In this one-year anniversary episode of Home: The Second Story, we look back at what the podcast has taught us about homeowners, custom projects, and the conversations people need before they begin. The show started as a way to let past clients talk to future clients, because a homeowner’s voice lands differently than advice from an architect. Over the past year, that format has expanded to include homeowners, industry professionals, snack episodes, and mailbag questions. The goal is still the same: help people understand what a custom home or renovation really feels like before they are deep in it.
One big lesson is that people want help at the beginning. The most downloaded episodes are about how to start, what a project costs, and how to assemble the right team. Those questions come up constantly because early uncertainty is hard to sort through with Google or AI alone. A real professional can give context. A number like $400 per square foot may be a starting point, but every project depends on the site, access, soil, scope, location, and team.
We also talk about the emotional side of construction. Renovations often start with excitement when demo begins, then crash when the house is stripped down and unrecognizable. New construction has a similar letdown after the foundation and framing go up quickly, then the project slows while trades begin their work. These moments are normal, but they can feel alarming to homeowners who have never been through them. Part of our job is technical, but part of it is helping people feel steady when the project gets stressful.
Another theme is that problems are not the real issue. The real issue is how the team responds when problems happen. Good architects, builders, designers, trades, and suppliers make the project safer because they know how to gather facts, make a plan, and keep moving. That is why starting strong matters. Who you choose in the beginning shapes the entire experience.
We also talk about knowing yourself. Homeowners often overestimate what they can take on and underestimate how much coordination a custom project requires. Picking finishes is only one part of the work. The real value is in making sure every piece fits together, works over time, and supports the way the family actually lives. A custom home should be custom. It should not be built around resale fears or assumptions about what a house is supposed to have.
After one year, the podcast has shown us that the same questions and emotions come up across the country. People are trying to make homes that support family, work, aging parents, kids, gatherings, privacy, and everyday life. The details may change by region, but the experience is familiar.
Finally, we invite homeowners and industry professionals to come on the show. There are many good people in this industry ready to help homeowners get the details right.
(00:00) Intro
(02:41) Adding industry professionals to the mix
(02:48) Reaching 20,000 downloads
(04:37) Why starting and cost episodes perform best
(06:56) Why online answers can miss project context
(08:51) The emotional side of home projects
(14:35) Helping clients process bad news
(15:57) What homeowners wish they knew earlier
(21:22) Assembling the right team
(22:35) Trusting the vibes when choosing people and places
(25:17) Resale value versus lifestyle investment
(28:13) Why custom should actually be custom
(29:23) Why mailbag episodes are useful
(32:13) Outsourcing the wrong things
(32:52) Undervaluing your own time
(35:52) Why design work is more than picking finishes
(38:45) Collaboration and execution
(39:05) Why hiring professionals can save money
(43:01) Invitation for future guests
(44:44) Closing and contact information
Marilyn Moedinger (00:00):
Hello, and welcome to Home: The Second Story.
We are two architects sharing real conversations with homeowners and industry professionals who take on custom home and renovation projects. I'm Marilyn Moedinger of Runcible Studios in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Boston, Massachusetts.
Sheri Scott (00:15):
And I'm Sheri Scott with Springhouse Architects in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Marilyn Moedinger (00:20):
And today, we're doing something a little bit different. Today is our one-year anniversary of podcasting. Yay!
[Laughter]
We did it.
Sheri Scott (00:32):
We did it, we have been doing it.
Marilyn Moedinger (00:34):
We've been doing it. So, I guess we wanted to do a little bit of a roundup talk about some lessons learned, share some insights about things that we've learned, but also some new insights here and there. One of the things that we have learned is about how to podcast, so which we're learning every day.
[Laughter]
Sheri Scott (00:54):
And we've changed things up a little bit.
Marilyn Moedinger (00:56):
We have.
Sheri Scott (00:57):
Yeah, here and there.
Marilyn Moedinger (00:58):
Yeah, we have.So, I don't know, this might be a theme throughout today's episode, but I just want to say a million times, if anyone has any suggestions or thoughts or things they want to see more of or less of, we're all ears. It's fun to get that feedback.
Sheri Scott (01:16):
And we do have analytics and things like that, that we can notice which episodes get listened to more or less, and that has been a good kind of guidepost.I think that our intention is to always stick with the homeowner's story because that is really why we started this.
And part of the idea that we would love to get our clients, our past clients, to get to talk to our future clients, just to tell stories and to talk more about the feeling of the project and what went well and what didn't, and not horror story kind of things, but just to connect people.
