There's a big push in the real estate industry for "big," but some of the best houses out there aren't big at all. Just like anything else, it's quality over quantity, and the best houses are rooted in how you live your life and how you want to feel.
Bigger houses aren't designed for you, they're designed for the market.
Most new houses are big because they're built to be sold-- the bigger the house, the more return on investment a developer can get. If you aren't a developer and you are building a house for yourself to live in and experience every day, your design goals are going to be entirely different. A large bonus room above the garage might be a great selling point for a contractor, but if you are sacrificing a beautiful designer kitchen for (let's be honest) a glorified junk room, maybe it's not the best use of your money.
Think of the design as a whole, not a list.
That's where architects enter the picture. An architect can help you make the most of your square footage because they are guided by your answer to this one question: How do you want your house to feel? Everything else in a design exists in service to that answer. If you want your life to revolve around a vibrant kitchen, architects can design the entire house around that concept. As the design starts to take shape, you'll start to notice that the list of real estate requirements the internet insisted were vital start to fade. You'll realize you don't need a "15x18 living room" -- you need a warm winter refuge where you can sit and watch movies by the fire with your family. You don't need a "large screened in porch," you need a space that's connected to nature where you can relax with a coffee and read a book. What that space is can be fluid throughout the design process, ultimately allowing the architect to craft you a home that combines and connects all the different things you want a home to be. And the resulting design doesn't have to be expensive or gigantic. Every square foot of a house costs money, and cutting out the unneeded bloat could leave you with everything you ever needed at a fraction of the cost.
Little moves for big impact.
A lot of the time, the difference between an impressive home and a bland home is the thought put into the design, not the money or the size. In the kitchen remodel below (which you can read about here), the architect carefully integrated a small 11'x12' kitchen with an even smaller dining room. The resulting space feels large and open, with a usable layout that provides good circulation and dedicated cooking and seating areas. Materials were used in a way that enhance the space (notice the floor to ceiling tile backsplash, or the door that visually recedes into the background, allowing the cabinets to pop). This is the kind of value an architect can bring to a small space.
Architects help you navigate the entire construction process and avoid unexpected costs.
Architects don't just design houses-- they can help you navigate the entire construction process. This pays dividends since seemingly small, unexpected construction changes can come in magnitudes of multiple thousands of dollars. If prices suddenly skyrocket for wood floors halfway through construction and the contractor has already agreed on a price based on the architect's specifications, that is not something you need to worry about-- but it very easily could have been if it wasn't in the drawings.
For the cost of a 6x6 closet, you could hire an architect to design your dream home.
The average home costs about $125 per square foot to build. If you think about it, that means for the cost of a 6x6 closet you could hire an architect to make your home something special and help you through the construction process. If you're thinking of building a house, consider bringing an architect into the process early. What you're looking for might need a designer's eye, rather than a checklist.
Patternbook Architecture & Design is an architecture firm located in Beverly Massachusetts. We specialize in residential design, and draw our inspiration from historical New England homes.
Need an architect? Not sure?
Starting a project is no small undertaking, and we're prepared to help you every step of the way. If you're not sure how to get started, we'd be happy to meet with you, hear about your project, and offer some design advice.
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