Blog - L² Design, LLC

2021 Goal Setting

A new year is here, and thank God for that. With it comes a chance to refocus and do some goal setting for the year. Like most of us, my 2020 started as a whirlwind and ended as a hurricane. I was thankfully able to stay safe and healthy, and I hope

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Architecture history – Pride edition

I'm still not really mentally in a place to understand what mentorship looks like during a pandemic, during a civil movement calling for long-overdue racial and societal reform, and during Pride month. I know it's important, I know I need to keep

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Advice for Architecture Graduates

The 2020 Architecture graduates, and many others finishing their school years, graduated into a weird time. The architecture profession, and the AIA, has been working on resources and encouragements, including videos with Advice for Architecture

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Learning from mistakes in architecture

If you've read any of my other blogs, you know I'm a major proponent of continued learning, pushing past fear, and therefore learning from your mistakes. Let's look today at what it might mean to be present in your career in a way that allows

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Visual Words

We architects are known for our creativity...with materials, ideas, problem-solving...and even our words. We are not above making up words, adding an "-ism", an "-ers", or an "-ation" to the end of a noun. What we're trying to get at is the visual

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Gaining Experience As A Young Architect

Whether filling out hours for AXP (Architectural Experience Program) or trying to learn enough to work your way up to Project Manager, gaining experience on a new topic can be tricky as a young architect or architect-in-training. Note: This is the

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Creating space for unlikely inspiration

The irony is not lost on me that on a topic of "unlikely inspiration" I found myself suddenly lacking in inspiration about what to write. I actually tried to write this blog FOUR different times over the past two weeks. Busy with work, home

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What was I thinking?

This month's ArchiTalks topic "What was I thinking" could go so many directions: What was I thinking, taking on yet another unpaid task? What was I thinking, saying yes to help that group when I'm 2 months behind on something else? What was I

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Types of communication in architecture

Hand-written, text on a phone, email, contract language, sketch, face-to-face, over-the-phone, construction drawings....all of these things are types of communication that can be implemented in an architecture project. And on any given project you

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ArchiTalks: How to start a design.

We're all used to seeing the final photography of a project. You know what I'm talking about: the flashy pic with just the right lighting and the table staged perfectly with a full meal even though the kitchen in the background is spotless. It's

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#L2HQ Renovation: master bathroom design

I mentioned in last week's goal renewal post that renovation progress at #L2HQ is high priority this year because I've hit the line in the metaphorical construction sand of my ability to be able to handle consistent dust. The good news is that the

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Goal Renewal

I'm not entirely certain where 2017 went, but by the end of it, I was glad it had left. What started out as a super fun year: second AREsketches book published, winning of the Young Architect Award, some travel, and some #L2HQ projects done....ended

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Choices

I watched The Little Prince over the weekend and the movie keeps coming back to mind. When I'm working. When I'm walking the dogs. When I'm thinking of all the choices I have to make: for my career, for the house, for my happiness. Note: This is the

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2017 Holiday Gift Ideas for Architects

How...is it already the end of November? I buried my head in work while people were buying Valentine's Day gifts and turn around and it's already past Thanksgiving. Eeek. Well - you know what that means - the 2017 Holiday Gift Ideas for Architects!

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Eureka!? Finding myself amid the “busy.”

I found it! Wait...did I? Note: This is the thirty-second post in a group series called #ArchiTalks. This month's topic is “Eureka”. Today is a day to: plan and dream...but also to rest and just be. Trying to make these days more frequent - that’s

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DIY Home Renovation: do it yourself or drowning in yuck?