Marilyn Moedinger (02:01):
I also think that it's about the voice of a homeowner reaching another homeowner. It's different than us. It's different. No matter how many times we've done it, it sounds different coming from us as industry professionals than it does from a homeowner.
And so, one thing I like about how we've kind of evolved our format a little bit is that we have that mix.We have a mix of homeowners talking directly to homeowners and sharing their experience, but we are also starting to bring on industry professionals and have more of those kinds of voices, and I think that mix is helpful.
Sheri Scott (02:38):
Yeah, I like the mix too.
Marilyn Moedinger (02:41):
It's fun for us if not for anyone else.
Sheri Scott (02:44):
It is. To get to ask all the questions we always wanted to ask (laughs).
Marilyn Moedinger (02:48):
Exactly. Well, I feel like, too, we should say in terms of metrics, I mean, we've had over 20,000 downloads, so-
Sheri Scott (02:54):
Wow. That's amazing. I love it.
Marilyn Moedinger (02:55):
I don't know if that's amazing to anyone else, but it sure as heck is amazing to us.
Sheri Scott (03:01):
Absolutely, absolutely. Well, like we were saying, I tell these exact same things to people one at a time, day after day after day, one at a time.And I'm happy to do that. And we sit across my conference table all the time at first meetings. Whether people hire me or not, I tell them all the same things. But this is a nice format to be able to share what we share on a daily basis with possibly more people.
Marilyn Moedinger (03:30):
It's kind of funny; we thought when we started doing the snack episodes, we were like, "Oh, what should our topics be?" And it's like, "Oh, we could do all of our soapboxes that we are constantly on about all of these topics."
Earlier this morning, I was meeting with clients talking through all these things, figuring out the best way through a project, strategizing for their specific situation, talking about uncertainty, talking about family dynamics, talking about all this stuff.
And nothing can replace that one-on-one interaction and one-on-one advice, which we obviously can't give as easily in this format.But I think the podcast can at least help people get a lot closer than if they're just randomly Googling things.
Sheri Scott (04:17):
And especially if they're just thinking about a project and thinking, "Oh, I think I want to do this. What's it going to feel like? What's it going to entail?What team should I get together?" All those questions that would be nice to know before you talk to anybody when you're just considering it.
Marilyn Moedinger (04:37):
Well, and speaking of metrics, our most downloaded episodes and most interacted with episodes are those that talk about how to get started, the beginning stages, and costs, and how to figure out-
Sheri Scott (04:48):
Costs, of course.
Marilyn Moedinger (04:49):
It's clearly what's on everyone's mind.How do I do this? How do I set up a project? How do I do this, and what's it going to cost (laughs)?
Sheri Scott (04:56):
And that's still hard for us. I was just taking an initial phone call this week with a potential client, and she was like, "Just before we get off the phone …" everyone's hesitant to ask what's it going to cost? And of course, there's no answer on a first 15-minute phone call.
But I did let her know what we're seeing in the industry. And one of the things, when I was thinking through for this anniversary podcast, one of the things that we have emphasized the most is for clients not to be scared to just ask the question.
Marilyn Moedinger (05:35):
Just ask.
Sheri Scott (05:35):
If there's no answer, or if they don't feel comfortable answering or anything else, just ask. It didn't hurt my feelings at all that she asked. I told her some general, rule of thumb, things we're seeing in the industry right now, and hopefully, that gave her some guidance.
But the real answer is we need to do a little more digging and a little more work before I can give you anything that's going to really guide a project. But even for her to hear whatever the number was, $400 a square foot, and that number goes up from there forever.
Marilyn Moedinger (06:13):
It can always go up.
Sheri Scott (06:14):
But just to have some basis, some grounding and I was glad she asked the question, because otherwise she would have had only Google or ChatGPT to go by.
Marilyn Moedinger (06:25):
Yeah, and that is helpful. It's better than nothing sometimes.It's actually worse than nothing at other times, so-
Sheri Scott (06:33):
The Googling.
Marilyn Moedinger (06:36):
Yeah, it is.
Sheri Scott (06:39):
Not talking to me, you don't mean (laughs).
Marilyn Moedinger (06:40):
No, no, no. Alright, to be clear, worse than nothing is a bad Google search.Better than nothing is talking to Sheri or me or another qualified professional (laughs).
Sheri Scott (06:56):
That's funny.
Marilyn Moedinger (06:56):
Absolutely. And even ChatGPT and Claude and everybody, they still have room to improve, and so there isn't always ... those answers that you're getting from that aren't always the best either. So, the subtleties of your project and what impacts the cost on your project.
