The Blog

There’s a moment in most builds when things start to feel real. Builders are calling. Timelines are mentioned. Questions start coming faster than answers. And suddenly, what once felt exciting or far-off can feel… heavy. If you’re in that stage, here’s something important to know: Feeling overwhelmed doesn’t mean you’re behind. It usually means decisions […]

If you’ve been looking at house plans for more than about ten minutes, you’ve probably noticed how quickly square footage becomes the headline. Bigger numbers feel reassuring. More space feels like a safety net—especially when you’re planning for kids, work-from-home life, hosting family, or just wanting room to breathe. But here’s what I’ve seen again […]

If you’ve ever looked at a house plan and thought, “This looks good… I think?” you’re not alone. Most family floor plan mistakes aren’t obvious. They don’t jump off the page or raise red flags right away. In fact, many of them look perfectly reasonable—especially when you’re tired, busy, and trying to make a lot […]

If you’ve ever stood in a beautifully organized room and still felt tired, you’re not imagining things. Many thoughtful, capable families tell me they’ve tried the bins, the labels, the resets—and yet the house still feels like it’s asking too much of them. That feeling usually isn’t about effort or discipline. It’s about how much […]

Most families don’t choose the wrong house plan because they’re careless. They choose it because they’re trying to feel relief too early. By the time someone reaches this point, they’ve usually done a lot of research. Plans are saved. Tabs are open. There’s a sense that a decision should be forming—but instead, something feels unsettled. […]

You’re not doing anything wrong by starting with house plans. Most thoughtful people do. It feels concrete. It feels like progress. And it’s exciting—especially late at night, when you finally have a quiet moment to think. But if browsing plans has started to feel noisy instead of helpful, there’s usually a simple reason: you’re looking […]

House plans can feel surprisingly hard to understand. Even thoughtful, capable people often look at a floor plan and think, What am I missing here? There’s a quiet worry that something obvious will slip by—and only show up after the house is built. That reaction makes sense. Floor plans are abstract by nature. And the […]

For many families, architect advice can feel out of reach. There’s a common assumption that architects are only involved in luxury or fully custom homes—or that their input comes too late, after big decisions are already locked in. In reality, architects aren’t trying to complicate the process. We’re trying to prevent regret. Most of what […]

“Functional” is one of those words that gets used a lot—and often misunderstood. It’s frequently reduced to storage checklists, trendy features, or a vague sense that a house should be “practical.” But those interpretations of functional home design tend to miss the point. As an architect and a mom, I know that functional home design […]