SLO LIFE Jun/Jul 2017

Immediately, Lindsay and Ward dove into the project, treating it as if
they had just received a hot tip on a story. Reverting back to investigative
journalism, the couple followed every lead. It was a house they found in
Louisiana that finally connected all the dots and broke it wide open. With
the vision established, the couple set out to find an architect, and a builder,
simultaneously. “A lot of people hire an architect and say, ‘Here’s what our
dream is,’ and the architect draws their dream house and then they go out
and get three bids from builders, and they are all much higher than they
thought, and they are horrified.”
After a series of interviews, relatively quickly the couple had their
team in place. David Gast of San Francisco, who had a bevy of modern
farmhouses in his portfolio, was selected as the architect. And, Semmes
& Co. Builders of Atascadero was tapped as the general contractor. The
first of many conference calls began with the challenge to hone the project
down to its essence—no fluff—and remain within budget. Along the way,
Jessica Steely, General Manger of Semmes & Co. Builders, maintained a
spreadsheet with different budget scenarios ranging from low to middle to
high in an effort to rein in the spending. “They went for ‘high-high’,” she >>
JUN/JUL 2017 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | 51