| I’m Jackie Braitman, the principal of Braitman Design/Build. I want to introduce myself because what I do is very personal – to me as well as to my clients.
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I
remodel older homes within the urban and
close-in suburban areas of Washington, DC.
My work follows certain themes:
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Daylight & Views:
Our souls need daylight and beauty.
We're happier, more content and more
productive when these needs are met.
Some views are to outdoor garden rooms.
But many views are interior views into
inviting area or of art or architectural
details. |
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Central, Open Living
Cores: Today's families
need areas to congregate together where
each member can engage in separate
activities while ensconced within the
group. We also need private "away"
places for quite activities and to
re-group. |
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Existing Footprint:
Too often the response to
today's living requirements is to build
the big "family room" addition.
While leaving the original home empty of
activity and living. This is
incredibly wasteful in both building
materials, family capital and energy
costs. Instead, I focus on
reconfiguring the existing footprint as
well as selecting using bump-outs and
small additions to enhance the living
experience. Creating the central
kitchen in an older home is often much
more successful and comfortable than the
large "great room". This is
because the spaces are often both more
intimate and more flexible. |
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Budget
Constraints: I willingly work
within the homeowner's budget
constraints knowing that we all have
priorities in addition to our homes.
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Garden
Rooms: Garden rooms of all
types enlarge a home and increase our
sense of comfort and connection. |
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The Fabric of
Established Neighborhoods: I strive to
retain and improve the relationship of
your home to it's neighborhood -
including the addition of front porches
and the use of appropriate materials and
architectural styles. |
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I also welcome working with "Do it Yourselfers" and homeowners
across the country.
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Website articles &
advice: I add to the
suite of articles, advice and case
studies weekly. |
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Self-Help
Guides on Remodeling Design & Management
are coming soon. |
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Individual
Consulting via phone and
email about materials and configuration |
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Finally, my work is informed by my experience as an exhibiting
sculptor and designer. I truly work at the intersection of art, architecture and design:
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Art – “A personal, unanalyzable creative power“; |
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Architecture – “The practice of designing and building structures and especially habitable ones”; and, |
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Design – “To devise for a specific function or end.” |
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[Definitions from Merriam-Webster Collegiate Online Dictionary] |
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I believe that magic occurs at this intersection. Magic that creates the essence of
“Home." Magic that achieves harmony in
our competing needs for:
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Intimacy of enclosure counterbalanced by views into other possibilities. |
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Rhythm and texture of repetition counterbalanced by the calm of solid construction. |
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The stimulation of being part of the
family counterbalanced by the peace of solitude. |
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The inspiration of daylight and the out-of-doors counterbalanced by the comfort and protection of walls and a roof. |
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Distinctive features that say this could only be my home counterbalanced by the need for the familiar profiles of “Home”. |
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| Too often home remodeling is about limits – limits of cash, time, and imagination.
Limits driven by whichever professional starts first – architect, designer, landscape architect,
skilled artisan.
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| Instead, at
Braitman Design/Build, perceived limits of
cash or space are turned to advantage. They
inform the possibilities rather than
constraining them. For example we are
skilled at using inexpensive materials in
novel ways. Of creating comfortable
multi-use areas. Of using unique
architectural features the solution to
vexing problems. |
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Those who know me will find it strange to hear
me speak about “essence” and “spirit” and
“holistic”. I’m a pragmatist. I get things done
rather than talk about them. But I think there
is true magic when we achieve the harmony of
“Home.” |
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Please see for yourself the extraordinary result
when architecture, design and art are seamless
parts of the whole. I invite you to meet
me and to visit my studio or one of my projects. |
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