Designing a Modern Farmhouse - Hire an architect, purchase plans online, or just build a spec home?

I will be honest -- between Pinterest and other websites, I was overly confident that we would not need to hire an architect.  It really just seemed like our project was not so unique as to require someone to specifically design a house for us (after all, how unique could we be)?  We looked at tons and tons of plans online, and even though some were close, none were perfect.  The mutligenerational aspect of the house eliminated so many designs.  All of the multigenerational home plans that we saw only considered a one car garage (if any) for the parents' side of the house.  My parents have two cars and will likely ALWAYS have two cars, so this was a quick eliminating factor.  Also, my parents did not want a kitchenette...they wanted a gourmet kitchen and deserved one!  Therefore, the use-online-plans approach just never got off the ground.

Money is definitely something to consider.  We received a range of quotes from architects locally here in Kansas City, but generally you could either pay hourly or pay per the square foot.  Every architect we talked with expressed a profound preference for the square foot payment structure.

In general, it appeared that you may choose hourly if you already have a set plan and you need small modifications.  However, consider that most architects (at least ethical ones) will not start from another architect's plans because they are copyrighted.  In our case, we walked through a model home that we liked, contacted the builder, and then the builder referred us to the architect that designed that home model.  Then with the builder's permission, we could modify that plan.

Hourly rates are difficult to track and, after having used an architect on the square-foot pricing, I am definitely glad we chose that path.  Our architect spent countless hours just thinking about our home, emailing ideas, and responding to questions.  With an hourly rate, we may have been tempted not to ask certain questions so as not to spend money getting the responses.

While all the architects we spoke with were each unique and very approachable, Tom McDonough was the right fit for us for many reasons, including:

• Creativity - Admittedly, we thought we knew exactly what we wanted before we arrived at our first appointment with him.  We told architects that my hubby and I liked house model XX and my parents liked floorplan YY and we were looking for a sun room to connect the two.  The other architects said "Yes, let's make that happen!"  Tom said "We can do that for sure, but I know we can do better."  And he did.
• Questions - I was blown away by the questions Tom asked when designing our house.  Rather than "# beds/baths, square footage, etc.", he asked those AND also asked "think about houses you like that you have toured.  What did you see when you first walked in the door?"  "What is the first thing you do when you wake up?"  These questions really helped Tom identify things that we didn't know we wanted.  For example, my parents wake up and grab coffee/tea first thing.  Their current house has the master bedroom on the opposite side of the house from the kitchen.  That small insight helped Tom know to put my parents' kitchen close to the master (or put a coffee bar around close).
• Pros and cons - Because I work in the construction industry, I think it is common place for my clients to weigh drawbacks and benefits (i.e. costs more, lasts longer).  Embarrassingly, it was so easy to forget that with design decisions. Tom was remarkable and reminding us of the pros/cons when asking questions.  For example, asking whether we would like a pocket door in a particular location.  Rather than just considering the looks, he would also point us to the benefits of a pocket door (floor space saving) but the draw backs (sometimes difficult to operate).  We ended up skipping those pesky pocket doors and opted for the oh-so-cool sliding barn doors instead.

Either way, it is just so important to consider how you live.  Everyday, Matt and I come home from work through the garage.  We often have the kids in tow, so we have briefcases, backpacks, cell phones, keys, random things, etc. that we are lugging into the house.  Tom designed a drop zone for us that would allow this mess of items (which have always previously resided on my kitchen countertops/hallways) to a relegated and somewhat hidden location.  Tom also was so keenly aware of light and sought to get natural light in almost every nook of the home.  

As you can tell, we were smitten with Tom.  The architecture process can take a while but man, when it is done, YOWZA.  We are in love.  Contact Tom through his website if you need any help!

http://www.kcarchitecture.biz/