As summer turns to fall, the DIY home renovation at #L2HQ continues. We've had a very wet summer here in Indianapolis, which has affected both the painting contractor and my side of the exterior project work - ultimately affecting the entire project

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Take the architect registration exam, already

You'd think this topic, the dreaded architect registration exam, would be one I would have "in the bag", so to speak. After all, I've written two books about it (so far) and share #AREsketches on Instagram pretty consistently to help others get

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Ugly Architecture Details

From an architecture standpoint, "ugly" is a dull, uncreative term used to explain an opinion. Let's face it, whether you think something is beautiful or ugly...it really is a subjective choice. I also know opinions are strong and take root easily

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Exterior Home Renovation Lessons: half-assing has a half-life

I mentioned in the 2017 goals post that, after taking over a year off from renovations to save up, this year would be the year for all of the exterior work on the L² Design Lab. And so it has been that ever since the beginning of July I have found

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2017 Goals Update

Well, the image above pretty much sums up the year so far...and especially of late. Life is moving so quickly that I totally missed a July check in and then mislabeled my next month's section in my Leuchtturm1917 planner. The first half of

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Coming home as an architect

This month's chosen topic was Homecoming. Homecoming makes me think of football...which I really don't care about. But homecoming can also be the act of returning to a familiar place...a sense of coming home...perhaps even if you haven't been

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Moon(lighting) changes with the seasons

Moonlighting gets a bad rap. Note: This is the twenty-eighth post in a group series called #ArchiTalks started by Bob Borson of Life of an Architect. This month's topic comes from Mike Riscica: “Moonlighting”. Moonlighting changes with the seasons

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ArchiTalks: Mentorship

What's mentorship all about? A year and a half ago, I wrote a 3-part series on mentorship. Today for ArchiTalks, it's time to take another look at the subject. Lessons learned, new goals, and more insight into growing our beloved profession. (The

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#A17con Recap, Day 1: Presentations and parties

With the Epcot experience and a full day of walking, despite the nerves that I felt for the day ahead, I finally got some good sleep. My sister arrived at the hotel at 5:30am from her Sacramento red eye, and so while she got some sleep, I started my

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ArchiTalks: Advice for Clients

What's working with an architect like? Will we show up in all black? Maybe. Will we request or readily provide caffeine? Probably. Will our office space be awesome? Definitely. Will we surpass your dreams? Absolutely. Note: This is the twenty-sixth

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#A17con Recap, Day -1: the scent of architecture

It's been a week since I returned from #A17con. I have spent said week catching up on work and diving back into life and meetings. I really wanted an extra week of time to be able to distil everything I learned and make plans/strategies to implement

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AREsketches Goals

The first year of the #AREsketches book volume 1 has come and gone. I almost missed the publishing month anniversary it's been so crazy! As any creative person might attest to, I tend to find new fun creative projects when life gets busy. Because

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Architecture of Change

It's a common occurrence; as common as the world turning, and kind of related to it, too. Everything changes. Technology has continued to change at what feels like the speed of light. We get older. Seasons change. But what does that mean for us

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House or Home? It’s in the story.

Welcome back, gang! Last month we covered Style and what it means or doesn't mean to architects across the nation. This month we're segueing (maybe) into "House or Home", a topic offered by Keith Palma. Note: This is the twenty-fourth post in a

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Balance as a Young Architect: A lesson in burnout

Ah - the ever-elusive balance. Balance is like a fairy nymph - flitting always just outside of reach. Or perhaps orb-like (and actually a fiction of your imagination caused by too much screen time). As someone whose profession is their passion

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2017 AIA National Young Architect Award

For almost the last three months, I've had to keep the hardest secret. In early December, I got an email saying I'd won the 2017 AIA National Young Architect Award and could only tell family, sponsors, and close friends. Hilariously, last night I

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The AREsketches Style

Hello, 2017! The crew got busy towards the end of the year and suddenly it was February! We're going co-op on this, and this month's theme is from @BPaletz - style! Note: This is the twenty-third post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which

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2017 goals for this young architect

Better late than never to get your 2017 goals down, right? This year has gotten off to a blazing start and I've not given myself time to sit down and write my yearly goals post yet. (You'll find that "time" is a recurring theme in this year's goals)

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The path of a young architect: #AREsketches book no.2 – how did we get here?!

