I’ve never written a blog before these past few posts… clearly. And truth be told, I have a flash of self-consciousness every time I hover the mouse over that intimidating “publish” button, hesitating for a moment each time before clicking it. After that, it’s instantly out there for the world to see with no turning back. Well, here we go; I’m going to click it again!

Perhaps one of the curses of being self-employed—made worse because I genuinely do love what I do—is that my cell phone is virtually never off. And so it was, that while visiting my dad in an Edmonton hospital’s critical care unit, I nonetheless answered a call whose call ID showed as originating from Bermuda. I quietly stepped out of the ICU; he was resting anyway. The call was from someone who supposedly wanted me to design a home for them. At that time in my career, I had done a few out of town projects, but it certainly wasn't a regular occurrence for me… so I was immediately skeptical about the caller and tried to keep them on the line, if only long enough to figure out if it was a telemarketer or a scam artist of some variety. Doubtful or not, even worried and in the hospital, I couldn’t quite bring myself to brush them off, just in case the potential project was legitimate. I'm so glad I didn't! Although living in Bermuda at that time, this improbable patron would soon return to Calgary with hopes of having a new home built for their growing young family, complete with squash courts and climbing walls.

Getting to spend a week with your wife in a tropical paradise in the middle of the Atlantic, is not a bad work week at all! I essentially make most of my living drawing pretty pictures, albeit incredibly comprehensive ones, which I'll grant you is a pretty good gig all on its own. But I don’t think my wife has ever liked the idea of traveling for a client meeting more than she did for that client, that week. The island is absolutely breathtaking. But more importantly to me, I truly enjoyed working closely with them on their dream home, and just as much back in Calgary as in Bermuda.

One of the properties I helped this enjoyable expatriated couple develop, once they were settled back in Canada, was for a skinny house on a narrow lot in Calgary’s innercity. It was such a fun project to work on, having been given nearly carte-blanche in the planning. Everything was custom designed, right down to the crown molding profile. Together with my friend Krista, the tremendously talented founder of Krista Hermanson Design (an interior design firm in Calgary), the finishing touches came together so seamlessly. It was a little three-story jewel box and was my first project to “trend” online, its photo being saved to Ideabooks over 10,000 times over the next couple of years on Houzz.com. I’ve designed other projects since that have become new favorites, as generally happens when I put so much of myself into each. And over the years I’ve drawn many luxury homes, with significantly more square footage than this one. But none since have been as frequently published, nor have attracted quite the same attention, even being used in an international advertisement for Kolbe Windows and Doors, and then again as the cover for one of their catalogs . It’s not my only project that Kolbe has used in its media over the years, but it was the first. And firsts always have a special place in one's heart.

The home’s popularity was also the catalyst behind my being selected to host a TV show for HGTV that was supposed to focus on the trend of building “skinny homes” across North America, as developers in dense urban environments recycle valuable land. The show was ultimately not picked up by the network, but it was incredibly fun auditioning with Leftfield Pictures from New York City. Until then, I'd certainly never signed an Exclusivity Agreement, tentatively as the "talent", even though my Los Angeles townhouse was about a block from Disney Studios on Buena Vista Street, and two blocks from the Burbank Studios where Friends was being filmed at the time. Well, in honesty I’m probably more suited for radio (or blog writing) than TV anyway!

My firm really doesn’t sell ”stock plans" of our homes, but we’ve had people inquire about rebuilding this house in cities all across Canada and the US. That said, we have agreed on occasion to provide new home designs for homes based on it; once per city in Calgary, Winnipeg, Atlanta, New York, and New Orleans. The iteration in Atlanta was particularly fun; that client actually bribed me with cookies to do the project for her! And when the job finished, she made good on the deal. Freshly baked cookies arrived in the mail as promised, through customs and all, from Atlanta to Calgary (although they were perhaps a little less fresh by the time they made it to my doorstep a month later). Without exaggerating, I’ve surely had a hundred people ask for copies of the floor plans of this "trendy" house, so, what the heck… I’ll include them below, right in this little blog.

After all, the only person who can get mad at me for sharing them is me , and I won’t tell on myself. ; )

Thanks again for passing some of y our self-isolation time with me! The fact that nearly 3,000 people have happened upon my little blog site this week, probably means that there are a lot of pretty bored people out there! But either way, I love responding to the questions and comments I've been sent! So please keep reaching out and sharing! #wereallinthistogether