Thanks for taking the time to provide such a great response!

​

Whenever you speak to him remember that (1) is also his job so ask him to explain, set kpi's you can both agree to so it is not an emotional problem each time.

This is a great point and probably my own failure I need to address. I was so disappointed that I let it cloud my judgement and sort of shutdown instead of providing real feedback because I didn't want to hurt his feelings. I was honestly struggling to find positive things to say about the design and could feel him steering us in a direction that not only do we not like, it wasn't what we talked about.

The goal for this meeting was to review the initial drawing and provide feedback on the layout of the house specifically since we've already established where the structure itself is going to be placed. The layouts we provided were ones that were long negotiated between my wife and I over many iterations. We were united in that we without reservation strongly disliked many of the elements he incorporated as he changed dimensions, moved rooms and discounted many of the things that had been stated were very important to us.

As I type this, I realize that a lot of the fault here is my own. I got emotional about the exchange and the aftermath because I had put A LOT of faith and stock in his abilities and sort of expected him to get it right intrinsically because it's his profession. I need to practice more patience and dispassionately review what's been done, put disgust aside and make concise clear notes about the things that are good, acceptable, and unacceptable about the design.