Russ Doucette and Teresa Simpson

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Russ Doucet is the owner of Russ Doucet Custom Home Builders in Scarborough, and Teresa Simpson is the owner of Midcoast Home Designs in Wiscasset. Thanks for coming in today.

Teresa Simpson:

Thank you for having us.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So one of you is in Scarborough, one of you is in West Cassette. But from what I'm understanding, you actually do quite a bit of work together.

Teresa Simpson:

Yeah, I'm lucky enough to be able to work under Mr. Doucet here. I think we collaborated a few years ago on a project in Tiger Lily when we got to first meet.

Russ Doucette:

Correct.

Teresa Simpson:

Maybe three years ago.

Russ Doucette:

Roughly three years ago. We started off with. I had started off with a client and felt that it was best that they go find a true architect. And they did, and they found Teresa, which was actually a godsend for me.

Teresa Simpson:

Thanks.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, tell me about that. So tell me, what is the benefit? Well, first of all, I guess I should get a little bit of background from each of you for people who are listening, who don't know you as to what each of you do as individuals.

Teresa Simpson:

Well, I've been in. I've been a home designer, let's see, since 1988. I actually started designing homes for my family when I was actually in high school. So I put myself through college, through engineering school, and then I started my own business, really, in a small, small little town, working outside of the parameters of my family and subbing out to contractors. At some point. I had actually heard of Rust Doucet Builders, but I hadn't made it down to the Portland area. I was just working in the Mid Coast, Bath, Brunswick, Freeport area. And then later on as my family started to retire and contractors were getting more busy, I started advertising. And then lo and behold, 20 some odd years later, I get to finally meet Russ Doucet in person. And from there we've collaborated on quite a few projects. Now that I'm more in the Portland, Cape Elizabeth Saco area, it's a little

Russ Doucette:

bit about my background, a little bit about mine. I come from a little town up north in Van Buren and moved here on 4th of July of 76 and this was shortly after I had graduated from the University of Presquell Vocational. While I was here I started doing carpentry work is what I went to school for. As time progressed I knew that I just didn't want to be a regular carpenter. So I was looking to start my own business. And at the time I was working for a company, Dartmouth company in Portland, and got to know the supervisor really well, became very good friends with him and so I had an opportunity to start my business. At that point they had some projects. When I did start my business, that was back in 1981, 80, 81, interest rate was 22 and a half percent. So needless to say, there wasn't too much work out there. So what was I doing to start my own business? Well, I had an opportunity and I took it and things led to this point. Did some great projects, had some beautiful homes, some commercial work, had some slow times just like everybody else in our business, no matter what kind of business you're in. Three years ago I had been dealing with a draftsman in South Portland. Unfortunately he had passed away unexpectedly. So I was in the. I was looking for a new designer to help me along and again met Teresa and here we are and we have done three or four or five homes together. We're just finished. We just finished one up, a fairly good sized one in Cape Elizabeth and we're doing one right now underway. I believe it's a 5,000 square foot home. Things are going well.

Teresa Simpson:

It's a lot of fun. Yes, I feel like I'm blessed to finally met him and work with him. It's kind of a dream of mine.

Russ Doucette:

It goes both ways.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, talk to me about the collaboration. What is it about each of your individual skill sets and also the way that you communicate that seems to work well for you?

Teresa Simpson:

I feel that I've noticed having feedback from my clients that I tend to listen well and I can envision what a client's needs and wants are. And I really think that being an architect, it's key to be able to understand what a client wants. Not necessarily to give them my design, but work with them in trying to obtain their design and facilitate it. And I've always noticed that the key details that Rooster set in his homes and his craftsmanship show is exactly what I try to instill into my clients homes. So it's sort of we're on the same road and now that we get to work together, we can facilitate that a little bit better in project management for our, our clients.

Russ Doucette:

For me, it's the communication between her and I is great because she doesn't take criticism, she takes it very well. And it's not criticism, it's a different way of doing things where I have the ability to design homes and build them. In the past, I haven't had much luck dealing with architects. They kind of stay away from me because they know that I can do it myself. But that's not really what I wanted to do. I can. And unfortunately a lot of them have their own way of doing things. And where I'm the builder, there are different ways to do it. And I like to collaborate with them to get the job done in a manner that the client wants and give the client the outcome they're looking for. With Teresa, we've gone around and around a few times and the way she designed things or how she, when she designs things, she's trying to build it in her mind. Well, sometimes building it in your mind and the way you're accustomed to do it might be different than what I'm accustomed to doing it and how I approach things. So we communicate very well with that. And she's always asking, well, how are you doing this, you know, can we do it different, etc. So it's a really good balance, no question.

