate by Dow, and PinkWrap by Owens Corning.

Materials such as these have revolutionized house waterproofing. Much more resistant to moisture infiltration than old fashioned tar paper, these materials substantially improve the energy performance of the house, as well. By reducing the air infiltration in exterior frame walls, particularly on windy days, these high-tech house wraps help the building insulation remain effective. All insulation works on the principle of dead air being the actual insulator. The insulation simply keeps the air still so it can insulate. You can imagine that if air is moving around in the wall cavity, the “R” value (insulating value) is going to be lost. The house wraps keep wind from penetrating the walls and compromising the insulation’s effectiveness. House wraps will save you a lot of money in heating and cooling costs.

When the windows and doors of a house are installed, the house wrap is taped to the window and door frames with special tape to insure a tight seal. When this is done and the roof has been installed on the house, the house is watertight, regardless of whether any of the siding has been installed. The siding material is there to protect the house wrap, deflect the heavy weather, and for looks.

If your house is being built in a cold climate and you are worried about brick, stone, or stucco being installed in freezing conditions, you don’t have to delay the start of construction. You can begin the house, provided weather permits the foundation to be built, and let the builder frame everything. He can install the roofing, install the windows, and wrap the house up with one of the house wraps. The house will be watertight and the interior construction can continue. The masonry on the exterior can wait until warmer weather without delaying the rest of the construction.

If you would like to read more articles about house and home design, please visit my other website, www.about-home-design.com.

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.

If you are adding a steam unit to the shower, you will definitely need tiles on the ceiling. Otherwise you will grow mildew quickly and you will find yourself repairing the ceiling frequently. Steam showers need to be completely enclosed with no gaps around or at the top of the glass doors. If not, the shower will never steam up enough to do what you want it to do. One good tip for building a steam shower is to give the ceiling a bit of a slant. This will keep droplets of condensed steam from dripping on you. Although the steam was hot when it condensed on the ceiling, it will feel icy cold when it drips on you. Slightly sloping the ceiling will let the water run to the walls and down the walls without dropping on you.

Another tip on shower ceilings is to not make them too high. If your house has ten foot ceilings, consider dropping the shower ceiling to eight foot. This will help the shower warm up when you use it. If the ceiling is too high, it might create an uncomfortable cool draft.

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If you would like to read more articles about house and home design, please visit my other website, www.about-home-design.com.

I recently received a house design question from a reader asking if there was a formula for determining the proper window size (height and width) for a house. Here’s how I answered his question.

I don’t have any strict formula I use for determining window size. I depend on my eye. If you have elevations of your cabin drawn accurately to scale, simply try a few window sizes until you get ones that just look right. They should fill the wall but not overwhelm it. Windows in large rooms need to be wider than windows in small rooms. Generally, window size selection is a little like the story of the Three Bears. They shouldn’t be too big or too small. They need to be just right. If you don’t trust your instincts on this, ask for some other people’s opinions and factor those into your decision.

Window proportions are a very subjective decision. The proportions of the wall, the style of the house, and personal preference are all important considerations.

Here are a few guidelines that might be helpful. Windows should have low enough sills so you can see out when seated. But if you get the glass too close to the floor, the Building Code may require tempered or safety glass in the windows. This will add costs. So check the local codes to be sure. They also should be tall enough so they look appropriate inside the rooms. If you have ten foot ceilings, you don’t want the top of the window to stop at seven feet off the floor. There would be too much empty space on the wall above. On the other hand, you don’t want the top of the window to be too high where it crowds or runs into the crown molding. Be sure to leave room for the window treatments you might have.

The proportions of height to width are also a subjective decision. This is often a trial and error process until things look right. If your windows will have muntins (grids) dividing the windows up into smaller panes, consider the proportions of those. Generally speaking, window panes that are taller than they are wide will look best. If the height and width are identical, they will look like they are wider than they are tall. This is a persistent optical illusion, so be aware. Once you determine the proportions of the window panes and the pattern of the window muntins or grids, try to keep these sizes and proportions consistent from window to window so your house will look cohesive and not seem like a collection of all sorts of windows.

The Building Codes require that at least one window in each sleeping room must meet certain clear opening requirements and have a sill height that’s not too high above the floor. These windows are required as a second “Means of Egress” or emergency escape, from the bedroom. This can be an important consideration when selecting window sizes.

The window sizes need to be considered from both the outside and the inside. I think that in most cases one size window will stand out as being just right and the decision will become easy.

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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.

