The gift shop is now open

I have no doubt that regular readers (!) will be wondering where I’ve got to over  the last year. Well, I’ve kind of been busy being a client of mine.

About a year ago we bought a house that had a reasonably serious structural defect, then extended and refurbished it. It was scary to be honest. The builder had great fun at my expense, with a certain amount of justification, I suppose. After all, we had worked together on a number of similar projects over the years and dealt with a number of more awkward situations than this without too much drama. Yet, there I was, standing in the back garden of the new acquisition thinking “What the hell have I done!” – much to Andy’s amusement.There was one significant difference between this particular projects and al of the others that the Practice has been involved in over the last 21 years – IT’S MY MONEY!!

Fortunately, a year later, the global headquarters of the Rawlings empire is installed in an admittedly smaller office complex than planned (I was informed early on in the process that the space earmarked for a media room and executive relaxation suite was needed for the utility room and creche) and I am pleased, nay, delighted to say that it all turned out as planned. I realised that I know a bit more about this sort of stuff than I thought I did.

So there I was, sitting in the aforementioned back garden a year later on a sunny day, contemplating the freshly planted geraniums and a freshly opened bottle of shiraz and having a bit of a muse. A good chunk of my time is spent designing beams, walls and foundations to remove a wall or facilitate an extension. The run up to an appointment usually involves a visit to site (no charge for an initial consultation – quick bit of marketing there); and the visit to site usually involves a conversation with the potential client about their plans, kicking around a few ideas about space, layout, light, that sort of thing.

I have in the past declined the opportunity to commit these moments of genius to a drawing as part of my appointment. Part of the reason is that it is relative easy to tell if some sort of structural design has been successful. If it’s still standing, it can generally be considered a success. Architecture and what not, on the other hand, is much more subjective.

Still, Rawlings Manor has received a certain amount of plaudits, even though I say so myself, so I have expanded to business to include this sort of work and already received a couple of appointments for just such a thing. Being brutally honest, the only finished article I have to show for it is my own place, but I have shown a couple of people around and the reviews have been pretty good (thanks, Mum).

So form an orderly queue. The brochure is printed and the gift shop is now open. Haven’t heard from the National Trust yet, though.