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The Rentfrow Designs 3
WHERE DESIGN AND PHILOSOPHY MEET For Rentfrow Designs’ president, Jon Rentfrow, where the focus is on creating beautiful and unique spaces that reflect the individuals that live in them.
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Editor-in-Chief Todd Weaver Editor Diana Doyle Executive Editor Jonathan Mack Assistant Editor Joseph Orange Creative Director Emily Detoro Art Director Stephanie Hess Director of Advertising Julian Vu Production Coordinator Jason Rone Assistant Production Coordinator Elizabeth Macks Photography Editor Ian Palmer Video Director Susan Maybach Editorial Director Kate Darling Editorial Production Rachel Goldberg Copy Editor William Finch Assistant Copy Editor Amy Roberts Correspondents Brandon McBride (W), Aaron McGaskey (SW), Juan Orellana (NE), Steve Peters (Nation), Mike Rodgers (Nation), Juan Stewart (SE) Vendor Relations Director Diana Stephens Vendor Relations Eric Miller, Dov Teta Advertising Sales Coordinator Patricia O’Brien Advertising Sales Director Peter Jostens Advertising Sales Moe Kazemi, David Levi, Tom Nichols Publisher Steve Reed
oZ WORLD MEDIA, LLC 1330 New Hampshire Avenue Suite B1 Washington D.C. 20036 Construction Leaders Today is a quarterly B2B trade journal that services the construction industry in architecture, custom build, geothermal, green building, specialty architecture, posttentioning, and new technology sectors. CLT has a readership of 100,000 C-Level executives within the energy industry. We do not accept subscription requests from the general public, however an abbreviated version is available on our website.
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Rentfrow Designs creating mood through design by Joan Tupponce
Jon Rentfrow’s designs mirror his company’s philosophy: creating moods in individual spaces. “I believe that one of the biggest responsibilities a designer has with his homes is to figure out how the client lives,” he said. “I look at everything. I pay special attention to the details of a home – columns, trim, doors, windows and unique nooks and shelves.” For one client, Rentfrow created a dark space where the client could practice yoga and meditation. “It was an intimate space that has a specific mood,” he said. Rentfrow looks at the function of a space as well as the design, evaluating concepts such
as traffic flow, possible furniture layouts and physical space limitations. “It’s not about the pictures in a magazine that you fell in love with or a cool room that you saw; it’s about how you will use the space,” he said. “That’s what’s important to me.” An award-winning designer and professional member of the American Institute of Building Designers, Rentfrow started Rentfrow Design, LLC in 1995. His work includes everything from additions and remodeling to site plans and full custom home design for all sizes of homes. “Sometimes I work with a developer who wants to put a spec home in a new development,” he said. “I do similar work for builders that need a
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1 1. ‘Funky Farmhouse’ in Colorado. Built in 2007. Photo by Warren Diggles. 2. Swiss-Mountain Lodge style home in Colorado. Built in 2009. Photo by Warren Diggles. 3. A custom Mediterranean Style home on a ski lake in Colorado. Built in 2009. Photo by Warren Diggles.
spec home. Most of my work, however, is with a specific client on a custom basis.” Rentfrow Designs, LLC is headquartered in Colorado but has clients in 12 different states and a few countries outside of the U.S. The company’s well-respected reputation started to spread when local builders began recognizing the quality and artistry of Rentfrow’s designs. With a good local foundation already in place, Rentfrow decided to seek out more farreaching opportunities. Two years ago when the economy took a downward turn, he started selling some of his house plans on various web sites. “These were designs I had already done in spec houses or custom homes,” he explains. Both HousePlansandMore.com and ArchitecturalHousePlans.com carry a design that garnered Rentfrow a first place in the over 4,000 sq. ft. 4 Construction Leaders Today
published design category at The American Institute of Building and Design Convention and Tradeshow in Portland, Ore. In some instances, plan brokers listed Rentfrow as the designer on the plans they showcased. People interested in finding a good designer started Googling his name and were eventually led to his web site. “I would get emails from people saying that they liked my designs and asked me if I could travel to their area and bring my talent there,” Rentfrow said. “That became a blessing from God for me. When the market started to shrink, this dropped in my lap.” Rentfrow now travels to meet with out-of-state clients and talk with them about the design process. Since he won’t be on site during the process, he relies on technology, everything from the Internet to Web conferencing, to serve as his virtual partner. His ultimate goal, pleasing his client, remains central to his work regardless of his location. “I’m not the type that likes to create iconic structures,” he said. “My goal is to keep clients happy and provide a home that they want to live in.” As part of his design philosophy, Rentfrow likes to outfit homes with
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spaces that create different moods. “I like to provide spaces throughout the house where they can escape to sit and reflect or read in quiet,” he said. “For example, I may put in a bench on a stair landing that looks out a large window.” Rentfrow doesn’t believe in continuing a central theme throughout the house. “I like for the house to have style,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with a bedroom being a different theme from a living room. You play on those themes so that you can escape to anyone of those spaces, depending on the mood you are in.” Before coming up with the concept for the design, Rentfrow spends a great deal of time with clients talking about their lifestyle.
