We undertook a project at our waterfront property to convert our aging 60+ year old cottage into our retirement home. We had many ideas on what we wanted to do and accomplish, but clearly needed professional help to pull everything together and develop an overall plan. We turned to Brent Hutchinson and his Patuxent Architects to provide that expertise.
From the very beginning, Brent was wonderful to work with. He held a number of discussions with us (before pencil was ever laid to paper) to get a real sense of our vision and desires. At first our hope was to simply modernize the old cottage, and Brent was happy to develop plans to accomplish this. The more we talked about things, however, the clearer it became that the complications of trying to modernize such an old structure with insufficient electric, plumbing, insulation, etc., etc., it might actually be easier, and more cost efficient, to tear down and build up from the same foundation.
Brent suggested that he had heard and understood our thoughts and wishes, and asked if we'd allow him to take a shot at a rough plan, just to see if this new avenue might work. We said yes and, to say the least, he knocked our socks off with his design. From there we held numerous meetings and developed numerous iterations, incorporating thoughts, improvements, and suggestions. Through this entire process, Brent was fully responsive to our desires and never tried to make this "his" vision, but instead, always strove to make this a fully functioning, soundly designed, and aesthetically beautiful version of "our" version.
Now that we've completed this project and our house has been built, we couldn't be happier. It's one thing to see something on paper and "imagine" what it will be like, but quite another to actually stand in it and experience it. One thing that really stands out in our house is the sense of space. Brent really has an excellent feel for spatial relationships. Within our house you never feel closed in, cramped, or crowded. Great attention was always paid to lines of sight, width of rooms and halls, etc. Brent not only mastered the technical aspects of design, but the spatial and visual aspects, as well.
We should also note that Brent did not just design and walk away, but worked with us during the entire construction process, tweaking the design as minor adjustments inevitably became needed, and served as our advocate in discussions with the builder. As an additional service, Brent also reviewed work in progress as construction advanced, certifying to us that work described in our contract with the builder had been satisfactorily completed, and that disbursement draw requests could, and should, be paid.
We could not be more pleased with the experience of working with Brent on our project, and would highly recommend him to anyone seeking the highest quality services of an architect.