I mean, I've had projects that are two blocks apart from each other that have vastly different cost implications because of different soil conditions or different abilities to get to the site. One was really difficult and one had a driveway already there, and was really easy. So, even those kinds of things make a big difference.
And I think that's why we're constantly saying find your trusted team, work with your trusted team, and all that kind of stuff. But at the very least, listening to the podcast or listening to other content or reading other content from other trusted professionals gets you a lot closer.
And that's why we wanted to do this, was to get all this information out into the world because it's just ...I don't know about you Sheri, but I see that look of relief that comes across people's faces when they finally are sitting across from someone who can answer their questions.
It may not be the answers that they're super excited to hear because I'm telling them, yeah, it's going to be more expensive than they wanted, or there's these hurdles, but at least they're getting answers.
Whereas before they were just like, "Can I trust anything I don't know?"And that look of relief that comes across people's faces, I was like, what if we're able to get that even more using the podcast and having our knowledge not just be about the person across the table from us, but also the whole world, because we do have worldwide listeners.
Sheri Scott (08:51):
Yes, that's true. We give people kind of hard concepts of build your team and keep the timeline and all of these things. But from the podcast perspective, I have found that it has proven true that we ask people to share their feelings about it as much as the actual things that happened.
For our listeners to hear how it felt when you get into a project and you realize you have the wrong builder, what does that feel like and what are the warning signs and the red flags, and all of those things?
But just to prepare people, most of my clients do this only one time in their lifetime. And to understand some of the emotional turmoil or roller coaster that you'll go through for a good project or a bad project, it can take a toll.And just having a heads up and understand what other people have gone through, I think helps a lot.
Marilyn Moedinger (09:53):
Absolutely. And we joke about it in the profession all the time, but we're architects, but we also are part-time marriage counselors, we are sounding boards, we're metabolizing all of the energy that's coming at us from people who are stressed and worried and unsure about the right decision, and there is so much that we do in those meetings with our clients or across the course of a project of just saying, "Yeah, we're picking out the tile. Yes, we're figuring out the structure.Yes, we're helping interpret what the builder's saying."
But we're also here doing a lot of emotional lifting with our clients and walking with them through that. There are certain cliffs during a project, emotional cliffs that happen on every project, and we do a lot of renovations, very intensive renovations on old houses. And that first emotional cliff, the high, is when demo starts because everyone's so excited. The hammers are swinging, but then it is a crash.
Like three days later, when the whole house is demoed, the demo guys are gone and it's quiet and the whole house is stripped, and everything that you recognize is gone. All of the walls are bare, there's studs that you can see like electrical wires hanging everywhere and people just look like, "What have I done?How will this all go back together again?"
And that is the first sort of emotional roller coaster ride, like the big excitement and then the like, "Oh, my God, this is a disaster." And we know that because what I say to them every time is, I've been doing this for 20 some years,I have never not put a house back together. We will put this back together.It will go back together. I know it doesn't look like it, but I know how to do this, and we're going to do this.It's going to be fine."
Sheri Scott (11:53):
When you were talking about the emotional cliff, I feel like for new construction, a lot of times it is the first pause. The first pause in construction because once you finally get to dig the hole, which always takes way too long to get permitting and get all the people in line — once you get them in line, we do the foundation, there's hardly a hiccup ever in that unless they don't read the prints, which is unusual.
And then the framing — the framing is so exciting, and the flying of the trusses and this mass, it starts getting defined and it goes so fast. I still find it incredible how fast they can frame a house.I don't care how big it is, it just goes up so fast.
Marilyn Moedinger (012:41):
Yep. So fun.
Sheri Scott (12:42):
And you're walking through these rooms and it's so exhilarating. And then it's like okay, now we have to get the second phase of the trades getting into the house, and it always pauses at that point, and it seems to take forever.
And then when the trades do get in there, they're slow compared to the framers. It all feels like they're pulling wires.That's not exciting, it's not fun to watch (chuckles). You check day-by-day and there's just not that much going on.So, that's kind of our first emotional kind of letdown is, oh boy, this is going to take a long time.
Marilyn Moedinger (13:24):
That's when a lot of coordination, bumps in the road come along. So, that's the, okay, we planned this all out, but now we're standing there going, well, this duct and this pipe, they need to both go right here.
And you and I have solved that problem a hundred thousand times. Solved the subs and we're standing there and they say this duct and this pipe and we're all just like, "Alright, well, let's figure it out. Maybe we can move this or let's shift that."
