Interview with Don Titus on What Brought Him to Residential Houses

Hello everyone, and welcome to this episode of Conscious Design. I'm your host, Ian Peterman, and author of the book Conscious Design. And today I have with me Donard Titus, residential designer, to talk about what you can do with your home in improving it rather than necessarily just going out and buying a new one and using the asset you already have. So welcome, welcome to the show. Good to have you here.

Oh, good to be here. Thanks, Ian.

Yeah, well, thanks for— really appreciate you taking time to, to get on here. First, everybody loves a good backstory. So getting into what got you into designing homes and really focusing on remodels and upgrading a house rather than, you know, The new construction that a lot of people get focused on.

Yeah. Um, so my backstory goes pretty far back, actually. Um, I think I was 11 or 12 when, uh, I think it was my grandma said to me, uh, I think Don would make a good architect when he grows up because he, he likes drawing and he's also good at math and science. Uh, plus I play with Legos a lot, so That kind of planted the seed in my brain. And I took my first drafting class freshman year in high school and basically was hooked from there. And, you know, for whatever reason, I'm not totally sure why, but of all the types of buildings, you know, that a person could design, it was always homes. that intrigued me the most. So, you know, that was my interest from, you know, when I very first was attracted to this profession. I went to architecture school and, you know, got a little bit of a taste on working on different kinds of projects. And then following graduation, worked for several different architects. And again, you know, got experience working on a lot of different building types, but it was still always the single-family home that intrigued me the most. So when I unexpectedly got laid off in the recession of 2008-2009, you know, and had to make a choice about what I was going to do next, you know, there was no architects hiring at that point anywhere. So it was either find a new line of work or try to do something on my own, and I opted for the latter. So, you know, when I started my own business, it focused on homes mainly because, you know, as I said, that was my primary interest, but also because I hadn't yet gotten my architectural license. So, you know, my options were limited anyway, and homes are something that a person can design even without a license. So it made a lot of sense for me to do that. So when I first started my business, you know, being that we were in the middle of a recession, I basically just took whatever work I could find. But as, as things progressed, as we came out of the recession, as the business grew, I found myself gravitating towards remodel and addition projects as the vast majority of the work that I do. I do design, you know, a handful of new homes here and there, but the vast majority of my projects are small additions and remodels. And what I found that I really enjoy about that project type is the opportunity to help homeowners take a home that they already know and love, you know, in a neighborhood where they really like living, you know, and make a small change that potentially makes a big difference. in their quality of life. So it's, it's really enjoyable work for me to do to get to work with homeowners in that way.

That's awesome. Yeah, it's where, you know, location is so important. I think we talked about this initially is, right, getting— if you're in a home and you, and you love where you're at, it's way harder to replicate that location somewhere else. than it is to modify homes. And, and that's something that you've mentioned, that that's a huge driver for people is when you're, when you're really happy in a spot, right? You don't wanna, you don't wanna leave the neighborhood. You don't wanna leave the location. You wanna, wanna stay there. And if it's a really good location, the homes don't pop up for sale as often. What makes it even harder to try to, try to move. And so people will Often, and but it's also not something that not everyone really initially thinks about because there's, there's a lot of focus in, well, you need to move, you buy a new house that's better. You know, there's, you know, that, that kind of mentality of upgrading means buying something new. When you're, when you're talking to people, do you have— Do you have people that come to you maybe looking for a custom house or building new And then you're able to point out and kind of show like, hey, we can actually work with what you have. Is that a shift that you see people make of going from, I must have new, to, oh yeah, I can— there is actually this option that we kind of gloss over and don't always think about?

Yeah, actually that shift Hasn't happened a lot in my experience.

Okay.

Um, and I think that's primarily because most of the clients who come to me come already having a plan for wanting to do an addition or a remodel.

Okay.

Um, so, you know, the, the, the much smaller number who are, you know, seeking a design for a new house, um, a lot of times they've already made up their minds. Very often they've already purchased a piece of property to put that house on.

Okay.

There, there are a small number of clients who call me up and they're undecided. You know, we're not sure if we want to remodel the house we're in or look for another place or potentially even, you know, build a new place. So with those ones, you know, I do get to have that conversation, and I would say the majority of the time they do end up staying where they are. That's also, you know, with the pandemic and everything and the way home prices and material prices have been skyrocketing, that's been happening a lot more, uh, not always by choice. You know, a client will call me up and say, ah, we were gonna buy a new house, but, uh, we can't afford it, so we're gonna stay where we are and, you know, remodel the house that we have. And, you know, my response is, that's great, let me help you with that.

Right. Do you, do you find that there's a difference in You know, basically quality of, quality of life, right? So somebody that wants to remodel, does that, does that usually help enhance? Does that make somebody love their place more? Is that, is that kind of a better option in that way than the risk of going to a new? Is that, is that, I guess, the people that do those remodels, how do they, how do they feel? feel about that kind of options and looking at it, like their viewpoint of it?

