Category Archives: Client Education

What you need to know about working with an architect or design professional, covering subjects like fees, process, benefits and things you should avoid.

It’s not easy being green – an exploration of the purported sustainability of ipé

Posted on November 26, 2011 by annamadeit

Politics is ever-looming, wherever you turn in the design world. Kermit the Frog was right when he famously sang that “It’s not easy being green”. In fact, it’s damn tricky! Being a conscientious consumer (and materials specifier) is balancing on … Continue reading →

Posted in Client Education, Cool building materials, Cool plants, Environment, Gardening and Landscaping | Tagged building materials, decking, embodied energy, environment, international timber trade, ipe, lyptus, politics, rainforest, sustainability, tropical woods | 1 Comment

One quick amendment…

Posted on April 6, 2011 by annamadeit

After sleeping on it, I would like to make one small amendment to yesterday’s blog posting on green roofs. Sometimes, there actually exists a good reason not to employ the glorious expanses of chlorophyll I gushed so extensively about in … Continue reading →

Posted in Client Education, Cool building materials, Environment, Green Living, On Building, On Design | Tagged Building, Energy, environment, gray water, green roofs, Living Building Challenge, non-toxic, sustainability | 3 Comments

Soften the Environmental Blow With a Green Roof!

Posted on April 5, 2011 by annamadeit

Ever since I attended an architectural product luncheon back in 1993, where a Swiss rep was showing his wares – various sizes of the plastic, egg crate-looking modules holding the planting medium used to create planted roofs – and lauding … Continue reading →

Posted in Client Education, Cool building materials, Environment, Gardening and Landscaping, Green Living, On Building, On Design | Tagged brown roofs, Building, climate change, economy, Energy, environment, extensive, Green Roof Initiative, green roofs, Green Technology, Heat Island Effect, intensive, Landscape design, storm water | 7 Comments

Thinking about remodeling?

Posted on February 23, 2011 by annamadeit

If you are doing it with the intention to sell, here is a great chart to consult, that will show you the ratio of cost vs. value in the case of a sale. If the planned renovation is for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Client Education, On Building, On Design | Tagged budget, Building, home sales, remodel, renovation | Leave a comment

HGTV is not Reality TV!

Posted on February 5, 2011 by annamadeit

With the arrival of computers and programs like Illustrator and Photoshop, the world experienced a flood wave of newly hatched “graphic designers”. Sure, they might be prodigious navigators of the above mentioned programs, but were they really putting out good … Continue reading →

Posted in Client Education, Creative pursuits, On Building, On Design | Tagged Architecture, budget, Building, Design, HGTV, remodel, renovation | Leave a comment

Why So Many Colors?

Posted on January 27, 2011 by annamadeit

The paint company Sherwin Williams have a program where they donate paint to beautify public schools. In 2006, Beach Elementary were the excited and grateful recipients of one of these donations. I set the colors, and volunteers from Hands-On Portland … Continue reading →

Posted in Client Education, Color, On Design | Tagged Beach Elementary, Chromodynamics, Color, Energy, light, Psychology, Sherwin Williams, volunteers | Leave a comment

What Color Should It Be?

Posted on January 24, 2011 by annamadeit

A friend of mine who is a realtor often gets asked by her clients what the latest color trends are. Good question, but in regards to architecture and interiors, it is pretty hard to answer in a satisfactory way. On … Continue reading →

Posted in Client Education, Color, On Design | Tagged Architecture, chroma, Chromodynamics, Color, Curb appeal, hue, Interior Design, Metamerism, ROYGBIV, timelessness, Trends, value | Leave a comment

Designer Fees and How To Control Your Costs

Posted on January 22, 2011 by annamadeit

The fee structures of the architectural design world can be a bit confusing to clients, but there really is a method to the madness. Design and remodeling is an affair consisting of many layers, so there is a level of … Continue reading →

Posted in Client Education, On Building, On Design | Tagged Architecture, budget, Business, consultation, creativity, Design, documentation, Fees, Interior Design, levels of design | Leave a comment

Do I Really Need to Hire a Designer?

Posted on January 21, 2011 by annamadeit

Well, that depends on your expectations…. I could list a long rant about years of training, practice and construction experience, but I’m not going to. Instead, I will tell you about some interesting DIY and “undesigned” solutions I have seen … Continue reading →

Posted in Client Education, On Building, On Design | Tagged Architecture, Building, Design, DIY, faux-pas, Flubs, Interior Design, Mistakes | Leave a comment

Love those trees!

Posted on January 12, 2011 by annamadeit

November 2, 2010 As most people hopefully know – other than the obvious need to curb our own greed and short term gains-philosophy, the plant world is our greatest ally in combating our rapidly progressing climate change. Our planet’s forested … Continue reading →

Posted in Client Education, Environment, Gardening and Landscaping | Tagged benefits, Curb appeal, Design, environmental, Garden design, Health and Wellbeing, Investment, Landscape design, medical, mental, monetary, Nature, Psychology, Resources, Trees | 4 Comments