And then I kind of come out of it and I look at the homeowner's face and they're like, "Oh my gosh," they're like, "What do you mean we're going to have to figure all this stuff out all along the way." It's a stress inducer, whereas I'm like, "This is what I was born to do: is to figure out MEP coordination. I'm like right at home." And I'm actually suspicious when there isn't anything going on like that.
So, I'm kind of glad we're going on this a little bit of a deep dive tangent on this. Yeah, it's nice because what we've learned about what we do might have changed a little bit over this last year. Hearing stories from homeowners and being like, "Oh, wait, yeah, that is something that we do that we weren't even really conscious that we do."
Sheri Scott (14:35):
One of the things I learned through talking to people is particularly my clients. Some of the people that we've interviewed were my clients. And I realized that one thing I'm really good at is getting what we might consider bad news, where the client, I would never expect them to be able to just absorb it all, and then try to figure it out, but I can do that.
So, I can get that phone call from the client that says the builder said this and blah, blah, blah, and I don't know what to do. And I can just listen and say, "Okay, let me find out everything.Let me find out everything. I'm going to find out all the information and we're going to get back together." And again, you can just kind of feel the, “Okay, thank you.” (Laughs).
Marilyn Moedinger (15:24):
We're here, we got this.
Sheri Scott (15:26):
I trust you, it's in your hands. And it's typically just a fact-finding mission that I'm doing.I'm finding out from all the different players, and then we come back together and make a plan, and how to fix it or solve it, or circumvent it.
So, that's one of the things I've learned that I think I'm really good at with my clients, and it does, it makes people feel safe in the project. Not to say nothing's ever going to go wrong, but you're safe, like, I've got you.
Marilyn Moedinger (15:57):
That's why it's not whether something goes wrong, but how things are handled when they do go wrong, and that's what matters. Something I've learned along the way here as we've been doing this podcast is that people really do wish they could go back in time and tell themselves something.
Because we ask the question, if you could go back, if you could change something or if you could redo whatever, what would you tell your past self? But the thing is, the question that's become almost more interesting to me, and maybe we need to start asking people this one, is would you believe yourself?
Sheri Scott (16:36):
I have heard you say that a couple of times, yes.
Marilyn Moedinger (16:40):
Like “A Christmas Carol” style. Like the Ghost of Project Future came back in time and said to you, "You will regret these six things. Do not do those things."What would it take for your present self to believe that?
This has come up a little bit in some conversations. I've certainly talked with folks outside the podcast about this, and the answer that keeps coming up is, “We wouldn't believe anything.”You have to make the mistake.
Sheri Scott (17:08):
I know.
Marilyn Moedinger (17:09):
So, I don't know what that means for a podcast. We've literally created a podcast that everyone's like, "Well, we're not listening, we have to make the mistakes ourselves."I don't think it's that cut and dry, I don't think it's that simple but-
Sheri Scott (17:18):
There will always be something. There'll always be something when you're like, "Yeah, but not me, not my project."
Marilyn Moedinger (17:25):
Yes. And I always say, "Well, alright so this is a big day for me because I am now meeting the one person in the history of construction where this will not happen, or whatever story.You are the construction snowflake who is unique among all of the construction projects that have happened since the pyramids.”
There were change orders on the pyramids, but still, people do believe that it's going to be different for them.And I think one of the things that has come out over and over is that it can be different for people. They can prevent disasters by proper planning and having a good team and all the things we're always preaching.
But if you ignore all of that, then I don't know what people are expecting that somehow that they just are untouchable.So, I don't know how to get current people to believe their future selves. So, I don't know how to do that, I guess we're attempting.
Sheri Scott (18:26):
We are attempting.We are. Like maybe if they hear from their peers, which is what we're trying to do. And that leads to another thing I was thinking is: almost every homeowner we've interviewed, it's like they think they're more capable than they are in one respect, and then they're less capable than they think they are in the other.
So, I know we've said a few times on here, know yourself first, know how you make decisions, know your limit of making decisions, making selections, having meetings, all of those things, and I don't think there's anything to fix on that.
I mean, I think just human nature is: I think I'm more capable in things than I really am, and the opposite is true also, like I'm more capable than I think I am in a lot of things.So, I think knowing yourself probably is the best first start and to keep that at top of mind going through the process.
Marilyn Moedinger (19:37):
Yes, 100%. I also think being honest with yourself is really important, which goes hand in hand with knowing yourself. And we've talked before about how couples can work together. A lot of times, I don't know, there's a good percentage of our interviews that are a couple that are on, which is always fun because you get two perspectives in the same interview. But I think it's also about that. It's like, well, you have to think through that as well.
