National Post

Some architects design houses, others create homes. My friend Jim Ireland, of Stark Ireland Architects, is a "homemaker" in the best sense. His houses are stylish and could be in the pages of decor magazines, but they also have a more elusive quality -- they are great places to live. They're comfortable, with a warmth such that people never want to sell but hold on to them for their children. I was in architecture school with Jim and regrettably haven't seen him too much since. I was pleased when I saw a few of his recently completed projects because it reminded me of what remarkable residential instincts he had as a student. In school, we were all were designing monumental buildings and spouting grandiose rhetoric commensurate with geniuses who were about to remake the world. Jim did all this, of course, but on the weekends he was also successfully designing small residential projects for his parents' neighbours and others. I was amazed he knew how houses were built -- all sorts of practical stuff about wiring, plumbing and how proper drywalling should look. Meanwhile, I could barely read plans, let alone tell you which side of the insulation the vapour barrier went on.