Welcome back to Remodeling Reinvented. I'm Caitlin
Copley, joined as always by my amazing producer,
Diana Volker. Today we're exploring the creative
foundations of architecture with two incredible
residential designers, Arnold Garza and Allison
Smith from Jackson Design and Remodeling. Arnold
brings decades of architectural experience and
Allison combines creative artistry with technical
skills. Together, they help clients turn ideas
into inspired, buildable homes. We'll talk about
how they balance art and function, where they
find inspiration, and get into permitting and
planning. We hope you enjoy the episode. All
right, you guys, thank you for being here today.
Thank you. Thank you for having us. Yeah. Excited
to be here. So to get things started, I kind
of wanted to go back a little bit, maybe dive
a little bit into your history and how you got
into architecture. So Arnold, how did you get
started in architecture and what inspires you
to do this? I got started in an unconventional
way. My dad was a builder, similar to Todd Jackson.
We did design build in the 80s and 90s. And then,
you know, when he retired, I went to work for
a couple of different engineers, a couple of
guys that came from the city actually. I always
like to draw, right? And my dad had a construction
company and he, I come from a large family. Everyone
in my family kind of picked up a trade along
the way. I got electricians, plumbers, concrete
guys, framers, all that stuff. And I was the
youngest. At that point, my dad had everything
pretty well established, but he needed someone
to draw plans. And I was young. He actually hired
a guy to teach me. I should draw plans by hand
and kind of learned that way. And I went to school
later, but I was already, I already had a good
start. It was in your blood. Yeah, I would say
so. Yeah. Allison, what about you? What inspired
you to get into this kind of career? Yeah, so
I don't have the same kind of familial connection
as Arnold. The only architect in my family is
my uncle Peter. But growing up, I always was
drawn to being creative and interested in art
and design, whether that was through pottery
or graphic design or calligraphy. And when I
went to school for my undergrad, I actually was
pursuing a business degree initially, but it
was missing that kind of like creative side.
So I wanted to find a career that had the creativity
and also some business intertwined within it.
So. spent some time really thinking and dreaming
about what I wanted my career to look like. And
that's when I started spending some time with
my uncle Peter. And when I saw that, you know,
his plans really came to life into these absolutely
incredible homes, I kind of felt that inspiration
and excitement that this is what my career could
look like as well. That's awesome. What do you
love most about working with clients? I'm sure
there's lots of different personalities and what
do you love most about them? I've always kind
of considered myself a problem solver when we're
working with clients, kind of extracting what
they want to do, getting a program from them
on how they want to do their home and then kind
of putting it to paper so that we can actually
build off it. That is a form of problem solving.
I mean, yeah, they don't tell us exactly what
they want. They kind of give us their scenarios
and then we kind of create from there. So I think
some of the things I like about it the most are
The relationships you build with clients over
the course of the project or multiple projects,
you become friendly with them. And it's the end
of the day when project is complete and they're
satisfied with the results. It really is very
rewarding. And it seems essential to form a connection
with them because you really have to dig deep
to find those emotions and what they're looking
for and why do you want this and really ask those
questions, right? We definitely try to pick our
clients' brain and figure out their likes and
dislikes or if they have any specific routines
or what makes their home feel like theirs. We'll
take those ideas and emotions and translate it
into tangible designs where the client can really
visualize how the project's going to transform
their life and then take that through construction.
For sure. And I'm sure you draw inspiration from
all over the place, like San Diego's culture,
nature, like what are some places where you draw
inspiration? San Diego is such a great town as
far as architecture goes, and it's well divided
into pockets. You've got chair stand over there,
and it's in hills, and then you go into the valleys.
You've got Mission Valley. It's very divided
by landscapes. For instance, La Jolla. La Jolla
has so much good architecture and it's all vastly
different. They don't have like HOA that governs
all of La Jolla. They're saying, hey, all these
homes have to be mission style or whatever. They're
pretty eclectic and you get a lot of great architecture
there. And the same in Rancho Santa Fe. You have
a lot of big homes out there where you can draw
inspiration. Even like Mission Hills, if you
like that sort of mission style architecture,
it's a great place to kind of just go and just
enjoy the homes there. It's so true. I feel like
if you take a drive through San Diego or different
pockets of San Diego. you're going to see something
totally different around the corner. There could
be something super contemporary. It's so surprising.
