House is painted! interior finishes are going in

So, things are coming together quickly.  The house is now painted and all the siding is up.  The walls are all in, dry-walled, taped and mudded.  I believe they will be painted very soon.  

the front door is not stained yet- but the rest of the house is painted....hope you like it.  It will look great with nice trees and maybe some bamboo in the front...and a driveway!

This is a sink I found- petrified wood.  The granite I think it will sit on is also displayed.  Found a nice remnant piece of this (making it affordable).  email me if you don't like it...FAST

view of the side of the house.  No- the house isn't pink.  Lighting is weird in the phot.

The interior of the house IS AWESOME.  It just feels right.
We just made a final decision on the floors and they will all be plain ole grey concrete.  This was a result of requesting samples of light browns and always getting a new color.  The gamble wasn't worth it...so we chose grey.  It makes things easier!
The interior will have white trim with slightly off white walls and one wall through the center that is charcoal grey.  We are also considering one large wall being a bamboo green- called wheat grass.  Still debating!
-over and out....

Most recent photos...sorry- no text right now. Issues with blog site...or computer

Siding decided

Ohhhhhh how it pays to just sit with a beer with your architect in front of the computer.  We all met together, tossed some ideas around then slapped a test 'belly band' on the design and fell in love.


Then we went outside and checked on color options and all fall in love with the same colors...and wha-bam
...DONE

Although belly bands are frequently considered a 'traditional' element, we believe here it will look  a little like a shadow cast on the tall wall.  I like how it breaks up the structure.  The belly band would be the same color as the center portion.  (the belly band is the stripe around the far right tall chunk of the house)

  

Hope you like it too.  The shadowing by the program makes it look pretty dark.  The colors are right....but the lighting is off.

 So the left piece is channel cedar siding (5" reveal)- far right piece is 5" hardi lap siding (Homestead Brown), with a 12" belly band (Sealskin).  Center portion is large hardi panel layout (Sealskin).  Most of the soffits are clear cedar (4")

approach to the house

back of house

front corner- 1st to see as drive toward the house

back of the house

Siding woes.....

Quick  Note:

Our woes are simply because we can not make a decision....the construction of the project is on time and perfect and everyone that has been working with us has been simply splendid!

So the whole house is up...in fact, it has been up for 3 weeks now.  We have been trying to make final decisions on the siding now for 3 weeks.

windows are going in.

back of the house

Yes- we had a plan from the start, but as the project has evolved we are starting to change our attitude about the final 'look'.  As stated earlier, we are moving more toward a contemporary home and trying to 'fit in' with some of the neighbors.  The homes around us are all quite fabulous and range from traditional craftsman to tall contemporary to novel mid-70's abstract.  Nothing on our block is 'run of the mill'.  I think our biggest fear is that our house will be the 'bland house' as someone once described the piece of work that stood there before we knocked it down 4 months ago.  I think we have removed ourselves from the 'bland' category with the very unique architecture, but I also feel that we can truly screw it all up with poor siding choices!  I have paced the streets of Seattle on my bike, by foot, and in the car, toting around my toddler.  I have done this for 3 months....On average 4-5 times per week.  I have a folder on my iphone with the label "house ideas" that has 231 pictures of homes I like and homes I don't like.  So, yes...I have looked at other homes.  Our structure is just so different than any of the others that I see.  And it really is hard to picture what the siding will look like once there is landscaping around it.  Models don't seem to do it for me either.  It is a bummer we can't try it on like a pair of jeans- if it doesn't fit- grab another style or size or color.  It all seems so permanent.

Are you starting to see what I dream about??  Don't worry, I do keep things in perspective- we are very fortunate and siding is a pretty small facet of our lives and happiness.  Listening to the world news is a fabulous way to remind yourself of how lucky we are.

I believe we have narrowed down the layout of the siding (see below) and we have a color pallet that we like.  I can show the colors online, but it doesn't do it justice. 

