I love our wonderful North Carolina suppliers, but sourcing design details from other areas offers a broader world of options. I often find interesting materials that are not common in our regional market. Using items that are not locally available gives our ZDB projects a distinctive and uniquely elevated quality.
Last week I visited the Design Center in San Francisco, looking for special stone, glass and ceramic tile for two projects: one, a new one-of-a-kind custom home in Chapel Hill’s Greenbrae and the other a luxury primary bathroom for a Durham primary suite remodel.
These are some of the treasures I found.
Remodels are a particularly challenging venture. Merging the old and the new in a manner that is cohesive and expresses our clients’ taste requires skill and patience.
Homeowners are more and more choosing to stay in their current homes and update the spaces and details, and I delight in helping them transform their surroundings. Here’s how we work:
Once a client contacts Zinn Design Build, I visit their home to see what we’ll be working with. I usually bring our project manager, Jason O’Quinn. Jason has keen insights on any issues that might pose unexpected challenges, and I like for him to put his eyes on a remodel very early.
Financial goals are an early discussion. As a designer/builder with 47 years’ experience, one of Zinn Design Build’s strengths is my familiarity with approximate costs – an essential benefit for our clients. From the beginning, I try to guide the process to help our clients stay within their stated budget. When I see that they are veering off course, I speak up. Our clients can rely on my directness and honesty before, during and after our time working together.
While meeting with clients at their home, I can assess more clearly, beyond our initial shared emails and phone conversations, what they want and how to integrate the new with the old. I make suggestions regarding scope and details, welcoming the give and take that we create together. This collaborative process establishes the kind of good communication that is the basis for our work going forward.
Remodels require strategic planning from demo through building completion. If our clients do not have the original architectural drawings for their home, we bring in our long-time draftsperson, who will make detailed measurements to replicate the plans of the area to be remodeled. A consulting structural engineer often makes a site visit to determine how the new plans interface with the existing structure. This information is needed both for permitting and for construction.
Once I have the technical information needed, and I have a deep understanding of our clients’ needs and desires, I begin to hand sketch my concept for the remodel or addition.
This takes into consideration the budget we discussed, the visuals they have shown me (typically from Pinterest and houzz.com, but also from other sources), and once again, relies on our excellent communication.
My sketches are reviewed and critiqued by our clients, and I make modifications as necessary. Once the new plan is approved, it is computer-drafted.
Early in the design phase, I begin sourcing materials for the project. In San Francisco last week, I was able to locate a perfect dramatic glass tile mosaic for a feature wall in our client’s walk-in tub/shower area – a real knockout for a client who knows what he wants.
He has refined and sophisticated taste, and I am excited to see the final product!
If you are considering a remodel or addition, let’s explore this together.