Yeah. Like Point Loma too, right? Point Loma
is a great place as well. Yeah. Yeah. I think
Coronado is a great example of that as well.
They're the rules that regulate the homes there.
They want the homes to be very unique. So definitely
there's not going to be a cookie cutter houses
down the street and you can feel that in there.
in their neighborhood. And even when you travel,
like recently I was in the Canadian Rockies and
there is a little bit of a German influence there
and even their architecture inspired the towns
and stuff. So it seems like where the people
come from, it all kind of has an inspiration.
So yeah, for sure. That's that's that's California.
The mission style that kind of came from from,
you know, through Mexico on up California. That's
pretty cool. Yeah. Well, let's get into the meat
here. So I know you guys use various tools to
accomplish your projects. So Allison, I know
you go to people's homes and do 3D scans. Can
you talk to us a little bit about that and how
it helps you? Yeah, absolutely. So I'm part of
the team that goes out and measures home. It's
myself and Annie. And we use a brand new technology
that uses LIDAR, which is light detection and
ranging. And it basically is a 3D scanner that
shoots out light lasers to measure distances
and generate a 3D mesh of those points. It's
called a point cloud of whatever environment
it's scanning. It's super accurate and it's much
better than kind of previous systems that we
had when... You know, we used to measure things
by hand, just have a tape measure and a little
handheld laser and write everything down on paper.
But now we can use this laser scanning technology
and then import that point cloud into our BIM
software. BIM is building information modeling
software. So we're able to have kind of a collaborative
model with super accurate dimensions and the
ability to work in between departments on the
shared 3D model. I would think it would give
you way more information than doing it by hand,
right? Absolutely. One of the great things about
it is when we measure by hand, there was always,
oh, I forgot this one dimension, you missed it.
And now we can go back and just kind of do our
3D walkthrough of the home. And for instance,
if I need to know exactly where a can light is
in the ceiling or an electrical outlet, I can
open up the file and put it right exactly where
it is. And it's awesome. It really is a game
changer for us. Wow, that's amazing how tech,
how technology evolves and then never go back.
It's helpful for sizing on certain things. So
client might say, I want the light fixture over
my dining room table to be a similar size as
my old one, but I'm not sure how big my old one
was. Could you go measure it and we can reference
that. So it's, it takes that kind of measurement
too. Wow. So it's a truly three dimensional scans
in every aspect. Wow. So once you get the scan,
you put these drawings together. Are they like
what's existing basically? Pretty much we grow
out the existing first, we call it an Aspil and
we basically take the scans and we plop them
into Revit for lack of a better term and we're
able to trace those walls. And it's so accurate,
accurate to within like a half inch or quarter
inch. It really is a beneficial tool. Awesome.
And Allison. Do you and Annie ever discover anything
unusual or quirky while you're doing these scans
or investigating? I would say that construction
often there's something quirky behind the drywall.
So the scans, you can't see what's behind the
drywall, but The cool thing about this technology
is because it's so accurate, you know, we're
able to see if a wall is skewed in a certain
way or maybe the floor is not level or how the
structure is coming together. It's much easier
to kind of infer what's going on behind that
drywall. And then we're able to do a little bit
of a deeper dive on areas that we might assume
something something else is going going on. I
never really thought about because not everything
was built. probably correctly initially, or maybe
they just didn't have the technology to be able
to do that. And over time you get settlements
and things just move a little bit. Yeah, things
move. So you can take all that into account and
then fix or address those issues for the remodel.
So how does this information sort of set the
stage for your designs that make them both creative
and buildable? It's really not possible to do
what we do in the remodeling space without having
accurate as built new construction. You can kind
of start from the ground up, but in terms of
remodeling, it's super important for us to have
that kind of baseline. and lay all the cards
out on the table in the very beginning so that
we can kind of understand and plan properly for
building and structural systems, interior design
layouts, and various aspects of the scope of
work. Our goal really is to limit change orders
and other surprises down the road for clients.