The other thing that has come to my mind or that I've seen is that the stories are pretty similar across the country. So, we've interviewed people from all over the place, no one internationally yet, I suppose, yet (chuckles), but people from everywhere around the country, and the stories are very similar. There are differences, and we're not building basements in the southeast and we have to watch out for our snow details in the northeast, and like things like that, fine.
But I mean, the actual stories that people are telling about the emotions, the processes, like ups and downs, the conversations that happen within their families, everybody is trying to grapple with aging parents, raising kids, figuring out their equity situation. Should we buy? Should we build?Should we stay? Should we rent? Should we “whatever the heck” options.
Everyone is trying to figure this out no matter where they are. And I don't know if I thought that would be different.I don't know if I thought maybe somewhere in the country they've got it all figured out, but I guess it’s not true.
Sheri Scott (21:19):
Not in my neighborhood.
[Laughter]
Sheri Scott (21:22):
We've touched on it a couple of times and I know in almost every podcast we talk about assembling your team, and that just remains the crux of every project, whether good or bad.I mean, I think the good projects: we could trace back to them starting strong. It's how you start and who you pick.
And I know we've done a couple of different podcasts on how to choose an architect, how to choose a builder, how to start that team, the team that you bring together in the beginning.It really is kind of the telltale sign of if you're going to have a great project or not a perfect project, but a good one. And that's not magic, that is taking your time, interviewing people, doing all of the homework, and paying for professionals.I know I've talked about that several times, too.
Marilyn Moedinger (22:21):
Well, and also, understanding that even if you pay for professionals and you've got a great team, that things still happen. But then when you have that good team, everyone can roll with it, and that's the important part.
Sheri Scott (22:34):
And work together.
Marilyn Moedinger (22:35):
I think part of the picking a good team and having things work out well, and frankly, what I'm about to say has also kind of been a theme throughout many of the podcasts, many topics is, for lack of a better word, vibes.
Like what are what are the vibes here?When you're talking to a contractor, potentially work together, how does the vibe feel? The working relationship? How does the vibe feel in a house, let's say you're trying to buy a house and you're in there and you're like, well, yeah, this is a fixer upper for sure, we need to renovate it. How does it feel in here?
How does that piece of land feel? I think it's something that doesn't get talked about enough and is really, really important.
Sheri Scott (23:18):
It is, especially with the renovation, I feel like, because home is important. We've talked about the processes and things like that. We haven't spent a lot of time on our podcast talking about home and how it feels, and how it really … it's important in lives where you spend your time, where you gather your family, where you celebrate things and mourn things, and every part coming home from work every single day is your home.
And it's so important, and to pay attention to those vibes, not only on a new project, but where you are currently. So, I am always trying to talk to people that are just considering a new project and haven't really gotten to the team's part and all of that.But take some time to think about what makes your home feel like home right now. And there are some of those things that you want to try to achieve in a new home that you want to transfer over.
Marilyn Moedinger (24:29):
What you're getting at, too, is the other question we always ask our guests, which is what is your favorite thing? What's the thing that you walk in the house, and it could be something tiny, it could be something big, it could be a certain memory, or it could be whatever. What is something you just love about your house?
Sheri Scott (24:44):
“I'm so glad I did this” kind of moment.
Marilyn Moedinger (24:47):
Those answers, there's a reason why we end our interviews with that question.We want to go out on a high note, of course.We want to emphasize that through it all, and even if it's a great process, it's still intense, and to come out the other side and say, "These are the things that I love about my house."
I think that's why, and we brought this up a couple of times at different times. This is why it's important to not get so wrapped up in things like, "Well, what am I going to do in my house for resale value?" You're thinking about someone else when you're designing your house.
I mean, what most people are doing in their homes doesn't really impact resale value, honestly, and if you're talking about a forever home, put whatever kitchen you want in there.In 25 years, when you sell your house, they're going to rip out your kitchen anyway.Just don't worry about it. Just do what you want, and as long as you don't do anything super crazy, it doesn't matter.
And that's part of a larger conversation around how people, the way our economy is set up, and your house is an investment, it's your equity, it’s your retirement plan, it's all these things, and that makes it hard to talk about the word investment in the two different ways that it's important to talk about it.
One is like: this is my monetary investment, and I'm counting on selling this house in 25 years for a bunch of money, and that pays for my retirement. And that's one investment that people are talking about. And the other is investment in your lifestyle, your family, like the family dinners and being able to host people, and those beautiful family moments that it's like the stage set of your entire life.
