The concept.

Wow that last post was really boring, wasn’t it? This one should be more fun! It’s definitely been more fun for us lately as we’re out of “how’s the dirt?” phase and moving into the “now how about that house?” phase. We had a very interesting and informative conversation with a lender, so here I’ll be breaking down the details of how a construction loan works. Just kidding, I wouldn’t do that to you after the last post’s 2300 words on surveys! Today we’re talking about design. 

There are a number of ways to approach a custom home. You can work with a builder that also does design. You can buy floor plans online and take them to a builder. You can buy a spec home that lets you customize your finishes from a pre-curated selection. I don’t know, there are probably lots of other ways, I really know nothing about this, but, I do very much value the design process as a general principle. Working in UX, I advocate for it daily in my own work, and really believe that if you invest in design upfront, it pays dividends down the line, resulting in more efficiencies and a better final product. Design is about more than just look and feel. It’s also about process and strategy, and having the whole picture of where you want to go before you dive into executing. 

Thank you for coming to my TED talk!

To that end, we knew that we wanted to work with an architect for our home, not just to prioritize the design process throughout the build, but also to lean on the expertise of a professional. We wanted to work with someone who knew the ins and outs of how to make a space both beautiful and functional, how to maximize our budget in our layout and material selections, and how to push our thinking about what we thought we wanted. We really lucked out in that a pair of friends (he’s an architect, she’s an interior designer) were available and just as excited about our project as we are, so not only are we working with real pros whose style we love, we get to work with friends who will get to enjoy the space with us in the After Times. 

As a first step, they had us fill out a survey. It touched on very tangible things, like what kind of appliances we need and how many bathrooms we want, and also less tangible but equally practical things, like where we hang out in our current home and how we like to entertain. It also helped us narrow down what we really wanted out of this future home. We also shared a Pinterest board with images that inspired us and helped illustrate the vibe we were going for. 

At a high level, our vision was of a single-story home that felt very “of the place,” calling on elements of Scandinavian and Japanese design: wood, windows, clean lines. We wanted a small footprint (no more than 2500 square feet), prioritizing craftsmanship, and materials over space. We wanted a seamless connection between indoors and outdoors, and a home that let us enjoy its beautiful setting year-round. We wanted it to feel open and airy but also cozy and warm, not too stark or sterile in its modernity but still clean and spacious despite its relative smallness. We also wanted something really architectural and distinctive, that was a real and pure expression of a concept, if that makes sense. 

Brad Pitt says it best.

Lol.

We had a few preliminary conversations over Zoom, met out at the lot so our friends could get a feel for the site, and continued our conversations about the vision over margaritas. Then last week we met (over Zoom) to see some of their early concepts. Needless to say they’ve knocked it out of the park so far, sharing ideas that are really in line with our vision and helping us to narrow down a direction. Want to see??? 

First up, we looked at massings, rough ideas for the general shape of the house and how it could sit on the lot. Our architect presented three different options. Note that at this stage these are directional. We’ll pick what we like (it may be one of these or a combination thereof) and that will guide more design iterations. 

The first is a single bar, with the whole house running parallel to the view. This really prioritizes that indoor-outdoor connection, with a big deck the full length of the house that spans both public and private sections.

The next concept they showed us is this offset double bar, with the public spaces (dining, living, kitchen) separated from the private spaces (bedrooms) by a connector with floor-to-ceiling windows. I really love these transitional spaces and how they provide a little glimpse of the inside from out, and help you feel immersed in the outdoors when you’re in. 

The third concept is an L shape, with the private and public spaces perpendicular to one another, again with that connector space between them. This concept lets most of the house face the yard and view, and gives the option of two outdoor spaces, one off the main living area and one off the primary bedroom. 

The concepts show different options for dealing with a garage. I really dislike garage-forward homes like what you see in most of suburban America, where it seems like there’s some house attached to a 3-car garage. (Like, we get it, we’re a car culture! Walking is lame! Honk honk!) Because of that, we’d initially talked about having a detached garage that could sit back from the house, be a little more subtle, and function as space for parking, yes, but also to house a workshop and perhaps a second-floor apartment to use as a guest space. 

