Why its called self evident

View out our back/front door

I'm aware several designers, architects, developers and creative types stop here periodically. It's to them I write today. Like the architect for our last house who failed to include HVAC in his building plans, some things should be self evident, but often are not. A pleasant reminder, while unwelcome, is occasionally necessary. Consider our present house, a mid century brick farmhouse with several subsequent additions.

The most recent addition was an extension of the kitchen and family room. The designer had a clean slate to work with, as the owners brief was simple. Make a room. Put it there. Make it fit with the rest of the house, make it usable. Save my favorite tree. The owner liked the tree, what can I say? Looking at the photo above guess the favorite tree.

I'll grant it sounds simple enough, but execution is what earns the big bucks. So how did he do? The back door is THE entry to the house. Our front is a facade with no foot or automobile access. While custom says put the door in the middle, a creative mind understands problem solving involves getting the questions right.

To the right of the door is the kitchen, left is the family room.

The distance straight out the door to the all important tree is 4 Topsiders. About the same as your reach across a double bed. Perfectly positioned to aid furniture movers, Christmas tree haulers...

Building that door 2 Topsiders to the right would have made a world of difference.

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