And even though it's not perfect, you know, there
are some things that are unexpected that might
come up during remodeling. It's a huge improvement
and we're continually trying to improve that
system. Yeah. So unless you took off all the
drywall and every wall and kind of took out the
insulation and measured from that point, you're
going to have a little bit of discrepancy or
you're not going to be able to see what's behind
that wall essentially. It's an incredibly competitive
business that we're in. So being accurate, having
an accurate foundation, which is our model essentially,
and starting the process gets us that much closer
home and just make sure we're priced accurately.
And we also have our teams that go in and we'll
climb the attic, we'll see what's going on upstairs.
If there's an underfloor, we'll crawl under and
make sure we're addressing any structural concerns
that might be. And you've probably heard over
the years, I think I've heard you mention this,
where maybe they met with a couple other companies
and then they were like, nobody else mentioned
this but you. So it probably makes you feel good.
I mean, we've got a lot of experience on our
team. The more houses you've demoed, the more,
the more you see. So it's like a guy who's done
his fourth house or a guy who's done his hundredth
house. There's so many more problems that guy
who's done a hundred has seen. Um, that you can
anticipate things behind the drywall or other
guys may or may not. Or even if you did a past
project in that neighborhood and you go, this
tends to have this slope or this, I've seen this
issue before, so you can anticipate that better.
Yeah, that's cool. I've done like 25 homes in
a particular neighborhood in Scripps ranch and
you're right. It's also cool to kind of talk
within our department. I know if we have a new
project, Arnold or one of the other designers
might say, oh, this architect did it 40 years
ago, 20 years ago, whatever, just so we have
a little bit more backstory on the house. So
collaboration. Yeah, your department's very tight,
which is great because you always have a reference
to go see somebody for help and ask questions,
right? I think that open floor plan that we have
and we can hear any conversations going on is
really helpful. Probably sometimes. So when you're
working with these clients, everyone has a different
kind of lifestyle. How do you approach designing
for entertaining or multi -generational living
or even clients who work from home? How do you
kind of approach each project? I'll start with
the multifamily situation. I think, as you know,
California is a pretty expensive place to live,
Southern California especially. And there are
many reasons why you might have multi -generational
people living in one particular home. It could
be mom and dad or getting a little bit older
and they need a place to be. And versus going
to a home, you're going to bring them to your
house or adult children. I mean, they're just
getting started in the world and it's very expensive
out there. Sometimes it's a good place to bring
them in and kind of just let them kind of get
their fairings. What we try and do is when this
happens, we definitely try and create private
spaces. It's also welcoming to family, but also
keep it private. Cause you don't want to be on
top of each other all the time. I mean, it's,
it's good to be with family. Definitely not.
Definitely not privacy. Dad's watching TV, but
he watches it really loud. So it's nice to have
that separation, right? Yeah. Well, independence
there. Yeah, for sure. Like the kids studying
or in the other room or Or maybe I don't want
to watch what they're watching. Right. And so,
you know, you could do oftentimes it's, Hey,
we just want to add a couple of rooms and that's
where mom and dad are going to be. Or it's like,
Hey. We want to do this ADU in the back of the
home or on the side of the home, whatever it
is. And they're going to have their own separate
space, but we want to be very close by. So there's,
there's many options. Yeah. We see a lot of ADUs.
That's a big one. I think a lot of it comes down
to asking three detailed questions to our clients.