“Our first meeting is usually four to five hours long,” he explains. “We talk about what they want and why. We figure out how they live.” Rentfrow likes to meet with clients in their home, not in his office. Prior to 4. Built in 2005, this staircase was designed for a modern home and built entirely of Paralam. Photo by Warren Diggles. 5. This French Country Estate home was built in Colorado in 2007. Photo by Warren Diggles. 6. An entryway of a Tuscan-style home in Colorado built in 2008. Photo by Warren Diggles.
ARCHITECTURAL HOUSEPLANS Unlike the “stock” plans available on other web sites, all the plans offered by ArchitecturalHousePlans.com were the result of lengthy collaborations between individual families and architects that led to the construction of truly unique, one-of-a-kind homes. The web site’s portfolio features the work of Jon Rentfrow as well as more than 50 other award-winning architects and designers from all over the U.S. and Canada.
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the meeting, he sends his clients a 12page questionnaire with a bullet list of traditional design/build questions. “I like to move into the design and develop it slowly,” he said. As part of the process, Rentfrow also visits the site where the client is planning to build so he can analyze the positioning of the sun throughout the day and determine the best views. “In Colorado, for example, everyone wants their driveway to face south or east,” he explains, noting that snow wouldn’t melt on a driveway facing north in that area. “That same thing wouldn’t necessarily be the case if you were working in Tennessee. It’s important to understand while you are on site where there is heat gain from the sun.” Each geographical section of the country represents a specific design challenge, many relating to climate and weather-related concerns. For instance, when he is designing a home in Santa Barbara, Calif., Rentfrow has to take seismic events into consideration. In Vancouver, Canada, the concern is snow load; in Orlando, Fla. it’s hurricanes. “Working in different areas is a learning curve and that is fun,” he said. “In each, the styles and expectations are different.” Rentfrow’s custom residential designs range from approximately 1,900 to 12,000 sq. ft. “The average design is around 4,000 to 5,000 sq. ft.,” he said. He is currently working with a Colorado developer on a large project in the country of Panama which will include a 150-lot subdivision and a large, high-end, luxury resort/spa. Rentfrow is designing the resort/spa and will also be doing the designs for the homes in the subdivision. This will be his first project that is geared toward restaurant and hospitality use. Designs related to the project will carry a style often seen in Colorado. Rentfrow finds that in many cases, his clients are looking for something different from other homes in their area. “They don’t want the same old brick house,” he said. “They want something that looks more like Colorado, my style. It’s usually a combination of what they want and what they want me to bring to the project.” In addition to his design work, Rentfrow has written and published a book called Experiencing Home. He gives a copy of the book to clients when they move into their home. 8 Construction Leaders Today
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“The premise is about all the experiences we have in our home and that those experiences make the house a home,” he explains. “In the book, I take people through each space in their home and ask questions about why they like that space and what emotions it stirs.” Whether it’s writing or designing, Rentfrow said he always strives for fresh, new concepts and ideas. “It’s easy to get inspired.” CLT 7. A Colorado Mountain Pool and Cabana built in 2008. Photo by Warren Diggles.
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