Four of Eight Lambs Normally, a few extra lambs are no big deal. On our micro-farm, however, 8 new lambs are a big deal, considering our usual flock is about a dozen sheep, all told. This morning, we walked up to the barn to feed the animals as usual, and low and behold, we had two new lambs that were born overnight when we were expecting only one. They added to our previously born lambs and the two-bottle [...]
 Office Ceiling I was reading the Instagram posts of one of our favorite interior designers, Valerie Grant of Valerie Grant Interiors, and saw a piece on designing the 5th wall. I knew immediately that would be a perfect topic for us, considering how important ceiling designs can be. Our ceiling treatments are often designed in collaboration with interior designers, our clients, and contractors.  Living Room Ceiling Library Ceiling  Primary Bedroom [...]
Two Farmhouse Additions In my home, our additions have changed how we live. From the addition of a porch that changed our daily use of our home in warm weather to an extra bedroom and primary bathroom that we use every day, our home life was improved. Not every renovation/addition project has a great existing building from which to draw inspiration. Often, the portion that is added becomes the stronger design element and, therefore, influences the rest of the [...]
Tufted Titmouse My wife knows how much I enjoy watching the birds on our property, so it was an easy choice to give me an intelligent bird feeder for my birthday. If you haven't seen them before, they are pretty impressive since they take a short video of every bird that lands on the feeder and keep a record of those birds. It can also email an alert of those birds landing. (I did turn that feature off [...]
New Home Waiting for Landscaping We are working on a wide variety of projects, including an energy-efficient net-zero renovation and addition, several new homes, and major additions to antique and newer homes. As one project is completed, another begins. This continues to be a warmer-than-usual year. Helping most construction sites while making others a muddy mess. We won't look a gift horse in the mouth. New Home Waiting for Landscaping Foundation About to Set Steel [...]
Pool House With Porch A Pool house can be a place to access only the absolute necessities while enjoying the pool, or it can be a fun destination that allows friends and family to spend the day around the pool and then stay for the night. A well-designed pool house can easily double as a guest house for summer and winter use. Pool houses we have designed often become the favorite house on the property. Pool House [...]
White Lamb and Mom We get excited by architecture, but nothing gets our hearts pounding like baby lambs on the way. At about 10:00 o'clock last night, I noticed on our lamb cam that our ewe was about to give birth and let my wife know. That began a mad dash my wife made through the snow up to our barn, which is about a hundred yards uphill from our house. Next, my son and oldest daughter ran [...]
Private Reading Room These days, tranquility is often hard to find. We live in a stressful time and must find ways to reduce that stress. Many of us have hobbies and sports that help us relax, while others meditate or exercise to achieve the same goal. When the weather permits, I go to unwind and relax on my back porch. Even though it is outside my home, I consider it another room of my house. Although my wife [...]
Before and After Ranch Before and afters of our projects are always a lot of fun. Admittedly, we don't go out of our way to find the best-looking before photos but always use some of the best afters. One of the pleasures of working with a great photographer(Rob Karosis) is the thrill of seeing new photos of one of our projects for the first time. After spending months, and sometimes years, on a renovation project, it is always [...]
Basement Bunk Room Nothing predicts a fun time when you are little, like a sleepover with your friends in a bunk room. Everyone has their own space, but they also are all together. What is lost in sleep is more than made up in good times. Basements make great bunk rooms, but so do attics and children's bedrooms. We design built-in bunks as well as bunk rooms that accept off-the-shelf bunks. We put bunk beds in our son's [...]
