Pioneer Millworks recently provided some custom White Oak flooring for a stunning family home in Steamboat Springs Colorado, designed and built by our friends at Gerber Berend Design Build (GBDB), a full-service architecture and construction company.

We caught up with lead designer of the home David Hoffman AIA to talk about the project, its unique homeowners, and the factors that go into material choices on a design build project beyond just their aesthetic value.

Q. What is your role at Gerber Berend Design Build and how did this project get started?

A. My title is that of Design Architect and I am a partner at GBDB. I have been doing residential design for over 30 years and have been working in the Steamboat Springs area for the past 7 years. Really what I do is manage the design team on some pretty interesting projects here, designing a lot of the detailing of spaces. But being designers that are in tune with builders is a big part of what we do as a company, it is what we are all about.

These clients were relocating from out of state to be closer to family in the Steamboat Springs area. They purchased an existing home close to downtown that was on an amazing lot with lots of trees and spectacular views. The existing home itself was mostly torn down for this new build while salvaging what was possible from the site.

The homeowners were very involved in the design of this house. Our principal architect Jeff Gerber here at GBDB worked with them to design the new home and make it work for their needs. As clients, they were awesome. The family let us do some incredible detailing on the project that featured work by many local craftsmen.

Q. How did the design of the home evolve as the project got started?

A. The building form was fairly easy to establish given the site and pre-existing structure, which lead to exterior material choices. Those main ideas were worked out pretty quickly which led to us working out the interior elements piece by piece. We are a design build company, so our expertise in implementing the construction process through design really helps things come together smoothly from design to completion.

The family is very interested in Asian inspired design, but not necessarily the look you might think of automatically with Asian design, more the craftsmanship behind it, the attention to detail, material, and color. The focus on materials and craftsmanship were really the key to this home. It is a house that needs to feel comfortable containing large groups while entertaining but not feel empty when you are in it alone, so we really played with themes of light and flow in the design to make that happen, including the extensive outdoor landscaping.

Q. How was the choice to use our White Oak flooring made for the design?

A. We came to choose Pioneer MillworksClean White Oak flooring in a custom Cotton White finish on this project based on a number of factors. One was the look and quality of the product, and one was some dissatisfaction with some other manufacturers that we have used in the past. As a firm we have known about Pioneer Millworks for a long time and this White Oak flooring just had the right look for this home and what we were trying to do. The overall goal of the flooring choice in this house was to find a product with a very consistent look and color, which is hard to do with natural wood flooring, and Pioneer Millworks just provided that really well.

Our carpenters really enjoy laying Pioneer Millworks flooring, which is a big part of how we choose materials too. We get a lot of feedback from our 20+ employees in the field and when they say something is difficult to install, we listen. I know that our guys really liked working with Pioneer Millworks products, so that’s a big factor. It’s not just the look of it, or the durability, it’s the feedback from our installers that makes it the right choice.

Q. Overall as a designer, how do you feel about the project now that it is complete?

A. This project has a sense of “dream house” about it, people often use that term, which I feel is sometimes kind of flat, but this one really is. This house was truly a partnership between client and builder. The clients are always finding new aspects of this home to be excited about now that they are living there and it is just perfectly tailored to their needs, and that is because of the energy that they put into the project from the start.

When clients don’t reciprocate the energy a designer puts into their project they end up with someone making their best guess to get it right, but these clients have so much ownership in this home, literally and figuratively, which is extremely satisfying as a designer. Having clients get as excited about a project as you are because they worked hard on it too, it makes all the difference. It’s a really cool house, and the flooring choice is a big part of that.  

 

About:

David Hoffman AIA is an Architect and Partner with Gerber Berend Design Build based in Steamboat Springs Colorado. After 25 years working in Residential Architecture and having a successful firm of his own, David brought his experience to the Design Build process. David moved his family to Steamboat Springs seven years ago for a better quality of life, and they certainly have found it in the idyllic setting and slow pace of life in the area. He received his Bachelors of Environmental Design from University of Colorado Boulder, and Masters of Architecture from University of Illinois Chicago.

For more please visit:

gbdesignbuild.com