Communicating and Working With an Architect

Successful Design With an Architect

I recommend it all the time, "Hire an architect, best money you will ever spend". However, this only holds true if you are able to communicate your needs to your architect and that architect can then translate those needs into a pleasing design. With some careful planning, you can make this happen.

Interview Several Architects

This will be a relationship that goes on for a period of time - maybe longer than some romantic liaisons. Make sure you feel comfortable with the person you are hiring. Ask lots of questions! How and when are they paid? Do they help with each stage of the design process? Do they have an in-house designer? Do they manage the entire project? Do they pass along discounts from vendors?

Take a Field Trip to Look at the Architects Work

Communication is important but not the entire picture. Ask for references and take the time to go and look at these professionals work. If you are a traditionalist at heart you do not want to hire an architect that does almost exclusively modern design.

While visiting these references ask about the overall experience and any advice these homeowners might offer.

Write Down What Does NOT Work in Your Current Home

Before you dream, before you wish, be honest - What isn't working? Do the kids walk in the front door and drop their back packs and shoes in the middle of the floor because there is no where to put them? Are you one bedroom short? Does a fight ensue every morning because you all share one bathroom? Are you checking the mail each day for a pay check because you feel like hired help, stuck back in the kitchen, cut off from your family? 

These should be the issues that are addressed in your new plan.

Create a Wish List

This is different from what currently does not work. This list should include your dreams (even if they seem somewhat impossible). For example, many row house home owners wish for more light. But with windows in only the front and back of their house (and neighbors who would take offense at having their homes bulldozed) this seems an impossibility. However, a clever architect might come up with a light well in the middle of the home, thus eliminating the need to anger the neighbors. 

Wish lists help architects add the details that make a design both engaging and personal.

Write Down What is Important to You

• Is spending time with your family your number one priority? 
• Do you entertain a lot? 
• Does working from home keep you from coming unglued? 
• Are you an avid gardener or nature lover?

Your priorities offer an architect insight into your needs - things you may not even realize.

Take Inventory 

Whether it is a whole house renovation or just one room, make a list of the items you plan to have in each area.

What furniture stays? What do you plan to store in each room? Is there a special painting or piece of art you want to be a focal point? Consider things you plan to acquire.

If it is a kitchen renovation, make a list of EVERYTHING stored there, from the silverware to the crock pot, and don't forget the paper towels.
Talk to your architect about where to place your furniture - this can be very important in deciding where to place doors (pocket or regular) and windows.

The most successful designs include a place for everything!

Do not expect your architect to read your mind or know your habits. This relationship is just like a good marriage - Communication is KEY!