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Interview with Wendy Please take a moment to read this before hiring Wendy How long have you been doing what you do and how did you get to be a Home
Design Expert? I began my career at a small architectural firm and was often pulled from designing the interiors
to put together the full set of plans and loved it! I also designed the cubical layouts for an office furniture company that
so many people just love spending their day in! After having kids, I changed direction to designing homes for an on-line floor
plan company, then eventually for my own business. I developed my space planning skills from over 20 years of practice! Who are your clients exactly? My best client is someone who has an idea of what they want in their floor
plan and need a blueprint. They often know a lot about design and architecture and are very smart about finding good deals
on products and finishes. They just don’t want to spend the time to learn a whole CAD system to get what they need quickly.
My clients also appreciate that they have control over their plan, and are open to ideas as well.
Do
you only work with people doing their home? Even though I specialize in new home plans and remodels, so much of my experience
has been in the commercial field working with a variety of offices, banks, daycares, retail spaces. My ideal commercial job
is where you want a “welcome home” feeling as you walk in the door, but with Universal clearances, efficiency
of space, and of course an architectural appeal. What kind of projects do you do?The types of projects are anything that involves space planning and architectural design.
The projects that I work on are varied:
What
makes you an expert at space planning? It’s probably my love of space planning! You know,
the more you enjoy doing something, the more you work on it and the better you get at it! Since I got my degree and am trained
in Interior Design, I design with that perspective. I also design with a wife, mother, and “household
manager” perspective all from my ‘home’ office! What
is the difference between your services and that of an architect? Direct Home Design offers
many similar services to those of various architectural firms although I am not a registered Architect. With a specialty in
space planning with an interior design background, my services are laser focused on helping people with creating their vision
into a set of blueprints. A good resource for the legal descriptions is to refer to the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners
at http://www.tbae.state.tx.us/ . What is the difference between your services and ordering a plan on-line? On-line
websites are a great place to get ideas and learn about different architectural styles. But BEWARE! Many sites put a pretty
new rendering showing the front and do nothing to update the outdated hand-drawn plan. You may not be able to find this out
until you’ve paid all your money and receive your non-refundable plan. Ask your builder! They’ll probably agree
they would prefer not to write on the plan several changes because the likelihood of miscommunication and mistakes.
Direct Home Design is CUSTOM design. No copy-cats here! Even if you get your inspiration from a
plan that you find online, in magazines, in books, we usually change it drastically
to suite your personal style. Did you design your own house? We totally gutted and
remodeled the house we are in now. We intended to fix it up as a rent house, but because of circumstances, we moved into it
‘temporarily’, but have been here 6 years. I think it actually makes me a more creative designer with space as
I have had to rearrange and find room for 2 additional kids in our family in the meantime! Can
you do a large home, say 7000 square feet? Yes, I have designed several large homes and high-end, multi- million-dollar
homes. Actually, you might not believe this, but it’s probably harder to design a 3000 square foot house than a 7000
square foot house, especially when someone’s wish list fits into 7000 square feet! How
do you approach remodels and additions? The look and feel of a new space either as a remodel or addition should be
a seamless transition as if the house has always been that way, but even better! Can you design a house in a specific style, like say a contemporary style? There
are some designers who have a signature style and are excellent at that their style. For example if you think of Frank Lloyd
Wright, you probably have an image of his style. You don’t go to him and ask him to design a Colonial Revival home.
Or if you have seen Candace Olsen on the HGTV show Divine Design, she has a beautiful signature look. You better
love her style, because that is what she will make your house look like. Although some designers have a
signature look, I feel like I take your ideas and integrate interior design clearances, cost-saving framing that you don’t
see, with the architectural details of the particular style you are going for. My clients often bring me a new product on
the market that they want to incorporate or a very particular look they want. I am constantly researching
and learning about new styles and products and if I am not familiar with it, I will research it to incorporate it into the
blueprints. Speaking of contemporary, I see this style as a growing trend and I really appreciate the simplicity
and cleanness of the look. How quickly can I expect results? Once we meet to talk about your ideas,
you can expect the preliminary drawing within a week to ten days depending on my schedule, and we will discuss the urgency
of your project. I do the preliminary drawing as close to your vision as I can get it, and I may even throw in some options
on design that I see while working on it that you might like. The turn-around time also obviously depends on how quickly you
give me your feedback on revisions and the number of revisions. After the front elevation and floor plan is decided, we finish
up the final details. It can be as quick as three weeks to six months. I am not here to rush you, but I
am ready to get you your plans quickly. Will the investment I put into my plan be worth it? There
is no doubt that designing and going through the building process is sometimes time consuming, but the satisfaction and pride
that I see in people after is priceless. Can I contact some of your former clients to see what it’s like to
work with you? Yes, I encourage
you to! Please go to the Testimonials page and read all of them. See which ones you feel drawn to, either because the person
has gotten the results you want to get too, or perhaps because that person has a similar project. Then
feel free to email or call them and ask what they got from working with me and my programs. Do
you happen to have a couple of examples of some of your work that you could email me? Yes, I would be glad to! Please let me know what you are looking for and I can pull some examples
that are similar to your project. With Direct
Home Design, you can get direct access to the design expert and invest in the just the right amount
of design work that you need and want.
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