Evolution of an Enterprise, Chapter 5: 'Residence #001'

Ian and Rachel VanHover, both 23, display the idealistic energy of youth as they describe what they want in a home.

In many ways, this young married couple is the perfect client fit for Jason Mitchell’s and Michael Mardis’ design studio, theworkshop 308 LLC.

Mitchell and Mardis aim to design edgy, affordable houses and furniture using environmentally friendly materials and techniques. The VanHovers are apartment dwellers, and they’re intrigued by the unique approach Mitchell and Mardis are taking.

On Jan. 31, the quartet meets at theworkshop 308’s Commercial Street office to discuss designs and dreams. While Mitchell and Mardis already have snagged a couple of furniture clients, the VanHovers are their first potential house-design clients.

Bird’s-eye view

Theworkshop 308 guys dub the project “Residence #001.”

The meeting is casual and lasts a little more than an hour. No contracts are signed, but each side fleshes out the basics.

The VanHovers, married in December 2005, have modest means and modest needs. Their house budget is $80,000, and they’re eyeing construction in 2008.

They moved from Kalamazoo, Mich., in 2006 so Ian VanHover could attend Missouri State University. He lived in Springfield 2003–2005 while attending Central Bible College and wanted to move back to the Ozarks.

He plans to earn degrees in religious studies and business marketing, but his schooling has been sidelined while he helps prepare Big Momma’s Coffee & Espresso Bar for a spring opening on Commercial Street. He’s been hired as manager.

Rachel VanHover plans to graduate in November from The System, a Paul Mitchell Partner School at Kansas Station on South Kansas Expressway, and become a hair stylist.

She’s more outspoken than her husband about what she wants in a home, though he’s not afraid to speak up. They seem to be on the same page, flashing wide smiles each time they ponder the possibilities.

Details

The VanHovers may only be able to afford a small house, but Mitchell and Mardis say they can design one with future expansions in mind. Rachel VanHover especially likes this idea, not wanting to move when they start having kids in about five years.

She also desires natural light and wants to blend the outside with the inside. She wants her house to be a refuge from the city.

Storage space is important, and the couple seem excited about Mitchell’s and Mardis’ ideas for open floor plans and multifunctional space. Smaller appliances, such as a stacked clothes washer and dryer, may help conserve precious space.

Green building features, such as radiant floor heating and water collection, are discussed, and the VanHovers are open to higher upfront costs if the project pans out in the long run.

There’s not a second meeting scheduled, but Mitchell and Mardis are working on concept designs to present to the couple in a month.

“I thought that the meeting was really good,” Ian VanHover said. “I felt like they really informed us and gave us a series of questions that were really logical that we could ask ourselves.

“Maybe a house can even come out of who we are as people.”