Yeah, the feedback that I've gotten a lot is that, you know, staying where they are and modifying their existing home does work really well and does tend to produce a really good result. And my theory as to why that is, is that, you know, when a person has been living in a house for 5, 10 years, maybe even longer, they know that house, and they know what aspects of that house really work for them and what doesn't.

Hmm.

You know, and so for me to be able to sit down with them and You know, listen to what they have to say, um, and then contribute some ideas for how we can change the aspects of the house that aren't working for them. Um, it tends to lead to a really satisfying outcome.

And you, you earlier mentioned that a lot of it's small changes. So is, you know, we, cuz sometimes when you think about a remodel, you're like, oh, we, You've got everything and change, but is that— it sounds like that's not really the majority. Like most of it's not a complete redo. So is it— you're talking about big changes. Is it how, like, is it really small? Is it, are you able to make these huge changes in a room or part of a room? Like what's kind of, what, what is that impact to benefit ratio of what you have to do to really make a difference in a home?

Right. Um, yeah, so it, it varies quite a bit from one project to the next. Um, but one thing that, that they do very often have in common is that the changes are relatively small. Um, so, you know, it may be that we're, uh, either adding a new master suite or expanding an existing bedroom to create a new master suite. But the rest of the house remains more or less untouched. Or it— one project I can think of, the house was lovely and the clients really, really liked the house except for the kitchen. The kitchen was really small and cramped and just didn't serve them very well. And so, you know, we were able to Blow out a wall and take some space from an adjoining room and completely redesign that kitchen so that it had a much better flow to it and, you know, allowed them to entertain family and friends in a much more comfortable way. You know, whereas their old kitchen just wasn't possible. with the way that it was laid out.

Right.

And another example I can think of, I had a project where all we did was add a laundry room to the house. It was like 50 square feet. It was tiny. But the fact that the homeowner who was getting older no longer had to go down the basement stairs to do their laundry, that made a huge impact on their quality of life.

Right.

So, you know, that was really great to be able to be a part of that.

That's awesome. 50 square feet made such a huge difference. Um, is it— and you're trying— so quality of life, right? When you're talking about that and you're— and when you're going through a design process, is There's a lot of reasons to make a change, right? It could be, oh, we like the look of it. You know, what, what is some of the usual driving factors that somebody goes, oh, we should, we should invest in making this better? Is it typically a quality of life, like, you know, adding, adding a laundry room so you don't have to go down into the basement to do your laundry now? Or is it more cosmetic? Kind of what, what's that usual driving factor?

Yeah. So the thing that I hear the most often is we need more space. We don't have enough space.

Right.

And so, you know, I always want to try and dig into that a little bit and figure out, you know, why do you need more space? What are you going to do with that space? You know, and Sometimes it really is a question of just needing more space. Like, we have 4 kids and 3 bedrooms, so we want to add a bedroom so each child has their own personal space.

Right.

You know, other times it might be that they need a family room slash rec room where The kids can hang out and play games and eat snacks, um, you know, and kind of have their— a space that's their own, um, you know. And, and current— and so when the homeowners say we don't have enough space, what they mean is we don't have space for these activities that we want to happen.

Right.

And so, you know, we can remodel existing spaces to make the space that they want. So it's not always necessarily about adding space to the home. Sometimes it is, but not always.

Yeah, it sounds like the— it's right. Somebody may say, say one thing, but, but there's a— you have to sometimes, you have to understand what does, what does that actually mean? What's the context of, right, more space? Is it actually space or is it we need to rearrange the space? Or do some— do something different. When you're, when you're going through that process, you mentioned that, you know, you put forward design ideas and, and things like that. How, how much of it is, you know, you redesigning? People come and say that redesign, is it much more of a joint, you know, kind of that process of discovering what they're really needing? And is it really iterative or? Is it more, I want a bedroom, here you go, here, I've already, I've already drawn a little diagram, just, just make it drawings, right?

Yeah. So it's definitely a joint effort. And the way I think about it is, you know, I'm an expert when it comes to home design, but my client is an expert when it comes to their own lifestyle, as well as some something of an expert in the house where they live because they've been living there for such a long time. So, you know, I'm looking to have conversations with them and see how we can bring those 2 fields of expertise together to create solutions to the problems that they're experiencing. I was going to say something else, but now I can't remember what it was.

Okay.

All good.

All good. Well, now something that people are thinking about, right, in making home decisions is sustainability and that kind of thing. Are you seeing that as a driving factor for people wanting to remodel in terms of, you know, not moving, not— wait, basically not wasting resources in that way? Or is that still, you know, not— does that really not factor into a lot of the remodel work that you're seeing?

Yeah, that actually doesn't factor into a lot of the work that I do.

Okay.

