Introducing...Megan TerVeen

Over the past month, you have met Visbeen Associates' staff members Wayne, Paul, Marcy, Lori, David, Angela, Jonathan and last, but not least, I would like to introduce myself! Here is a short bio about me:

Megan TerVeen is the Creative and Office Manager for Visbeen Associates. Her duties range from photography and social media to hospitality and web development. TerVeen, age 26, grew up in Grand Rapids and graduated with a degree in Business Communications from Calvin College. Along with organizational and management skills, she has a creative bent, allowing her to handle graphic design projects, photo editing and web layout for the firm. Her warm personality provides a friendly first impression of VAI.

Megan and her husband Chris have one child, a new baby named Aiden. Aside from working, she likes to bike, rollerblade, and run. Megan enjoys photography as a hobby, and plays the piano at her church.

Now you have met the entire Visbeen Associates team, with each talented member being an integral part of the success of our firm as a whole!

Luxurious Russian Penthouse Apartment

Luxurious Russian Penthouse Apartment

Russian interior design studio Geometrix transformed the interiors of this next luxury penthouse into a surprising modern space meant to be enjoyed to its full potential. Featuring a combination of dark and light colour schemes, the interiors of this scrumptious penthouse call for a certain order in furniture arrangement. The interior designers created an extremely contemporary inside living space that extends on to the terrace for a full exploration of the panoramic views of Moscow. Situated high above the city, in the Triumph Palace, a 57-story apartment building in Moscow, the penthouse is compartmented into spaces that have many accents in common. Created as a unified space, the residence balances light and dark in a carefully planned manner. Large windows allow gorgeous, uninterrupted views of the Russian capital and the generous terrace extends the living space over the city.

Pretty and Chic Furniture for Smaller Spaces

We found this adorable line at the Las Vegas Market a couple of years back and we thought we share it with you.  They make really cute, adorable furniture that are smaller in scale --quite perfect if you have a small apartment or condo to furnish.   The furniture usually comes in neutral colors, which makes it easy to accessorize.  They are quite stylish and inexpensive.

Here are a few samples:

The occasional chair runs about $600, sofa is about $1500, chair about $300, bed about $1600. They have a huge web site that you can browse through here. If you need help with pricing let us know (Sunpan only sells wholesale). Shipping cost for furniture is usually high, so we don't recommend buying just one or two pieces. Usually shipping costs will exceed the price of the item.

interior design with this ideas in the white house and order a beautiful

interior design with this ideas in the white house and order a beautiful

New Silk Flower Arrangements for Spring

Happy Friday everybody!  It's finally looking like spring in LA this week.  OMG it's been the coldest, longest winter ever! 

We just got some new silk flower arrangements for spring.  Truthfully, we prefer fresh flowers over silk any day, but these look really close to being real, they'll make a pretty good substitute...

We'll be posting these up in our silk flowers section by this weekend so please check back with us then. In the mean time, have a fabulous weekend!

Introducing...Angela Mulder

Indianapolis-born Angela Mulder juggles a diverse range of responsibilities at Visbeen Associates. Her titles include Sales and Marketing Manager, along with Executive Assistant to the President. After studying Communications at Calvin College and graduating in 2001, Angela worked in hospitality, event planning, and office management for two years before accepting a position with VAI in 2003. For the past seven years she has managed scheduling and client relations for the firm. As her job has evolved, she has taken on sales and marketing, award entry management, and all that comes with organizing the life of the leading architect and company president. Angela’s strong organizational skills and energetic personality make her a vital part of the team.

Angela is 31 years old, and married with two children. Her husband Jonathan and their children Isaac and Charlotte live in Grand Rapids. Angela is an avid runner, and loves to travel and shop.

Introducing...David Lorenz

Senior Designer David Lorenz has been part of the VAI team since September of 2000. Originally from Union, Missouri, Lorenz went on to study at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. He graduated with Bachelor of Architecture, and is now in charge of design, drafting, drawing, and rendering in watercolor for Visbeen Associates. His world-class illustrations beautifully depict projects completed by the firm, and have transformed the office into an art gallery.

Lorenz, age 39, has been married to his wife Emily for six years. They have three children, Eli, Elena and Anastasia. David is a gardener, and also collects industrial furniture. He enjoys painting in his free time.

2010 Best in American Living Award Winners!

The Best in American Living Awards (BALA) has been a competition recognizing design excellence in the building industry for over 25 years. At the BALA awards ceremony this year (during the NAHB International Builders' Show), 59 winners were honored for their innovation and creativity in 28 different categories, ranging from best custom and spec homes to best remodel and community designs. Visbeen Associates received six BALAs, including the prestigious Best in the Midwest Region, which we have been awarded four out of the last five years of this competition!

Best in Midwest Region: East 8th Street

Builder: Bouwkamp Builders • Interiors: Cyndy Schurman

1st Place - Remodel Specialty Project: East 8th Street

Builder: Bouwkamp Builders • Interiors: Cyndy Schurman

1st Place - Single-family Detached Home (2,001-3,000 sq ft): Clareville

Builder: Jeff Segard • Interiors: Julie Holmes

1st Place - Single-family Detached Home (over 4,001 sq ft): Avonlea

Builder: Jeff Segard • Interiors: Julie Holmes

3rd Place - One-of-a-kind Spec Home (up to 4,000 sq ft): Sunsweet Hill

Builder: Distinctive Homes • Interiors: Kim Waltman

3rd Place - One-of-a-kind Spec Home (4,001-6,500 sq ft): Kearney Hill

Builder: Insignia Homes • Interiors: Julie Holmes

For more photos of these award winning homes, please visit our website.

Architectural Tutorial: Stairs

“There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.”

-anonymous

(http://thinkexist.com/search/searchquotation.asp?search=stairs&page=3)

But which type of stairs lead to success? In today's architectural tutorial, we will be outlining the various types with pictorial examples from Visbeen Associates' home designs so you can judge for yourself!

1. Straight Run Stairs: have no turns, as the name implies. (http://www.build-home-building-house.com/stair_types.html)

The Sinclaire's straight run stair with open tread

2. L Stairs: has one landing at some point along the flight of steps.

(http://www.build-home-building-house.com/stair_types.html)

The Westchester's L stair

3. U Stairs: may be constructed either as wide U or narrow U stairs. Both have two flights of steps parallel to each other with a landing between. (http://www.build-home-building-house.com/stair_types.html)

The Amblewood's U stair with some great details

The Blaine's U stair with a built-in booth on the landing - a detail like this really sets a common type of stair apart

4. Spiral Stairs: wind around a central pole. They typically do not have an inner handrail, just the central pole. (http://www.allwords.com/word-spiral+staircase.html)

The Pentwater's spiral stair with open tread

The Leland's spiral stair with open tread - what a great way to get up to the tower level!

5. Circular Stairs: do not have a central pole and there is a handrail on both sides. These have the advantage of a more uniform tread width when compared to the spiral staircase.

(http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Stairs)

Torrey Pines' circular stair makes for a grand entrance

The Pinehurst's circular stair takes you from the basement all the way to the upper level

Two Creeks' stair circles around a fantastic chandelier in the entry

Wilcox Gardens: Chapter Six

Learn all about the quaint city of East Grand Rapids as the Wilcox Gardens story continues in Grand Rapids Magazine's January issue. Check it out below or click here to read the full article!

Best of GR!

We can't think of a better way to bring in the new year than to celebrate being voted as the Best Architecture Firm by the readers of Grand Rapids Magazine! Thank you very much for the votes and we look forward to making 2011 another great year in architecture!