Teresa Simpson:

I definitely have found that I learned so much from him. It's like hands on experience with Russ. From the aspects of framing to finished carpentry to how to deal with clients, when I hate to say, but when we feel that we're right and we try to teach the client maybe what a better solution is, he always has an integral way of how to deal with the problem. So I really, I'm like a sponge with his information.

Russ Doucette:

Well, I think in her background, your parents, your father was a builder in the trades. In the trades. So she learned the trades. So she learned it from the bottom up. So when she's designing she can figure things out. And it's not always according to the books, in my case, where I started from the ground up, I actually did the physical work, the framing of the homes, the structurals of the home, the interior trim of the home. So I feel that in my business and where I am today, that helped me tremendously. I'm not what you would call a briefcase contractor, that someone just come off the street and start building homes. I know it from the ground up, everything about it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Do you think that that can sometimes be an issue where there's a. Some one person is dealing with things in a theoretical way? You know, they're designing things based, you know, by the books, the way you're describing it. And then you have somebody else that's being called in to deal with the very practical nature of, say, building materials or timelines or structural details.

Russ Doucette:

It can be. Basically, you can pretty much draw anything you want on paper, but actually physically doing it out on the field is somewhat different. You're always faced with different challenges because the way they draw it on paper looks great. When you're starting to put these rafters together or structurally, you have to have the field knowledge of how to build it, not just read it from a blueprint. You have to have the practical experience. And in a lot of cases, you have to improvise. And when you improvise and you have an architect involved, they want to know what's going on. So before you go ahead and change certain things different than the plans, they want to know about it. And as I mentioned earlier, some of them are willing to go along with it, some of them aren't. So it's a balancing act. Again, the end product is the most important thing.

Teresa Simpson:

I have a lot of clients who come to me who have either watched HGTV or get all the fancy magazines, including. I actually do use Maine Home + Design as a reference material because it's local, it's trendy, it's upbeat. Everybody gets ideas from it. But the clients who tend to look at a lot of Pinterest or Houzz, which are great resources, it sometimes gives an unrealistic approach to design or whatnot. It misleads our clients. So Russ and I really tend to design what we feel is best for that particular piece of land or that landscape, whether it's inland or on the ocean. And that's another way that we tend to bounce ideas, they're true from our hearts and how we feel something should look how. As if we would live there. Not necessarily from opening up a webpage or a magazine, even though it's a good Resource. So we try to show clients out of the box per se, rather than out of the magazine per se.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Do you think that sometimes people don't. They think they know what they want, but they don't really know what they want.

Teresa Simpson:

That tends to happen quite a bit with me. Or they don't really know how to verbalize it. They want to be trendy, but they want to be unique at the same time. And we have a tendency to show clients, whether it's from past projects or again, thinking out of the box. You don't want the cookie cutter home, maybe some ideas that everyone else shares. But a lot of homeowners, whether they can't voice it or they don't know how. I have the capability of showing clients 3D perspectives that actually use current materials. Russ will tell me which windows, what brand, doors, what flooring, what paint colors. And I'll actually use those particular materials, show the client a quick 3D just like HGTV would. And it helps them, the client, understand what they're going to have.

Russ Doucette:

I think a lot of clients have a pretty good idea what they want. The biggest thing is they can't visualize it. And I get that all the time. So by being in the business as long as I have and having so many houses to go by and pictures, etc. And dealing with so many clients in the past as well, you have a pretty good sense of what they're really looking at. Especially when a new client comes to me, is interested in having a project done or built, it takes a while to get to know the individual. You go to their house, you talk to them, you listen, you listen to what you know. They like craftsman style, the traditional, they modern, etc. So by listening to them more, you get a better idea really what they're looking for. So when they come to you and say, I, I know what I want, but I can't visualize it, can you? You know, so at that point you get to know them, you have a better idea what they're really looking for. So you either sketch it out or you do a prototype and they see it, they like it or don't. It goes really well that way.

