While not the most glamorous subject, toilets are a necessary plumbing fixture for our day to day use. There is a substantial amount of thought that goes into the design of these commodes. On the surface they seem so simple, but deep down there are some intricate moving parts. Interestingly enough, the process of manufacturing a toilet has not evolved much over several decades. Most toilets are still made of a cast ceramic process that is not too dissimilar from the process of creating a mug or fine art pottery. While most toilets share many of the internal parts, it is the exteriors that are becoming more modern and sophisticated. With that, here is a collection of nicely designed modern toilets that we would recommend. Manufacturer: Kohler Model: San Souci K-4007 Style: one piece Price: $525 Image courtesy of us.kohler.com Manufacturer: Glacier Bay Model: Caspian GBTO201 Style: Two piece, dual flush Price: $249 Image courtesy of homedepot.com Manufacturer: Glacier Bay Model: N2420 Style: One piece Price: $169 Image courtesy of homedepot.com Manufacturer: Kohler Model: Santa Rosa K-10491-0 Style: One Piece Price: $289 Image courtesy of us.kohler.com Manufacturer: Woodbridge Model: T-0001 Style: One piece Price: $310 Image courtesy of amazon.com Manufacturer: Toto Model: Aquia IV MS446124 Style: Two piece Price: $628 Image courtesy of totousa.com Manufacturer: Swiss Madison Model: Plaisir SMWT660 Style: Wall hung Price: $796 Image courtesy of swissmadison.com Manufacturer: Kohler Model: Numi K-3901 Style: One piece Price: $8,775 Image courtesy of us.kohler.com Thanks for reading. Let us know if you have any recommendations for toilets in the comments below.

Every now and then, modFORM likes to share what is on our reading list. These are the books that go beyond just design and architecture and look deeper into the world of business. If you an aspiring architect or just looking for some inspiring business books, take a look at this post. The 4 Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich Timothy Ferriss Image Courtesy Amazon In The 4 Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss writes about many topics ranging from starting and running your own business to working remotely for your existing employer. The overriding theme of this book is to work less, create more free time and do the things you really want in life. You've Got 8 Seconds: Communication Secrets for a Distracted World Paul Hellman Image Courtesy Amazon The title sums it up fairly well. We have so many distractions in our world that we need to be able to boil our message down into a quick and concise message to get someones attention. Paul mentions that our attention spans in our modern era are only about eight seconds. This is a great read to hone in your communication skills. Choose: The Single Most Important Decision Before Starting Your Business Ryan Levesque Image Courtesy Amazon If you are looking to start a business online, Choose is a great book to start with. Ryan writes about great tools and methods for choosing a business that will thrive in an online economy. The 7 Day Startup: You Don't Learn Until You Launch Dan Norris Image Courtesy Amazon The 7 Day Startup is another great book if you are looking at starting an online business. This is a quick read however packs in a lot of great information. Dan provides a great outline to get a business started and one of the best take aways is to just take action! Launch: An Internet Millionaire's Secret Formula to Sell Almost Anything Online, Build a Business You Love, and Live the Life of Your Dreams Jeff Walker Image Courtesy Amazon I am just at the beginning of this book but so far it has been motivational. Like many of the books on this list, this is another one about building a business online. Thanks for reading! Let us know if you have any books we should add to our list!

