Sketchbook

The following are snippets from our designers' sketchbooks. Whether sketching layouts for a current project or painting a folly of our imaginations, the ideas are always flowing. Here, we share some of those ideas with you.

Creative Solutions for Designing on Challenging Sites

Good home design revolves around a site. The easiest, and most economical sites for houses in Boise are flat, outside of the floodplain,...

Noelle Martinez

Sep 171 min read

Designing for Historic Districts

Studio Boise loves to design for Boise's historic neighborhoods. Remodels and additions require an extra level of problem solving to...

Noelle Martinez

Dec 4, 20242 min read

Prioritize Your Outdoor Living

This sketch may look like a large amount of house, but the enclosed home is right around 1,000 square feet, and the footprint is less...

Noelle Martinez

Sep 27, 20241 min read

Flat Roofs

Sometimes there is a fear of flat roofs, especially in heavy snow areas. I would like to nix that fear right now. First of all, there...

Noelle Martinez

Jan 12, 20241 min read

Lofty Expectations for the 2024

Studio Boise is ringing in the new year with a hand sketch turned digital sketch of a loft-inspired interior for one our newest home...

Noelle Martinez

Jan 2, 20241 min read

Scandinavian Essence: What You Need to Know About Designing a Scandinavian Barn-Inspired Home

In recent years, Studio Boise has seen more clients coming to us with dreams of Scandinavian Barn-inspired homes: think big black gabled...

Noelle Martinez

Oct 2, 20232 min read

All the Drama Tudor

Quick sketch of a dramatic Tudor cottage taking inspiration from some of Boise's Harrison Boulevard, Warm Springs, and Boise Bench homes....

Noelle Martinez

Jul 28, 20231 min read

Historic Proportions Modern Functions

One of my favorite puzzles is draw up a small, charming historically proportioned home and fill its interior boundary with the open...

Noelle Martinez

May 2, 20231 min read

Corbusian Inspired Modernism

Just another page out of my sketchbook with a quick Corbusier inspired modernist home design. Taking inspiration from Le Corbusier's...

Noelle Martinez

Apr 6, 20231 min read

Making the Box an Interesting Box

Modernism is defined by it's simplicity. Sometimes simplistic, modern design is more boring than inspiring. We have all seen authentic...

Noelle Martinez

Mar 20, 20231 min read

Hillside Modern

Painting a quick water color of this custom home designed for the Boise foothills helps me, as a residential designer, to get a feel for...

Noelle Martinez

Mar 6, 20231 min read

Unique Cabin in Cascade

This is a quick sketch of an idea for a small cabin on a tricky site in the mountains in Cascade, ID near the lake. This unique cabin...

Noelle Martinez

Jan 13, 20231 min read

A Frame Cabin Design

This is a quick sketch of an A-frame cabin home design stretching down a mountain hillside. The simple design concept behind this was to...

Noelle Martinez

Nov 3, 20221 min read

Home Design Boise

Home design in Boise has never been busier and likely, it has never been harder to find the right match for your design needs. To know...

Noelle Martinez

Oct 18, 20222 min read

Multi-use Innovation

This is a very quick sketch of the Independence Library and Apartments designed by Chicago Architecture firm: John Ronan Architects. The...

Noelle Martinez

Sep 10, 20221 min read

VOLUME STUDY

Sketching out boxy volumes to stack down a hillside is a helpful tool to start reigning in the early ideas about proportion, where...

Noelle Martinez

Aug 31, 20221 min read

Boise Foothills

Preliminary aerial sketch for a new home currently under construction in the Boise foothills. The series of courtyards in this home...

Noelle Martinez

Aug 19, 20221 min read

Passive Cooling

Conceptual section sketches for a passive cooling tower. Passive home design is the smartest way to keep your home comfortable. Passive...

Noelle Martinez

Aug 13, 20221 min read

The See-Saw House

On a recent trip to the Big Island in Hawaii, I sketched out this concept for a home designed around the idea of cross breeze, island...

Noelle Martinez

Aug 13, 20221 min read

A Cottage That Could Be...

Doing some quick water color sketching in Albertson's Park in Boise, ID with my daughter, I couldn't help but design a cottage that could...

Noelle Martinez

Aug 13, 20221 min read