send me your photos!

Hey everyone - sorry for the blogging hiatus. I'm back now and ready to start showcasing Ottawa interiors! (Okay, I won't say no to interiors from other parts of the world, but my emphasis is going to be Ottawa homes). So...that said, I have a few friends who are going to be receiving phone calls from me with requests to photo-document their living spaces and post them online for all to see, but the handful of apartments I already have in mind are only the tip of the Ottawa treasure-chest iceberg, SO, if you live in Ottawa and are pretty stoked about how you've developed and decorated your living space, send me some pics and a bit of your 'story' cause I'd love to blog about you and your space!

I'll be waiting at decorateitdarling@gmail.com!

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Its the Energy Stupid!

I ran across this criticism of Architects and the green movement the other day.  http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-007-prioritizing-green2014it-s-the-energy-stupid/?full_view=1

It was written by Joseph Lstiburek; a renowned building science expert and royal smart ass.  Many Architects and Engineers do not like Mr. Lstiburek because of his criticisms.  I think mostly because he is all too often right; and he always has facts to back his claims up.

Lstiburek's basic criticism is this.  Architects and Engineers are creating "Green Monuments".  Buildings that are hailed Green and win awards; and yet they statistically are not saving any energy over their non-green counterparts.

I tend to agree with many of his criticisms.  I have felt for some time that we get caught up in all the new exciting technology - so much so that we forget the basic principles of good environmental design that the Ancients knew, and that Edward Mazria re-taught us over 30 years ago.  This is why I try to focus on the basics - see http://simplyeleganthomedesigns.blogspot.com/2009/01/top-10-green-things-to-do-when-building.html

I think our industry should be open to criticisms like his.  If we really want to do good, then we should verify that we really are doing good; and just not convincing ourselves of it.

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A Sample Kerala Home Design Entry

House Exterior


House Interior
House Floor Plan

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Green Links

I just wanted to pass on an FYI that I have now posted links for various green resources along the sidebar of the Simply Elegant Home Designs Blog.  Over the next weeks I will be refining the listings.  Since there are so many green resources available to us I want to try to edit the list down to provide useful "common sense green" information, and to eliminate as much redundancy as possible.  I will also be adding a links page to my Simply Elegant Home Designs website.

Again, you can see the links along the right sidebar of the Simply Elegant Home Designs blog.  And by the way, I welcome your suggestions.

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Architect vs. Builder

Architects and Home Builders seem to have a bit of a dysfunctional relationship.  Looking through my lens as an Architect it seems that many builders look at us as a necessary evil; and something to be avoided.  Most builders today still utilize their own in house staff or an outside house plan drafting service in lieu or working with an Architect.  The result is a lack of creativity and variety.  The evidence?  Take a drive through the suburbs and you will see thousands of homes that look remarkably similar, yet constructed by many different builders.  This cannot possibly be a good situation for the builders, because it forces them to compete mostly by price alone.  Not a good way to make a profit.

It seems clear that if the builders want to stand out and get more demand for their products; then one great way to do that is to offer great creative, unique and functional designs that stand out from the competition.  In other words they should create a design niche.  And the best way to do this might be to work with a competent Residential Architect / Designer.

So why does the builder avoid the Architect?  At Ron Brenner Architects I have bumped into many builders over the years and I can pretty much tell you why.

• Time – Builders don’t make money until they start construction of the home.  Sometimes they don’t make money until construction is completed.  It drives them crazy having to wait for the design process to be completed.
• Money – Going through the traditional architectural design process costs money.  Builders are constantly trying to manage escalating construction costs – and Architects represent another cost control issue.
• Attitude – Many Architects look down on the builder; and it shows.  Our field likes to put down the housing industry, yet offers little in the way of assistance.  So why would a builder want to work with us if he thinks we don’t respect him?

There is clearly a huge market share that Architects are not currently tapping into because of the above.  I believe we can gain market share by doing the following:

1. Try to gain a better understanding the builders’ point of view.  We also need to give them a better idea of who we are and the value that we bring to projects.  We need to get out and start talking with them and learning from each other.  With understanding comes mutual respect.
2. Modify our process and deliverables for builders to save time and money.  I am not arguing that we should give our services away.  Our services are extremely valuable.  I am only suggesting a modification of our services and deliverables to bring more value to the builder.

At Ron Brenner Architects we a bit of experience with item 2.  I’ll try to expand a bit on that in a future posting.

Simple,Unique, Creative and Green House Plans

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Tips for Redesigning a Small Space

When dealing with small spaces, sometimes people are at a loss as to which direction to take when pondering a redesign. Transforming a small space can be challenging endeavor, but it is certainly not a impossible one. What follows is a list of a few tips that can help you rise to the challenge when it comes to redesigning your small space.





