Licensed in Wisconsin!

Wayne Visbeen recently received his architect's license in the state of Wisconsin! Take a look at this beautiful home Visbeen Associates designed there.

"The charm of England’s Cotswold style lives on in this impressive and inviting home. A stone and timber frame façade with a copper cupola and weathervane add to the exterior, as do two large rear fireplaces that are perfect for outdoor entertaining. Inside, an L-shaped floor plan is designed for convenience, leading from the large four-car garage into the main level. Highlights include an octagonal dining area off the kitchen, a large formal dining area and first-floor master suite. The upper level includes additional bedrooms while the lower includes guest space as well as a large recreation room and more."

Plan Revisions

I know you know Visbeen Associates is a custom residential architecture firm, but do you know that if you see a plan of ours that you nearly like, we can customize it? Yes, that's right. We can revise the facade of one floor plan to resemble that of another home. Here's just an idea, but the sky is the limit!

Take the Delavista plan...

...and modify the front facade...

...and add wings off the rear to get Seaside.

Reynard

Reynard was built by Jeff Segard, Grand Concept Homes and the photographer was Megan TerVeen. For more photos, check out our website. Here's a write up:

Designed to make the most of a waterfront site, the four-bedroom, five-bath Reynard would be at home in any setting. A large welcoming foyer leads to a spacious open living area. Two wings radiate from the living room – one with private spaces such as bedrooms and baths, the other with a large kitchen, dining room and home management center. Two decks and a hearth room make outdoor living easy. A casual lower level contains two additional bedrooms, a family room, and a cozy screen porch.

Wish Granted

Today I'm repeating part of a post from April where I featured Lily's Wish. Lily has osteosarcoma, a cancer affecting her bones, and was matched with Wayne Visbeen through theMake-A-Wish Foundation. Wayne sat with Lily back in January and designed her playhouse with her (she had a lot of ideas!) I just saw a photo of the finished house & thought you would like to see it too! Please continue to keep Lily & her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Horizon View

Check out this lovely, little cottage on Lake Michigan designed by Visbeen Associates and built by Bouwkamp Builders. And, here's the write up:

Designed to fit easily into compact spaces, Horizon View combines yesterday's cottage charm with today's open floor plan. A beadboard and gabled exterior leads into a modern interior, with a light-filled great room that encompasses the living room, kitchen and dining area. A handy master bedroom suite rounds out the first-floor offerings. Upstairs are two additional family or guest bedrooms as well as a full bath.

Maximize our website!

When you first visit www.visbeen.biz you may be mesmerized by the pretty pictures scrolling on your screen. They are pretty, but keep going! Click on Gallery and choose a category, like "Residential."

After that, choose another category, like "estates."

Once you've done that, scroll down to view all of the homes we've presented in that category. If one piques your interest, click on it (the Westchester, for example.)

And, once you're there, click on the first image (in this case a sketch) and then use the arrows at the bottom of the image to scroll thru the numerous images of that one house. Once you've made it through them all it will show you the next house in line.

Happy surfing!

Tutorial Thursday: What is a quoin?

Welcome to Tutorial Thursday! Today we're learning about quoins (pronounced "coins.") Below are some of Visbeen Associates homes which feature quoins. (Please excuse the construction mess. Falcon Custom Homes is doing a fantastic job!)

"Stone [or brick] quoins dress and frame the corners of buildings." Cole, Emily. The Grammar of Architecture. East Sussex, UK: The Ivy Press Limited, 2002.

"Quoins are rusticated blocks of stone [or brick] alternating in size, which run in strips up the corners of a building..." Cole, Emily. The Grammar of Architecture. East Sussex, UK: The Ivy Press Limited, 2002.

And, here are some homes with quoins designed in:

Isn't it a shame?

These lovely clients had an unexpected relocation and had to discontinue their design process with Visbeen Associates. Isn't it a shame that this house wasn't completed? We could complete it for you, you know!

American Residential Design Awards

PRESS RELEASE: The American Institute of Building Design (AIBD) announced the winners of the second annual American Residential Design Awards (ARDA) in Portland, Oregon, during a banquet held in conjunction with the AIBD 59^th National Convention at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront hotel, Saturday, July 11, 2009. The winners were chosen from over 100 proposed and finished projects submitted by 31 designers located in 17 different states and the District of Columbia.

Wayne E. Visbeen of Visbeen Associates, Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan, won the prestigious 2009 ARDA Best in Show award.

The projects entered were the work of Certified Professional and Professional Members of the AIBD. Categories included, Working Drawings, Un-Built Designs, Multi-Family, Community Design, Published Designs, Sustainability, Renovations, Builder Models, Custom Luxury Home Designs, Best in Show and Designer’s Choice. Design Competition Chairperson, Michael Battaglia, was pleased with the event, “The entries were outstanding and the judges were impressed by the difficulty of choosing a winner in many of the categories.”

We do remodels, too!

Did you know that Visbeen Associates does remodels, too? We're designing increasingly more of them lately, but we have many in our history. Check out this home on Lake Michigan built by Surpass. As usual, here's a write up:

Shingle Style is as popular today as it was when it took the East Coast by storm during the 19^th century. Updated for modern living, this spacious design pays homage to the style’s rich history while tweaking it for today. Perfect down to the last detail, the charming cottage-style exterior features a porch designed for lazy days, copper trim accents, deep window boxes and a charming cupola with a copper weathervane atop the garage. There’s even an outdoor shower, perfect for hosing off after outdoor workouts or a day at the beach.

Inside, a spacious entry hall leads to the living room, which features storage-rich built-ins and classic beadboard paneling. A roomy kitchen features an eat-at island, while the nearby first-floor laundry and handy mudroom are ideal for a busy family. Also located on the first floor is the master bedroom and connecting home office, both of which allow for much-needed peace of mind and family organization.

Other highlights include two second-floor family bedrooms with multi-purpose loft space and a lower-level family and recreation area with convenient built-ins, an exercise area and spa-like bath.