Teresa Simpson:

I tend to find that we both tend to hold clients hands throughout the entire process. And a lot of clients who can't necessarily envision something or can don't always know what to spend on a budget. And having us collaborate from the very beginning of design right through the construction, we can sort of guide the clients as to what their budget or that their project can afford them, rather than just designing beautiful pictures and pouring a foundation that may be something that they

Russ Doucette:

don't want and their budget is not on hdtv. Budget.

Teresa Simpson:

Right,

Russ Doucette:

right.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, that must be an interesting conundrum because you have people who want beautiful things and they have a sense for maybe how much it might. But then it may not be that much here. You know, the things are going to be different than what they see on hgtv, for example.

Russ Doucette:

Correct. What I like to do is if somebody's interested in a house, what I try to do again is I try to get some information on that house, what style of house, what size of house, what they like inside the house. So at that point, I can put all that information together, go back to the office and look at projects that I've done, or just by 40 years of experience, I can put a budget together and come back to them and say, listen, the size of the house, the style of the house you're looking for. I feel that a budget of this is what you should really start with. Anything less is and basically goes through the interior as well. Somebody's interested in having a built in a custom entertainment center or some kind of cathedral ceiling, barn beams, etc. If they tell me in advance, I can tell them what the budget should. What you should allow for a budget before you move forward. So you're not telling me to do it, and then I give you a $5,000 bill where you thought it was going to be 2,000. You don't want to do that.

Teresa Simpson:

We like to be able to show the client the story of their house and have them show us the book cover. So we'll create the inside and then present the entire book to them before any logistics start to happen. And that's why I say we usually do best from the design from the very beginning, which is it doesn't always get a chance to have that happen between a contractor and an architect. Usually the architect will give the project to a contractor after it's designed, but we always like to do it from the beginning.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Do you ever run into problems where you've designed something, you've built something, you've listened to people all the way along, and then they come and look at it and they say, oh, no, that's really not what I was thinking about. Has that ever happened?

Teresa Simpson:

Yes, it has. I've actually had homes that look completely different on the rear, as it does on the front. Usually an oceanside home has two fronts. One on the ocean, one on the driveway side. When you show I like to be able to show the clients exactly what they've portrayed to me and also offer my idea. So that way we're not kind of bursting their bubble, but we actually get to show them. You know, maybe your idea wasn't really what we were trying to get or trying to foresee. And I know that we've, we've kind of collaborated on one like that before.

Russ Doucette:

Yeah, I mean it's, it's, it's a common thing. It's. Well, I say common, not necessarily. I remember when I was actually doing the physical trim work inside houses. In some cases I had the client sit down while I was doing the built in. So especially where they didn't know. So we would try to avoid what you just said, build the whole thing and then it's not quite what we wanted. Yes, that has happened. No question. I think it would happen to any builder having 40 years in the business. It's not something that's fun, but it's something that we thought were on the right track, etc. The client thought halfway through it is what they wanted as well, but the end product wasn't quite what it was. So basically what you do is start all over again and try to avoid it.

Teresa Simpson:

That's a really good 3D picture, isn't it?

Russ Doucette:

In our business it does happen, no question. I plan on being in business for a while and I'm sure it'll happen again.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah. When I think about our culture and where we've come, we've really become very visual, but we're still sort of two dimensionally visual, which does lead to our ability to say, oh, there's a nice picture of something. But thinking in a three dimensional way is a really different thing that I'm not sure most people have the capabilities for.

Teresa Simpson:

I've come across a majority of my clientele who can't envision, as you're saying, in 3D fashion being all 2D. So to be able to show a client size relevance or even roof pitch wise, a lot of people can't envision what a second floor over a first floor will look like or the size of how large a family living room is. I usually try to encourage clients to do what I call the paper doll effect, which they measure their furniture, they cut it out on a piece of paper to a scale they've given them, then they actually place it on a floor plan. And Russ and I always start with floor plans and that's it. We provide that initially rather than the whole kit and caboodle, rather than all the elevations and 3Ds not to overwhelm a homeowner because sometimes if they can't envision something, too much information can be a burden. So let's start small to be able to show them what incidents we're going to be showing them and giving them. I think you probably. You've taught me one of those.

Russ Doucette:

Oh, no, it's very true. Although today with what Teresa said earlier about housed in Pinterest, there are a million pictures of just about everything that's been built already out there. And it's just a matter of just scrolling through it and finding something. And as I said earlier, if you can get me something that's close to what you're looking for but not quite there, that's when we can come together and collaborate and design something that the individual is really looking for.

