Required Reading Begun

I started my self-imposed required house-building reading.

If you have read any of her other books or even watched her television series, you know that Sarah Susanska is not so swayed on the big houses emblematic of the building bubble.  Not because of the economy or even global warming – she simply and passionately believes smaller is better. 

In Creating the Not So Big House, she illustrates how to use space creatively to build a high quality house of substance through twenty-five examples, including innovative floor plans and clear concept descriptions.  Notwithstanding, she may have been even more persuasive if more of the house owners had also hired interior designers.

Now I have the lingo and context to impress our architect.   If you are about to design any size house and don’t already know what spatial layering or visual weight is, then this book could help you create a home to nurture the spirit, but is 1200 square feet really a small home for a single woman?

I am still looking for good reads...what have found helpful/informative/inspiring in designing your favorite spaces? 

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.

Daydreaming about Porches

When I am stuck in my 10' x 10' living room on a beautiful day as Little Man is taking a nap, I start to imagine what I would be doing in our new house - curling up with a good book and a glass of wine on the porch. 

I think we are going to do a wrap around, which will lead to a screened-in portion in the back, which will lead to an outdoor patio, with partial trellace (more on that later).  For the Love of a House has recently inspired me to not limit my porch envy to just the first floor.

This one is from Haven Homes.  They are the modular company we were considering.

Love, love, love this one.  Looks like a screened-in porch with french doors leading to the regular porch, which is wide enough to dine. (not sure where I found these next few.  I started collecting a long time ago, way before I ever imagined writing a blog about this whole experience...sorry for not referencing).

Love the white wrought iron detail on the porch here.  This is what I think we are really going for. 

I like how wide this porch is and also how the porch roof is angled, adding to the private feel.

I can just imagine reading a good book here.

This is the upstairs porch from the blog, For the Love of a House.  Ella is checking out the great views.

What a great screened-in porch below.  I can just imagine sitting here with a bottle of wine and a friend.

What do you like best about a porch?

We are hiring!

(Photo courtesy of Looney Ricks Kiss Architects)

an architect, that is.  If anyone has ever interviewed or hired an architects to build a house, your advice would be much appreciated! I am a big believer in using other people's lessons learned.

We developed a list of local candidates based on recommendations and internet research, set up interviews and I found this excellent list of questions for interviewing architects.  After the interviews, most of the architects sent me proposals.  Each architect charged differently - fixed fee, estimated fees and percentage fee (based on construction costs), so I found it difficult to compare apples to apples.

I actually flirted with using a fourth architect, Looney Ricks Kiss, because I loved their designs so (see Tucker Bayou house above).  But they are in Memphis and we are in the Northeast, so the long distance scared us away.  However, if you are in the South, I recommend checking them out.  Carson Looney obviously knows what he is doing on the design side of things.

I am developing a wish list so that all architects can bid on the same scope.  It's also a great document to write down all my dreams and hopes for the house.  The blogosphere has been a great source of inspiration.  What would you include in your dream house?  What is your absolute favorite thing about your house? What is your least favorite thing?

Should we build with stock plans?

I recently got excited when I found Southern Living's stock of plans.  I found them when we were considering building modularly.  Haven Homes builds some of their designs.  I think the best ones are designed by Looney Ricks Kiss.  They have some really charming and efficient homes.  They are a bit more expensive than the Lowe's plans but have a lot more style and simple beauty.  Check out the house at the beginning of this post.  I want this to be our home!  Apparently they designed it for Southern Homes as an "idea" house.  Check out the link: http://www.lrk.com/cms.aspx?TabID=190. 

Has anyone ever built from stock plans before? 

I'm nervous about not having an architect take into account where you place the property on the site as well as customizing the house to the features of the property as well as our needs.

Mod Pod?

