I'm very pleased to announce that my website is now fully up and running. McReynolds Designs is where I will be showcasing photographs of my new home designs and remodeled plans as well as renderings of projects that are in various stages of completion. Check it out when you get a chance and let me know what you think! I also have projects on Houzz and am working on getting projects uploaded to YouTube.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and safe New Year! This seemed to be the season when three of us played the game, "Pass The Flu." There weren't any winners. We actually enjoyed a short, white Christmas and according to the weathermen it hadn't snowed on Christmas Day since 1975. Our season was spent with family and we all had a really great time.

This year Janet and I decided that we really want to get our kids out to see and do things that they haven't yet, and so far we started the year with a visit to the Frisco Heritage Museum over in Frisco. We had a very informative docent who taught us a lot about pioneering life in this area, and we plan on taking the kids to other museums, parks, and landmarks in this area. Anybody have any suggestions?

2012 saw more new home designs than the previous year as well as plenty of remodels and additions. So far this year on the boards I have everything from an outdoor kitchen, a remodel of a 10,000 s.f. home, and two new home designs. The new houses consist of a lake house on a private lake south of Greenville as well as a contemporary design in North Dallas. Having never designed a contemporary home before I am really looking forward to the challenge. In addition to these projects I also have a couple of remodels, a greenhouse to design, and an historic home in McKinney to remodel. Needless to say I've been blessed with a lot of work so far this year.

Please keep me in mind if you have a friend, family member, or coworker who needs a new home designed or an existing one remodeled.

One of the builders that I work with is The British Builder which is owned by Wayne Goodall in McKinney. Wayne is a licensed builder with the Southern Living Custom Builder Program and several of his clients that I have also worked with have purchased a floor plan from the Southern Living portfolio. One of the advantages to purchasing a Southern Living home plan through Wayne is that the client is allowed to customize it. The Dineens were a client of his who purchased Plan 1192 - Winnsboro Heights designed by the Moser Design Group exclusively for Southern Living, and I worked with them customizing the home to fit their needs.

We enlarged the kitchen, modified the study, added a home office, wrapped the rear porch around the side of the house, and modified the master bedroom as well. The upstairs plan was adjusted a little bit but not as much as the main level of the home, and the exterior features and details were maintained per the original design at the client's request.

The home also features a detached garage with a finished home office upstairs and was featured in the 2012 Holiday Home Tour in McKinney.

Gary Larson's "The Far Side"