About five years ago, Wendy Elena Counes decided to gain more control of her life.
She left the work force and became a self-employed home designer, which has allowed her to draw floor plans while keeping close tabs on her two boys.
"It was important for me to be with my kids," Counes said of James, 14, and Nikko, 13.
Working out of her Vail home has meant having the flexibility to design homes and still get deeply involved in her sons' activities in and out of school, she said.
The entrepreneur, who has an associate degree in drafting, works out of an office in the Vail home she designed. Counes, her husband, George, and their boys moved in the summer of 2003, she said.
Counes said her business has grown exclusively through referrals from former clients or acquaintances.
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"I've been very lucky," she said recently.
She reaps the benefits of working at home, such as walking around in her slippers all day. But Counes said being at home also offers many potential distractions — television is one.
"It's easy to find other things to do besides work," she said.
Counes has the self-discipline and motivation to generate house floor plans steadily, as well as to do some civil drafting such as maps, bridges and roadways, she said.
Helping people create their dream house in a cost-effective way is something she enjoys, Counes added.
"I love helping people figure it all out."
Typically, those who seek her services — instead of those of an architect — aim to keep down the cost of building a house. Without a degree in architecture, Counes has some limitations in her work. For example, she is not able to perform a structural analysis that meets safety standards when a house is built. That usually doesn't pose a problem because most of the homes she designs are basic floor plans that adhere to existing building codes, she said.
Tom Sweigart said he just started building a roughly 3,600-square-foot house in Vail that Counes designed.
"She does a good job for what her training has been, and for what she does," he said. "She was definitely more affordable than an architect. I saved a lot of money."
Counes noted she has the ability to draw plans that incorporate more complex designs, such as a wall of glass instead of standard windows. But such a feature would require clients to also hire a structural engineer, she noted.
"For instance, anything that's two stories has to be structurally engineered, because all the beams have to be sized correctly," she said.
From the onset, Counes said, she explains to potential clients what she can and cannot do as an unlicensed home designer. Once people hire her, she said she works closely with clients to give them what they envision for $1.50 per square foot.
"The design can be quick and painless, or it can go on for weeks, even months," she said. "Some people know exactly what they want; others have no idea. So we go back and forth until they sign off on a floor plan."
Counes said that unless revisions are needed, her job is done when she hands over to her clients the complete set of drawings they need to obtain a building permit from Pima County.
Vail's population growth has helped her business, she said, noting that she has designed about a half-dozen homes in the vicinity. She has designed homes in Vail and elsewhere as small as 1,200 square feet and as large as 5,900 square feet, she said.
Counes might one day be an architect herself. She is considering returning to college when her boys get older.
For now, she said she will keep working out of her home office, wearing her pajamas all day if she feels like it, and serving "on a bazillion committees."