At heart, I am a craftsman searching for good designs and artful solutions in residential construction. Since 1987, I have restored old houses, made windows and doors, matched historic millwork, and designed and built kitchens, baths and room additions, while continually raising the bar on my own long-standing interest in energy efficiency.
Influenced early on by Christopher Alexander’s “A Pattern Language,” creating a space that inspires and grows out of the user’s experience is important to me. This, combined with a love of old and new buildings, has made achieving a balance between new designs and existing structures a worthy challenge.
My goal is an elegant solution
At first glance, this is a screen porch and patio.
But, working together, they solve a problem by managing storm-water runoff from the higher-elevation back yard. Drainage behind the brick retaining wall coupled with a slightly-pitched patio combined to create a dry, attractive screened porch.
What are your goals?
If you’re clear about what you want your project to be, we can move on to design. If not, we can discuss that together.
Originally, this was simply a refrigerator against the kitchen wall. Now, it’s part of a useful storage surround.
A place to work?
A place to play?
A place to hang out?
Arriving at the Design
If Your Design Needs Are Simple
If your design needs are simple, I can create 3D conceptual drawings showing what a finished version of your project would look like—properly proportioned and to scale. But, if your needs are more complex, the expertise of a professional will be well worth it. Depending on the project, you may need an architect/engineer, interior, or kitchen designer.
Keys to a successful project
- Arriving at a cost: In reality, a conversation about cost (at least a range) should happen right up front, concurrently with design. They are interconnected. Because it’s impossible to figure costs without knowing (exactly) what we’re building, once the design is somewhat nailed down, we can get a lot closer to what the actual costs will be.
- A clearly-written agreement describing the project, costs, work schedule, and payment schedule.
- Tradespeople that aim for the best workmanship and working environment. In other words, those that work together to solve the inevitable issues that arise during more complex projects.
- Close supervision: Regular meetings and follow-up to discuss project progress and raise questions.
- Project changes executed through written change orders.
Testimonials
When my husband and I remodeled our kitchen, we upgraded to high quality cherry cabinets. We were a little uneasy because the cabinet maker wasn’t an installer, which meant handing the cabinets off to someone who hadn’t built them for the installation. So, our general contractor brought Chris in as the kitchen-cabinet installer. Our kitchen had some plumb/level issues and other idiosyncrasies, and the cabinets themselves had a surprise or two in store for us. We quickly became grateful for Chris’ calm, meticulous approach to solving unanticipated problems. If installation can be an art, Chris is an artist. He also struck us as a downright nice guy. He was a major contributor to the success of the kitchen we are now enjoying. Remodeling would be a lot easier if every contractor were like Chris.
AMY ZIFFER
We recently asked Chris to replace the windows in our home. Our experience with him is nothing short of superlative. Even from our first meeting, his confidence and craft was communicated to us in many ways. Chris helped us make meaningful decisions. This, followed by daily summaries of the work, complete with pictures, helped us understand what he had done and why. His attention, even examining the grain of the wood used for window trim, was much evident in the finished project. Chris Green is a true craftsman; we will ask him for help on our next project.
JODIE AND ANDY DELOHERY
It was my great good fortune to have Chris do a complex renovation for me. Stellar in all ways, he is smart, skilled, efficient, and honorable. He thinks everything through to discover lapses of logic (mine) and figure out how to set them right. He cares deeply that both the process and the results be of the best, aesthetically satisfying, and lasting quality. Plus, he loves good coffee and is just incredibly nice to have around.
CAROL SPIER