TV Guide: Designing to accommodate your television

Clients often give me an odd look when I ask them if they are TV watchers.  It’s an important question when designing a family room; some of our clients appear embarrassed or even apologetic about the desire to have a TV in their home and others consider their television the center of family life.  Regardless of…

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Fun with color! Part III

Part III – Interior Colors   In the last post we talked about selecting exterior colors.  This post will focus on choosing interior colors. If you survived the process of selecting exterior colors for your home you will be relieved to know that there are several aspects of interior color selection that are much more…

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Fun with color! Part II

Part II – Exterior Colors Last month we talked about the benefits of a thoughtful color scheme, and how to get started.  This month we will focus on choosing exterior colors. Most homeowners are surprised to learn just how many colors their house can accommodate without getting carried away or becoming garish.  Consider the following…

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Design-Bid-Build vs. Design-Build?

It’s a pretty common question for homeowners considering a renovation, “Should I hire an architect and go the traditional design-bid-build route, or should I hire a design-builder?”   The answer typically depends on a number of factors, including your budget, the complexity of the project, and your design aspirations for the finished home.   Many of our…

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Design Tips For Creating The Perfect Kitchen

  Renovating kitchens to meet your needs along with today’s design trends can be a challenge. Regardless of the age of your home, chances are that our attitudes towards the kitchen have evolved significantly since the time your house was built. Once seen as a utility space that should be hidden from other rooms at…

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Green your Lender?

Kenneth Harney pointed out in a March column in the Washington Post, an important fact about green building: green building construction and improvements do not result in changed appraisals or mortgage underwriting in the United States. This seems strange, given the emphasis of sustainability modifications widely marketed,  available and adopted by American homeowners. There is…

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Better space instead of more space

Many home additions are conceived on the assumption that adding more space will solve all of the problems with your house. We often meet potential clients who are looking to manage clutter, make a kitchen more efficient, improve general flow, and fix any number of other problems; and most immediately assume the answer is more…

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Improving the Curb Appeal of Your Home

Curb appeal is about more than just vanity. Aside from increasing the value of your home, a house with a strong exterior character will create a sense of place, enhance your pride in your home, and elevate the character of your entire neighborhood. Quality curb appeal transcends personal taste.  Elements that make a house more…

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Building a Green House – First Things First

This is the first of a series on sustainability as related to green residential construction. Building a house is a once in a lifetime opportunity. While it entails risk, expense and hard work, the likelihood of success is good and will always be increased by the inclusion of an architect. Remember that many before you…

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Easy Tips for a Greener Home

There is no shortage of advice for making existing houses more energy efficient. Much of the advice comes from folks who sell services and equipment, so skepticism is appropriate – some investments make way more sense than others. While it is tempting to consider major changes like windows, new heating and cooling systems and any…

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Why Use an Architect?

So you’re considering building a new home or renovating an existing one. Where do you turn for help with this daunting endeavor? For a new home, mass marketed house plans are one option, but by their very nature they seek to homogenize housing into a one-size-fits-all package. Design/Build outfits are another alternative, and can be…

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Selecting an Architect

Starting a home renovation project can be daunting.  For most people the first step is to select an architect, which can be an equally intimidating process.  Consider asking the following questions when interviewing an architect: A.   Design Vision 1.    What are your initial thoughts about our design goals?  What is your design philosophy with respect…

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Welcome to our blog!

Welcome to the BFM Blog!  You might wonder why we are hosting a blog, and what we might possibly have to say.  These are good questions; we hope that you will appreciate the answer… We love what we do! Whether tinkering with our own houses, or working with our clients, we can’t seem to get…

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