Windows are Your Friends





Windows are a great source of natural light and can really help open up a small room.
Try scaling back on cumbersome window treatments and play up the role of windows in your small space. Light, airy curtains or open blinds let the light in and open the room up in the process, so stop covering them up and brighten your room in the process.




Choose Colors Carefully




Depending on the dimensions of your room, the wrong color choice can make the room feel smaller. Choosing cool colors and accent pieces helps eliminate the claustrophobic feeling that can be enhanced by warm, dark colors. Stark white trim helps to establish contrast and cool grey tones can really help to create a sense of openness. Accessorize effectively, using accent colors from a rug or piece of art that brings the room together.




Room Orientation




Rearranging your small space may be just what you need to do to make the place feel a little larger. Try to use your walls with longer dimensions to your advantage to play up the features in your space. Also, if you have decided to change paint colors, stripes can help elongate walls either vertically or horizontally depending on the perception and wish you look to achieve.




Find a Focal Point




Whether it's a fireplace, artwork, or piece of furniture, finding a focal point for the room is a great starting point with which to finish conceiving your design. Using the focal point can help you from selecting everything from paint color to figuring out the exact layout of the room. Figure out what you want to focus on when redesigning your small space.




Remove Excess Items




Often when redesigning a small space, we tend to try and keep everything that we currently have and simply move it around. This isn't always the best idea. Excess furniture, accessories, and other items can give a small space a very cluttered feel, which ultimately makes the room feel smaller. Try and maximize your space's efficiency without filling it completely.




This post was contribulted by Holly McCarthy who writes on the subject of trade schools. She invites your feedback at hollymcarthy12@gmail.com. For a link to her website click on the above post title "Tips for Redesiging a small space"

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View your home in Google Earth

Simply Elegant Home Designs is offering a new service to help potential plan purchasers visualize their house plan within the context of their own site.  For a nominal fee they can provide images of the desired house plan at their site address.  The images below provide an example of how this can work.  They depict various google earth views which increasingly zoom in on a specific site address in which a 3d house plan model has been inserted.

This service can be particularly helpful for a potential plan purchaser because it allows them to get an idea of how the house plan might fit into their own unique site location prior to purchasing the full plan set.  Also, because google earth provides 3d terrain, it can also help to understand grading issues or identify special foundation conditions that might be required.  

Simply Elegant Home Designs offers pre-designed home plans that are creative, simple, elegant, unique and green to individuals, builders and developers.  Their goal is to provide the most discriminating home designs available and to be the most service oriented organization in the pre-designed house plans business.  They can be reached at www.simplyeleganthomedesigns.com or 612-669-6411.

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Ok I Really Like These Kitchens

I love these kitchens! They are small (ok the first one perhaps not small) but they all prove that you can have GREAT style in a small space. So inspiring!

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dinner jacket looks inside

Dinner Jacket is a new(ish) online fashion magazine in Ottawa that has had a pretty impressive start up. If the rumors are true (and I heard them from an inside source), the mag will soon be available in print copies as well which is just fantastic. The online version is beautiful, so I can only imagine how pretty it would be in a hands-on glossy. Besides fashion, the magazine touches on other creative endeavors which, in their november issue, included the interior dwelling details of an ottawa local (although rumor has it, this ottawa native just relocated to Montreal). Anyways, enough of me trying to sound like I have the inside scoop on everything. Just thought you all might enjoy reading this article and seeing the photos of Jesse's place inside this great new mag.

Which got me to thinking...I was perusing some Ottawa blogs today and thinking about how maybe I should emphasize Ottawa a little more on this blog...which made me think that maybe I should start showcasing the interior abodes of Ottawa residents. Lord knows there are some fantastic old apartments in this city and I'm sure more than a few of them are filled with proud citizens who have just as much character, if not moreso, than their century-old museum-quality flats.

What do you think? Is there any interest in Ottawa interiors? (and there I go - doing what I always swore I wouldn't - inviting comments, making the reader feel ackward or guilty if they don't comment and making me feel lame if nobody comments...so comment!).

PS - I'm thinking about starting up another Ottawa-focused blog. Can you guess what the topic's going to be? (there, I did it again).

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blue!

I totally love this blue bike - I want it! Seriously loving this cycle blog - it's become one of my favorite daily blog stops.

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seriously modern tubs

Check them all out here: http://ow.ly/7W0. I really like the one above (althought not so sure about the tv(?) screen), but most of them are even more modern and space-agey looking. Pretty cool.

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