A designer friend who had seen the house "before" came over to see the "after." While admiring the transformation, she said: "This is amazing. You must have had a really strong vision for what the house could be."
I said: "I had a really good architect."
And yes, I had a vision...a lot of visions. Miguel Lara (lara-mdesign@sbcglobal.net) listened to my ideas, he listened to the house and added his own insights to design a seemless addition that nearly doubled our living space without looking like the Taj Mahal. He added arches, niches, built-ins and other details that helped define and improve the functionality of rooms. When we told him we wanted a 1920s-vintage look, he put a beadboard ceiling in the kitchen and designed the island to look like an old farm table. When we lamented the kids' rooms were dark and small, he designed bay windows that added space, sunlight and interesting details. He gave the master bedroom a vaulted ceiling that follows the contours of the gambrel roof and he created a patio in a space that previously looked like a dark bowlng alley on the side of the house.
And he still answers my calls months after the blueprints were delivered. The job is mostly finished now, but the architect's imprint is keenly felt. When you walk through my house, you can't help feeling that the person who designed the renovation really cared about the project.
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