I was born in Calgary, I went to college in Bozeman, my parents retired to Sandpoint, half my friends and family are from Seattle, Portland, Bend, Helena, Missoula, Idaho Falls, SLC, the PNW. So it was kind of an easy decision, when I was lured to Boise by a friend, the mountains, the rivers, the North End, 8th Street and all the other fabulousness that is Boise. This was the be all, end all life, family, outdoors, music, arts and architecture to retirement community.
My design aesthetic is firmly rooted in Scandinavian simplicity, warm woods with hard concrete, plain lines, logical masses. My main focus is to mix a little modern with a little traditional and always try to hide a little gem in each project. Capture the daylight and accentuate the views. Add in some industrial and farmhouse and you are starting to fill out the edges and see the type of architecture that also brought me to Boise.
I wanted to buy a vacant lot and design & build my modern masterpiece, but the wife and kids wanted a comfy, homey, traditional house. So, we bought a beautiful historic house in the North End, gutted and remodeled it. So, it’s got some modern appeal to go along with the historic charm and all updated utilities, fixtures, finishes and appliances! We put everything into this house. Literally everything (this is going to be the be all, end all, remember). No reason to hold back.
Then there was also a business partnership that was the primary motivation to moving up here. But like some marriages, equitability and compromise can’t be forced if both sides can’t come to consensus. And then you find yourself out on the street with your hat in your hand and hanging a shingle out.
So, here I go again on my own (queue up Whitesnake), hanging the shingle out (formally this time as Erik Hagen, Architect PLLC doing business as Erik Hagen Architecture with liability insurance, consultants, drafters and all that jazz) and putting my quarter-century worth of architectural expertise to work. And I am fired up about this! Bring on the dancing horses. And the clients.