Motionspace Architecture + Design of Seattle, WA has been awarded  “Best Of Houzz” 2013 by Houzz, the leading online platform for residential remodeling and design.  The award-winning design firm was chosen by the more than 11 million monthly users that comprise the Houzz community.

The Houzz “Best Of Houzz” award for 2013 is given in two categories: Customer Satisfaction and Design. Customer Satisfaction award winners are based on homeowner members who rated their experience working with remodeling professionals in 12 categories ranging from architects, and interior designers to contractors and other residential remodeling professionals.  Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the community of 11 million monthly users, also known as “Houzzers,” who saved more than 124 million professional images of home interiors and exteriors to their personal ideabooks via the Houzz site, iPad/iPhone app and Android app.


“Houzz provides homeowners with an in-depth, 360-degree view of building, remodeling and design professionals through images of their work, reviews and an opportunity to interact with them directly in the Houzz community,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of community. “We’re delighted to recognize Motionspace Architecture + Design among our “Best Of” professionals for design as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes.”

With Houzz, homeowners can identify not only the top-rated professionals like Motionspace Architecture + Design, but also those whose work matches their own aspirations for their home. Homeowners can also evaluate professionals by contacting them directly on the Houzz platform, asking questions about their work and evaluating their responses to questions from others in the Houzz community.

Builder Magazine’s top 10 design trends for this past year:

According to Benjamin Moore, the Color of the Year for 2013 is going to be Lemon Sorbet (Benjamin Moore color code 2019-60). Yellow is a great color if you want a bright and cheery room, or just want to add some impact with an accent color. I’m generally not a fan of yellow on the exterior of homes though, particularly pastel yellows . . . unless your home is in Florida.

In general, we are still seeing a lot of interest in tones of grays, blacks and whites both for interiors and exteriors  (I guess they say that’s what people lean to in recessionary times). Mixing in an accent color like yellow would work well with this palette, particularly if it is on a funky wallpaper or tile.  Check out this example below and some other examples on Houzz.

One of our hallways was featured recently on Houzz. Hallways are often a forgotten and dark space. But they don’t have to be. By using color, a variety of materials, and lighting and natural light,  they can be an interesting space to transition through. The Houzz article below outlines some other problematic areas of homes.

Motionspace Architecture + Design PLLC of Seattle, Washington Receives Houzz’s 2012 ‘Best Of Remodeling’ Award

First-Ever Survey & Analysis of More than 1.2 Million Members Reveals Top-Rated Professionals and Current Design Trends from Across the Country

Seattle, WA — March 19, 2012 – Motionspace Architecture + Design PLLC of Seattle, WA has been awarded “Best Of Remodeling” 2012 by Houzz, the leading online platform for residential remodeling and design. Motionspace, a firm that specializes in residential design, was chosen by the more than 1.2 million registered members of the Houzz community.

The Houzz “Best Of Remodeling” award for 2012 is given in two categories: Customer Satisfaction and Design. Customer Satisfaction award winners are based on homeowner members who rated their experience working with remodeling professionals in 12 categories ranging from architects, and interior designers to contractors and other residential remodeling professionals. Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the 1.2 million members, also known as “Houzzers,” who saved more than 16.5 million professional images to their personal ideabooks via the Houzz site and iPad/iPhone app.

“Looking at other architect’s work is a great way to generate new ideas for your project. We’re honored to be recognized by the Houzz community for having inspiring work and having so many people add our projects to their ideabooks,” said Nazim Nice, the Principal Architect at Motionspace.

“With 3.5 million monthly unique users and 80 million monthly page views, Houzz has rapidly become the largest community of active remodelers, providing homeowners and design enthusiasts with first-hand advice from Houzzers who have been through the renovating and decorating process,” said Liza Hausman, Vice President of marketing for Houzz. “This is a real stamp of approval for Motionspace from the Houzz community and we’re thrilled to welcome them to this elite group of ‘Best Of’ winners.”

