Grand Rapids Lake Home & Cabin Show

This weekend we will be at the DeVos Place at the Lake Home and Cabin Show which is produced by ShowSpan. Wayne will be in the booth to talk with people about their visions for a lake home and cottage.

In addition to our regular booth we have a space for the kids to have a little fun! While you talk with Wayne the kids can color a picture of one of our homes designs for a donation to benefit the Helen DeVos Childrens Hospital. It is going to be an exciting weekend in Grand Rapids! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on our activities this weekend.

The show will be open Friday March 28th - Sunday March 30th.

Show times

Friday:  3p - 9p

Saturday:  10a - 9p 

Sunday:  11a - 5p

After the show we will choose some of the most creative homes from the kids work and they will have a chance to win a puzzle of one of our storybook collection homes.

 

Find our booth at the show, we look forward to seeing you!

Special Bonus Issue: Cottages

We proud to share that our firm was the featured residential architect in the most recent Michigan BLUE magazine. This is a special edition of the magazine which is dedicated to cottages features some of Michigan's best teams to work with when building or remodeling a new home. 

The Laurel, located in South Carolina and a recent winner of the Best in the South Atlantic Region, was a home built to suit a variety of homebuyers. The vision for this home shows that good design is the best way to utilize all of the available space in a floor plan and to get "more bang for your buck".

We would like to congratulate Mary Burns, Owner of Gallery Interiors and Rockford Kitchen Design, and her team for being featured for their experience and excellence in interior design for retail and private homes. In addition, we would like to recognize the team at Mike Schaap Builders for their success in building custom homes. Both companies were featured in the new edition as well.

If you would like to see more photos of this charming South Carolina home and other homes designed by Visbeen Architects you can visit our website or find them on Houzz. You can read more about the vision of our firm in the article below.

For Sale!

Designed by Visbeen Architects, this Arts and Crafts style home, featuring 5 bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms, pool, sauna, home theatre and indoor sport court. 

On the first floor, a spacious foyer leads to an octagon-shaped living room. Nearby, a large kitchen and the hearth room boast raised ceilings and serve as the heart of the home The adjacent octagonal dining room is open to the second floor, while a nearby large screen porch and hot tub off the kitchen blends indoor and outdoor spaces. The guest bedroom and convenient laundry are also located on the first floor. On the right side of the home, a spacious suite with his-and-hers closet offers the perfect getaway at home. The lower level has two additional family suites, a sports court, kitchenette, billiards area and home theater.

   

This home is located in Byron Township in a beautiful country setting and it is for sale! Check out the listing at Green Ridge Realty for more information about this custom home or contact Ken Grashuis of Greenridge Realty at 616-292-1900.

Unbuilt Gems: Cadillac Hotel

Searching through our archives we have come across some visionary gems that have never been built. These are some really fun projects that unfortunately never made it past the drawing boards but who know, we don't know what the future holds. I will be sharing some of these Visbeen designs at random so be sure to look out for them!

Cadillac Hotel

Urban centers everywhere are undergoing restoration. This particular corner of the south side of Chicago will receive a major makeover when the "Cadillac Hotel" goes up. Then the sign pays homage to the days when this building was one of the first Cadillac dealerships in the country, the structure itself puts a new twist on the traditional brick six-story. The sleek main floor windows double as sliding doors, opening the stores to the street. Steel cables hold glass-paned awnings over the sidewalk, while large, sectioned windows open the interior of this former warehouse to views on the windy city. 

Laugh Fest!

An Architect and an Engineer go on a camping trip, set up their tent, and soon fall asleep. Some hours later, the Engineer wakes the Architect and asks:  "Look up at the sky and tell me what you see?..

The Architect replies, "I see millions of stars."

The Engineer asks "What does that tell you?"

The Architect ponders for a minute and then says: "Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically speaking , it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, it's evident the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Why ... what does it tell you?"

The Engineer is silent for a moment, and then speaks. "Practically speaking ... it seems self evident that someone has stolen our tent". 

Courtesy of the Archinet Forum

If you are in the Grand Rapids area it is very likely that you have seen these posters plastered around the city. If you aren't from the area you may have asked, "What are they for?". That my friends means it is time for Gilda's LaughFest! From March 10th - March 16th there will be a slew of comedians bringing laughter to our great city. LaughFest not just about the jokes, its mission is to shed light on the importance of laughter and the benefits it has on your emotional health and wellbeing.  

So go ahead, laugh for the health of it!

Speaking of Gilda's Club, we would like to share a project we designed a few years back. This was a proposed idea for a potential Gilda's Club location in Holland Michigan. We are excited to see what the future may hold for this great community! 

For all of our engineer friends out there :)

Michigan Winter 2014

With temperatures on the rise I cannot help but look back on the winter that I am happy to leave behind. This has been one of the worst winters for Michigan in recent memory. As of February 24th we have seen an estimated total of 102.9 inches of snow in Grand Rapids and 125.5 inches in Holland. Some cities have seen over 20 feet of snow this winter! With all of this snowfall and the sub zero temperatures the great lakes have been setting records for the amount of ice coverage with roughly 90% coverage. 

With all of that snow it is a surprise that we were able to take pictures of these homes while Wayne was on a building site. These photos give a good idea of just how much snow we have had this winter.  Lets hope with this warmer weather it will melt the snow and we can start to see see more of these homes soon!

Tupelo:  Overlooking the frozen Lake Michigan

 Statistics were found on the WOOD TV 8 Blog and Climate.gov. 

Visions of a Renovation

Looking ahead to the summer months, I am sure many of you are planning some renovation projects to update your home and to make it more functional. When doing renovations it is helpful to have a vision of the final outcome you desire. A recent article, "Best Footprint Forward" featured a renovation project done by our firm and was recently published in Grand Rapids Cosmopolitan Magazine. 

By thinking outside of the present layout you will be able to transform the visions you have for your home. Check out the article below to see how Wayne Visbeen helped these home owners envision their future home renovation. 

Cornerstone University Chapel

We are very excited to share that Cornerstone University will start construction on a new chapel! The school has been growing in popularity and in turn funds have increased allowing for the structure to be built. For a virtual tour of the chapel follow the link to the WOOD TV 8 website. At the bottom you can see some of the original sketches.

From the Experts: Design Trends for 2014

Wayne Visbeen at the International Builders Show speaking on swing rooms; their purpose, function and their value to home owners. The trends discussed in the video help shape the design of homes for the upcoming years. Check out the video and see what these industry experts are focusing on while they are designing new homes.