I'm worried - I'm always in love

I have a confession to make. I am fickle. No. Worse. I am an outright unfaithful traitor.  Some might call me eclectic, but that would be too kind.  I am easily seduced by beautiful style, no matter the persuasion.  I am so afraid I am going to end up with a big mish mosh of mismatched and incoherent design that I am scared into inaction. I need help.   We need to decide the foundation on which the style for the rest of our house will lay.  What do we want our house to look like?  If you could build anything, what style would you build?  Send pictures to ahouseandhome@gmail.com.

The Spanish Colonial Revival style lures me with its arches, clay tiles and balconies with wrought iron detailing. I can feel the wind whistling through the iron balcony, blowing my hair, as I walk out onto the beautifully detailed ceramic tile floor in my bikini and sarong (mind you, in this image, I am 5'8", 120 lbs. - it's my fantasy!).

I look out through the arch down below to where my man is playing the guitar like a Basque gypsy king. Maybe it’s the curve of the arches, the musky masculine feel of the dark wood, the feminine patterns of the moorish lanterns, or maybe it’s just the heat. I just love how the style mixes European and Moorish influences. It's so romantic, exotic, timeless.  A great example of this is Diane Keaton’s house (above and below). I love her movies and apparently, her style as well. See? I’m always in love.

It’s the kind of house you might see in Beverly Hills or Malaga but certainly not the north east of the United States, so bye-bye Spanish Revival style. Maybe I’ll see you again on vacation or in retirement.

Arts and crafts bungalows charm me.  To me, they feel fresh and laid back.  Like I woke up at 5 a.m. to go surfing and tonight we are going to have dinner on the porch made from the fresh veggies picked from our garden.

From Southern Living.

I don't typically go for modern, but when it's done well, it's seductive.   In some ways, the modern style matches my personality - not afraid to try something new, logical, efficient.

From eyecandy-webcandy.

Or perhaps something more substantial, something like this.  If we build this house, our children are destined to become the POTUS or Supreme Court justices:

House Renovation in Virginia.

Hey, if we are going for substantial and traditional, why not go all the way?  With a house like this, Little Man would be fit to marry a princess.

From Veranda.

Being a huge fan of the Notebook, I am in love with the house from the movie (below).  This house is like the Southern drawl that Big Man can turn on the drop of a dime.  I fall for it every time.  See how easy I am?

From the movie, The Notebook.

We both agree we like a farmhouse style, and as I mentioned before, we love the character of an old house.  The best example of a classic gothic American farmhouse is the Southern Living house designed by Looney Ricks Kiss that I have mentioned before:

The style doesn't quite have the sex appeal of the Spanish Colonial, but it has it's own quiet integrity, beauty and comfort.  I can still see Big Man playing guitar on the porch, but this time he's playing something a little more his style and I'm listening from the garden, where I'm pulling weeds.  The kids are inside doing their homework.  You get the idea...The style has a simple beauty - real.

Having grown up in a stone and stucco farmhouse, I think these images below could be the right blend between the European feel of the Spanish revival and the simple American beauty of the classic American farmhouse:

From Country Living.

From real estate listings in Pennsylvania.

Perhaps something along the lines of this Italian farmhouse is a happy medium?

From Architectural Digest.

If you could build anything, what style would you build?  Me? I'm worried - I'm always in love.