After the study

A Spatial Study establishes how the house should be organized. A Re-authored Home commission carries that direction into the architectural, material, technical, and construction decisions required to realize it.

This is where the broader spatial moves become specific.

Openings are proportioned. Cabinetry and built-ins are developed. Materials are selected in relationship to one another. Lighting, structure, building systems, and transitions between existing and new work are resolved. Construction decisions are tested against the original premise of the project.

The purpose is to protect the coherence of the work as it moves from a plan into a finished home.

Re-authored Home commissions are considered after a completed Spatial Study and are intentionally limited so I can remain closely involved in each project. It is considered separately based on the project, the level of involvement it requires, its alignment with the practice, and Lovett Homes’ current capacity.

When a Re-authored Home is useful

A Re-authored Home commission may be appropriate when:

• The selected plan affects several rooms or systems

• The project requires more than a straightforward alteration

• The relationship between existing and new work needs careful resolution

• Important architectural qualities need to be preserved through construction

• Cabinetry, openings, lighting, materials, and built-in elements need to be developed together

• The project requires continued design judgment as technical and construction questions emerge

• The homeowner wants the reasoning established during the Spatial Study to remain present through execution

Some Spatial Studies can be handed to another qualified professional or contractor for further development. Others depend heavily on the relationships between the plan, architecture, materials, and construction details.

The Re-authored Home stage is intended for those projects.

A limited number of commissions

Carrying a project from its spatial direction through developed design and construction requires sustained attention. I remain involved as details are resolved, materials are selected, field conditions are uncovered, and decisions begin affecting other parts of the house.

To give each project that level of involvement, Lovett Homes accepts a limited number of Re-authored Home commissions at one time.

Availability is considered after the Spatial Study and depends on the project’s scope, timing, fit with the practice, and Lovett Homes’ existing commitments. Completing a Spatial Study does not guarantee that a Re-authored Home commission will be available.

If the work does not continue with Lovett Homes, the completed Spatial Study remains a useful and independent body of work that can be carried forward with another qualified professional.

Before development begins

Before continuing, we will review the completed Spatial Study and confirm that its selected direction still represents the right response.

We will discuss:

• The parts of the study that have been resolved

• Questions that still need to be tested

• The anticipated construction scope

• Budget and timing

• Known site, structural, code, or building-system constraints

• Required architects, engineers, consultants, or specialty trades

• Which portions of the work Lovett Homes will provide

• How design and construction responsibilities will be divided

I will then prepare a separate proposal describing the scope of the Re-authored Home commission.

The proposal will identify the drawings, selections, coordination, construction involvement, fee, schedule, and outside professional services included in the engagement.

Moving into this stage is a separate decision. Completion of a Spatial Study does not create an obligation for either of us to continue.

Developing the selected direction

The exact work depends on the house and the scope established in the proposal. A Re-Authored Home commission may address several connected areas.

The plan

The selected spatial direction is refined against actual dimensions, construction requirements, furnishings, circulation, clearances, storage, and the way the household will use the rooms each day.

The major relationships have already been established during the Spatial Study. This stage makes them more precise.

The architecture

I develop the elements that give the plan physical form, including:

• Interior and exterior openings

• Ceiling relationships

• Transitions between rooms

• Built-in elements

• Cabinetry

• Stairs and railings

• Fireplace and hearth conditions

• Connections to porches, decks, and the landscape

• Relationships between existing and new construction

These decisions are considered together. An opening is not resolved only by determining whether it can be built. Its location, width, height, alignment, and effect on the adjoining rooms all matter.

The material hierarchy

Materials are selected according to the role they need to play within the home.

Some materials should recede. Others may establish structure, warmth, rhythm, or emphasis. Existing materials may need to be restored, repaired, matched, contrasted, or allowed to remain visibly distinct.

I consider:

• Flooring

• Cabinetry and woodwork

• Countertops

• Tile and masonry

• Plumbing fixtures

• Lighting

• Hardware

• Doors and windows

• Paint and wall finishes

• Exterior materials

• Connections between original and new work

The goal is not to fill the house with individual selections. It is to establish a limited material language that can carry through the work without becoming repetitive or visually crowded.

The technical work

Some design decisions require information from licensed architects, engineers, contractors, or specialty consultants.

Depending on the project, this may involve questions related to:

• Structure

• Energy performance

• Mechanical systems

• Plumbing and electrical work

• Building code

• Zoning

• Waterproofing

• Exterior assemblies

• Permitting

• Existing conditions

Lovett Homes will identify and coordinate the questions included in its scope. Engineering, architectural services, inspections, testing, and other licensed work will be performed by the appropriate professionals.

