value – Mountain Architects – Hendricks Architecture

Quality architecture is custom tailored to the homeowner, not a spec house simply bought off the block. It begins with the desires and goals of the homeowner, and carries them through the design-build process. To do this, the architect must have your best interest in mind. This is your design. We are your partner in the process, an extension of your imagination and technical tool of creation and realization.

A Custom Home Design

The last several years have seen a big shift in the housing market and in how we value our homes. At the height of the housing boom, the idea of home had shifted from the traditional role as a long term family asset to being a trading chip in the investor’s portfolio. Thanks to a painful (but necessary) correction in the trajectory that the housing market was on, most people have come to the realization that their home is still a valuable asset, but a large part of its value comes from the utility and functionality it offers. The concept of housing has returned to a vision of long term occupancy with an emphasis on sustainability, quality, and enhanced functionality.

The design of a home is as unique as the homeowners themselves. All aspects of the design culminate in a final product that is uniquely expressive. Materiality, light, space, all come together to affect the owners. Inseparably, a home represents those living within. We strive to make our living spaces, our offices, even our bathrooms, uniquely our own. We spend time designing a space to our taste, simply because we like it, without fully recognizing that the space ultimately represents us. Choice of paint and décor, fixtures and furniture, all contribute to the feel and expression of a room.

A Unique Custom Home for Individual Tastes

Modifying an existing home to meet your needs can be a viable option, but the expense of remodeling should always be weighed against the value added since most major remodels don’t pay for themselves in improved resale value. Sometimes it’s possible to find a great piece of property with a not so great house on it, and depending on the circumstances it might make sense to tear down an existing house to replace it with a custom home that better meets your needs. Before embarking on a major remodel or buying an existing property that needs remodeling, it is a good idea to consult with an Architect to get a professional opinion on the viability of your plan.

Why begin this customization with a completed building, seeking to make the house into a home, when the customization process begins before the architect’s pen even touches paper? From start to finish, custom architecture and building becomes an extension of your own unique imagination. Schematic design exists not as a means to an end, but as a defining factor in the final product. It is here that the building itself gains identity, where its expression begins. Custom design is large-scale and small-scale, the big moves as well as the small details. Architects are your partner in the design and construction process, helping your dreams become reality.

Entry Hall

A family that lives in a home designed for them is likely to live there for a long period of time. When the homeowner is able to participate in the design process and create a living environment that will complement and enhance their everyday life, they develop a lasting bond with their home that makes long term occupancy very appealing. Many people come to us looking for home designs that meet their current needs, but they also want their home to accommodate them as they age and become less mobile. While it’s easy to design a home to meet an individual’s specific needs, most prebuilt homes are made to have mass appeal and rarely are a perfect fit for what a family really needs.

The value of a well-designed custom home can’t be overstated. Rather than settling for what a builder thought you might want or what the previous homeowners liked, when you choose to build a custom-designed home you get a unique creation that matches your lifestyle, functional requirements, and aesthetic preferences. Every individual or family has their own spatial requirements and personal preferences, and a custom home tailored to them will meet their needs without being cramped, awkward, or burdened by wasteful unusable space.

If a homeowner does decide to sell, a well designed custom home will attract more discriminating buyers, and will almost certainly sell for a significantly higher price than a production or spec home with the same statistics. Even though home prices have dropped, there are still plenty of buyers who appreciate quality and are willing to pay for it.

Architect design of a custom kitchen facing view

Custom Kitchen Designed To Face the Views

Hendricks Architecture specializes in custom mountain and lakefront homes that are designed to match the unique lifestyles of their occupants. If a new home is in your future, we would love to talk to you about turning your vision into reality. Contact us here.

Jesse Hart – Hendricks Architecture

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Building a new home or remodeling an existing one should be a fun and rewarding process. If you are considering building a home or remodeling, the quality of your experience will be largely dependent on your approach to the project and the decisions you make. Besides hiring an Architect, one of the most important decisions a homeowner needs to make on a project is hiring a good General Contractor.

While an Architect can easily design a home from abroad, it is almost always a good idea to hire a local Contractor if possible. Good Contractors generally have their own tried and true framing crews, as well as access to the best available local subcontractors and materials. If cost is an issue, and it almost always is, buying local can be a big cost savings (assuming they meet your quality criteria). On the other hand, a good Contractor may know of a great cabinet maker who is two hours away but is well worth the price.

A Contractor can also help you get the best value for your construction dollar. Not only is the quality better, good contractors also stay current on the latest construction materials and technologies. Along with the architect, they can select materials and systems that enhance your home without breaking the budget.

A bad Contractor may provide cost savings in many cases, but in the long run they may cost even more money, not to mention your piece of mind. Some horror stories I’ve heard and have sometimes witnessed from under qualified or disreputable Contractors:

Building into the setbacks
Building onto somebody else’s property
Building a home at the lowest elevation in the center of a property, creating an unintended moat around the home
Houses that leak
Missing insulation
Insulation that is not the specified R-value
Walls that aren’t straight when they’re supposed to be
Framing studs farther apart in an effort to reduce material costs, and then using those materials on other projects
Gaps between adjoining materials when they are specified to be connected
Contractor not insured
Building differently than the plans specify without consulting with the homeowner and architect
Building without a permit

A good Architect who is involved in the project’s Construction Administration should catch most of these issues before they become problems.

Good contractors will also add value by increasing the resale value of homes. A custom home that is built by a contractor known as the best in town will certainly sell for a higher price than one built by a Contractor known for building low end spec homes. A smart buyer who uses a home inspector before purchasing will hear the same thing pertaining to the quality of construction and the lack of problems. Good contractors want to uphold their reputation.

I believe it is a good idea to get a Contractor on board as soon as possible after hiring the Architect. This gives you more time to look at the different candidates, and if there is a contractor that stands out and you’re pretty sure you want to hire them, they can provide input during the design process. A good Contractor can provide valuable insight on the costs and availabilities of various materials and methods of construction, and may also provide creative ideas in brainstorming sessions with the Owner and Architect. Frank Lloyd Wright was an egotist, but most architects these days understand the value of collaboration.

Contractors can also add value by giving you some budget numbers during the initial design of the project, and update these as the design progresses. During the pricing of the project, he (or she) will thoroughly review the plans and notify the architect of any discrepancies or missing items. An honorable contractor who has done a careful review will then price out the project with a firm number, and will adhere to that number, barring changes made by the Owner or Contractor. Some Contractors will give a low price to get a job, and then may try to add 25% onto the costs of a house through overlooked items to generate a nice profit. These are often in the form of Change Orders. A good Architect should be able to minimize Change Orders by providing quality, thorough drawings and specifications. I will add an article on how to hire a Contractor in the near future. See also Good Quality Architecture Adds Value To Your Home.

John Hendricks, Architect AIA

Hendricks Architecture specializes in residential design and is located in Sandpoint, Idaho. We specialize in residential design, most specifically in the design of mountain style homes and cabins, though we have successfully designed in several different styles. We take a fresh approach to every project, making every home unique, and enjoy designing above and beyond the Owner’s expectations (in a good way).

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Why Design a Custom Home?

Good Contractors Add Value