Category: home

Tips For Mixing Different Wood Finishes In Your Home

You may be under the impression that mixing a variety of wood furniture in a single room will clash. On the contrary, if all your wood surfaces match, nothing stands out and your room can look flat and boring. While you don’t want to go overboard mixing different wood finishes, there are various techniques to help them blend nicely for a layered, more eclectic look that feels natural and balanced.

Contrast Different Tones

Mixing individual pieces of wood furniture in a room with a similarly toned wood floor causes your furnishings to blend with the floor and not stand out. You’ll make a stronger impact when you purposely contrast and break up these tones. Do this by pairing dark stained floors with lighter toned furniture or light stained floors with darker cherry or mahogany furnishings. If your still in the process of building your home and using an architectural firm, ask them which wood flooring complements your furniture best.

Use a Buffer

When contrasting isn’t an option, place a buffer between the floor and your furniture by using an area rug. This option also works when the contrast is too different and incongruous to complement each other. Rugs can create a nice transition and soften the overall effect.

Tie the Room Together

Mismatched wood finishes can quickly get out of hand. You can create continuity by tying all the pieces together with matching accent colors. Curtains, lamp shades and throw pillows in the same color work well to make individual pieces blend harmoniously and flow together.

The more you understand your wood’s unique characteristics, the better you can achieve a complementary blend in your décor. Some of the most interesting rooms include varied wood tones that add character to your home and our architects understand the importance of balancing various wood finishes. We can help you find  your balance. Call us at 970-766-1470 to start designing the home of your dreams.

Is An Open Floor Plan Right For You?

Open floor plans are one of the biggest trends being requested at Vail Valley architects today. Just as the name would imply, an open floor plan is one that makes several small rooms into one large one. Most commonly, people request that their architects create an open floor plan with the kitchen, dining room and family room all being combined into a single large area. There is no doubt that open floor plans are all the rage today — but is this type of floor plan right for your next home? Ask yourself these questions to find out.

Does Much of the Socializing Happens in the Kitchen?

Many families say that the majority of their family time and general socialization time is done in the kitchen.  This often happens because the people who do the cooking want to be involved in the conversations, and everyone tends to gravitate towards wherever the cook in preparing a meal.  If this happens in your family, an open floor plan may be perfect for you. You can wash the dishes, cook dinner and clean the kitchen all while chatting with the family and keeping an eye on the kids.  The kitchen is considered the heart of the home.

Do You Enjoy Entertaining?

If you love to entertain, there is no better option than an open floor plan. Rather than having small segments of people scattered all over the home, in an open floor plan people can mill around freely. As a host, you can keep up with all the guests every easily this way, too. Everybody is within your view at all times, and nobody will feel isolated.

Looking to create a new home with an architectural balance unique to your needs? Whether you want an open floor plan or an entirely different concept, TAB Associates can help. Give us a call to start planning your next home today!

How Balance Ties Into Architecture

What is great architecture? Several designers in Colorado believe that it is a rich interaction between various critical elements. However, there are so many elements that make up a building that it can often create confusion regarding which elements are the most crucial.

Typically, all architecture is aimed at achieving some kind of balance with respect to the design, whether symmetrical or asymmetrical. While designing, certain theories and laws need to be taken into consideration.

If architecture has to have some balance, designers need to think about synchronizing elements so that each of them relates to the other. Ultimately, the aim is to build some sort of system. Balance is not just about the physical building being structurally and aesthetically sound. Architectural balance is achieved when a designer manages to design for all human senses.

Importance of Symmetry and Asymmetry in Architectural Design

Symmetry is one way to achieve architectural balance. This means having a mirror image around a pivotal or primary axis. This is quite common in architecture, especially classical architecture. The symmetry could be radial as well.

Designers can also aim for approximate symmetry. This does not involve a mirror image. However, the elements built on one of the sides of the central axis get roughly imitated on the other.

Lastly, balance in architecture could be asymmetrical as well. Designers might find this more challenging to achieve. This could present a more intriguing view but if not done correctly, it can make all the individual parts look fine, while the system as a whole could appear awkward. Asymmetrical architectural balance is usually considered as casual while symmetrical balance seems more formal.