With Houzz, homeowners can identify not only the top-rated professionals like Motionspace, but also those whose work visually aligns with their own design goals. Homeowners can also evaluate professionals by contacting them directly on the Houzz platform, asking questions about their work and evaluating their responses to questions from others in the Houzz community.

The powder room in our Capitol Hill Basement Remodel was featured in an article on Houzz.com

2012 is shaping up to be an exciting year for us! We are starting this year with the greatest number of new home projects we’ve ever had, along with a number of remodels and additions. In Kent, Washington we have started the master planning of a nine home gated community. See the video below. The actual home designs have not been developed yet, so the blocky homes are just ‘placeholders’.

We’ll be starting construction soon on a home in Auburn on the Green River. This is a project that has taken several years to permit, but with such a beautiful site, I have a feeling the end results will be worth it. We’re designing two new replacement homes north of Green Lake as well as a 20′ wide modern single family home on Queen Anne (see image below).

As we progress in the design and construction of these projects we’ll be sharing more info. I hope everyone has a wonderful 2012!

While many of our projects are larger jobs like new single family homes, or second story additions, once in awhile we’ll take on smaller jobs like these two bathroom remodels.  We started the design process by identifying problems that needed to be solved and understanding our client’s goals. Both of these clients needed more storage space but also wanted to increase the functionality of the space while creating a modern and warm atmosphere.

STORAGE ISSUES
To gain more storage space we designed the vanity in one of these bathrooms to continue into a blind corner so larger items (like that 24 pack of toilet paper from Costco) can fit under the sink. In the other bathroom, additional storage space for smaller items was needed close at hand. We took advantage of the large wall space above the vanity and broke that down into separate wall mounted medicine cabinets flanking two mirrors. In the vanity below, drawer space was maximized by making the cabinet under the sink as narrow as possible.

LUXURIOUS MATERIALS
Often the first thing that is noticed when entering a bathroom is the tile work. In both bathrooms we choose to accent one shower wall with a particularly special tile. Other tiles were chosen for the vanity back splash, the bathroom floor, the shower floor, and the shower and/or tub surround. TIP! When choosing bathroom tile, there is a fine line between creating a sophisticated appearance and creating something that looks more like a tile showroom. If too many different tiles are chosen that do not coordinate with each other it can quickly start to look like a tile showroom. Try to limit the number of different tiles to about five in a bathroom, and some of these should be similar to each other (like the shower floor could be a smaller version of another adjacent tile).

To see more images and read more about these projects and twenty four other projects visit our project gallery.

One of the questions I am asked most frequently is, “when should we get started on our project?”  Well, that will vary depending on which building department will issue your permit (if required) and the type of project you want to construct.

Let’s first begin with how long the design process may take. If the project is smaller like a kitchen remodel or bathroom remodel, and either has no structural changes or minor structural changes, then the design time would likely be about 2-6 weeks.  A larger project like a room addition that involves an architect and a structural engineer will likely take 6-8 weeks to design. An even larger project like a whole house remodel or second story addition may take 3-4 months to design. Most of my clients who design a new house from scratch take over 6 months to go through the process.

Building department review times will vary depending on the jurisdiction. Many small projects can get over-the-counter permits, or permits that are issued within one or two weeks. Larger projects should allow 8-12 weeks for review and one round of revisions with the City or County.

If your goal is to start a project in 2011, be sure to leave enough time for design and permitting. If you intend to start a construction project this Spring or Summer you should start the design process now. This is especially important for weather sensitive projects like second story additions, or other projects where good portions of the home are open to the weather.   If you would like to discuss your project please give us a call at (206) 204-0490 or use the contact form on our website.

A friend sent this photo to me from an actual house in Orlando, Florida (no photoshop magic here!). I thought it was too funny not to share. It’s clear that some people get into the holidays more than others. So, we hope that your holidays are filled with as much holiday cheer as you desire!