HOUSEBABY

When we picture a smart home today, it’s usually all about gadgets: glowing touchscreens, voice commands, apps that open blinds or make coffee. But as we design our forever home, we’ve learned that real “smart” living isn’t about novelty or tech for tech’s sake. It is about creating a home that listens quietly, supports us gently, and adapts as life evolves. For us, that means more than convenience. Our home needs to care for our family now, while also anticipating future nee

As we design our forever home, I’ve been thinking about how each storage zone—garage, attic, and basement—supports our family’s routines. Using Pinterest-style renderings, I compare accessibility, climate needs, and the types of items that belong in each space. This breakdown helped us choose the storage approach that truly works for long-term organization.

As we design our forever home, we’re thinking carefully about how an ADU or in-law suite can support true multigenerational living. In this post, I walk through the three main layout options—detached, attached, and internal—and share how privacy, access, and daily routines shape the right fit for our family.

What if your dream home could grow with you, supporting your health, lifestyle, and independence no matter what the future holds? That’s the heart of aging-in-place design. It’s about creating a space that feels welcoming, accessible, and functional today and for decades to come. Whether it’s accommodating a temporary injury, the natural process of aging, or planning for multigenerational living, designing with the future in mind brings peace of mind, reduces renovation costs

Join us as we weigh the pros and cons of different walk-in closet layouts — from bathroom access to corridor-connected designs. Discover what works best for privacy, flow, and everyday comfort in your primary suite.

Designing the right floor plan is about more than room placement, it’s about creating a home that supports daily routines, privacy, connection, and long-term living. In this post, we walk through the planning principles guiding our custom home layout, from smart adjacencies to future-proof flexibility.

When we first sat down with blank paper and big dreams, the question wasn’t how many bedrooms we wanted, it was what kind of feeling we wanted to come home to. One of the most critical and exciting steps in designing our dream home was defining our architectural style. Your home’s architectural style sets the foundation for everything—from the shape of the roofline and the materials used on the exterior to the interior finishes and overall flow. It’s not just about curb appea

Designing our custom home in New England has been a journey of balancing timeless regional styles with modern performance and comfort. The region’s four-season climate, with its snowy winters, humid summers, and dramatic coastal conditions, requires thoughtful decisions at every step. We want a home that feels rooted in its surroundings, looks beautiful year-round, and functions effortlessly no matter the season. In this post, I’m sharing the design considerations we've prior

Designing our dream home in New England meant deciding between a ranch layout and a multi-story home. This post compares both options through accessibility, cost, energy efficiency, and land use, and explains why we ultimately designed a hybrid layout that blends the best of each for long-term comfort, efficiency, and resale value.

Our goal is to create a space that not only meets the needs of our family but also supports our lifestyle for the long term. Through thoughtful architectural programming, we're defining essential spaces and ensuring each one has a purposeful role in the layout. While we’ll likely make adjustments as we consult with a contractor, this is the exciting starting point of our dream home; where everything on the wishlist is possible, and the focus is on crafting a functional, famil

A Room-by-Room Guide to Designing a Right-Sized, Flexible Dream Home When we started designing our dream home, one of the biggest questions was: How big is too big? We wanted enough space to live comfortably but not so much that we'd be maintaining or heating rooms we rarely use. Striking that balance meant asking tough questions about lifestyle, long-term needs, and how we actually use our home. In this post, we’re walking through our full process for determining the ideal s

Designing a home as an architect is both an exciting opportunity and a unique challenge. Unlike designing for a client, where the needs and preferences are defined externally, this process requires deep introspection—translating personal habits, lifestyle, and aspirations into a physical space. Every decision, from the overall layout to the smallest material detail, becomes an exploration of how our family foresees living, working, interact with our surroundings, and most imp