Happy Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day, we remember our servicemen - those currently serving, those who have served in days and wars past and most of all, those who have given their life in our nation's service. You are not forgotten and we thank you for defending the freedoms that we enjoy every day.

Have a blessed Memorial Day.

The Duneside in the Spring Parade of Homes

Take a trip to Michigan’s coast and see our masterpiece showcased in the HBA of Greater Grand Rapids' Spring Parade of Homes, which opens tomorrow!

Classic 19^th-century Shingle-style cottages provided the inspiration for this surprisingly spacious design. Outside, wood siding, transom windows and a hipped roof add cottage charm. Inside, more than 2,500 square feet on the main floor, including an unusually shaped living room and a large, open-plan kitchen that looks out over an outdoor deck, provide plenty of room to relax. Nearby, a large master bedroom, office and study provide privacy when desired. The second floor includes two bedrooms, one an unusual octagonal shape, and a large craft room. Billiards, an exercise space and a large family room complete the lower level.

As you tour this lakeshore retreat, you will notice outstanding craftsmanship, built by DeHaan Homes. DeHaan Homes has been building finely crafted homes for four generations and with that experience comes mastery of the trade. They have a passion for delivering the very best home to discriminating clientele.

Cabinetry throughout was done by Spaces Unlimited. Spaces has been in the business of custom cabinetry, interior design, window treatments, as well as unique gifts and accessories for 11 years. Their selection, expertise and services are exceptional and turn the ordinary to extraordinary.

Don't miss touring this get-away, retreat, and priceless gift from one generation to the next! Hours for the Spring Parade of Homes are as follows:

May 27 - June 11: Fridays, Saturdays & Wednesdays, 1:00p-9:00p

We hope to see you there!

Great Lake Story: Chapter One

Michigan Blue Magazine's Great Lake Story is back! This year's story takes place in the neighborhood called The Fairways at Harbor Shores in St. Joseph, MI. Read Chapter One for an introduction to this delightful tale of home design and the good life - stay tuned as this story unfolds to see Visbeen Associates' designs for Habor Shores!

For ease of reading, visit www.visbeen.biz to view the full story.

Architectural Tutorial: Victorian Style

The Victorian Style is defined as "a style of architecture used in Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria from roughly 1840 to 1900, characterized by massive construction and elaborate ornamentation." The architecture of this era was considered to be a new kind of modernism, which is why it had such instant popularity. People were tired of simplistic residential designs of the past, so the highly decorative features of this era fulfilled their new found love for exquisite design.

This style is a complex topic because it includes several styles, each with their own distinctive characteristics. Here are just a few of the styles that were conceived in the Victorian Era and their main features:

• Queen Anne: most predominate, had gabled roofs, shingles, angled bay windows and sometimes a turret (or tower), open/spacious porches with gingerbread trim, brackets, ornate spindles and spandrels, intricate sawn-wood baluster, fluted columns or turned and painted posts
• Italianate: wings, towers, flat rooflines, corniced eaves, angled bay windows, Corinthian-columned porches & square tower or cupola
• Folk Victorian: plain folks could afford these simple North American home designs, square/symmetrical shape, brackets under the eaves, porches with spindlework or flat, jigsaw cut trim
• Stick-Eastlake: plain, simple & relatively modern, large ornamental truss under the gable eaves of a house, and often included square bays, flat roof lines & free-style decorations
• Gothic Revival: steep rooftops, pinnacles, parapets, leaded glass windows with decorative ornamentation & clover shaped windows
• Shingle Style: as defined in our last architectural tutorial,picturesque or rustic look, with irregular roof lines including hipped, gabled, or gambrel, free-flowing floor plans, open porches, and less variety in color and materials.

Pictured below are some recognizable designs in the US from the Victorian Era....

The "Painted Ladies" in San Francisco, CA. I'm sure all of you Full House fans recognize these architectural gems!

Mark Twain's House in Hartford, CT

Designed by New York architect Edward Tuckerman Potter, built in 1874

Mark Twain's Library/Conservatory - while residing in this Victorian-style home, he wrote some of his more famous works including The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Prince and The Pauper, and

A Connecticut Yankee in King Aurthur's Court.

Twain said, "To us, our house had a heart, and a soul, and eyes to see us with; and approvals and solicitudes and deep sympathies; it was of us, and we were in its confidence and live in its grace and in the peace of its benediction."

Carson Mansion in Eureka, CA - one of the most written about and photographed Victorian Homes, designed by Samuel & Joseph Newsom which took 100+ men over two years to construct

The Victorian Era has inspired Visbeen Associates' designs, so here are a few of our Victorian homes....

The Belmont features all the charm of a bygone era combined with the conveniences of modern life.

Echoes of the 19^th-century Queen Anne style give this spacious four-bedroom, four-and-a-half bath home called the Brindley its nostalgic charm.

