Architectural Design Considerations for Andover Residents

Are you looking to design a new home? Then the professional Andover architectural design experts at Boston Architect are your perfect choice. We have over 30 years of practice in the field, so we speak from experience when we give you the following advice on considerations to make before we design your home. Follow the simple steps below and you'll be building your new home in no time!

Budget

Before you begin the process of designing your dream home with us, your local Andover architectural design company, nail down a budget. There will be a fee to have the home designed and the designer will base the plan on your desired price-point. If you're not up front about your budget in the beginning, everyone loses. The designer will have to revise the plans and that may cost you additional money.

Location

Choosing a location for your home may be the biggest challenge of the whole project. You have a lot to think about when choosing a location. First of all, do you want to be in a city or rural environment? Do you love the hustle and bustle lifestyle, or do you want to tone it down? Once you've decided that, you need to take into consideration what the property has to offer. Will you need to provide a well and electricity or do you have city conveniences? All of these thoughts will be taken into consideration by your architectural designer.

Research Designs

Spend some time looking at home designs that you like. Find a style of house that will fit you and your family's needs. The more input you can provide to your designer, the better. We strive to create the perfect home for you, which requires a lot of participation on your end! Combine the best of everything you can find and we'll make it work. We'll take your dreams and craft them into a manageable and practical plan.

Hire an Andover architectural design expert today by calling 617-323-6081 or Request a Free Quote.

Tips to Remember When Hiring an Architect

If you’re getting ready to hire a Salem MA architect, then you’ll need to remember that it’s not just a matter of looking online and hiring the first firm you come across. As one article noted recently:

After all, you want an architect who understands your dreams for your renovation or new residence and will work with you to achieve that dream.

You’ll want to look at their portfolio, ask them about the design process and problems they’ve had to overcome with previous designs. It’s also important to discuss with them pricing, who you’ll be working with and you’ll need to figure out whether you and the prospective candidate get along.

Read the entire article: “What You Need to Know to Hire an Architect.” 

Do You Really Need to Hire an Architect?

There are some things in life where hiring a professional may not seem very necessary, but when it comes to your home this is not the case, unless you are a professional in the particular area to be worked on. Of course, not everyone is sold on the need for professional services, but keep in mind that one gets out of something what they put into it.

So, if you are planning on building a home, then it is highly recommended that you first choose an architect to help you make the best use of your time and money. After all, you want your home to not only be a place to relax and rejuvenate after a long day at work, but a place where you can pursue whatever hobbies and activities you enjoy. Whether it is hiring Boston architects to design that home with a great room complete with ornamental fireplace or having an architect design a state of the art kitchen where you can entertain guests, having a professional will ensure you get the look you want for your home.

But what else does an architect bring to the table? Here are some other reasons why hiring an architect will make a significant difference in the outcome of one’s home designs.

• An architect will take the time to design, or re-design existing house plans, to meet your needs. A good architect will sit down with you and ask question about your routines, hobbies and plans for the future so that the final product will meet all your needs.
• As you look over blueprints to decide on the look of your new home, you will likely encounter terminology that you are unfamiliar with. An architect will be able to explain these to you so that you can be sure that you select plans that meet your needs.
• There is more to a home than its structure. An architect can also work with you to ensure that any plans you have for landscaping, will work with the design of your new home. They can even help with choosing the ideal location on your property for your home to be built so that you get the best views.
• If you want a home that makes a statement both architecturally and artistically, then your architect is the person to talk to as they are skilled in both of these fields.
• An architect can help you choose a contractor, saving you the time of interviewing numerous people to find someone who gets your vision for the house and has the knowledge to accomplish the task. They will also work with the contractor to ensure they understand any changes to the plans.
• Architects understand design elements like lighting, texture, color and more that add style and personality to a home.

Hiring an architect is one of the most important steps you can take towards building your new home. Their understanding and knowledge will help your experience be positive. If you are considering building a new home or business facility, be sure to talk to an architect as part of the process.

Hiring an Experienced Boston Architect

Looking for the most experienced Boston architects around? We tackled the subject in an article a while back, and noted there are four main steps to hiring an architect: knowing what you want, asking around, narrowing down your list and finally choosing the best two or three.

When it comes to knowing you want, you should create a wish list and your visions for the project. Asking around should involve asking people you trust for recommendations. You should then have a fair amount of information to begin narrowing down your list to the final two or three candidates, and finally picking the best of the bunch.

As we said in the article, it's important to remember:

If you have or are in the process of building your dream home, you know how it important it is to take care in hiring an architect. It's not a process, like ordering a pizza, where a simple look at the Yellow Pages can tell you who to hire. It's something with which you should take care, as well as an abundant amount of research.

Read the entire article by clicking here.

Boston Architecture: 122 Commonwealth Avenue

When you visit 122 Commonwealth Avenue today, you'll find the headquarters for Bay State College. If you travel back in time over 130 years to 1871, however, you'll find this building in its original state, having been designed by architects Emerson and Fehmer, and built by James Brown Case and his wife, Laura.

The home itself has a very storied history, having been lived in not just by the original Case family, but later the Episcopal Bishop of Massachusetts, as well as several other owners before and after the Bishop. The home's dining room even gained a bit of fame in its own right, having been included in Charles Elliott's 1876 book, The Book of American Interiors.

Start building your own piece of Boston architectural history today. Call Boston Architects today at (617) 323-6081.

Old State House: A Boston Legend

The oldest surviving public building in the City of Boston is the Old State House, a history structure originally built in 1713. The Boston architects behind the Old State House are unknown, but the building was altered, restored, and renovated by three separate architects during its lifetime; Isaiah Rogers, George Albert Clough, and Goody, Clancy and Associates.

The Old State House is built in the Georgian style, and is considered a U.S. National Historic Landmark, and is also listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. On March 5, 1770, the Old State House provided the backdrop for the clash between British soldiers and colonists known as the Boston Massacre. The building's balcony also served as the site where the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to the citizens of Boston in 1776. This building holds a lot of history for Boston and, if you get a chance, you should absolutely visit and check it out for yourself.

Looking to build your own history by constructing a brand new home? Contact Boston Architects today at (617) 323-6081.

Blueprints Explained

You may be vaguely familiar with what a blueprint is, but do you have a complete understanding of what information is contained on one, or how they're used by Boston architects? We've decided to put together a quick rundown to explain what you can expect to find on such a document.

According to Wikipedia, a blueprint is "a type of paper-based reproduction usually of a technical drawing, documenting an architecture or an engineering design." Nowadays, the term blueprint is often used to describe a detailed plan, and the traditional methods of creating blueprints have largely been replaced by plotters and computer aided design applications on computers.

Boston Architect is a company you can trust with your blueprint creation. We'll turn your dreams into an architectural design on paper, incorporate your ideas and wishes, and help the eventual builder on your project complete it to your specifications. Give us a call today at (617) 323-6081 to talk more about how our Boston architects can help you with your next home design or renovation design project.