The garage remains a big question mark at this stage, for a few reasons.

The first is budget. Even though we both really want a garage, since it’s not core to the main house, it’s an obvious place to cut if our costs look like they’re creeping out of our comfort zone. We could design for a garage, build the main house, and then tackle the garage build down the line.

The second is the loan. The lender we’re working with will only loan to 65% of the cost of the build if it contains an ADU (accessory dwelling unit), versus 80% if it does not. The guest space we’d pictured housing in the garage would probably have a little kitchenette, which would classify it as an ADU and reduce the loan amount we’d be eligible for. We could build a garage and leave it unfinished as part of the first phase, then finish it out (kitchenette included) with a HELOC after we’re through our primary construction loan period, or we could scrap it altogether, but it’s pretty certain at this point that the guest space within the garage building is not going to be a part of phase one, because we’ll need a fully funded construction loan (or a winning Mega Millions ticket). If we’re not doing the guest space in phase one, do we even do the garage, or do we save ALL that for later? Questions abound!

The other garage-related question is around whether it would be attached or detached. The architect laid out concepts for both, and the more we considered it, the more functional it seemed to have an attached garage, given the climate that we live in (wet). He also situated the attached garage in such a way (around the side) that it really wouldn’t detract from the visual impression of the front of the house from the road, and wouldn’t be that dreaded Garage with Some House look that I’m really averse to. But if we decide we want an attached garage, is it really reasonable to push it to a later phase, or does that just add expense to that future project since it would mean changes to the structure and siding of the main house?

Anyway. Garage. We don’t know. Likely we’ll land on a design that includes one, and evaluate whether or not we can do it based on how numbers work out once we’ve chosen a builder. 

Ok back to the fun stuff. Once we’d reviewed massing concepts we turned our attention to exterior and interior concepts. Our designer put together three general approaches. The first two were around the idea that the house would blend into its setting during the day, fitting seamlessly into the woods, and be a beacon by night (picture glowing windows and warm light from within as the structure of the house recedes in darkness). She paired exterior and interior concepts for us, but these don’t necessarily have to be married. 

Here’s the first one! 

Here the exterior is clean and crisp and black. This was what I had originally pictured for the house: super clean lines, very simple textures, vertical siding, an emphasis on windows to look out at the woods. The minimalist interior is also exactly what I’d been thinking: neutral tones, airy spaces, natural materials to bring some warmth but really clean, contemporary finishes. 

And here’s the second! 

In this concept, the exterior pulls on materials reminiscent of northwest beach homes, a bit more weathered and rustic, a bit softer in its gray tones than the bold black of the first concept. She paired this exterior with a more eclectic interior, with more texture (plaster walls, handmade tiles, materials like copper that would patina and develop personality with time) and more color. 

The third concept breaks away from the first two. Where the above ideas were around that idea of blending in during the day and being a beacon at night, the third concept was of a moment of warmth. You really see this both inside and out. 

The exterior here is this warm wood cladding. It feels fresh, and is definitely more vibrant than the black or gray of the first two, but also appropriately subtle in the forest setting. The interior, too, is a real departure from the high-contrast minimalism of the first concept. It ties in more varied textures and lots of jewel tones for color for an interior that has some more personality (and maybe has more fun, it’s blonde, etc.). 

They’re all so good. SO good. At first I 100% knew what I wanted. Then I woke up the next morning and wanted the opposite (the magic of the design process is that it challenges your preconceived notions of what a solution should be)! And, sadly, we can’t build three houses! We can only build one! So from these 9 ideas (3 massing concepts, 3 exterior concepts, 3 interior concepts) we need to make some choices. That may mean picking one of each of the above, or it may mean melding a few together. What will we do? WHAT WILL WE DO. (Seriously, what should we do?!)