Teresa Simpson:

I was just going to say there's been a few times where we've had mutual clients that have shown us the same pictures so we can tell what's trendy out there without looking at the websites because everybody keeps bringing similar pictures.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So there are some advantages of all of these things then.

Russ Doucette:

All the information that's out there today is always an advantage, no question. If you know how to use it and how to find it, no question.

Teresa Simpson:

I still like to have all the resources of the professionals around this area. I could name names, but I still like to be able to use the locals who, like Russ, have the experience.

Russ Doucette:

Four years ago, I don't think computers were around, so we went on visuals and what we had done, et cetera. I mean, it was completely different than it was today. Just like everything else, I suppose we

Teresa Simpson:

used to build our models rather than creating them on the computer.

Russ Doucette:

Yes, we did that a few times.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

When I think about the younger, I'll call it the younger generation, which is going to make me sound like I'm ancient. But you know, I'll watch, I'll watch HGTV with my 16 year old. She's a junior in high school. I don't think she's going to go into. She's probably not going to become an architect. Don't think she's going to be a contractor. It's just not where her interests lie. But for some reason she and I can find this common ground and watch these shows like Flip or Flop or, you know, other. And it's interesting to me that this has become intriguing and has become a place of commonality. I would not have foreseen that when I was 16 that I would someday Be interested in watching a show about home renovation.

Teresa Simpson:

Troy, that's funny you say that. When I was in high school, I know a lot of my friends would be watching mtv, but I was watching this old house. So I would tend to find. Because I like to see something created. One thing that I've found a lot of that pleases me is to be able to see a house that I've designed from this, from the beginning up, and then see it in Maine home and design or go through, walk through the house. To me, that's like this old house. Watching the shows, watching the TV shows, and seeing Chip and Joanna on tv, being able to see what they've created. I think it's always neat to be able to walk into a house that you've designed and see it for real.

Russ Doucette:

I think with those shows on tv, hdtv. And again, I watch those as well. Not on a regular basis, but I watch them like Flip or Flop or Love it or List it. What I like about them is, in one sense, I think they're teaching America something. Number one is that if you're buying an existing home and you're interested in renovating it, that it's not cut and dry. There's many, many unknowns. So when. When you're looking for a price from a contractor to design what you want, I think they understand that there are going to be a lot of unknowns that most of the time are going to increase the price, or if you don't want the price increase, you're going to have to cut back on something. And you get that a lot on love it or list it. Okay. You know, they're going in with a $100,000 budget and they're going to do a master bedroom and they're going to do this or whatever. And then they get into it, they find a big problem. I don't know how expensive it's going to be, but she comes back and says, you know that laundry room that you wanted? It's not going to happen because we got to do this and it's structural, so we have to fix it. So I think in one sense, if people are really listening or looking, I think they're understanding that when they want

Teresa Simpson:

a remodel job done, because remodeling tends to be more expensive, more.

Russ Doucette:

Oh, no question.

Teresa Simpson:

Than building new. It is, yeah. The love it are listed teaches us that.

Russ Doucette:

Right. And then Joanna Gaines, she's in that area where she likes to reuse old stuff. She doesn't like to throw anything away. She's Always looking at rummage sales or things of that nature, which looks good when she puts it all together, no question. So I think in those senses, the only thing about that is not. It's not really price, you know, it's

Teresa Simpson:

not for the New England area.

Russ Doucette:

Well, no, it isn't, because I look at some of those things and I said there's no way that they can do what they're doing for that money.

Teresa Simpson:

We have something similar to that, but we tend to show our clients for the trendy ideas where it might be less expensive, where we could find them, rather than just going to the local flea markets or going to Boston per se to do it.

Russ Doucette:

So, again, I think we all look at HGTV in that respect.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, Maine Home and Design I know has featured your work before and quite a lot, actually. So tell me about a project that you've particularly enjoyed collaborating on that has had some maybe challenges that have ended up you've been able to overcome them and you've turned them into benefits.

Teresa Simpson:

Yeah. I think one that will be featured soon is the latest Crispin job that we worked on, which we had a client that was downsizing to a beautiful home. It's about 10,000 square feet. And there was roof line challenges where the homeowners knew what they wanted, they knew they wanted to downsize. And it was up to Russ and I to really be able to make the framing affordable without scaling back on too much of the design aspect. So from street level, it still looks nice, but roof lines and interior, two story cathedral ceilings, balconies that recently happened on the Crispin job.

