Discover...Design + Build Decoded

Discover...Design + Build Decoded

A Note From Bill

Recently, I realized that the YouTube series I’ve been working on hasn’t been shared with you all with the fanfare it deserves. As this newsletter goes to print, we’ve uploaded nine episodes, and while that does mean this series is not exactly new, it is likely new to many of our Studio Pages readers. So, let’s officially welcome our not-so-new-anymore series, Design + Build Decoded!

Watch More Design + Build Decoded

Let’s start with some background—how did this series come about in the first place? I was in the early stages of designing a custom home for myself and my wife Kerry; whether you want to call it aging-in-place or a “forever home”, this philosophy is one that I’ve been a proponent of for many years, and it made perfect sense to go this route for our custom home. During my two-minute commute to the office (perhaps I got stuck behind a train), I thought to myself, “Why not document our OnePoint Design+Build process?”. I arrived at the office heralding my epiphany and proudly proclaimed that we were going to start a YouTube series...and it might even go viral!

Let me tell you a little about the house. First and foremost, the focus for designing this home is the aging-in-place aspect. Although we can both easily negotiate the stairs of our two-story home now, that will likely not be the case forever. Last fall, we purchased the lot as a first step in the process. Regarding the actual design, I had just one non-negotiable feature for this home. As an avid Formula Vee racer, I not only own one but four racecars that need a garage, as well as it being capable of housing the trailer that I use to transport the cars to races. With the purchase of the property in Plainfield, the ball started rolling on our new home, which I lovingly refer to as a “small ranch with a BIG-ASS GARAGE”!!
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If you have been through the building process before, you must be well aware of how many moving pieces require consideration between conception and completion. This reality can feel extremely stressful; as we have witnessed with our clients. And while we take many steps to alleviate this anxiety and ease the burden as it comes, it is only natural to want to prepare ahead of time.

Now, I’m not going to give away too many details on our series—no spoilers here—but fanfare does require a little bit of a rundown. Design + Build Decoded goes stepwise through the progression of my custom home project, where each episode focuses on a topic from the journey itself. Viewers not only get an in-depth look at each stage of the process, from lot selection to building a budget, but also an expert’s perspective in the form of educational insights and helpful hints. We chose to go topic by topic in a (roughly) chronological order to work for all homeowners, with all kinds of projects. Maybe you just started the Design Phase and want to know what the best next step is. You can jump in at Episode Six! Or perhaps you have not yet begun the process but want to do your research and get prepared for what’s to come. Then you can start with Episode One and work your way through the whole shebang.

As I mentioned at the start of this article, we’ve uploaded a whopping NINE episodes of the D.B.D. series...and we haven’t even started on construction. There will be so much more to come, with what I’ve been told is an “enchanting” mixture of education, storytelling, entertainment, and even a bit of drama! Whatever stage of the design journey you may be in, it would be worth watching our Design + Build Decoded videos and, of course, let us know what you think! By the way, we are a long way from going viral, so share and like.

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by: Bill Styczynski

Bill Styczynski is the president of Studio21 Architects, as well as an architect in his own right. Every month, Bill writes an article for the Studio Pages newsletter about design topics that he believes will be informative, helpful reads for all of our clients, established and potential. ​