Blog
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Climbing The Six Gates: Gate 2
The Pre-Construction Services Proposal
By Stewart Davis AIA
Posted on October 20, 2016OK, we have had a mutually beneficial first meeting, we have discussed your design needs and priorities, our thoughts on budget, described the design-build process, and both parties want to get a bit more serious. Wonderful! That means that we agree to walk together through Gate 2, and we will put some serious time and attention in putting together a written proposal to thoroughly plan the project for your review.
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Austin NARI Tour of Remodeled Homes 2016
September 24 & 25
By Ryan Davis
Posted on September 13, 2016Well it’s official, the season finally seems to be changing. It’s still hot, but something is different: the air is lighter, the light paler; the city sounds different, like you can hear further and more clearly than before. Nestled in this time of change and new beginnings, the Austin NARI Tour of Remodeled Homes awaits to provide all of your remodeling/renovation inspiration.
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Shower As Creative Refuge
The best insights always materialize in the shower!
By Stewart Davis AIA
Posted on August 24, 2016Bathrooms have many parts, but I think the heart of the bath is the shower. Well-designed showers promote serenity, comfort, and a feeling of wellbeing. Inside this special space, the mind is calm, and often valuable insights and ideas surface.
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Climbing The Six Gates
The CG&S Design Build Process
By Stewart Davis AIA
Posted on August 03, 2016If you are like most of us, you don’t do a renovation project very often. Maybe you have done finish upgrades or repairs, but nothing substantial. You may now be thinking about a more comprehensive, complex, architectural level renovation. There are lots of stories out there about these larger projects. You may have a family member or a friend who has bent your ear about how their project went. When I ask people, I hear good stories, and I hear not so good stories. Sometimes they tell me they are fine with the end result, but the process of getting there was confusing, frustrating, and painful. What if there was a way to guarantee a success story for your remodel? Well, dear reader, the good news is that there is! We call it Climbing The Six Gates. Now sit right down and let me tell you all about it. Today we’ll start at the beginning: Getting through Gate 1.
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Central Hub
Dining Rooms At The Center Of Home & Family
By Iris Davis-Quick
Posted on July 13, 2016I grew up eating at the dining table. It was a safe place. A place where we ate incredible, homemade food (thanks mom!) and talked about our day. It was a place where we had family meetings, birthday parties or study sessions. It was the central hub of our house.
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Spec Versus Design Build
By Dolores Davis, UDCP
Posted on June 03, 2016I was recently asked by a colleague, “Why don’t you build spec homes? You don’t have to worry about clients!” Taken aback, I stood there with a confused sort of smile, the kind of reaction that occurs when basic assumptions or ingrained ways of operating are suddenly, unexpectedly challenged.
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Sophisticated Country Living In Kyle
Another Custom Home By CG&S
By Stewart Davis AIA
Posted on March 21, 2016About a year and a half ago, my niece and her husband asked me to design a new home for them. They have two elementary school age kids and a trusty dog. They had a beautiful, 1 ½ acre open lot in Kyle, and were ready to build their first [and probably last] home. I said, ‘Let’s DO this!”
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Kid Baths
By Iris Davis-Quick
Posted on March 15, 2016Kid baths. I’ve been thinking about this lately considering I have two small children at home who will share a bath that doubles as a guest bath too. I’m not big on “kiddie” things. My oldest daughter’s room looks more adult than child and the nursery looks like an art gallery—nothing baby about it minus the changing table. So, when I was planning our kid/guest bath, the goal was to design it so it’s both appealing to the kids and totally acceptable for adults.
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The Ubiquitous Coat Closet
A Default Design Feature, But How Useful Are They, Really? A Texas Perspective
By Stewart Davis AIA
Posted on November 13, 2015When was the last time you used your coat closet for the storage of coats? When was the last time you actually wore a coat? Thought so.
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New Home For An Old Friend
A Rare Case Of A CG&S Design-Only Project
By Ryan Davis
Posted on October 29, 2015Every once in a while we take on a design project that we don’t build ourselves, and in even rarer circumstances, we get the opportunity to design a home for a close friend or family member.