Russ Doucette:

Yes, that was a great job. I think it was a collaboration not just between Teresa and I, but the homeowner was quite involved and they had a designer of their own that was involved in it as well. So it was one of those projects that we all had to come together and put it all together. At this point, the client is very happy. It was a great project. It was probably a year and a half in the making. They just. The house is just finally done probably a couple, three weeks ago, and we are working on another one right now in Cape Elizabeth. That was a challenge. And it's that same issue about the roof rafters in the back and how everything comes together. As I mentioned earlier, you can draw it on paper, but you have to be in the field to figure out how to put it together. And that's the only way you're going to do it. So we're doing that right now. And actually after this segment, we're both going to go down there and look at the jaw together.

Teresa Simpson:

There's a site visit for that cathedral ceiling issue.

Russ Doucette:

Yeah.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So there's a lot of kind of ongoing conversation. It sounds like there's a lot of pulling it apart, seeing what works, getting back together. It's not really. There's not one straight path. You're not always sure that you're going to start at A and get to B.

Teresa Simpson:

Right. There's always the Jenga piece puzzle. We always, I think that's the challenge and the fun part that I get to learn from Ross's. As I'm designing, I'm framing it in my head, but I'm constantly on the phone with him saying, what if I move this one dormer back a little bit farther? What are we going to do to the roof collar ties and whatnot? He will literally start verbally framing it on the phone with me, which is actually a good thing.

Russ Doucette:

No, it is. You know, there are people out there that don't want to build the bigger projects. They find them not affordable or not a money maker or it's just too difficult and they don't want to go that route. They want to stay with the cookie cutters. Well, I'm not that way. I, you know, the bigger the challenge, the better it is. And that's where Teresa comes in hand, because you need each other, you know, sometimes on a bigger job, even though you drew it. Well, I'll go back to Theresa, let's redraw this this way and see what happens and see how it looks and so on and so forth. So it really, when you start a project, depending on the size and the difficulty of it, it's not always cut and dry. As you just mentioned, there's a lot of work behind the scenes that takes place to get it done.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And it speaks to a depth of knowledge and experience that I think maybe we don't always value in this day and age where we think, okay, you go get your four year degree, you come out, you know everything, as opposed to at least in medicine, and I'm 20 years in, I don't know everything. I learn things all the time. Every single day. I'm still learning stuff. Probably by the time I retire, I will just know how much I don't know. But that's kind of not the way people think about education and knowledge these days.

Teresa Simpson:

I don't believe learning from the book is one thing, but you really can't, I feel, design for a client from beginning to build unless you've had hands on experience. And I'm glad I grew up in the trades with all of my family members to be able to come to us and be able to understand. I did a little stint with Warner Brothers once, and we could draw pretty pictures, but there's nothing like drawing a pretty picture if you can't build it.

Russ Doucette:

I think the day that you think you know it all, it just doesn't happen. I mean, you're constantly learning if. If you want to. You know, there are people that come up to me. So how's it feel you made it, you know, all this. I haven't made anything. Okay. It's an ongoing thing all the time. Every house is a different challenge. Every client's a different challenge. Just like in your trade. I mean, medicine is always moving forward, and we're always moving forward as well. I mean, you look at a house and you wouldn't think that it is, but it is. And you're constantly learning. And actually, the clients are the ones that make you learn the building materials. Especially many times you get a compliment from a client or people. As a builder. Well, it's not just a builder. It's both the client and the builder getting along. Because there are many times that at the beginning of a job, the client and the builder can butt heads. And if one or the other is

Teresa Simpson:

stubborn,

Russ Doucette:

the job is not going to go very well. So it's a give and take. You have to understand each other. And it's a marriage for the time being, for the duration of that job, from the beginning of designing the house to when I give him the key, and even after that. So for me, the most important part of the job is the relationship with the client. That's the most important thing.

Teresa Simpson:

Very, very important.

Russ Doucette:

As far as building a house, that's easy. Yeah, it really is. It's the relationship that you create for the client.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I appreciate your taking the time to come in here and have this conversation with me. I've been speaking with Russ Doucet, who is the owner of Russ Doucet Custom Home Builders in Scarborough, and Theresa Simpson, who is the owner of Midcoast Home Designs in Russ Cassette. Thank you very much for taking the time to be with us today.

Russ Doucette:

Well, thank you for having us.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It was fun.

Teresa Simpson:

Com.