My sister suggested we go modular, sending me a link to Haven Homes.  Beautiful homes! I especially love the designs by Memphis architectural firm, Looney Ricks Kiss, like the Tucker Bayou.  Here's a shot of the porch from the Haven Homes website:

Modular homes are built fast, are inherently "green" because of their cutting/framing technique and can be very high quality.  Big Man automatically equated modular with junk and was surprised when he found that not to be the case.  I am so excited by the thought of them building the house in a few months!  How easy that would be...

However, I want to build a sustainable home.  I want to build something that looks and feels "old".  Can a modular company do this?

YES!  After much research, I found this forward-thinking company, New World Homes.  They build green homes in a traditional style.  I especially like the Denver and the Carson.  I am so excited about the company, I want to quit my job and spread the word for them.  They build almost exactly what I would build if I were building it on my own.  The houses are designed to feel "old" and to be "green".  You couldn't ask for a better fit.  I am head over heels.

Both of these companies made me feel very comfortable that they would deliver a beautiful end product.

Ever build modularly or know someone who did? I would love to hear about your experiences.

Can we build it like they used to?

You know the saying, "They just don't build 'em like they used to." We're hoping that, in this case, conventional wisdom is wrong.  If anyone out there in the blogosphere has any experience in building something new that has the look and feel, the charm and character, the detail and stability of something old, I am open to tips, advice, references.  I am about to embark on the perhaps the biggest project of my life, and I can't do it alone.

Let's start out by how we got to where we are today, which in itself was a journey.  We are a growing family looking for a house to buy.  We were hoping to find an old four or five bedroom house with some land or privacy in or near my hometown.   We found some really beautiful homes that all seemed to be out of our price range (what housing crash?!). 

Here is an example of the "Forever House".  It is a charming custom five bedroom house, built in 1740, on 5 acres in affluent Chester Springs.  These pictures are courtesy of the listing.

Look at the pond! I wonder if you can swim in it?

I love this big old fireplace and how it casually sits next to the spiral staircase.  I can see the kids running down the stairs in the morning because they are late for the bus.

Love this one too, as well as the built in bookshelves and exposed beams.  I can see myself in a rocking chair with a good book and Big Man with nearby with guitar in hand.

Love these deep windowsills and wide french doors that bring in so much light.  Great for entertaining.

And no farmhouse is complete without a barn.

I love old houses!  They have so much character and charm.  Above is a perfect example of how beautiful they can be but also how out of our price range.

So, cute three bedroom houses in town tempted us.  We questioned ourselves, "Do we need to buy the "forever" house, or could we just jump to a "for now" house?" Here is an example of "For Now" House (too small!).  It could work, if only it had more bedrooms.  A bit newer, this house was build in the thirties.  Courtesy of its listing:

I love the ivy on the stucco and all of the trees.

Check out this backyard! It is ripe for a summer party.  I can see the lanterns in the tree already. 

What a great tree for Little Man to climb.

Also great for hosting a play date in the fenced in back yard (that backs up to 30 acres of protected land).

The inside is also really cute, with this stone fireplace, built by Wharton Esherick's apprentice.

and great hardwood floors.

They just don't make 'em like they used to.  Alas, it is just too small.  We would grow out of it before we even moved in! 

As we pondered this ("too expensive vs. too small"), my wise and generous dad jumped into the conversation, "Why don't you just build a house out on the farm?" Wow, what generosity! 

So, we hopped on board the building bandwagon to create our own abode on the family "compound".  The next question is, can we "build 'em like they used to"?

By the way, many thanks are owed to our real estate agent, Joseph McArdle, who patiently, conscientiously and expertly guided us through this whole process.  Much love to Joe, we wholeheartedly recommend him.

A House to Build a Family In

Just yesterday, my big man (vs. my little man) said that a family's house is a metaphor for their lives.  We've been having these kinds of conversations a lot lately because we are going to build a house.  We like old houses on lots of land, but we are not gazillionaires.  However, we are very lucky - my dad is giving us ten acres from his farm so that we can build our family's home.  So our challenge is to build a new "old" house.  This is the story of my newest obsession....and of my passion for my big man, my little man and the life we are building together.