Thoughts on remodeling

>Do a test project first.

>Mark--do big things first.

>Cheap remodeling error: room in a room--you add a room or covered area or patio to the outside of a house. The former outside room now becomes a room within a room. Dark, weird and useless.

>Cheap remodeling error: room at the end of a room. You put a new room next to an existing bedroom. Now, in order to get to the new room you have to go through the existing bedroom.

>Bad styling error. Without taking into account the character and background of your house, you try to convert it into something else through the use of cheap stylistic devices. The former owners tried to turn our ranch house into an Italian villa with vineyard wallpaper and metal vine toilet paper holders.

>Ben's rule of even tempered development. Know what your house is and develop toward that. In other words, know if your house is a simple house or a showcase and choose items/design accordingly.

>Mark-keep your options open.

>The storyboard metaphor. The plan enables you to work with what's there. It isn't the law.

>Expect to make mistakes. They're an inevitable part of the learning process.

>Contemporaneous multiple use vs. serial multiple use. In a creative house, you need places to leave work out. The idea that you can convert spaces frequently is not conducive to creativity. Serial multiple use is the way to go.

>Every horizontal surface attracts clutter

>Space needs to imply human activity

>The unfolding characteristics of a house come partially from its occlusions. Without occlusions, the eye and body is not led through a space.

>Ideas for testing: prototyping, paper prototypes, spatial prototypes, masking tape prototypes, string prototypes.

>Classic design strategy: visualize the space in progress via layers. First, as an owner, a potential buyer, different people, etc.

>A huge part of design is shaping information. I learned this from my pantry items. I like keeping pasta in glass because it gives you an intuitive sense of what you have and how much. When kept in tins, you have to remember or guess. Same goes for rooms. Is this a room that you want private or partially 'transparent?' A glass door is not simply a design option or a way of letting light into a space. It also implies a certain fluidity of information.

>Designing a house to express identity is like buying an SUV because it makes you feel like an adventurer and not a soccer mom.

>Stay within yourself. General sports advice good for everything. Know your limits and play your game. Just because you like something doesn't mean you can design it.

>3d preliminary renderings don't tell you as much about a space as you might think.

>A night light is a poor substitute for a night light room. This is a way of making a Chris Alexander sleeping alcove look more normal. For instance, three bedrooms can share one small room (instead of a hallway). The room is the center of the three bedrooms and provides warmth.