Poem Homes is a design-build company focused on reducing resource use in new home construction and showing how living in a smaller, more modest home makes way for a more satisfying life.

Sustainable design and connection to the natural world has inspired my life and my work since I first discovered the back-to-the-land movement in the early 1970’s and helped build a passive solar building. Later, I fell in love with design and drafting and studied at Madison College, obtaining a degree in Architectural Technology in 1986. After gaining experience in the field as a carpenter, land surveyor, estimator, cabinet salesperson, and draftsman, I founded Amber Westerman Building Design in 1998. Since then, I’ve designed 100+ new homes and 500+ total design projects including additions, remodels, historic restoration, outdoor structures, and site plans.

In 2018, I became a Wisconsin Dwelling Contractor with the goal of managing quality from initial sketch and product selection to framing, insulation, and air-sealing. The first Poem Home was completed in July 2020 by my talented crew in Spring Green, our beloved village along the Wisconsin River in the heart of Wisconsin’s Driftless Region.

The Poem Home pictured below serves as a demonstration or model home for my clients and is open to the community or anyone interested in learning how to reduce their carbon footprint. It’s also my own home and where I work from, and I couldn’t be happier to be here. I welcome your visit.

In addition to working one-on-one with my clients, I enjoy writing articles and giving presentations on design topics. Please see my Construction Blog for links.

“Amber’s work is thoughtful and thorough. She did an excellent job transforming our “chicken scratches” into a carefully thought-out plan, deciphering our needs and tactfully suggesting improvements, and offering invaluable guidance on the building process.”

Karl Thompson

“I chose to work with Amber Westerman for her passionate detailed knowledge of green building. After touring her Poem Home and witnessing how she thought of everything, I knew she’d be a great fit for my unique garage studio project. Her services were always timely and she was only a phone call away during the building process. I highly recommend Amber to take your concept to reality.“

Sonya Newenhouse

“It was a thrill to come across your blog and see your house. It’s a physical testimony to your concern for the environment, and the brains, thought, and hard work that went into its construction. When we hired you to prepare plans for us, you were nothing short of wonderful to work with. You had good ideas for solving problems and quickly got back to us with feedback.”

Kim and David Dahl

“Thank you for the very grand tour of your home. The home is beautiful! Your design is inspired. The workmanship is grand. An it just plain feels good. Well done!”

Dawn and John Ingham

“Amber is quite knowledgeable about building codes and an advocate for improving building standards with a focus on energy efficiency.

She’s in your corner.

The average homeowner doesn’t know how to navigate the building process, but Amber gave us the tools to stand up for ourselves. She continually advocated for and educated herself (and us) on energy efficient upgrades for our house that worked within our budget. While we couldn’t quite achieve net zero, her recommendations improved the insulation and air-tightness levels of our home, and as a bonus our indoor environment is very quiet (we are close to a busy street). She was willing to be as hands-on or hands-off as we needed, while remaining a crucial voice throughout the entire home design/build process.”

Lea Branyan

“Amber is, first and foremost, a great listener. She interpreted what we had in our mind’s eye first to sketches and then to detailed plans. The finished house exceeds our expectations. In addition, her suggestions regarding material choices and sustainable energy efficiency changed our views of how a house should perform. We also sleep better at night knowing we made informed decisions to minimize the project’s environmental impact.“

Jim Stroschein

“Amber was the inspiration, architect, and consultant we needed to be able to build our own net-zero, forever home. We really appreciated her willingness to take the design we’d started and turn it into the best version it could possibly be. Her design principles are bullet-proof, her aesthetics are seamless, and (speaking as a builder) her mindfulness of practical installation is all too rare.”

Clay Yapp