They have many names depending on where you a from. In general the idea is to add a separate smaller living unit on or in an existing property with a previously established larger home. In this blog post, we'll talk about what an Accessory Dwelling Unit is and why they might be a good idea for your property. What do these terms mean? Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) This is a living unit that is connected to the primary structure. We will use ADU throughout this post to encompass all the below terms. Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit (DADU) This is a living unit that is physically detached from the primary living unit but still present on the primary parcel. Mother In-Law unit (MIL) This term can be used interchangably for both ADU and DADU. Typically the idea is to give a separate living unit for a family member who can be within close proximity. FUNCTION It varies from one jurisdiction to the next and will be based on applicable building codes but at a minimum an ADU will contain a sleeping space, bathroom and a cooking space. The cooking space will typically contain a sink and a cooking appliance such as a range and/or microwave. In some jurisdictions, they may even require a 220 volt plug to be installed to have the ability to install a range or cooktop. Check with your local jurisdiction for code requirements. UTILITES At a minimum, an ADU will require power, water and sewer. Again, depending on the jursdiction, it may be possible to connect to the existing home on the property or new utility connections may need to be established. Check with your local jurisdiction, utility companies and health department for what is needed for your new ADU. ADDRESS SInce the ADU is a separate living unit, it will most likely have a separate street address. Typically it will share the primatu street number such as 123 but it may have a sub address such as 123b or 123 1/2, etc. Your local jurisdiction will help you with this. PERMITTING Like any structure, most jurisdictions in the US will require a building permit for anCheckas this is a habitable structure Check with your local jurisdiction for requirements. BENEFITS So why would you want to have a separate living unit on your property? Rental income. This new ADU will allow you to be able to provide a rental unit to help pay the mortgage of the primary property. Housing for a family member. Sometimes it can be advantageous to have a family member living close by to take care or children or you may need to take care of an elderly parents. SIZE Typically the size of the the ADU will be smaller than the primary residence. Again check with your local jurisdiction but sometimes the maximum size of the ADU may not exceed 800sf or 1200sf. LOCATION There are many options of where this ADU can be located. Within the primary unit. The ADU can be located in the basement of a primary home or it could be located in the upper floor. Separate phyisycal location. In the case of a Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit (DADU) these can be located in a rear yard or side yard. But typically not in a front yard. In many cases a DADU may work very well above a garage. That's a brief explanation of what an ADU is. Please feel free to comment or ask any questions below. Thanks for reading!

I am often asked "what is needed before I can meet with you (the architect)?" The short answer is, not much. At the first meeting all you really need is an idea of what you want designed and where you are going to build it. If you choose to proceed with modFORM for architectural services, I will help guide you through the rest of the process. With that said, there are some useful items that if available, will be helpful to review. SCOPE This one is fairly simple. Essentially all we are looking for here are the basics such as how many bedrooms and how many bathrooms. And any other spaces that are necessary such as accessory dwelling units, outdoor soaces, etc. Typically within the first couple of meetings with potential clients, I like to have them fill out a questionnaire to better understand their project. SKETCHES Typically a client has been dreaming about their dream home for year before they reach out to an Architect. Ineveitably, they are going to have ideas for for floor plans or sketches of home layouts. I like to encourage clients to bring these to meetings however, I also encourage them to be open to evolving these ideas. These floor plans are great for inspiration and are a great place to start design however, they do not always adhere to the site constraints for the clients particular piece of property. A majority of the time, turns planes do not take into account site factors such as view, sun direction, How do you enter a property, street location, etc. ITEMS OF INSPIRATION In addition to sketches, clients are typically going to have various items of inspiration including, magazine clippings, photos or Pinterst board. These are always useful to share during to first meeting to better understand the aesthetic clinete are looking for. Pinterest is a great digital scrapbook to collects ideas. To see modFORMS's Pinterest, click here. SURVEY OF PROPERTY A survey of the property is almost always required when designing a home. The survey is necessary to understand critical items such as the proxemity of a home to setbacks and topography. You can read more about surveys here. UTILITIES Major utilities such as water, sewer and electric are going to be required to be installed before your home can receive an occupancy permit. In fact, most jurisdictions require your home to have a record such as water and sewer certificates or that the design and installation are in process before obtaining a building permit. If you are remodeling a home or building on a lot with utilities already installed, this is typically not as bit if a deal however you still need to show utility certification. If you have this documentation, this is also helpful to share. However, a majority of this info is on public records with the city or county. ANY OTHER CRUCIAL SITE CONDITIONS? It is somewhat rare to have a simple flat lot in the NW. Many parcels of land will come with some critical site features. Again, it is useful to know if this info has been discovered previous to talking with an architect. However, this is something that most architects can help coordinate and guide a client through. These critical site features can include the following: Steep slope Wet lands, Bordereing a river, lake, stream?, Easements, Etc If there is any sort of documentation for these critical site conditions, that would be very useful to review. It is not necessary to review at the first meeting but it is helpful. So that about sums it up. Again not every one of these items needs to be in place before meeting with an architect. Do not let this get in your way of reaching out to an Architect . Even if you are not quite ready to design, it can be helpful to discuss with an architect what items may need to be started. A majority of Architects, including modFORM, do not charge for an initial consultation meeting. Unless a large amount of travel is involved. Thanks for reading, feel free to leave a comment below.

modFORM Tidbits is a place where modFORM shares short segments about interesting buildings and things happening around NCW and beyond. In Tidbit #10, I sketch a very basic house plan and narrate my thought process. Thanks for watching!

