Inside-Out Design & Execution

Designs With Jake — Blog #13 When I design a home, I’m not thinking about how it will look on completion day.I’m thinking about how it will perform years sometimes decades into the future. Longevity is not an afterthought in my work. It is the lens through which every decision is made. Short-Term Beauty vs. Long-Term Performance Many design decisions are made for immediate visual impact. They photograph well. They impress quickly. But they often ignore how materials behave ov

Designs With Jake — Blog #12 A beautiful image can spark inspiration but, an image alone can’t tell you how a home will function, endure, or feel to live in over time. One of the biggest gaps I see in the design and build world is the belief that if something looks  right, it will work  right. In reality, the image is only the surface. The true design lives underneath. Beyond the Reference Image Many designers begin—and end—with a reference photo. A picture shows proportion,

Designs With Jake — Blog 11 Most designers I’ve worked with hand over an image and say, “Build it like this.” That’s where my work begins but, it’s not where it ends. I don’t just see the finished image. I see what has to happen beneath the surface for that image to exist, function, and last. I see the layers, the sequencing, the materials, and the order of operations required to make a design real—not just beautiful on paper. Designing From the Field Forward My background is