"Any darn fool can make 'em bigger ....."

.........written by Steve Sall:

That was a saying a successful small homebuilder shared with me when I was starting my career and something I will never forget. He is right in many ways. I learned to design homes that were very efficient and compact. I worked in the field building houses and I used what I learned in construction when designing and drawing those small homes. I had always loved to use my Dad’s and Grandfather’s tools to build things growing up but I had no idea until taking a few architecture and structural design classes in college that I would ever love residential architecture as much as I do now.

Designing homes is actually one of my life’s greatest passions. I cannot think of anything else I would rather do than what I am doing now. I find that architectural work does not really feel like work at all! During my career I had been a homebuilder’s “in-house” designer for 8 years then owned my own architectural design firm for almost 30 years before joining TKP Architects. Time flies when you are having fun and doing something you love!  There have been many personal rewards for me doing this kind of work. Although I love winning awards for homes I have designed, I really love hearing from someone living in a home I designed when they tell me how much they enjoy their home. It’s really rewarding to hear from a family that has lived in their home for 5, 10 or more years and have them share with me how much they still enjoy living in the home I had designed for them. I have also had the pleasure of designing two beautiful homes for the former Denver Bronco’s football coach as well as for other athletes and business leaders. I have to admit that it is often very exciting working with celebrities. 

 

Recently, I have found that working with TKP Architects over the last year has been very personally rewarding. Although I have worked with other Architects in my career, I have never worked with a group of Architects that are quite as talented and supportive.  

Another factor that helps make my profession stimulating is that my career has been focused almost entirely on residential architecture. When I work with different families, individuals or builders, it seems like everyone has something “custom” they want incorporated into their design. This makes most of the homes I have designed quite unique with its own special characteristics and style.

I wish everyone could be as fortunate as I have been and have a profession that does not feel like work. Architecture has brought a lot of happiness to my life. To be honest, the only other thing that’s brought this much happiness is the birth of my 2 kids and being able to watch both of them grow up to be such outstanding people.

So, that old saying, “any darn fool can make ‘em (houses) bigger”, has meant a lot to me. I’ve also discovered it takes personal characteristics like creativity, being a good listener, enthusiasm and flexibility to be successful in this business, and that the size or style of a home is not important; as long as it is designed well and it meets the needs and desires of our clients and their families.