Macoyosh Journal

“Don’t listen to your client – they don’t know what they want.” One of our head designers heard this message repeatedly throughout his time in the University of arizona college of architecture – an establishment of learning that has continuously ranked in the top twenty on the planet for architectural design for decades. and sometimes, yes, we don’t have a clear idea of what we are looking for when we begin the design process but certainly we have clear ideas of things we do not want in our most intimate spaces.

Frequently future homeowners come to our design studio searching for relief from horror stories – “this designer took our money and then disappeared”, “i hate my current house. I told the architect i wanted spanish colonial but he insisted on modern and i’ve lived in this disaster for twenty years!’ “I am considering firing my architect because she won’t listen but I’ve already sunk twenty thousand dollars into these blueprints that I can’t get back!” in the decades we have been in business, we’ve heard it all.

This isn’t to say architects are bad or arrogant or that they don’t care about their clients. But frequently we allow things in our personal home projects or investment projects because an architectural designer was adamant about things he or she thought was best, but which didn’t serve our individualized purposes, and which the designer will never have to live with. And often, especially for investment projects, we default to their decisions because we assume they are the expert and as we won’t live in the house ourselves, we aren’t overly choosy as to particulars. Particularly with investment projects, we simply want to see a strong roi and we assume that hiring a professional will automatically yield the highest return. while it often will give us a strong return, there are ways to safeguard our investments and ensure a more prosperous overall future.

One secret to a powerful investment property. Designers and architects often do not stay abreast of upcoming building trends. Some do, but often designers are taught overall principles of art, light use, insulation, and elevated thought, so it is advantageous to have the initial floorplan reviewed by both a real estate agent and a builder. The agent tends to be at the forefront of what is selling in your area and will want this house to sell quickly, or be rented out quickly because it means money in their own pocket. So you can be assured they will be a voice to point your design toward that end, because it serves their purpose as well. The builder is the one who usually can translate a drawing on a page into a 3D walkthrough with excellent precision in their mind, as it is their business to breathe life into blueprints, so they will immediately be able to point out what aspects of the house may not make sense in the building stage, and especially will be able immediately see designs that will bring added cost and added time to the build. having a team to review the initial drawing, long before the footprint is finalized, can save you effort, frustration, disappointment, and money.

When this is our own house, in which we choose to spend our days, perhaps the realtor is not so important but your voice always will be. This is your space. Even if a designer comes highly recommended, with five-star reviews, your sanctuary is sacred to you, and you have the right to own every detail of it. Often highly prized architects come with the idea that their word is gospel. It isn’t. Yours is. It proves advantageous for the homeowner to speak up loud and clear early in the design process, as changes in the field can be costly—both financially and in terms of finishing construction in a timely manner. We all know that time is money, and having a good team during the design process can ensure you more of both.