I would say that a higher proportion of my clients are more driven by budget concerns than they are by sustainability concerns. So, you know, I'm looking to take advantage of the fact that, you know, that they are concerned about budget and work with them on that to make the most of what they have. Because, you know, by very nature of the fact that they're staying in the house where they are, you know, this is already by its nature a good way to conserve resources. Um, right. You know, because we're, we're not looking to build something new. We're not looking typically to gut the whole house and completely redo it all. We're looking to make relatively small changes that will have a bigger impact.

Right. It has more— it sounds like way more bang for your buck when you do something like that.

That's the idea. Um, oh, and I remembered What I was going to say, you had asked me if the process tends to be iterative, and the answer is yes, it does. So, you know, typically I'll— we'll start by, you know, me hearing what a client has to say, you know, listening to what problems they're experiencing and, you know, what they hope to achieve. And then, you know, I'll come back to them with some design ideas, maybe 2 or 3 different options. And they'll give me feedback on those. And then just depending on their feedback, I might come back with revised versions of those options, or I might come back with some brand new options. But yeah, there's a lot of back and forth involved. Because a lot of times, especially, you know, for a homeowner who may not have been through this process before, it can be challenging to envision What exactly they want, or challenging to figure out what solutions are going to work best for them. And so when we actually get to the stage where we have some drawings and there's lines on paper, so to speak— I mean, typically it's digital, so lines on a screen—

Right.

You know, they might look at that and think, oh yeah, that, that's kind of what I was looking for, but Maybe we should try something else, or this is what I was looking for, but now that I see it, I realize that it's not going to work as well as I thought it would, or we might see opportunities there that we didn't even think about when we were just talking. So having this design process where, you know, we're, we're generating these drawings that are a representation of our conversation You know, that helps us to move forward with, you know, creating this design that's gonna— that's ultimately gonna work for them and help with getting what they need.

Does it— I'm curious, in that process, right, you're iterating through, does it ever come to like needing to build mockup model? Like, is there Is there a level of that, or is it usually pretty, pretty well— I guess it's easier to understand, you're able to get it done and then get it to construction and, and make it? Or, or do you need, do you need like extra layers in there to, to make sure that— right, because once you start breaking down walls, you're pretty, you're pretty committed to making, making a change to your house, right?

So Yeah, and I mean, that's, that's yet another reason for going through this design process so that we can try to figure out those issues before you start breaking down walls. But yeah, as far as what you were saying about models, I typically do work with a 3-dimensional design software so that You know, we can look at virtual models and, you know, look at things in 3 dimensions. I don't really do physical models just because it's pretty time-intensive to create a physical model.

Yeah.

And, you know, given again that so many of my clients are budget conscious, you know, paying an additional fee to me to create a physical model is not something that I think would be in their best interests. But to be able to do that virtually is definitely a very helpful design tool.

Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, we do that for physical products too. It's Prototypes are expensive, but occasionally we have people that are, you know, very— they need to see it. They need to hold and touch it. But that's great. Digital is able to work so well. That's great, especially at large. And that's a commitment, right, to start knocking down walls. So that's great that you're able to create that level of confidence in the design and the layout. And be ready to just go forward with it.

Perfect.

Well, the last question then is, you know, you do this for residential, you stay on the residential side. Do you ever— now that you're working for yourself, do you ever stray into the commercial side? Do you go into that, or are you Purely residential, happy spot, never leave it?

Um, for the most part, purely residential, happy spot, never leave it. Um, the very rare exception to that would be, um, you know, if it's a friend of a friend who has a small commercial project, you know, I might take that on. You know, not so much because that's my, you know, that's what I— my primary interest, more just to help them out.

Right.

The other type of project that I do some that's a little bit different would be small multifamily projects. So there's a lot of the same design principles. involved as far as how the spaces get laid out. Um, but construction and building code requirements are a little bit different when you're designing a triplex or a fourplex as opposed to a single-family home. Um, but—

Okay.

Yeah, as far as the challenges of, you know, creating livable spaces, um, there's a lot of overlap between those building types.

Right. And, and that's because it's below— like apartment levels is a whole different— but the 1 to 4 is pretty, pretty similar then, it sounds like.

Yeah.

Got it. Awesome. Well, I, I really appreciate you taking time to chat with me and, and talk about this kind of work and, and being able to do remodels and For anyone that's wanting to connect with you and do a remodel instead of getting a, getting a house, a new different one, staying, staying in your happy location, uh, what are the best places? What would be the best way to get a hold of you?

Uh, the best way to get a hold of me is to go to my website, donrtitus.com, and if you click on Let's Talk, there's options for how you can get in touch with me. You can send schedule a phone call or a Zoom meeting or, uh, schedule a time to have me come out to your house if that's your preference.

Perfect. Well, we'll make sure a link to that is in the description. And yeah, it's been really great chatting with you. I appreciate it.

All right. Thanks, Ian.