A photo posted by Lora Teagarden (@l2designllc) on Jan 6, 2017 at 6:30am PST While wrapping up the production on the second volume of the AREsketches study guide series, I started thinking back to where it all started and about what the

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2016 L² Blogging Recap

I decided to wait until 2016 was fully over before I wrote my recap. Well, that and life has a way of getting hectic when you least expect it. So here we are, freshly into 2017. I thought I’d take a look back and do a 2016 blogging recap to

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The 2016 Architect Holiday Gift Guide

It’s December! You know what that means – time to start thinking about how to show your love to those special people in your life. If it happens to be in form of a gift or two for that crazy creative in your life, you’ve come to

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ArchiTalks 22: Then & Now…and the middle

Annnndddd we’re back. We took a bit of a hiatus since the last post for those headed back to school. So now we’re jumping back in to cover what we thought our careers would look like when we graduated, and what we find ourselves doing

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10 excuses for not taking the ARE…yet

After giving two presentations at a regional level, I want to talk about something in the emerging professional world of the utmost importance: your license. Or rather, your current lack of it. So I decided to put together a list of the 10 excuses

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4 Tips As You Go Back To School

Alright, gang! After talking about summer last month, it’s time you whippersnappers get back to school! To make sure that you get the most out of this next year, I’ve included 4 tips below to help you get/stay pointed in the right

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AIA Mississippi Presentation Recap

New Orleans! I’m coming for you. Can’t wait to join @aia_ms in July to talk with #emergingprofessionals about how to turn up the heat on mentorship, career pathing, and getting licensed! Come join me for chats, tips, sketches, and tours

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Seasons of summer

ArchiTalks went on a short hiatus, but isn’t that what summer is about? Just to tie up this return in a neat little bow, we’ve decided to talk about summer and what that means to us. Note: This is the twentieth post in a group series

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2016 Goals Update

If you remember back to January – among all of the other many and important things you’ve done since then – I did a 2016 Goals post called “New Year, New Goals” as a part of #ArchiTalks. I set four goals for myself

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Am I too old to be an architect?

I got this question via email the other day: Am I too old to be an architect? It weighed heavy on me, for a variety of reasons. First, I’m newly licensed myself – do I have the authority to send someone down a new career path? We’re crawling out of

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ARE Questions: the Path to Licensure

I’ve been thinking about writing this blog for awhile. And then…life…and uncertainty. We’ll get to that last one in a bit, but the life thing – it’s no joke. I remember talking with a friend about, “I

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“But I don’t have the time”: A lesson in priorities

As you might’ve noticed, I took a bit of a hiatus from the blog in May. Between work picking up, travel for #AIAcon16, and #AREsketches stuff…my metaphorical candle was feeling the flames of a bonfire and I was running low on time and

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The Young Architect’s Guide to AIAcon16

The 2016 AIA Convention kicks off later this week and thousands of architects and industry professionals will be converging on Philadelphia. Some, typically younger professionals new to the AIA taking advantage of their “first year free”

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Q&A: Am I Ready To Take The ARE?

As a part of creating the AREsketches, I now get 2-3 emails per week from future and current ARE (Architect Registration Exam) test-takers, asking questions about the tests or for advice in general. Some of the questions have started repeating, so I

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When A Client Says No: Lessons learned so far

The dreaded “no”. I must admit waiting for a client’s response to a proposal – or any decision for that matter – still makes me nervous. I’d hate to say it comes from hearing it, so instead I’ll say it comes

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Sneak peek into the AREsketches book

A couple months ago, the #ArchiTalks series was on “Tools” and, after fielding some questions on how the AREsketches get created, I decided to cover that in depth as a part of the blog. Fast-forward 2 months and those sketches

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Dear Future Architects: 3 letters