So in terms of like families who love to entertain,
we really try to get deep into what entertainment
looks like for them, because entertaining to
one client might be having for people over for
a small dinner party and another client, it's
hosting birdie people. Yeah, birdie people. And
they need enough space and enough kitchen space
to host everyone. So it really depends on the
client. That's so true. Everyone's definition
is different. And I think not just making assumptions
based on your own personal biases, like, well,
this is how I entertain. So this must be how
they entertain. You had also touched on office
home offices. Oh, yes. 15 years ago, home offices
weren't really a big thing. You basically would
have a desk somewhere to set up the pay bills
or something very small. And since the pandemic,
home offices have become a much larger care of
life now. And people are actually remodeling
their homes to add this space. And we try and,
you know, give them a private space away from
public areas so they can actually focus on work,
maybe provide some storage space in there and
maybe a private bath, or even if it's closer
to the main space, we definitely try and provide
a way to close it off so you can definitely get
some work done. Yeah. Without kids getting on
you or whatever. Well, and I've also heard that
specialty kind of rooms where people may invest
a little more in their bathroom because it's
like, this is where I get to be alone. have this
be my sanctuary for sure. I mean, primary bathrooms
are huge in our business and they've kind of
grown so much over time. I mean, you look at
a lot of the homes that were built in the eighties
and you're even the primary baths were five by
10, 12, something like that. And now they're
just these retreats and it's just, it's super
cool. They have fireplaces now, heated floors,
luxury sounds pretty good. So kind of getting
into curamity and I know that can get complicated
for a lot of people whether or not you're working
with a company like Jackson Design Remodeling
or trying to do it yourself. When you're working
with a client through the design process, can
you walk us through what happens from when you
draw it to when the city reviews it until final
approval? It's quite a process, right? We'll
start with an architect -client interview, kind
of establishing what their particular needs are.
And from there, we'll gather quite a bit of information
from the client, as well as from the municipality,
which will tell us zoning, setback, planning
information that will tell us what we can do
on that property. So we have to kind of gather
all that stuff first. Then we'll start laying
out our designs and we'll usually come up with
two or three floor plans to start the process.
Go back meet with the client. Hey, this is where
we're at based on our previous conversations
review it. So we'll do that. Then from there,
we'll go back into the office and we'll kind
of start our design development phase, which
is. Basically making 3d drawings going up so
you can view the house from elevations or 3d
perspectives. And then we'll have another meeting
with the client to kind of say, Hey, this is
where we're at. Is this what you had in mind?
And usually at that point, we got a pretty good
idea of what they're trying to achieve. So we're
pretty spot on at that point. If not, there's
a little bit of tweaks. And then from that point
on, we will start doing the construction documents.
and get ready for the city. There's floor plans,
foundations, roof frame, all the pertinent dog
building sections, site plan. We'll get all that
stuff taken care of. Yeah. And then once the
city gets it, do they prove it? Do they send
things back like you need to make this revision?
Does it make a difference in different areas
of San Diego? It does. We kind of do most of
our work in the city of San Diego. So we've kind
of got their timeline down very well. During
the pandemic, they're a little bit slow, but
they've kind of got back up to speed and they're
pretty much at normal pace. Now, county of San
Diego is different. They're probably take, for
instance, if a particular job took three to four
months in the city of San Diego, it might take
six or seven months in the county. They're checking
more stuff. They have different things that you're
checking in the county. Then you go to a city
like Carlsbad and they're relatively quick. You're
going to get your permit probably in about two
months there. depending on the size of the project,
right? It just varies. So it's good. We have
people that are familiar with all of them. So
I was going to say you probably had to keep up
to date on all the laws and regulations. We do.
We do. The codes are pretty. consistent, right?
It's this ADU stuff. That's something that varies
from place to place and how they're looking at
them because they're allowed to have their own
interpretation of how they do things. When we
start a project and someone wants an ADU, we
really have to do our homework. So we're going
to give them what they can get and as well as
having to try and move backwards. And didn't
they actually, was it in the state of California,
didn't they make it? easier to build an ADU?
Like five years ago or six years ago? Five, six
years ago. I mean, ADUs weren't even a thing.
They called them granny flats. Yeah, in law suites.
And then they created this program where California
said, you know, we need more. We have a housing
crisis. We need more. homes in California, they
came up with this ADU program and it's evolved
just immensely. I mean, as it started on pretty
much any property, you could add an ADU and a
junior ADU, which is a smaller version, but attached
to the home. And then as it's grown, I mean,
there's people who are doing a hundred ADUs on
plots. It's actually become quite a problem.
