06/09/2022
Although I designed this home many years ago, I wanted to share a quick picture. This project will always be significant to Marre. It was a test… a test of an idea I’d been flirting with about how to make our custom home design process more impactful, relatable, and enjoyable for our clients.
In those days, I always tried to have a second client meeting within two weeks of the first. But in this case, varying schedules meant that after our initial meeting we couldn’t meet with the clients again for about a month. So, I decided to go for it! That is, I decided to test my idea for a new design approach!
This was the plan: rather than only being prepared to present the expected preliminary schematic sketches in the second meeting, I would endeavor to fully develop a detailed design that I felt would work perfectly for them. It would be based on many pages of notes taken during our discovery meeting, and it took dozens of iterations crumped up and strewn around the office. The layouts would be complete with even ideas for interior details, and we’d produce a comprehensive 3d model right away… All in one month. To pull that off meant lots of late nights, many turned into early mornings. I still remember the chaos in the office that morning, as drawings were flying off the printer literally moments before the clients walked through the door.
I was admittedly a little nervous that all that work would be for naught… but the clients were absolutely blown away! They understood clearly what was being proposed, and easily saw the relationship between floor plan and the exterior… how one impacted the other. Anxiety quickly alleviated for them when they realized the ideas for their dream home had been heard; more importantly, they felt validated that our careful listening had brought meaningful understanding of their family’s needs.
The black and white rendering I’m sharing was from that first meeting. As you can see from the photos taken today, they approved that first design we “revealed” to them, without changing a thing!
And so it was, Marre Design’s unique design process changed forever!