Dear future architects – here are 3 letters to help you at each stage of your journey. As a young architect myself, I remember what your path is like. I traveled it not long ago. It wont be exactly like mine, but the goal of licensure is a

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What’s in my Feedly: websites for architects

After sharing a blog recently on how to curate quality articles with Feedly, I had a couple readers ask what specifically I like to read. While I’ve answered all of them individually already, I thought it would be great to share those websites

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Social Media Primer, pt 4: HootSuite

Today we wrap up the social media primer series. If you’ve missed the previous blogs in the series, I covered the background and why in week 1 and Twitter in week 2. After a break for #ArchiTalks, a recap on Instagram, and a vacation – we returned

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Social Media Primer, pt 3: Feedly

Today we return to the social media primer series. If you’ve missed the previous blogs in the series, I covered the background and why in week 1 and Twitter in week 2. After a break for #ArchiTalks, a recap on Instagram, and a vacation –

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Radial patterns have a central hub with spokes like a wheel. #AREsketches

Want to see these in a weekly roundup, including the top 3 all performing? Sign up here! via Instagram http://ift.tt/22uah6U

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Go have an adventure! [Playhouzz style]

Today’s post is not just a plea for votes on my Playhouzz entry, but also a look at the importance of adventure – both as children and adults. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of adventures that happened in my backyard, or

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Architecture and Travel

Architecture and travel. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. Cookies and milk. Jack and Diane. Anyone who knows an architect knows they are predisposed to want to travel the world. As a matter of fact, right now (Sunday afternoon) our

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If your dreams don’t scare you they aren’t big enough

As an emerging professional still (relatively speaking) new to the AIA and licensure, it’s a daunting prospect to write this blog every week; to share my thoughts on any given topic knowing many others could talk on with greater ease and

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Why I’m going to #AIAcon16 – and why you should too

In my interactions over the last month on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram I’ve witnessed both people really excited to go to #AIAcon16 and people very unenthusiastic borderline anti-AIA about this year’s convention. I have one word for

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Social Media Primer, pt 3: Instagram

Today we return to the social media primer series. If you’ve missed the previous blogs in the series, I covered the background and why in week 1 and Twitter in week 2. Last week we took a break for #ArchiTalks (if you don’t know about

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The tools that help make #AREsketches

Note: This is the seventeenth post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme

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Social Media Primer, pt 2: Twitter

Twitter. Tweeter. Tweetbox. Twittersphere. Whatever you choose to call it, Twitter is my main interaction space when it comes to social media platforms (though Instagram is a growing second). As I mentioned in the previous “background & why”

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Social Media Primer, Pt. 1: the background & the why that drives you

I wrote in my mentorship series on the importance of my digital network in helping create relationships, continuing to learn, and finding mentors. I’m still learning and feeling my way through the different platforms, but thanks to a lot of

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Review: Overwhelmed

In last week’s blog, I mentioned that a goal I have for this year is more “me” time. I’ve recently finished the book Overwhelmed by Brigid Schulte, which has had a big impact on my outlook on this topic, so I wanted to talk

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#ArchiTalks: New Year, New Goals

Note: This is the sixteenth post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme: “New Year

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#ThisOldHouse Goals

So much has happened in the first year and a half of ownership. If you want to catch up on all of the work that’s been done, check out the archives. Today I wanted to give you some insight on the broad goals for #ThisOldHouse this year (and

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Tapped for mentorship

If you’ve been following along, this is the last in a three-part series on mentorship. The first blog looked at the gift of mentorship, why it’s important, and what roles mentors can play. The second blog dove into how to find a mentor

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Finding a mentor

Mentorship is a weird thing. Depending on the career season, economical climate, location, job type, etc…the ability to find a mentor can vary widely. It’s important to realize, though, that there is one piece of the mentorship puzzle

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The gift of mentorship

Thanksgiving is over, but this young architect is still thankful. Many times the supporting stage hands in life don’t get the publicity that the actor does come awards season. This doesn’t make them any less important. In fact

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#ArchiTalks: Bourbon. Every architect’s friend.

