Do you want to have fun and enjoy the process of creating your dream home? Start with WHY. 

Hi, my name is Jenn and I’m your pocket architect.

You might be thinking, what is your pocket architect? Well, it’s a term I use to describe my niche in the architecture world and the name of my new e-book.

As a little girl, I would draw house plans for fun. Once I got to college and began my education, it was nothing like I thought it would be. I realized I didn’t really know anything about what it meant to be an architect, all I knew was that I really enjoyed drawing house plans.

So I learned that architects come in all shapes and sizes and don’t always practice architecture in the same way or on the same types of projects. One of my first jobs was putting together drawing sets for Dollar General Stores, while some of my friends were designing fancy hotels and skyscrapers. It wasn’t what I dreamed of as a child, but I was content to learn and hope it got better. Eventually, I started getting projects that were more custom, such as schools, banks, and doctor’s offices. I flourished when I could design interiors and select colors & finishes. I took pride in designing fun floor patterns in the school hallways & painting bold accent walls in patient rooms. These projects brought me so much more joy, because they were smaller and I could focus on how the space would actually look and feel to the end user.

Soon I left that job and started working with my husband. He owned a design/build company and I would be handling a lot of the design work. This appealed to me on so many levels… working with my spouse, being my own boss, working on small scale projects. Many of our projects were single family homes, where we designed the houses and selected & ordered finishes for the them as well. More often than not the color choices and fixture selections weren’t chosen until the absolute last minute. Oftentimes, this method caused delays (big surprise) because products would have long lead times or were special order.

Finally I branched out on my own and began designing custom homes & working with other builders. For these projects, I not only created drawing sets, but I also combined it with helping my client select materials and finishes. And what we ended up with was magnificent— a set of documents without any allowances (Allowances are a dollar amount that you include in a construction contract for a particular item. They are most often used when a client hasn't made all their selections).

With this setup, the builder knew what the homeowner expected and was able to price it accordingly with his sub-contractors— and the homeowner didn’t have to stress over making selections from the hundreds of choices available because we had done that together in the beginning.

This path led me to my WHY for creating 'Your Pocket Architect', which is 'to help you enjoy the process of building your custom home'.

That's why the first section of the e-book is dedicated to determining your WHY. You're creating a beautiful home that will improve your life and bring joy to you and your family for many years to come. You don't want to be miserable trying to get there.

So when thinking about your WHY, consider the path that has led you here, to building a custom home.

What have your experiences taught you about yourself and the future you want to create. How does your dream home support that vision?

Your WHY is a reflection of you and your values. It is aligned with your goals, your budget, and your lifestyle. 

Your WHY feels like coming home to yourself!

WHY is just the beginning of a journey that requires you to be prepared mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially. 

Ultimately, it's an invaluable resource that drives every choice along the way. 

What's your WHY? Please let me know in the comments.