Invitation to the Party
We often talk about the TEAM, the CORE GROUP or the COLLABORATIVE we are made up of and what it takes to be invited into this circle — that 110%, overachiever, extra mile attitude thing. I’m not referring to just our Town + Country family, but all involved in the journey of handing over the keys to your dream. Every aspect, every level, at every step of the process, at every intersection. These are all the people that really make it happen …or not.
Not all make the cut and get invited to this party. The ones already at the party can quickly spot those “nots” at first contact. Often their language is the first giveaway — they say “customer” not “client” and “I ain’t never heard of that before” or, my personal favorite, (with arms crossed over chest) “now whydya want to do it like that”. Sometimes it is the actual lack of any language — a frown, a slow shake of the head, maybe a murmur under the breath during a slow turn and retreat. But mostly, the biggest tell is just simple, all encompassing, to the core negativity. Personally, I have always looked at life as a sheet of yellow-pad paper, divided top to bottom, on the left side all positive words/actions, on the right corresponding negative — good/bad, honest/dishonest, overachiever/slacker, giver/taker, active/sloth, etc./etc. and the like. The idea being, no one is perfect and completely on the left side of the sheet, but, at the least, always striving (another positive) to be there. But, not with these “nots”. In their case, no interview process required. No question and answer session will happen. The present members of this inner circle will just catch eye contact, smirk and say “he doesn’t get it” or “she’s definitely not invited to the party”…
This informal vetting continues, daily, behind the curtain, out of most clients’ view. The party goes on for the ones that make the cut. And you, the client reap the benefits of working together with this group of motivated, passionate overachievers that share a common philosophy — we are very serious about what we do, but have a-Hell-of-a-lot of fun doing it!
Post script: While thinking about/composing this topic, an old post came up. Re-read it and, after all these years, decided it was worth another look. Here ya go!…
IMPROVISE, ADAPT, OVERCOME – Design like a Marine
Not to imply that what we do is, on any level, in any way, shape or form, as important as what the brave men and women of the Corps do, but sometimes our approach to designing a log home or timber style home channels Clint Eastwood in the movie “Heartbreak Ridge”. Even with today’s digital workhorse design tools, programs that literally make two-dimensional log home floorplans come to life, allowing clients to “walk” through their future White Cedar homes, some clients need that extra, over-and-above, improvise/adapt/overcome tactic to feel that space, see and touch that certain element or understand the what/how/why of a design.
Case number one, the family hunting lodge, a sizeable luxury log home design. The client had the usual “have to have” list, but added a bit of a twist by adding an observation/shooting tower to the original layout.
Problem — site lines. This was an extremely important element of the overall log lodge design, at the top of the list, but one very difficult to produce using traditional methods at our disposal. 3D modeling, incorporating google Earth imagery? Not accurate enough. Drone flight with streaming video? Close, but difficult to see/feel the 1,000+ yard target areas. Enter our Construction Management team member — “I’ve got this”. Problem solved…
More discussion ensued — window opening sizes, opening directions, muzzle percussion and glass breakage (how we handled that problem is a whole story on its own…). Client now 110% happy.
Case number two, shake style / timber frame home. This client was, of course, focused on the usual elements of luxury home floorplans and layouts – custom wine cellar, guest quarters, covered porch with retractable windows, etc., but was hyper-focused on design elements of a particular era/style. To extract a client’s vision, or more precisely help a client understand what they want before they know what they want, we often lay out dozens of photos and walk clients around those, judging certain reactions. This client lasered in on one photo:
Through the next hours of back-and-forth, casual conversation, it was evident the “feel” of the photo, what the client was attracted to, was all in the detail. Color, trim, scale, count, position, texture, all in the micro, not the macro. Initial designs were produced:
After exhaustive research and design development of this White Cedar masterpiece, the client was impressed, but still not convinced; close, but not 100%. No modeling, sample materials or even historic architectural publications were going to ease the uncertainty. The answer? Find the actual home and touch, see and feel it. Fast forward a week or so and client is standing on a scaffold (home was being renovated), touching, seeing and feeling. Client at 100%…
Client number three, luxury log cabin home for an artist/author; all about the feel, the studio’s feel. Flow and placement was easy to cover with our basic log home design software, even superimposing sun patterns throughout the calendar year.
But, the problem was the balance, the flow, the inspiration from the space. What, exactly, was going to be the site line from that space. Could we, please, figure out a way for her to “see” the space on her trip up to the site the following day…on Monday…in January…in the snowbelt of southwest lower Michigan…
In the client’s words, “PERFECT!”
It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure.
…Wait, that’s the Navy