Note: This is the fifteenth post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme: from an

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#ArchiTalks: My first project

Note: This is the fourteenth post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme: my first

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3 Lessons from #ThisOldHouse after the first year

The first year in #ThisOldHouse has come and gone. In many ways it feels like I scaled a mountain…only to reach the top and realize I was at base camp one, now just beginning to see the actual summit intermittently through the clouds above

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#ArchiTalks: The everyday citizen architect

Note: This is the thirteenth post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme: citizen

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#ArchiTalks: Work/life…attempts

Note: This is the twelfth post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme: work/life. The

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#ArchiTalks: Why I am an architect

Note: This is the eleventh post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme: why I am an

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DIY – Nailed it!

I wrote in a previous #ArchiTalks post about crafts that I always enjoy seeing the Pinterest fails. The HGTV effect, or the Martha effect…the insane amount of DIYs available that are made to look easy for the everyday person…masking the

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#ArchiTalks: Vacationing with an Architect

Note: This is the tenth post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme: summer break. As

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#ArchiTalks: I love it!

Note: This is the ninth post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme: three words. No, not

Posted by Lora Teagarden | Views 258

#ThisOldHouse Update: time flies when you’re having fun

I looked back recently and realized, outside of my #ArchiTalks post on #ThisOldHouse, I haven’t written about #ThisOldHouse progress in over a month! I’ve been a busy bee working on the house towards some impending deadlines I mentioned

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#AIAcon15 Recap, Part 2: the convention

This is the second in a series of recaps on #AIAcon15. To see the first, and learn why you should join me a day early next year to help a non-profit, go here. As I mentioned in the last post, this was my second convention. I left off the recap of

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#AIAcon15 Recap, Part 1: the day before

As most of you know, last year was my first convention. As I mentioned in my recap, I came home from it overwhelmed with information but invigorated about my chosen profession and thrilled at the friends I made in the process. I left off with a

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ArchiTalks meets #ThisOldHouse

Note: This is the eighth post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme: favorite place. I

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Do the Math: #ThisOldHouse gets grass

We left off 3.5 weeks ago with a laundry list of things to do at #ThisOldHouse…ironically enough to get to the point of actually having laundry capabilities in the house. Yes, right now I am at the mercy of using my parents’ machines

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Oh, you crafty!

Note: This is the seventh post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme: crafty. Outside of

Posted by Lora Teagarden | Views 1284

Pause and Redirect: #ThisOldHouse update

I realized last night that it’s been 4.5 months since the last official blog update on the renovation progress of #ThisOldHouse, though if you follow along on Instagram or Twitter you’ve probably been keeping up. The projects throughout

Posted by Lora Teagarden | Views 223

#ilookup…but why?

I look up. Seriously. All the time. I can’t remember a time in my life when I haven’t been looking up. Buildings have always intrigued me. We would travel somewhere as a family when I was young, and I would lag behind

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Architecture: It’s a human thing

Note: This is the sixth post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme: Architecture in the

Posted by Lora Teagarden | Views 2187

My Favorite Things: the pieces of my story

Note: This is the fifth post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme: My Favorite Things

Posted by Lora Teagarden | Views 1413

Architects Making Tools: the value of why

Back in the beginning of December, I was contacted by someone at American Institute of Architects (AIA) National asking if I would like to participate in the (then) upcoming Technology in Architecture Practice (TAP) Congress. I spoke with her on the

Posted by Lora Teagarden | Views 356

Words of wisdom: your great potential

I’m reading Seth Godin’s Linchpin right now and this quote from my Pinterest board “Words on Creativity” jumped out at me. In the book, Seth talks about the cog vs the indispensable person, how we’re all able to

Posted by Lora Teagarden | Views 872

A Day in the Life of: An Almost Architect

Note: This is the fourth post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme: A Day in the Life

Posted by Lora Teagarden | Views 966

Architectural Standards: What’s in a page layout??

