Renovations can be a lot of fun! Much of that depends on the mindset of the client. As architects, part of the role is to set realistic expectations by educating the client on the process.

Every renovation that we undertake at Ross Design begins with a close examination of the existing structure. We explore its strengths, its quirks, and the untapped potential it holds.

Whether it is a light refresh or a complete transformation, we see each project as an investment in the future. One of our most memorable compliments came from a client who told us she felt like she “had moved without ever having to move at all!”

As part of revamping the marketing strategy for Ross Design Architects, I have decided to restart my blog. I googled and joyfully found it just sitting there…waiting. I discovered it had been a decade since my last post!

Every day as I drive to the gym and back I pass a construction site for a new home. Of course I notice it, after all creating homes is the major part of my business and I enjoy keeping up with what is going on in the various neighborhoods around me.

Happy 2015!!!

This past year, I’ve enjoyed becoming acquainted with several other architects through social media. We share ideas, articles, projects, and sources via Twitter and Facebook.

After the last few years, things have really picked up for my practice. I’ve gotten to the point where I find myself working 6 days a week, including morning and evening overtime, and I still struggle to meet deadlines.

Right before Christmas a friend of mine working for the local office of a national design magazine called to tell me the office was closing. The staff had been given leave to take the books from the library if they desired and she wanted to know if I was interested.

Last week, I had the unique opportunity to experience marketing from two opposite sides. On Wednesday, a local coalition of building supply vendors grouped together to present Curtain Call – a full day of continuing education seminars tailored for architects and interior designers.

“My contractor told me I needed to call you. We know exactly what we want. How much do you charge for the blueprints?”In these cost challenged times, this is a familiar theme.

Every now and then, I come across something that entertains and teaches. Always the best combination!

This is the house that Jack built… in the late 1940s after he returned from the war and started working for his father. It was a smart 3 bedroom house with a side porch designed to appeal to young men like him. It was an optimistic time.

Technology changes everything. For those in the design profession, the introduction of BIM (building information modeling) software is revolutionizing not only the built environment but the studio environment as well, leaving many to wonder about the future of the profession.

In my practice, “Living Large” is the phrase I use to describe a project that lives like it has more square footage than it does.

Every Wednesday during the school year, I pick my older son up from a school built in the mid-1920s. It is a wonderful old multistory brick building, complete with lots of cast stone trim, tall multi-paned windows,  tiled-wall halls, and a great plastered proscenium arch and balcony in the auditorium.