
Spaces for Life: Questions for a Landscpae Architect
By Lance McCarthy One of my favorite parts of my job is being able to work with some really talented people. One of those talented people is Jason Meier of Meier Consulting. Jason is a landscape architect by trade, and helps people re-envision their property, but also is an amazing asset for land development. We

Spaces for Life: Ways to work with a contractor
By Lance McCarthy There are many ways to work with a contractor that are swirling around out there in Constructionland. I thought it might be helpful to give a brief overview of those different methods. As with chess pieces or Marvel Superheroes, there are strengths and weaknesses to each type. In case you were wondering,


Spaces for Life: The Secret to a successful construction project
By Lance McCarthy My 6-year-old has been honing his comedy skills, and discovered the impatient cow joke. You know this one? ***Spoiler alert*** I’m telling the joke now… “Knock Knock” “Who’s there?” “Impatient Cow” “Impatient C–” (before the other person can say “who”) “MOO!” I consider myself a humor connisseur, and this is still





Spaces for Life: Home Design Rule #2 Why Proportion Matters
By Lance McCarthy There are powerful unspoken rules that influence how spaces feel and function. Break these rules and things will happen. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but things will happen. We are exploring some of these Hidden Design Rules and figure out how they can impact the home. This week’s Rule-du-jour is Proportion, which I



Spaces for Life: Axis and Terminus
By Lance McCarthy There are powerful unspoken rules that influence how spaces feel and function. Break these rules and things will happen. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but things will happen. We are exploring some of these Hidden Design Rules and figure out how they can impact the home. This Week’s rule is a two-fer:





Spaces for Life: Design Rule #1 Why Circulation Matters in your home
By Lance McCarthy Last week we discussed how there are powerful unspoken rules that influence how spaces feel and function. Break these rules and things will happen. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but things will happen. Over the next few weeks we will explore some of these Hidden Design Rules and figure out how they can





Spaces for Life: Universal Design Frequently Asked Questions
By Lance McCarthy I have asked one of the other members of the ReTouch community (we have a number of companies in the construction and real estate industry that office together and work collaboratively) to write for this week, and I think you might find it interesting. Bryon Sunday owns Accessibility Remodeling, and they specialize


Spaces for Life: What you should know about interior doors
By Lance McCarthy Do you find your house mysterious and perplexing? I have decided to bravely serve as tour guide to the home. Each month I will dedicate one of my columns to illuminating some part of the house that most people might not know much about. This week’s topic: The Doors Not the


Spaces for Life: House Style Series – Craftsman
By Lance McCarthy Does your house have style? Of course it does! But which one? I’ve asked Joel Perry with Indwell Architecture to talk about some of the common house styles around here. This week we are focusing on one of the most popular house styles in the Prairie Village area: the Craftsman. Where did





Spaces for Life: What you should know before building new
By Lance McCarthy We talk a lot about remodeling an existing home, but sometimes the best solution is a complete solution–ground up construction. This may be on a brand new lot, or could mean removing an existing house and starting over. There are perks to going new… How much does a new house cost? The