Traditional trusses, brick accents and large bay windows give it plenty of character outside to this compact, yet charming Queen Anne style cottage

Located in the city of Montegue, MI on White Lake, Ravenswood Resort will be a community of custom designed waterfront homes. We have a vision of the homes being designed in the Victorian style, so here are a few of the conceptual images we developed for this project.

Sources:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Victorian+architecture

http://www.fredbecker.org/News%20Letter/Vict%20Arch.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_architecture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_ladies

http://www.erasofelegance.com/arts/victarchitecture.html

http://www.marktwainhouse.org/

http://www.eurekaheritage.org/the_carson_mansion.htm

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://aballoon.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/twainhouselibraryed1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://aballoon.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/mark-twain-house-other-news/&usg=__-lMgimJNB8OdG3b7TpC6KyuRzVk=&h=936&w=1259&sz=184&hl=en&start=12&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=MPGy8ulpNO9ehM:&tbnh=112&tbnw=150&prev

=/search%3Fq%3Dmark%2Btwain%2527s%2Bhouse%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Den%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divnsm

&ei=LyDVTcxqxtbRAZj0nZIM

Professional Builder Magazine Cover

One of Visbeen Associates' designs, the Hampshire, made the cover of Professional Builder Magazine last month. Check out the cover photo of the Hampshire's beautiful kitchen! To see more photos of this home design, visit the gallery of our website (www.visbeen.biz) > Residential Projects > American Neighborhood > Hampshire.

Become a Blog Follower/Subscriber!

If you haven't done so already, we encourage you to follow/subscribe to our blog by submitting your email address in the space just to the right of this post. You will be kept up to date on anything new we post here on our blog with a simple email.

Why subscribe, you ask? Here are a few reasons...

1. All things VAI: you will be kept up to date on all things related to our firm - where you will find us when we are in the news, trade shows where we will have a booth, our award winning designs, the social side of our firm (we have one, we promise!), any happenings with our staff members as well as many other items of special interest regarding our firm.

2. Extensive view of our projects: we post renderings, sketches and photos of projects recently started, currently in progress or already completed. See the variety of styles and types of work we do on a regular basis and how we might be able to help with any design needs you may have!

3. It's educational: we not only post items of special interest regarding our firm, we also try to offer an educational spin on the architecture we do. Learn the meaning of architectural terms you never knew you didn't know in our monthly Architectural Tutorial. Get design tips from Wayne Visbeen on a variety of topics that will make your house a home. Read about local vendors we work with regularly during the design and construction process.

4. Contests: we have contests/quizzes on items posted on our blog, so if you subscribe and participate in them on our facebook page, you will be sure to win some prizes!

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If you would like to keep up to date on all of these fun items of interest, enter your email address in the blank on the right side of our blog and click 'Subscribe.' You will be sent an email within minutes from FeedBurner to verify your email address before your subscription is activated, so be sure to check your inbox and spam folder for the email. Click on the link in the email that is sent to you and you will be all signed up. It's that easy!

Licensed in 6 States

Did you know that Wayne Visbeen is a licensed architect in 6 states? Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey and, most recently, Illinois. We regularly work with clients on projects out of state and have never found distance to be an issue during the design process. One of our out of state clients recently said,

"The high level of accuracy and detail in the project documents avoided many of the issues that often raise questions, cause delays and result in extras. When questions did arise, Paul Fikse and the rest of Wayne’s team presented solutions that met the design intent, supported the project budget, and were provided in a timely fashion. As a result, we never found the geographic distance between us to be an issue. In fact, we often commented that we got faster results from Michigan than we were able to get from our local architects."

If you or someone you know is in need of architectural design services locally or outside of the state of Michigan, please contact our office today!

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu!

Our controller for many years, Marcy Stellin, recently left her position at Visbeen Associates for another great career opportunity. So we bid farewell to Marcy in true VAI style this week - with a party! Here are some photos from our little get-together at Brewery Vivant.

Marcy - so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu! We wish you the best in your future endeavors and thank you for your many years of faithful service here at VAI!

Party just getting started

Getting ready to try some of Brewery Vivant's fantastic brews

Our venue for the party, Brewery Vivant, a new pub/brewery located in an old funeral chapel

Food, drink and fellowship!

Hugs goodbye!

Farewell speech from Wayne

We surprised her with a little going away present

Framed renderings of her beautiful, VAI-designed home!

2 East Fulton Design Concepts

What used to be the Junior Achievement Building on the corner of Fulton and Division in downtown Grand Rapids has been purchased by Locus Development with plans to fully renovate the property. Visbeen Associates is the design architect working with Locus and Tower Pinkster (architect of record) on the design of this project - check out these conceptual watercolors recently rendered by the talented David Lorenz. We are very excited about the project and the potential for this downtown diamond-in-the-rough!