Author: Catherine Smith
Is it REALLY all about appearances?
In these troubled times, are we still really worried about appearances? It seems to me that this has been an issue for some time, but particularly in the housing industry. Too often people are putting high priced finishes, granite countertops or four part wood trim, on pressed wood subfloors and using vinyl framed windows. Sorry for using Dr. Phil’s catch […]
Apologies to the Elephant
Large, somewhat unruly, often overwhelming animals make for an easy target. So I’ll use the metonym again and repeat what a good friend of mine used to say when we were hard at work trying to finish a project. Donald said, “You can’t eat the whole elephant in one bite.” So we would break the project [elephant] […]
Elephant in the HOUSE
Picture if you will an elephant. Now visualize the child’s house, four walls each with a window or door. Now put the elephant in the house. His snout will hang out of one door, tail out the opposite window, and his sides are pressed up against the walls and windows. If you are working on […]
4″x16’x4′
The goal is to move from end to end gracefully doing “tricks” without falling off in the allotted time. This requires from head to toe an incredible amount of balance, flexibility, strength and vision. Balance: throughout the course your body will move and torque though the path is direct, level and hovering 4 feet above […]
Can the process really be standard?
Wandering through the local Barnes & Noble bookstore, sorry to the small bookshop lovers it was truly convenient this day, I recently discovered that they no longer have a section on Architecture. This was quite disturbing on many levels because it had been replaced by Home Renovations and Decorating. Further frustrations prevailed when even in […]
Pen to Paper
We’ve all heard the quote: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” This has been applied to financial planning and businesses down to the daily To Do List, so why not your home? I have a post-it note theory these days, to help ensure my success. I allow myself one post-it per day […]
Plays well with others.
Let’s let this be the measure of how we select our team. It is rather elementary, but quite relevant in today’s cut throat economy. “Do not covet your ideas,” says Paul Arden in It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be. Play well and share. We must accept others ideas […]
Why Hire an Architect?
Thanks to AIA Wisconsin for a concise answer. http://www.aiaw.org/find/why.shtml
Stay out of the Way?
I am sure that most of the folks reading this are at least familiar with the publication Dwell. I find it to be a challenge to reality sometimes; seems that creating ‘affordable’ modern homes has a different meaning for everyone. However, sometimes it provides inspiration particularly on those days when I think people don’t really care about architecture, or see a […]