And at that point, you're like, well, there's no investment that's too small in the health and care of my children or whatever. So, those two kinds of investment are often hard to bring together. And I think that's a conversation that we certainly have a lot with our clients to help them navigate that, it's not straightforward.
Sheri Scott (26:59):
My favorite clients are the ones that come in and say, "This might not make sense, but this is how we live." And I'm like, "Tell me all about it."
I have somebody that came in just recently and he said … he went through all these different rooms.They use rooms very specifically. And then he was like, "And this will be our family room. I don't know what size it should be.We'll never be in it." He's like, "What size should that be? Like 20 by 20?"
I'm like, "Yeah, well, it can be." And that's what typically we call a great room, family room, whatever you want to call it, the main room. "But if you're not going to use it, why are we doing that?"
Marilyn Moedinger (27:43):
Why are we doing it?
Sheri Scott (27:44):
All of these other amazing design things that I can get behind and then this one thing he's like, "But you kind of have to have it." I'm like, "You don't have to have it.If you don't use it, you don't have to have it. You don't."
And then I started explaining, like we can make these little alcoves and sliding doors and make all these cool spaces, and then he was on board and he's like, "Oh, I see. I see." So, yeah, it's all part of the conversation.
Marilyn Moedinger (28:13):
That's right. And it's not just the thing on paper, it's what's the point of doing a custom home if you aren't going to make it custom?
Sheri Scott (28:21):
Custom, exactly, exactly, yeah.They don't need me otherwise, if you're going to have the-
Marilyn Moedinger (28:26):
Buy some plans online, which, by the way, is fine.
Sheri Scott (28:29):
Absolutely. That was one thing I would like to talk about, is I feel like we wanted to encompass this for all projects in terms of from production homes all the way through luxury custom homes. And we've kind of settled more into the custom home realm, I think, because that's what you and I do, and that's where we feel like we can help the most.
But for our listeners, I am open to any of those conversations still. And if there's anyone listening that has some specific questions about maybe production homes or something that we could help with and give you some tips, I'd love to hear those questions. One of the things that we've started that I dearly love is the mailbag episodes.
Marilyn Moedinger (29:23):
Yes, those are so fun.
Sheri Scott (29:25):
Yes, it's nice to answer specific questions and just to give our take on it, and it feels more directly helpful.
Marilyn Moedinger (29:36):
Yes, I agree. And the questions that people have — I mean, it's funny when we look at the questions, we're like, "Yep, heard that one before, yep, we know that one."And that's not to sort of downplay the importance of these questions, but everybody has the same question (laughs), and so that's why it's useful.
We're like, "Oh, this person has this question, well, we've heard it from 20 other people, so let's answer it here, and everyone can hear the answer." I think maybe it would be useful for us (and now I'm just riffing on ideas) to do an episode where we talk about the different types of ways you can do a project.
So, we start with buy an existing home, and it's turnkey, you walk in, and you're done. Maybe the next level is sort of production homes where you might be working with the builder and choosing finishes, but in a very controlled way. Like do you want the blue kitchen or the cream-colored kitchen? There are rails that you're on.
And then a thing that you renovate lightly, and then maybe a major renovation. Like there's a spectrum, and it could probably be interesting for us to kind of walk through that. Because I think one thing that's been important to us from day one is that even though we're custom architects, and even though that's what we do every day and what we believe in as a process, neither one of us has anything against someone doing it a different way.
If someone wants to buy a production home, go for it.That's what most people do. Most people buy existing homes. That's completely fine. That said, our knowledge and help can still be useful, even on those types of projects.
Sheri Scott (31:17):
Yeah, there's so many ways to get, so many ways. And of course, we have a construction-minded bent, because that's where our knowledge is. But yeah, the different types of construction and the different types of builders, I think there is a product for everyone.
Marilyn Moedinger (31:36):
Yeah, I agree. Well, let's talk a little bit about some things that we see people doing, the sort of themes of things that keep coming up that are mistakes that people make kind of consistently. I think these are things from the podcast, but also just from our daily practice, from decades of experience, the things that people keep messing up.
So, we're saying it here and now, so that anyone who listens to this won't make these mistakes, and you'll be good to go.
Sheri Scott (32:09):
That's right.That's our mission.
Sheri Scott (32:13):
One thing that I've noticed time and time again is people tend to outsource the wrong things and own the wrong things. So, knowing the difference, knowing what to let go, knowing what to ask in plain terms, like knowing when to follow your professional's opinion and knowing when to ask your second cousin their opinion.
Like knowing who has the right answer and what for you to own and what to let go, to just let the people do what they're good at.