In either case, form should follow function so manipulating the function to achieve symmetry is sometimes not true to the architecture. Feel free to reach out to TAB Associates to help build the home of your dreams!

10 Tips to Effectively Communicate with your Architect

Your new home will be an important part of your family’s life, so you chose to hire a reputed Architect to design a beautiful home for you. Yet, if you and your Architect are not able to communicate properly, you may end up with a product that is not built to your liking. The following tips will point out how you can effectively communicate with your Architect.

  • Do a bit of research- Before you begin to design your home, it is best to look around and expose yourself to interior design and existing architectural trends to decide what you want.
  • Preferred mode of communication- Once you hire your Architect, establish the most efficient form of communication between you both. The frequency and speed of response will be based upon whether you choose emails, text messages, voice calls and so on.
  • Make a schedule- Once the preferred mode of communication is established, make a weekly schedule so that you and your Architect can plan the meetings accordingly.
  • Take it one step at a time- It is not conducive to go into the details of what you need from a home right at the beginning. Start with a solid idea and then build up from there.
  • Ask for 3D views- Architects are experts at seeing 3D even when they are looking at 2D images. Ask for a 3D version so that your visions are aligned.
  • Make sure that you understand everything- Although architects will try their best to make themselves understood, they may use some terminology that you’re unfamiliar with. Get clarity on any confusion, no matter how small.
  • Get cost estimates for each design- A design may look great but before you set your heart to it, check how much money it will take to build it. This may require a builder being involved in the early stages to acquire solid budgets.
  • Show your architect a lot of pictures- Most of the time, your ideas cannot be communicated through words as you may not know the terminology. Show your Architect plenty of pictures of designs so that he or she knows exactly what you want.  It is important to also show your Architect pictures of what you do not like.  In this way, they can get in your head and understand your desires.
  • Write everything down- Taking notes at the end of a meeting will ensure that you and your architect are on the same page at all times.
  • Collaborate with your Architect and builder- At every design stage, try to collaborate between the builder and the Architect so that the designs can be feasible and beautiful at the same time.

With a little bit of effort from your side, you should be able to use the talent of your Architect to build your dream home! Feel free to reach out to TAB Associates to help build the home of your dreams!

Architect Ego Vs. Ability

As in many professions, there’s a whole world of architecture that most people don’t know about until they’re on the other side of things. Within this world, there is a common struggle among architects to keep their professional ability and their personal ego separate in their work.  We believe that an architect’s worst enemy is his ego and his best ally is his ability to combine artistic expression, construction technology, and the client’s needs.

The practice of being an architect involves creativity and design among other important skills. Architects are honored and rewarded all the time for their masterpiece creations; for some, this is the greatest goal of their career. It’s never frowned upon to aim to reach your highest potential in your career, but as an architect, it is important to remember why you do what you do.

Architects are the professionals with all of the knowledge, and their customers hold the vision of the final product. In this scenario, it’s very important that the two of these people are on the same page. There are a few key qualities to look out for when choosing the right architect.

  1. Knowledge- If it was easy, we’d all do it. Architecture is an adept skill that pulls the strings of many areas of the brain including capabilities in engineering, social communication, legal matters, business and design. Be sure that your architect understands how to apply all of these skills to make your vision come to life.
  2. Confidence- A certain level of confidence is required to be an architect. Their personal belief in their abilities helps the customer to feel comfortable in their decision. It’s important that your architect can reassure you of their abilities but not get off track.
  3. Balance- This is the most important quality to look for. Balance is achieved when the architect has an even ability to exert both knowledge and confidence in his or her work. At the end of the day, the goal of the architect is to fulfill their client’s needs and create the masterpiece they’ve always wanted. This establishes true success and talent in the architect.

While it may seem obvious to look for knowledge and confidence in an architect, it’s finding a quality of balance that is truly significant. Then, you will know you’re in good hands. We take pride in being well balanced between our confidence and our abilities, so feel free to reach out to TAB Associates for a free consultation to see what we mean!