Guy Nichols, and the talented Nichols Design Group team, are a Colorado-based architecture firm building on a twenty year history of creating the finest in light commercial, mixed-use, multi-family and single family communities. We are responsible for hundreds of custom home projects and home remodels, meeting the special needs and unique tastes of our clients throughout much of Continental North America. Although our work has been recognized and awarded locally as well as nationally, faithfully serving the goals of our valued clients is our greatest reward and most sincere commitment. While we have extensive experience in our home state of Colorado, we have designed for clients within the many diverse climates and subcultures of the North American continent and Pacific Islands; from Hawaii to Texas, Montana to Florida, Alaska to Costa Rica. Our personalized approach to architectural design and project management places a priority on effective communication and teamwork between Architect, Contractor and the Owner/Developer from concept to completion. Although our designs are as unique as the clients who help create them, all of them evoke a compelling sense of place, style and comfort that makes them highly livable and timeless. As residential architects, we also design highly successful speculative investment homes for builders and developers on special sites nationwide and at all pricepoints. Our extensive experience within both the luxury custom home and production home markets allows us to design homes that precisely target the sophisticated residential market. How should I go about selecting my architect? You should choose your architect much as you would choose a physician or a lawyer. Check their reputation and references certainly, but be sure to interview them personally as well. Design is a very personal experience and you must be sure that the person you select will really listen to your needs and desires, and will help you design the home of your dreams and intentions, not theirs. You will be spending quite a bit of time with your architect and will be sharing important parts of your life with them. Be sure that you like, and trust them. Professional qualifications are very important but "bedside manner" may be equally critical. How much will it cost to design our project? Many factors must be considered in setting the fees for a design project, including, the difficulty of the site, the size of the project, the complexity of the program etc. Please contact us so that we may ask all of the questions needed to quote you a precise fee. How much will it cost to build our project? Construction costs vary due to dozens of factors in a custom home design. The exterior materials, the number of floors, the site, the interior finishes, the area of the country, the complexity of the design and the structural and mechanical systems used are only a few of the factors that influence the cost of constructing a custom home. Beware of anyone who will quote you construction costs for a project before they know a great deal about your project and the details of your design. How can we be sure our design can be built within our budget? NDG works closely with experienced developers, builders and contractors during the design of your home, partnering with them to provide estimating for ongoing cost control and for advice on construction efficiency during the design process. We are happy to work with the builder of your choice, to help you select a qualified builder, or to refer you to someone we have worked well with in the past. How do we start the design process? First, call us. (303 278-4363) We will talk you through the entire process and it is our job to help you with all the decisions that must be made while designing your project. We can tell you what decisions need to be made at what time and you can be as involved or as uninvolved as you wish in the process. We work very successfully with clients who are not in the same place as their architect, or often, their building site. E-mail, fax, and conference calls allow us to keep our clients informed and involved in the entire design process even from a distance. Will I need the services of other professionals besides my architect? Yes. A structural engineer is required for homes in most parts of the country. NDG can provide in-house engineering to best coordinate the architectural and structural design of your project. An interior designer may, or may not, be required to finish your dream home. However, most people find the services of an interior designer to be invaluable during the design process. On larger luxury custom homes the need for careful integration of everything from fabrics to floors usually requires the services of an experienced interior designer. NDG can recommend an interior designer, or will be happy to coordinate with the designer of your choice. Landscape architects, lighting designers, mechanical engineers, surveyors, soils engineers, pool consultants, audio/visual consultants, and kitchen designers are some of the other consultants often brought into the team on a full service project. Your architect acts as the team leader, orchestrating the consultants and the builder to achieve the maximum in creativity and enthusiasm from everyone involved in your project. Should I have my site selected before I begin working with an architect? In general, yes. However, NDG can assist with site selection for those people who have a strong vision for their designs, and are not sure which site might best fits their needs. The best buildings are always designed within the context of a specific site. Orientation, access, views, grade, surrounding buildings, sunlight, vegetation etc. are all considered in the overall process. How long does the design and building process take? This varies based on the size and complexity of your project, and factors such as Design Review Boards as well as your ability to make timely decisions. Usually, from the time we begin design to the time we are ready to submit the finished construction drawings for a building permit is about 1-2 months. Most of our homes are built in 8-10 months. Nichols Design Group is pleased to offer, for purchase, a select number of our very best design . These field-tested, architect-designed homes in our portfolio have been built in communities throughout the Rocky Mountain region and beyond. Homeowners, builders, and developers know the extraordinary value of luxury home designs . Nichols Design Group; the quality of our field-tested and fine-tuned home building plans; first-class service we provide our clients. Reasons why Nichols Design Group is your best choice for Luxury Home Designs • Our Plans are designed for real families, like yours, continually refined with help from the people who live in them • The beautiful elevations of our designs are welcomed in many upscale neighborhoods • Every Nichols Design Group creation is custom designed by our award winning team. We've been in the architectural design industry for over 20 years. Every day, we talk with people like you about how they'd like their house to work, look and .....find the results of that experience in every luxury home plan we design - from the classic elevations to the day to day details of family living. Discover your dream home with us........ We encourage you to contact us if you have any questions or would like more information about us and our services. YOU CAN REACH US AT NICHOLS DESIGN GROUP 1091 S. GAYLORD ST. DENVER, CO. 80209 PH: 303 278 4363 FAX: 303 278 7009 EMAIL: INFO@NDGARCHITECTS.COM Our feature project this month is a custom home located at 650 South Franklin Street on the east side of Washington Park in Denver. This home was featured on the local nightly news to demonstrate the controversy over the building of large homes within established neighborhoods in the City and County of Denver. Because of the passage by the Denver City Council of the so-called "Quick Wins II" zoning amendment, homeowners in Denver who are considering remodeling their homes may need to assess their options subsequent to the policy changes that went into effect in February of 2003. As the zoning laws in Denver are on the verge of change again at the end of 2009, homeowners in the city of Denver are well advised to have their properties evaluated as to present and potential options for addition, remodel or reconstruction work. In some circumstances, it may prove more advantageous to your needs to wait until the passage of the new laws. We encourage you to review your long term property and home planning needs and give us a call. Our firm will develop a design profile to evaluate the best option available to you so that your current rights are grandfathered or that your future options remain open. We stay abreast of Colorado planning and zoning laws in order to better develop designs to suit our clients' needs within the constraints of those laws. Whether your plans are for a simple remodeling project or a total rebuild, we can help you make the best decision about how to proceed. "Whether we consider architecture an art-form, a science or simple accommodation of need, it is more than just the composition of material, form and volume. It portrays the human desire for space and boundary, for enclosure and security, light and shadow, color and texture. And in many of our most personal moments, architecture exceeds the creation of space, place and domain, evoking emotion in the most profound and subtle ways imaginable." Guy Nichols CLICK HERE