There's a lot of litigations that's still not
resolved yet, but it's interesting. Like I try
and keep up with it and it's like, Man, I get
where these neighbors are coming from. I'm on
a cul -de -sac and I've got limited parking already
and somebody builds three ADUs and another guy
builds two ADUs. It's like, where are all these
people going to park? Because they're renting
them out. It's funny. They say if you're near
a transit area, you don't have to provide parking,
but everyone drives a car in San Diego. Right.
It's hard not to. Yeah, that's what it is. And
we go with it. Yeah. Being flexible. That seems
like it would be good in your industry. So as
far as the permitting process, how do you explain
this or communicate it to homeowners? So it makes
sense to them or throughout the process, do you
give them updates? Hey, this is where we're at?
I think that's the most important thing. So we're
going to start off by telling them what that
particular jurisdiction is like and what we've
seen on our past. few jobs that we've gone through
there. And then we're going to update them throughout
the process because that way they know they're
not sitting at home. Where's my permit? It's
kind of important to update them every couple
of weeks. So that way they know and there's no
dark thoughts building up. There's so much information
too. It sometimes can be overwhelming to just
right off the bat kind of dump all this information
on clients. Definitely happy to answer any questions
that they might have. We'll do our best to share
the pertinent information to their project. Yeah,
I bet it's exciting when the permit gets approved.
Absolutely. You can get started finally. So getting
into some homeowner tips, what are two or three
things homeowners should know before starting
a remodel? We have a lot of TV shows out there,
like HGTV. There's Design on Dime, which used
to be an old show. There's a lot of people building
projects, maybe in Texas or other places. And
the costs are not necessarily the same in Texas
as they are in California. And a lot of those
shows, they have a lot of sponsored stuff that's
coming out, like toilets, sinks, whatever they're
getting stuff for. Not like what we're paying.
So one thing I would be cautious of is kind of
plan accordingly and know what the costs are
going to be down here. So we definitely try and
make sure we're giving clients exactly what they
can get. Another thing I would say for clients
is kind of making sure you're on schedule with
your selections, right? Nothing worse than, oh,
we didn't order this door in time and now the
project's sitting for an extra four weeks, five
weeks. with not a lot going on because something
wasn't ordered in time. So we stay very, we stay
on top of that in our company. We're making sure
we get that stuff ordered and kind of when they
need to make a decision, like reminding them
on track. Yeah. Track. I would say something
to consider before you start the remodel is if
you'll be moving out of the home during construction.
So. I think a lot of clients when we're doing
larger home remodels, you really just can't stay
in the home versus if you want to plan a big
trip around when you're going to be redoing your
kitchen or maybe stay with family while we're
doing construction. It can definitely be a little
bit easier on the clients. I think sometimes
emotionally, like when you're living in a construction
zone, it's a little bit much. So planning for
where you'll be. I think that's a great tip.
I've heard that from multiple people we've interviewed
and taking that into account. So if you are going
to need to rent something, you need to put that
in your budget, too, that I'm going to be renting.
So just knowing what you're going to do and not
just figuring it out after the fact. And oftentimes
we can plan the project where there is an area
that you can live. I mean, it's not it's not
the best living that you're used to, but When
you start thinking about, you know, three, $4
,000 a month paying rent outside, it can go a
long way to some of your finishes on your project.
So yeah, people have to weigh that. where will
I stay? Do I want to stay with a family member
for that long? Or would I rather live in a construction
site? I don't know. We'll see. Who has an ADU?
I know, I know. So what would you say is a tangible
tip or advice for homeowners working with a design
team like JDR? Do you have any advice for them?
Yeah, my number one piece of advice for anyone
considering remodeling is organize and understand
your priorities. It's really important to spend
time thinking about the core reason of why you
want to do this remodel. and think less about
like certain elements you might want to add later
that might kind of fluff up the job, but really
why you want to invest this money, why you want
to spend time through construction, and be clear
with your team on that as well. It really helps
us understand where to invest our time and effort
into the project to make sure it's everything.
You're drinking up. I think as designers, we
are always pushing for what's going to be the
most beautiful and what's going to make the clients
the most happy. And we have this vision that
we kind of fight for along the way, but also
part of the business is respecting the client's
budget. So there are certain things that we try
to do within the architecture department. A big
one is value engineering. So coming up with creative
solutions to maybe complicated. structural problems
that really do impact the cost a lot for the
overall budget. And another thing that we keep
in mind is the finished material on exterior
of home. So it comes at a price for sure, but
I think when you place material strategically
on the exterior of the home, whether that's stone
or siding, some of those like high ticket items.
