Questions Clients Often Ask
Beginning a custom home, coastal renovation, or historic property project often raises questions about timing, process, design, permitting, investment, and team selection. Below are some of the questions clients often ask as they begin working with Keene Architecture.
Boutique Residential Architecture
What kind of architecture does Keene Architecture specialize in?
Keene Architecture is a boutique residential architecture firm based in Wakefield, Rhode Island. We specialize in custom coastal homes, historic renovations, shingle-style residences, thoughtful additions, and full-service residential architecture throughout Rhode Island and coastal New England.
Are you a luxury residential architecture firm?
Yes. We design custom homes and high-end renovations with a focus on timeless architecture, careful proportion, natural light, materials, site planning, and how a home will live over time. Our work is refined and personal rather than trendy or overly formal.
What makes Keene Architecture’s design approach different?
We believe architecture should feel as though it belongs. Rather than chasing trends, we focus on proportion, natural light, thoughtful detailing, and creating homes that become more meaningful over time. Every project is designed specifically for the family who will live there and the place where it is built.
Are you an architecture firm or an interior design firm?
Keene Architecture is an architectural firm. We focus on residential architecture, including custom homes, renovations, additions, planning, permitting, construction documents, and coordination with builders and consultants. We often collaborate closely with interior designers so the architecture and interiors feel cohesive.
Working With Keene Architecture
Why should I hire an architect instead of using generic plans?
A custom home or major renovation is one of the largest investments most families will ever make. An architect considers far more than a floor plan. We study how the home relates to the land, the views, natural light, circulation, proportions, materials, and how your family truly lives. Our role is to create a home that is timeless, functional, and uniquely yours while helping protect the investment throughout design and construction.
When should I hire an architect?
The earlier, the better. At the beginning of most projects, there are important questions about design potential, views, zoning, setbacks, flood-zone considerations, coastal regulations, and long-term opportunities. We help clients understand those factors early and, when appropriate, bring in the right surveyors, site engineers, septic designers, and permitting consultants so the property’s constraints and approval path are clear from the beginning. Early planning almost always leads to better design decisions and fewer surprises.
Can you help evaluate a property before I purchase it?
Yes. We regularly help clients understand whether a property can support their vision before they buy. We look at the home or site’s design potential, views, access, zoning, setbacks, flood-zone considerations, coastal regulations, and long-term opportunities.
What areas do you serve?
Keene Architecture works throughout Rhode Island and coastal New England, with a particular focus on Jamestown, Newport, Charlestown, Westerly, Watch Hill, Little Compton, Block Island, Tiverton, Narragansett, South Kingstown, and surrounding coastal communities.
Designing Your Home
What types of homes do you design?
We specialize in custom homes, luxury renovations, historic restorations, waterfront properties, family compounds, guest houses, pool houses, and thoughtful additions. Every project is designed specifically for its owners, property, and surroundings rather than following a predetermined style.
Do you design modern homes as well as traditional homes?
Yes. Much of our work is rooted in Rhode Island’s coastal architectural traditions and the timeless shingle style, but our portfolio ranges from classic historic-inspired homes to transitional and contemporary coastal residences. Each home reflects its site, the surrounding landscape, and the client’s vision.
Do you design shingle-style homes?
Yes. Many of our projects draw from New England shingle-style traditions, including cedar shingles, gambrel roofs, porches, layered rooflines, divided-light windows, and coastal detailing. We use these elements in a fresh, site-specific way so the home feels timeless rather than copied.
Can a new coastal home feel like it has always belonged there?
Yes. That is often the goal. A new home can feel rooted by carefully considering scale, proportion, rooflines, materials, siting, landscape, and local architectural character. The design should feel specific to the property rather than generic.
A home should feel as though it belongs — to its site, its history, and the people who live there.
Renovations & Historic Homes
Do you work on older and historic homes?
Yes. Historic homes are some of our favorite projects. We carefully preserve architectural character while thoughtfully introducing modern conveniences, improved layouts, and updated systems that support contemporary living.
Can you make an older home feel modern without losing its character?
Yes. The most successful renovations respect what makes a home special while improving how it functions today. We begin by understanding the existing architecture, then design changes that feel natural to the house rather than imposed on it.
Do you design additions?
Yes. Additions should feel like a natural extension of the original architecture, not an afterthought. Whether expanding a family home, improving a kitchen, adding a primary suite, or creating new gathering spaces, we carefully integrate additions into the overall composition of the house.
Can you add onto an old house without making it look like an addition?
Yes. A successful addition should feel natural to the original house. We study the existing proportions, rooflines, windows, materials, and details so the new work supports the character of the home rather than competing with it.
Waterfront & Coastal Design
Do you design waterfront homes?
Yes. Waterfront properties are among our specialties. We design homes that maximize views, natural light, outdoor living, and connection to the landscape while carefully navigating Rhode Island’s coastal conditions and regulations.
Are you a coastal residential architect?
Yes. Coastal residential architecture is a major part of our practice. We design and renovate homes in Rhode Island’s shoreline communities, balancing beauty, durability, views, outdoor living, permitting, and long-term livability.
Can a coastal home be both beautiful and resilient?
Yes. Coastal homes require careful design and technical expertise, but resilience should not make a house feel awkward or generic. We consider flood elevation, wind exposure, durable materials, drainage, and permitting requirements from the beginning so the home feels beautiful, livable, and appropriate to its coastal setting.
Do you only work on FEMA or flood-zone projects?
No. Keene Architecture is a boutique residential architecture firm focused on custom homes, coastal homes, historic renovations, shingle-style residences, and thoughtful additions. We do have deep experience with FEMA flood-zone requirements, CRMC, and coastal resilience, but that is one part of a broader design-led residential practice.
Can you help with CRMC approvals?
Yes. We have extensive experience working through Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council approvals. We help clients navigate complex waterfront regulations while protecting the integrity of the design.
Do you understand FEMA flood requirements?
Yes. Designing in coastal Rhode Island often requires careful coordination with FEMA flood regulations, local zoning, and engineering requirements. We integrate these technical considerations from the earliest stages of design so they support the architecture rather than compromise it.
Investment
How much does it cost to hire an architect?
Every project is unique, so fees vary depending on the scope, size, complexity, and level of service. We typically begin with a retainer to reserve your place in our design queue and start the early planning and design process.
As we learn more about your project, property, goals, and timeline, we outline the anticipated scope and next steps. Our clients view architecture as an investment that adds lasting value to both their home and their daily lives.
Is hiring an architect worth it?
We believe thoughtful design pays dividends for decades. A well-designed home functions better, ages more gracefully, responds more carefully to its site, and often becomes one of a family’s most meaningful investments.
Interiors & Accessory Buildings
Do you provide interior design services?
Keene Architecture is an architectural firm, and we believe architecture and interiors should be considered together from the beginning. We often collaborate closely with interior designers and can help guide interior architectural elements such as built-ins, fireplaces, ceiling treatments, kitchens, baths, materials, and overall spatial character so the home feels cohesive.
Do you design pool houses, guest houses, and accessory buildings?
Yes. We design guest houses, pool houses, garages, barns, and accessory structures with the same level of care and architectural integrity as the primary residence. These buildings are often important pieces of a larger family compound or estate property.
Do you work on family compounds or generational homes?
Yes. Many of our projects are designed for families who want a home or property to serve multiple generations. We think carefully about guest space, privacy, gathering areas, outdoor living, flexibility, and how the property may evolve over time.