Marilyn Moedinger (32:52):
I think that's great. And that goes along with something that I see people making a mistake on all the time, which is undervaluing their own time. So, they say, "Well, we don't want to pay you to do X, Y, Z, we can do that. So, we don't need to pay you to do the interiors, we'll do that."
And then I'm looking at them going, "Alright, you have three kids under 12, you both work jobs, you have parents who you're caring for in the next town over, and you have no experience besides maybe a light renovation of a previous home, you have no experience doing this, when are you even going to have time?"
And undervaluing their own time to the point where they're like, "Well, I'll just do it late at night." It's crazy. It's like you are going to spend more money and be completely frazzled and make a bunch of decisions that are a bad idea when for a premium of 10, 15%, you can just have someone take care of it, like you're going to spend a dollar.
Sheri Scott (33:59):
And I wonder sometimes if it's a control issue, like they think, I know what I want (I hear this all the time), and that's great, send me a picture of it. Let's talk about it.Tell me everything that you know you want, and then I'll coordinate all of the details to make that happen because it's not picking out the color of the cabinets and going to the granite store and looking at all the beautiful slabs. You can do that.You can do those things, but that's not the same as doing the interior design for your entire project.
Marilyn Moedinger (34:35):
It's also missing out on what your design team can do. So, there have been plenty of times when I thought that myself. I'm somewhere and I'm like I know what I want. A perfect example might be, well, I know what I want to eat for dinner and I'm going to cook it. But if I'm at a restaurant, I'm not going to go to the chef, "Hey, that chicken, hold on. I know what I want,I know how I like my chicken."
Then don't go to the restaurant. You’re wasting your money or you're wasting that experience on that. Go home and make the chicken how you want to, and both are fine. But if you are paying for the experience or you are hiring a design team and then you tell them, "I just want what I want," you're sort of missing out on all of that expertise and all of that, because we will within reason (of course, we have codes and there's practicalities and whatever), we will do kind of what someone wants.
But at some point, you just take all the fun out of it for yourself and for your design team. And you're like, just well, then why are you doing this if you're just going to make chicken how you make it at home? Don't go out to the restaurant then.
Sheri Scott (35:52):
And where you started with that was people underestimating their own time availability. But I think they also are underestimating the amount of work that goes into it. It's not just picking a couple of things, it is selecting things, but it's selecting things that will wear well, that go with the rest of the house.
I always say I hate it when the exterior of the house is one look, and then you go inside and it doesn't feel like the same house.
Marilyn Moedinger (36:23):
Yeah, it's all disconnected.
Sheri Scott (36:24):
We need the whole house to feel the same, and that's a design perspective. You don't just pick whatever you like for every room, unless you're super eclectic and that's your design style.But on top of all of that is the coordination that happens between the interior design architect, whoever is designing this, and the production or the general contractor.
It needs to be well organized, and on a timeline. And if you don't have help doing that, you're not just, like I said, picking out the color of the cabinets and the countertop, like that's a production home.
Marilyn Moedinger (37:03):
My favorite example of this is a bathroom vanity sink. So, we've got our faucet, we've got the sink, you've got the countertop, you've got a medicine cabinet, you've got a backsplash, you've got all these elements.
If you are picking all these things sort of on their own, and I've seen this happen where someone picks out the faucet, but they aren't accounting for the depth of the backsplash so now the faucet handles don't turn because the backsplash is sticking too far out. And then the faucet is tall enough that it hits the medicine cabinet so you can't open the medicine cabinet.
And then the faucet is now pushed back too far because you had the backsplash in the wrong spot. So, now, the spout is landing at a weird spot in the sink and splashing everywhere.So, that is one, all those issues are in like six square inches.Now, multiply that over an entire house, and that's why we're here.
[Laughter]
Because I already know all that, and I'm here to help figure that out. So, I think that to kind of say like, what is a mistake that people make is to not collaborate. That's why I do this, because I like to collaborate with homeowners.
I don't want them to say, "Hey, you pick everything out, build me a house and I'll move in at the end." No, the fun is working together to come up with something that neither one of us would have come up with on our own.That's the joy of it.
Sheri Scott (38:45):
And then to execute it, to make it happen on time.
Marilyn Moedinger (38:49):
And when homeowners kind of, when they go along with that, I think it really opens it up for them too. Because they realize, hey, if I would have just done what was in my head, it would not be as cool as this thing that we’re doing together.
Sheri Scott (39:05):
On that same note, is if people think that they are, we've said this so many times, you're not going to save money by doing it yourself. So, if you're not speaking the truth and saying, "Hey, I'm going to do this myself because I need to save the money," let's talk about that.