We definitely want to present options to clients
so that it's in their control of where they want
to invest their money. So if they don't really
have a strong opinion, I guess on the front of
the house, they might not want to invest or vice
versa. They really care about the curb appeal
and they want that entrance to be really grand.
And, you know, just comes down to the price where
they want to invest. Yeah. Defining like, what
is most important to me? What am I willing to
pay for and invest in? I think that's probably
the best part of design build, right? You've
got an interior designer, you've got an architect,
you've got a builder all working together to
make sure we're going to give you the best product
that we can. Because everyone's fighting to give
the best, right? And then you got the responsibility
of the contractor on board saying, that's great
guys, but we just went over budget by XML and
we need to start flipping back. How are we going
to do this before we present this to the client?
We always give them an option. Hey, you could
do this or even sometimes we'll plan and phase
as well. You know what? We could do this home
and then two years down the road, you could add
this stone on. That's what it'll look like eventually.
Money is what it is and people know what they
have to spend. So we have to be respectful of
that. Yeah, no, that makes perfect sense. And
I'm sure it makes for a happier client that you
respect their budgetary wishes. And can you share
with us maybe a client's dream that seemed challenging
at first, but then you guys were able to... problem
-solving, teamwork. I know you mentioned value
engineer. Do you have an example? We call that
a Tuesday around here. No, I think all jobs have
their particular challenges. Sometimes it's budget,
sometimes it's trying to fit the whole program
in a limited space because say they're on a small
lot, whatever it is. A particular example, maybe
a year ago the project got completed at ADU and
Scripps Ranch. The client didn't have a lot of
room in the backyard and they have kids. They
didn't want to waste that space. And it was in
a homeowners association in Scripps Ranch. They
were like, okay, let's build it in the front.
I told them, well, you can. I don't know what
your HOA is going to say, but we went through
the process. We got it all designed and I had
done other projects in that area. So I felt pretty
good about it. When we submitted it to the HOA,
they were not happy. An ADU in the front. They
didn't like it. We went probably five rounds
with the HOA to get this thing designed and tweaked
a little bit here and there to get it how they
needed it to be so that they would allow it.
And even at the end, they were not going to allow
it, but. One of the guys, there was a swing vote
and it was one that he said, he said, well, you
told this guy, if he went and did these changes,
you would approve it. And now you're still not
going to approve it. So I'm going to change my
vote. And he's the guy who ended up being a swing
vote for us. Wow. Yeah. And HOA is notorious
for not. So you have to be an advocate for your
clients to get things built. Absolutely. With
HOAs and APUs, it's a little bit of a battle
right now. The state is kind of mandating that
you allow. these ADUs to happen, but you're getting
some pushback from some HOAs. If it all goes
down to it, I believe if the state's going to
mandate, you have to have, allow these people
to do this thing. It's just, they're going to
fight you until you force them to. And I guess
there's limits to it. So it's like, if it's a
reasonable request. you can get this thing built,
but if it's someone, I want to build five in
my front yard. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and maybe
that's what they're afraid of. I get it. I mean,
nobody wants a bunch of cars parked on your street
when you have all these nice homes. I totally
understand. 100%. Yeah. Remodeling itself is
not an easy thing. There are a lot of selections,
decisions that you have to make as a client of
materials you're going to pick. And we do this
every day. They're doing this maybe three times
in their life. So being sure of what that material
is going to look like when it's all put together
can be questionable, right? So we have a very
good team, a lot of talented designers on our
team. I would say if I was talking to a client,
rely on that team. If you're not sure about something,
bounce ideas off people. We're there for that.
We'll help you all through this process. We'll
make sure the materials are ordered accurately
and on time. So the one thing I would say is
you have a good team. You rely on them. Take
advantage of it. Ask the questions as you do
have a team. So do you guys have anything else
you want to share before we get into some quick
fire questions with Diana? Bring it on. All right.