Continuing the theme of an earlier blog post "Tools of the Trade", I wanted to write more about the tools I use for my Architecture practice.. While the last Tools of the Trade post focused on computer hardware, I wanted this post to focus on software I use. And more specifically, I wanted to look at business software. I will leave drafting or Architecture specific software for a later post. This post will be focused towards those of you who are interested in starting an architecture practice or really any small business. EMAIL Gmail. Most people are familiar with Gmail so I won't go to deep into it. I like to use Gmail as it is a very versatile email client and integrates incredibly well with many devices. HUBSPOT https://www.hubspot.com/ Hubspot is a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool. Hubspot is a very powerful tool for organizing your contacts. I like using Hubspot to record notes about conversations and to setup tasks and reminders to follow up with people. Hubspot also has the option to work with teams so employees can follow conversations with clients. I use the free versions and its working great so far however, the paid versions does have many more tools GOOGLE ADWORDS https://adwords.google.com/ I like to think of Google Adwords as the digital version of advertising in the local newspaper or in a magazine. Adwords allows you create ads through google that display under certain Google searches. FACEBOOK ADS https://www.facebook.com/business/products/ads Facebook Ads is basically the same as Google Adwords however, the ads show up directly in Facebook. WEBSITE HOST https://www.wix.com/ I use Wix for my website hosting. Wix is a great web host as it is very simple to use with many pre-made templates. Wix has significantly simplified website construction. Wix is a visual base website editor that allows you to drag and drop images into templates and to easily ad text. No longer do you have to deal with coding. BLOGS This is a good way to put the word out about your business and become the "expert" in your field. The architecture I previously worked for (BUILD LLC) started a blog back in 2007 when things were slow and now a majority of their clients come to them because of their blog. Wix also has a very nice blog platform integrating right into your web page (which you are reading on right now!). YOUTUBE Youtube is a great platform for sharing ideas via video. This is just another way to put content out into the world. ASANA https://asana.com/ Asana is a nice team organizing tool. At its simplest form, it is a todo list. But, where this programs starts to shine is with team collaboration. Asana is a web based app that allows you to break down tasks into project, assign due dates that can be viewed from calendars and assign these tasks to certain team members INSTAGANTT https://instagantt.com/ Instagantt is a web-based Gantt Chart app. A gantt chart is essentially a linear project timeline organizer. Microsoft Project is a more popular gantt chart program. Instaganttt is nice as it allows you to link your Asana account so you can track your Asana projects in a gantt fashion. ONE NOTE Microsoft Onenote is a great tool for writing quick notes to creating complicated notebook projects. I typically utilize the lighter side of Onenote to write down quick thoughts on my phone which I can later develop into larger projects. FILE SHARING When Gmail cannot handle large attachments, I utilize s file sharing program. There are many options out there and I haven't found a favorite yet. Typically, I use either, Dropbox, Google Drive or Microsoft Onedrive. Each of these seem to have very small differences but in the end, I'll use these interchangeably and typically do no see a big difference. Well that’s wraps it up for the business software I use for modFORM. Stay tuned for Part 3 where I'll dive into Architecture and design specific software that I use for my practice. Thanks for reading!

modFORM Tidbits is a place where modFORM shares short segments about interesting buildings and things happening around NCW and beyond. In Tidbit #9, we'll look at some interesting murals in an alley in Wenatchee. Thanks for watching!

modFORM Tidbits is a place where modFORM shares short segments about interesting buildings and things happening around NCW and beyond. In Tidbit #8, I discuss a little bit about the urban growth boundary in the Wenatchee Valley. Thanks for watching!

modFORM Tidbits is a place where modFORM shares short segments about interesting buildings and things happening around NCW and beyond. In Tidbit #6, I highlight the North Central Regional Library. Thanks for watching!

modFORM Tidbits is a place where modFORM shares short segments about interesting buildings and things happening around NCW and beyond. In Tidbit #7, I highlight the alley between Wenatchee Ave and Columbia St. Thanks for watching!

modFORM Tidbits is a place where modFORM shares short segments about interesting buildings and things happening around NCW and beyond. In Tidbit #5, I share what it cost to build a new home in NCW in 2019. Thanks for watching!

modFORM Tidbits is a place where modFORM shares short segments about interesting buildings and things happening around NCW and beyond. In Tidbit #4, we examine the BPOE building in Wenatchee, WA. Thanks for watching!