Because we can step in and help in some way. But truly, I can't enforce this enough, but it's hard to get data for it. Is that if you hire us to do it, we are going to save you money.It is going to save you money in the long run, it's going to save you money on the actual products you buy; it's going to save money on the coordination time.It's going to save money in redos, it's going to save money in regret, all of those things.It is valuable to hire the right professional to do that work for you.
Marilyn Moedinger (40:01):
Whenever this conversation comes up, I always remember when this was hammered home to me so strongly. It was a project. I don't think I had started my business yet.I think it was before then. Yeah, it was. It was a firm that I was working at before I started my own practice.
And it was a repeat client, it was a developer. And he said to my boss at the time, "That project went so well, that was so great. You guys were on point. There were issues, but we solved it, whatever."And everyone's like, "Wow, great, everything." And he's like, "So, we don't need you moving forward because it was so smooth. Like, why do we need you?"
Sheri Scott (40:38):
We didn't need you. It wasn't … yeah.
Marilyn Moedinger (40:40):
And I was like, "What?" I was probably like 26-years-old and hearing this. I was like, "I think it went smoothly because we were there (laughs)."And this person did not make that connection, and I don't remember what happened. Who knows?
But that is the kiss of death right there is to not understand why the project did or didn't go well. And I think that I just don't hear people on our podcast or otherwise saying, I really regret hiring a good team. It was money wasted to hire a good team. I have never heard anyone say that.
I've heard people say, "I wasted money on a bad architect" because that architect was not good. I've heard that or a builder that wasn't good, I've heard that. But I've never heard anyone say, "Wow, my team was so great, it was such a waste of money."
[Laughter]
So, anyway, I think that just goes into people needing to learn things sometimes the hard way (laughs).
Sheri Scott (41:50):
Which is full circle, which is where we started.
Marilyn Moedinger (41:54):
Full circle. Well, I guess on that full circle note, we will bring the plane in for landing here. And I just want to say to everybody in front of Sheri and everybody, how much fun this has been.
Sheri Scott (42:06):
It's been so much fun. I've really enjoyed doing it, I've enjoyed being able to bring up all of the lessons that we talk to people about day in and day out and share them, and to share them from you.Like Marilyn, I've learned a lot from you through this year. It's been great.
Marilyn Moedinger (42:24):
Yeah, same for me. I think having each other as a resource has been great.And all the listeners now get to hear us as a resource too, batting ideas back and forth.
[Laughter]
But yeah, I mean, it's been super fun. And I knew that if we wanted to, we would make this project of the podcast happen. But it is pretty cool to be sitting at a year and saying we've been putting out episodes for a year.
Sheri Scott (42:51):
Yeah, and talk to so many people.
Marilyn Moedinger (42:54):
Yeah, and we want to keep going, right? (Laughs).
Sheri Scott (42:58):
We do.Yes. Let's write that.
Marilyn Moedinger (43:01):
We're going to keep going. So, maybe some things for the future. We want to keep bringing in people to interview, so put out our pitch again if anyone wants to-
Sheri Scott (43:11):
We would love to talk to people and talk to you about projects that you're doing, or that you have done-
Marilyn Moedinger (43:18):
Or that you're considering.
Sheri Scott (43:20):
Or when you're considering, yes.And any industry people that happen to be listening, if you want to come on and have something to share, all we ask is that we talk directly to our listeners and try to help them realize what they want to know before they start.
Because from all these interviews in the entire year, I still come back to where you start and who you start with matters. You have to start the project strong or you're going to be trying to keep up the entire way.
Marilyn Moedinger (43:52):
We can't help but kind of veer into the cautionary tales and the make sure you don't hire a bad team and all this kind of stuff. But at the end of the day, one thing that's become clear to me after decades in this industry and same with you, I know, is how many good, amazing professionals there are to work with.
Sheri Scott (44:10):
Absolutely.
Marilyn Moedinger (44:12):
Whether it's builders or subs — the amount that I've learned over the years from subcontractors, from suppliers, from people who just have a passion for building people's homes and for taking part in that process.
So, I think when we say build a good team, that's also part of what we're thinking about. We're thinking about all the people that we know that love this work and love nothing better than helping people get all the details just right. So, we're all out here, we're ready to help.
Sheri Scott (44:44):
Thanks for joining us on Home: The Second Story. If you'd like to come on our show and share your story, email us at admin@htsspodcast.com, we'd love to have you as a guest. Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you get this podcast and follow us on Instagram. We'll see you next time.
[Music Playing]
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