Diana, you ready for the quick fire round? Ready?
Arnold. You got it. Hey Arnold. What would you
say? What is your favorite architectural style
to design in? That's a good question. As an architecture
designer, you have to love and be able to design
to any style, especially in remodeling, right?
Because you could get a mission style home, you
get a craft style home, you get a mid century
one. You have to be able to adapt to those styles.
And if you don't... have a respect for them.
If you don't like those styles, it's going to
make it a lot harder. So I like all styles. I
think if I had to choose one, I might choose
mid -century modern because I feel like on a
budget, you can get a lot done. Totally. And
it's going to look awesome. And it's timeless,
right? Mid -century modern is what it is. It's
not like you're going to have to remodel it again
in 10 years. It'll stand the test of time. Right.
100%. For sure. Design your dream house in 30
seconds or less. 30 seconds or less. You know,
for me, less is more, right? I've designed bigger
homes and I've lived in bigger homes and it's
just too much, too much to take care of. I would
keep my home probably from 2 ,200 to 2 ,500 square
feet. I'd probably go mid -century, modern, or
contemporary because that's hot for me right
now. Lots of glass, lots of natural light. and
better details versus more space. I would spend
the money on details versus extra space. For
me, that's where I'm at in life. What are details?
I mean, like window treatments, some of the gingerbread
on the front of the house, just making sure that
the gingerbread stays true to the style of the
home, right? I love that. Can you tell me what
gingerbread is? I would say like when you have
like a craftman style home, you have like maybe
trim work in the front of the home. They'll call
that stuff gingerbread. Oh, that's just like
cooking cutters. You think of a gingerbread home.
Right, yeah, the little icing. you say? What's
the most surprising lesson you've learned in
your career? This is a good question. The most
surprising thing I've learned is that all projects
turn out better when designed in collaboration
with a team and a client, right? I think when
I was younger, I was like, Oh, people just They
don't see the vision and they're blocking it.
And really at the end of the day, going through
the process and having all that back and forth
really creates special, unique projects for the
client. And it's just a much better, much better
deal at the end of the day. Yeah. Collaboration.
Alison, it's your turn. I'm ready. What is favorite
part of blending creativity and technology in
your work? I would say The product that you're
able to produce is really just exponentially
better. Once you kind of learned new technologies
and you're able to understand them and work efficiently
with them, it saves a lot of time. It reduces
error. And whether you're just working on drawings
in Revit or producing renderings, it really just
improves the work. Nice. All right. Design your
dream home in 30 seconds or less. I would definitely
want an older home that has a lot of character
that I can renovate and kind of make it my own.
But I would say definitely surrounded by nature,
a lot of windows everywhere, maybe a little stained
glass here and there, rich hardwood floors and
really beautiful interior finishes, a music room
with really good speakers, a home gym, a workshop,
and yeah, just making it really Wow. Personal
to me. We're all going to hang out at your house.
I know. It's so interesting because the both
of you are so different. Yeah. I mean, your home
is, it's a true expression. That's the one thing
besides maybe, you know, fashion or how you express
yourself. And we spend so much time in our homes.
It really should be your safe haven and a place
that reflects you. True. What's one underrated
design detail that makes a big impact? I would
say ceiling height. I think that that really
impacts massing in a space and, you know, there
are some projects that I think we don't need
super high ceilings. Like kind of bringing down
the mass a little bit and making it feel more
intimate is almost better in some cases. I think
you see that a lot in older architecture. You
can see how they change the massing depending
on which room you're in. Interesting. That is
so true because I've been in homes where the
ceiling is so high and I'm just like, what's
going on up there? Everyone wants to raise the
roof. Well, Arnold and Allison, it was an absolute
pleasure speaking with you today. And you are
so wonderful. And I loved hearing about your
background and insights into what you do on a
daily basis. Keep working as a team and I'm sure
you'll achieve great things in the future. Thanks
for sharing all that with us. Thank you very
much. And that's a wrap on today's episode. If
you're dreaming of a remodel or love design inspiration,
be sure to subscribe to Remodeling Reinvented
on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.