How do you layout a page for an architectural set? This idea, in previous years, was not something I gave much thought to. I (evidently) had been lucky enough to intern at some places with both high/quality standards and templates set up and

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The projects begin: #thisoldhouse bathroom

As most of you who follow along on twitter or instagram know, the first major project has begun at #ThisOldHouse. The (second floor) full bathroom has officially started demo/reno. Before I even bought the house, I’d had visions of what it

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#ThisOldHouse Update: where I started

As I was talking to an architect friend about layout options for the full bath, she was asking all sorts of questions about what was around it and the general layout of the spaces. It was then I realized that, despite all my efforts in taking

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Architectural Storytelling: the legacy of design

Note: This is the third post in a group series called #ArchiTalks in which Bob Borson of Life of an Architect gives a group of us architects a theme or a set of questions and we all have to post our response… this month’s theme: Architectural

Posted by Lora Teagarden | Views 1234

Words of Wisdom: Constructing the Future

The architecture and construction professions have a million metaphors for creating the dream of the future we aspire to. Build, construct, “draw up”, lay the foundation, etc. There’s tons of them. Here’s the thing: The

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Sustainability: What’s it worth to you?

As I mentioned in last week’s post, my background in sustainable design does not prevent me from being a nature-killing Hulk sometimes. Every designer has had a moment where the sustainable implications of a choice have been spaced as they

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Words of Wisdom: What’s next?

Well, the creative but not stable option didn’t pan out. The lesson learned is I’m worth the leap. The second lesson learned is – and this may come more from my general thoughts on life – something better is waiting

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Sustainability: I am my own worst enemy

As most of you who read this (all 2 of you, thanks!) know, I just closed on a house. I know you want to see it and hear details. Believe me, I’m excited to share them. It will slowly be shown as I work on it, but today I’m focusing on

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Wednesday Words of Wisdom

I love a little alliteration, but not as much as I love design. And with that, here’s my inspirational thought for the week. I’m heading into a fork in the road and I’m choosing creativity over security. I don’t know

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Design the mundane

Last week we talked about the importance of design. That everything is worth being designed well. Maybe it’s the creative heart (or brain, or…?) in me, but my heart definitely goes pitter-patter when I’m happily surprised with an

Posted by Lora Teagarden | Views 367

Design is important: Design the mundane

As an (aspiring) architect, I think everything deserves to be designed well. Sadly, bottom line (read: bottom dollar) typically trends towards high function, low frill…and low cost. But at what expense? Obviously these two examples cover

Posted by Lora Teagarden | Views 317

AIA Convention, recap: Chicago in pictures

Since the last post was rather wordy, I thought I’d follow up with some pictures that tell the story of convention. The digs Airbnb hooked me up with a place to stay after my original host canceled last minute. Needless to say their customer

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First AIA Convention, recap: the young architect’s experience

This can be summed up in one phrase. Mind = blown. I was hoping to get to this post right after I returned from convention. I came back exhausted and yet invigorated – but soon lost this write-up as a priority when things like starting a new

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Pillows on the walls

No, we’re not talking a padded cell, though I’m sure at some point every designer has felt they needed one. Robert Bronwasser of Smool has started marketing his design for organizational “pillows” for your walls. Upon

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Neon dreams of safekeeping

This week’s thinking thursday takes a look at a team out of Switzerland who have studied their environment and made a dual-functioning product out of their research. Their name is SputnikZurich and they make cool products out of the orangeglo

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Pillow Talk

While browsing design-milk the other day, I came across this pillow. The description from the maker’s website says “The starting point of designing ‘HUHU’ is for encouraging people to get emotional compensation by using the object. Many

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Jones House Plans

Back in September, we were contacted to do our second set of house plans. The client had some general ideas from looking at a variety of sources, but wanted pieces of each option while still being budget conscious. We dove into the project, loving

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5 boxes of Crayons

I decided to try out a DIY craft that I’d seen on Pinterest a couple times to give to dad as a Christmas gift. Having just retired from teaching, I figured he would like the school-relation that this piece takes on. The first task was

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843 Nails.