If a room with a concrete floor is not an available option and the home gym will have a wood framed floor, sound deadening mats can be placed beneath the equipment to reduce vibration. If the gym is in new construction or a remodeling where the floor system is accessible, then placing sound deadening insulation in the floor is a good idea. The walls and ceiling of the exercise room should be sound insulated as well. This can be done with fiberglass sound deadening batts, sound deadening drywall, or a sound deadening board installed between the drywall and the studs.  One relatively new product that can be placed in the floor wall or ceiling systems to reduce sound is what’s called “mass loaded vinyl.”  This is a thick, flexible, rubberlike sheet that can be installed on the studs behind the drywall.

 If a home gym is being created in an attic space, the strength of the floor construction needs to be evaluated to make sure it’s adequate for supporting heavy exercise equipment and weight machines. Some additional bracing might be required. I’ve utilized the attic space above garages for exercise rooms a number of times. Because these rooms are above the garage, the sound issue is less critical than it would be an attic space above bedrooms and living rooms. One way to make better use of the space such as an attic is to use the low headroom areas to the sides for dumbbell racks, storage of loose weights, other storage, or rolling up exercise and yoga mats. One other advantage attics can sometimes have is that they might be quite high in the middle. This would give more headroom for any tall equipment that might be needed. Home gyms do not necessarily have to have windows. This is really a personal preference or is often determined based upon which rooms are available. Many home gyms are created in windowless basements. In these cases, the choice of colors and finishes is important to make the room inviting to use. Spa-like finishes, such as tile and stone combined with mirrors can create a very appealing atmosphere and the windows will never be missed.

 One other consideration in designing a home gym is the fact that this room will be a source of heat and humidity that comes from the people who are exercising. You might want to keep the gym a bit cooler than the rest of the house. If possible, it’s a good idea to have the home gym on a separate heating and air-conditioning system or at least be controlled as a separate zone off of the main system. This way the home gym would be controlled by its own thermostat and wouldn’t affect the temperature in the other rooms of the house. If the home gym can’t be placed on a separate HVAC system, some control can be achieved by adjusting dampers and registers on the duct work that leads to this room. A major mistake can be made if the thermostat that controls the entire HVAC system of the house is located in the home gym. If this happens, the temperatures in the other rooms of the house will be thrown off by the extra heat generated in the home gym. One way to keep a home gym comfortable for the people using it is to install a ceiling fan. This will stir the air and increase evaporation off of your skin keeping you cooler while you’re working out.

 I’ve found that one important consideration in the design of a home gym is to be sure there is one uninterrupted wall for the placement of full height mirrors. These are desirable for allowing you to check that you are using the proper form while exercising. Nearly every home gym needs a place for television. This can be mounted high on brackets in one corner of the room. But careful consideration is a must in determining where the television should be relative to the placement of the equipment.

 The choice of floor surfaces is important too. Because gym floors can be susceptible to perspiration drips, something that’s easily cleaned or simply wipes up is a good idea. Sheet vinyl, tile, or hardwood flooring with a polyurethane finish are all good options. But these hard surfaces reflect sound, so they will make the room echo more. Throw rugs or cushioned exercise mats can dampen the echo somewhat. There are low pile commercial type carpets available that can also be used in home gyms. One good choice among these would be carpet tiles. Their advantage is that it’s easy to replace one of them should it be damaged without having to replace the entire floor. Carpet tiles are more resilient than ceramic or porcelain tiles and will help control the sound, too.

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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.

When approaching and entering a house, the entry experience is a transition from the public domain of the street to the private domain of your home. Unfortunately, many houses are built where this transition occurs in one or two steps. Think of houses where you simply walk up to the front door and step through right into the living room. I guarantee this feels uncomfortable to you even if you can’t explain it except to say that it seems to compromise the privacy of the living room. Actually what is happening is there was no “middle place” to let your mind adjust from public to private.

Front steps, porches, vestibules, and defined foyers are all part of a better entry transition from public to private. A front step and porch are still open to the public, but they have some private aspect to them since they belong to the house and the porch might even be covered, thus making it become a little bit of an indoor space. Your foyer is much more private because it is behind your front door, but it is not as private as your family room. It still carries some publicness because you greet guests there, visitors can see into it from the front door, and there is no sitting furniture indicating that people linger there.

I was in New Jersey recently and I noticed this lovely, unique entry experience.

This house faces a fairly busy street, but the columns and roof overhang “claim” a piece of the public space for the house. If you step onto the front porch, you feel that you have stepped out of the public realm and into a more private place. The front porch space is somewhat cozy since it wraps around the visitor, embracing them and making them feel welcomed. It lets you anticipate the next step into the foyer. And what really struck me is the creative and unusual way these spaces were created. This is hardly your standard front porch. It speaks of character and expresses something a typical front porch would miss.

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