The construction path

The project is also developed in relation to cost, sequencing, availability, and the practical requirements of building it.

This may include:

• Reviewing scope with contractors or trades

• Identifying long-lead materials

• Comparing construction approaches

• Evaluating opportunities to simplify the work

• Revising details when a better construction solution is found

• Considering value-engineering options

• Protecting the decisions that carry the greatest architectural importance

Cost matters throughout this process. So does understanding which decisions can change without weakening the project and which ones are carrying too much of the home’s identity to be treated casually.

What you receive

Because every Re-authored Home commission is individually scoped, the final package will be defined in your proposal.

Depending on the project, it may include:

• Developed floor plans

• Reflected ceiling or lighting plans

• Interior elevations

• Exterior elevations

• Building sections

• Cabinetry and built-in drawings

• Key architectural details

• Material and fixture selections

• Finish schedules

• Door, window, or hardware information

• Design direction for engineering and consultant coordination

• Written scope and decision documentation

• Contractor or trade coordination

• Cost and constructability reviews

• Construction-phase design involvement

• Site observations at agreed stages

The drawings and information produced during this phase are prepared for the purposes stated in the agreement. Permit documents, engineering, contractor pricing, procurement, and construction administration are included only when specifically identified in the scope.

During construction

Construction introduces information that cannot always be known in advance.

Walls are opened. Existing conditions are exposed. Materials become unavailable. Trades suggest alternate methods. Dimensions vary from earlier assumptions. A decision that appeared isolated may begin affecting several other parts of the house.

My involvement during construction is focused on keeping those decisions connected to the premise established at the beginning of the work.

Depending on the engagement, I may:

• Review field conditions

• Clarify design intent

• Evaluate proposed substitutions

• Review samples, mockups, and shop drawings

• Coordinate design questions with consultants and trades

• Resolve conditions not anticipated in the drawings

• Review work at agreed milestones

• Maintain a record of decisions that affect the design

• Identify when a practical change begins weakening the larger direction

Some Re-authored Home commissions may include construction performed or managed by Lovett Homes. Others may be built by an outside contractor while Lovett Homes remains involved in design-critical decisions.

The proposal will state which arrangement applies and who is responsible for permits, engineering, trade contracts, pricing, scheduling, site safety, inspections, construction quality, and warranty obligations.

How decisions are made

Throughout the work, each decision is considered in relation to the whole house.

I return to the same questions:

• Does this support the way the household intends to live?

• Does it strengthen the selected spatial direction?

• Does it belong to the architecture of the existing house?

• Does it preserve something worth keeping?

• Does it introduce unnecessary visual or technical complexity?

• Does it create a problem somewhere else?

• Is it carrying enough value to justify its cost?

• Will it still make sense once the rest of the home is complete?

A material, fixture, or detail can be appealing on its own and still be wrong for the project. The work depends on hierarchy. Every element does not need equal emphasis.

The strongest decisions are often the ones that allow the home to feel settled rather than visibly designed.

What this stage does not include automatically

A Re-authored Home commission does not automatically include:

• Licensed architectural services

• Structural, civil, mechanical, or electrical engineering

• Surveying

• Environmental testing

• Property inspection

• Permit or agency fees

• Contractor or subcontractor costs

• Material purchases

• Construction labor

• Full-time site supervision

• Responsibility for a contractor’s means, methods, safety, or workmanship

• Work outside the scope described in the agreement

These services may be coordinated or included where appropriate, but their responsibilities and fees will be identified before work begins.

Construction pricing also remains subject to the scope ultimately documented, contractor input, market conditions, product availability, and conditions discovered during the work.

Where the work ends

The Re-Authored Home stage concludes when the design, coordination, documentation, and construction involvement identified in the agreement have been completed.

At closeout, the homeowner may receive a final collection of the applicable plans, schedules, selections, decisions, warranties, or project records included in the scope.

The completed home should carry forward the reasoning established at the beginning: an understanding of the existing house, the life it needs to support, what deserved to remain, and what needed to change.

Fee and schedule

Re-authored Home commissions are individually scoped after the Spatial Study.

The proposal will establish:

• The work Lovett Homes will perform

• The anticipated schedule

• The design and construction deliverables

• The number and type of review meetings

• Lovett Homes’ role during construction

• Required outside professionals

• The professional fee and payment schedule

• Costs that will be contracted or billed separately

No work begins until the scope, responsibilities, and commercial terms have been reviewed and accepted.

Beginning the process

Every new Lovett Homes project begins with a Foreword Consultation.

The Foreword Consultation establishes what the house needs, what the project is fundamentally trying to resolve, and whether a Spatial Study should follow.