That’s how many it took to complete the design of this project. Not to mention the screws for the wood connections. And guess what? I loved every minute of it. This was also for the to-be-married couple as their wedding gift. They seem to like

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DIY Wine Crate

Not too long ago – literally people, it was just last weekend, be proud of the minimal delay! – a good friend of ours had a bridal shower. She and her fiancé have been living together for the past couple months, so they don’t

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California Bungalow Addition Study

A study of a typical small California Bungalow, circa 1939. The existing home has 2 bedrooms, 1 full bathroom, kitchen and living room, with a detached 1 car garage, total living space is a sparse 712 SF. Property has access from street to back

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Finished Gun Rack

Wow it’s been crazy! I didn’t realize how quickly time had flown – the guncase is now finished and we’re eagerly awaiting our next project. The guncase turned out smashingly I think, and – most importantly – the

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Job Update

As you might know, if you follow L2 on facebook, we’ve been working on a new project for a client. Our neighbor saw us while working on the modern dresser and we got to talking about our business. Next thing we knew he was pulling what looked

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New project – citrus coasters

This past week we’ve been working on a new project. The summer heat’s been coming in, and our cold-drink intake has upped exponentially. I decided, why not make some fun summer coasters for said cold drinks? And so, voila: I got the

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FMF: Red and White Dresser

We wrote a week or so ago about a dresser in dire need of a facelift that we found at a flea market. Well, after much hard work (and having to start entirely over due to a polyurethane issue – did I mention it was a lot of hard work?)

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New pillows and cards!

Check out our store to see all of our new goodies. Lots of fun cards and some modern pillows. Like these, for example:

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Flea Market Find: Dresser

One of the many things we’re working on right now is a dresser with solid bones that we found at a flea market, but in dire need of some TLC. It used to be the base cabinet for a buffet (we think) and had a giant hole cut out of the top

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a model

I recently created a model for my masters thesis in architecture. The image below is of the finished product. You can find process images here.

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Wooden Half Model

Hand carved pine and mahogany half model of the Friendship Sloop. The Friendship Sloop is a design from Maine, that started in the 1880’s as a fishing and lobstering boat. It is a gaff-rigged sloop, which varied from 21′ to 50′ in

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Illustration

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Outdoor Bar Chair

Who knew an about to be abandoned barn could yield such good lumber. More than 60 linear feet of hardwood 1×4’s were stacked on top of the rafters in this two story barn. The lumber was enough to produce two chairs for a bar height table

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Recycled Compost Bin

Recently constructed composting bin. The owner wanted a composting bin made of recycled materials, preferably wooden palattes. We found matchnig oak palattes at a local manufacturing facility which were being thrown out. We found a way to connect

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Butcher Block Island – Near Completion

The Butcher Block is finally assembled. It was designed to be a functional kitchen island workspace for a small apartment. Made of walnut framing and maple panels thes side shelves and two drawers provide much desired stroage and trash receptical

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Simple Frames

Left to Right – Mahogany frame with satin finish. Walnut frame with hand planed edge, with satin finish. Double layered walnut frame with glossy finish.

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Eastvold Inspiration

A part of our constant source of design inspiration is fueled by browsing other design blogs and taking note of… noteworthy products. We ran across Eastvold Custom Woodworks earlier today on Design Milk and love some of their stuff. They also

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FLAGPOLE DESIGN + CONSTRUCTION

The basic goal was to build a flagpole. We wanted to create a sculpture piece which explored the different methods of modern wood joinery and emphasized the structural components. From here we investigated construction techniques used in wooden

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