Good Morning!  Michigan is one of the MANY states hit by a major winter storm.  We are all digging out while the temps are still bearable in hopes that tomorrow's subzero weather won't bring with it more snow.

This is the scene directly outside our office door.  This doesn't start to show how miserable it is out there.  Hopefully, most of you are home, sitting in front of a fire and drinking a hot cup of cocoa.

This morning as I was getting ready for work I had HGTV on my TV set and was listening to the Property Brothers.  They were discussing the "scope of work" and the "budget." The show delivers on its hype. Like most of the viewers I was impressed with the final product. BUT (and this is a big BUT) the budgets are totally unrealistic.  From a professional's viewpoint, who has had 35 years experience working with builders, it is obvious to me that the Brothers labor costs are greatly reduced or non-existent.  Materials used in their projects must be donated or sold "at or below" cost.  I have just gone through the renovation process myself.  I was able to do a lot of the purchasing myself (which saved me money) but the budget averaged $80.00/sq. ft.  Most homeowners planning a renovation project should plan on spending $80 to $100/sq. ft. and more if they elect to use higher end finishes, appliances, etc.  It is great fun to see the finished projects on the many TV design shows but the unrealistic expectations they create can put a real damper on a project when applied to the real world.

I have a couple of interesting projects coming up in the near future that I will be sharing with you.  One involves rebuilding a home that was destroyed by fire this past fall.  The clients have a real sense of their design esthetic and should be a lot of fun to work with.  The other clients are moving from a suburban colonial on a heavily landscaped 2.5 acre lot to a detached townhouse in Birmingham, MI.  They have collected beautiful antiques while traveling the world.  It was wonderful working with them on the last house and I'm looking forward to another exciting experience working on this new one.

Oh, and one more thing......

I work with two wonderful people, Stanley and Tracey.  Stan is a senior designer with the firm and Tracey acts as our project manager.  From time to time, they will also be posting on this site.  They will have their own unique "take" on the projects coming out of our studio. 

Enjoy your day.  Stay warm and stay safe.

Steve