Gordon Stein’s design process is nothing if not thorough. As the informal head of design in his Palm Desert, Calif., partnership with Ross Stout, he guides homeowners through a series of steps that help them visualize exactly what their new house will look like. The system boosts clients’ confidence in GordonRoss, and it also minimizes costly changes down the line. Stein starts by talking extensively with the clients, learning about their needs and desires for their home. Then they get the chance to look at GordonRoss’s library of house images, which contains photos from several different sources—books, magazines, Stein and Stout’s own pictures from various trips they’ve taken, and portfolios of the company’s work. The library is also available online, so remote customers can view it as easily as ones who live nearby. Once Stein has seen which images they prefer, he’s on his way to coming up with a design concept that will suit their particular tastes. The firm also designs and builds spec houses, and a client tour of some of these provides an opportunity for further design input.
Then Stein visits the site several times to gauge view corridors and sun and shadow patterns. “We live in a desert area that’s surrounded by mountains,” he says. “We try to put the key rooms—great room, master bedroom, etc., on the key views. Where we don’t have views we’ll create them, with a courtyard, for example.” Finally, he starts to draw. After the client approves the initial plans, Stein and his staff create foam models with paste-on doors and windows so that potential changes can be examined quickly and easily. “We tried CAD models, but we had to get so far into the design that it wasn’t cost-effective,” he says. “The three-dimensional, physical models work far better for us.”
Each part of the carefully calibrated process—the conversations, image library, house tours, site visits, and models—helps GordonRoss’ clients know just what they’re getting. As every builder knows, that kind of predictability can prevent a whole lot of headaches.
GordonRoss, Palm Desert, Calif.
Type of business: design/build
Years in business: 2
Employees: 30
2003 volume: $10 million
2003 starts: 10