Front of house- faces East

back of house-faces West

Left side of house-faces South (shaded by trees)

Right side of house- faces North- sees little sun

Front of house-full on-view. 

I have also included some homes we really like.  We can't seem to decide on the size of the lap siding- Do we want 4" reveal on the lap siding or a 6" reveal.  I don't know.  After taking a survey of local reveals that I like, I find that I like the 5" reveal.  I need to call the contractor on that.  I wasn't given that option....does that mean 5" becomes custom?  Who knows?  It probably does since I like it!  I don't want custom.

Shiplap cedar siding with 5 inch reveal.  Love the color.

Showing the detail of mitered corners of the shiplap siding- another must.  Looks really nice (if you look at it, that is)

 So - right now, as I type, I think I am convincing myself of 5 " reveal clear coat cedar siding on the left portion of the house.  Upkeep- every 2nd year.  We will need a painting plan....  I will check if I can get 5" reveal hardi lap siding for the right portion of the house, center portion will be (very affordable) large hardi panel siding.  In addition there will be 4" clear cedar soffits.  I think the plan is to have dark bronze flashings to match the trim of windows.  The front door will be fir in order to match the fir glulam beams that are sticking out here and there. 

If the cedar starts to turn, we can always stain it to a dark charcoal color - such as they did below.  It looks sweet!

So, Please send me your thoughts or ideas - Although I say we are decided....who knows....

I might change my mind after lunch!

house near us- 2.5 yrs old-- stained cedar shiplap siding- still looking great- In general love the colors on this house...and the nifty stairs!

OMG! It is visible by satellite..

My goodness.  We knew it was going to be as tall as the houses around it, but what we didn't realize was that it would be so....hmmm..."in your face" - big!

The house isn't completed, but we are getting glimpses of the magnitude of it.  I am sure the neighbors are worried, but once the siding goes on it should look much smaller.  Right?

When I was biking yesterday I paused on the I-90 bridge to look at a bald eagle flying overhead.  It is never good to be riding while looking straight up for extended periods of time.  Anyhow, I noticed that in the distance, where our house was approximately located, was a wood-colored beacon sticking out of the hillside.  Yes...our house.  NASA should be contacting us any day now to verify that it is a residential house and not a military target.

Mid-left side of photo- high on the hill.  Again, I am sure it will blend in once it has siding. 

Poof! The structure is 90% done!

It has been awesome to watch!  We now have 3 stories to the house.  Our contractor and framers are simply AWESOME.  I would recommend them to anyone!  The contractor is Brian Howson and the framer and builder of the structure is Joe of Assurance builders (I can't seem to find them on the web...).  Please email me if you are interested though!
Our whole house will be up within 2 weeks- this includes all the interior framing.  AND...AND....only 3 guys on the site each day.  They start at 8 AM sharp and are there sometimes till 6!  They rock!  Brian Howson has been spectacular too.  He has been working effectively with our great architect Lee Edwards to get all questions answered in a timely manner, while not slowing the project!  Beautiful harmony!


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This was taken June 8 2011- 1 week ago.  There is more built at this point.

 

This is a view to the back of the house-the kitchen and the small bathroom on the top level.  All interior framing on lower levels is completed. 



Yesterday, they installed the floor to our top interior floor!  WE call this the Rainer viewing room...although you can't see Mt. Rainer when it is cloudy out!



A few of the remaining walls and roof that need to be installed.  Note the thickness of the styrofoam!...That is some excellent sound-proof.  Maybe we will pick up playing the drums!

 It is looking big, but we believe it will shrink in size once the siding is up....and oohhh...what a process in choosing the siding.  We have been tossing ideas around on what type of siding we should do for 2 years.  The debate continues.... It seems so final.  Who changes the layout of their siding?  Especially when you are trying to be 'green'?
That said, I am sure our architect has his hands in the air and is waving them all around as we chang our mind hourly  :)  -

 I think we are leaning toward brown-gray colors....aka taupe-ish

Below are some homes near us that we love ...might be difficult to picture....we want (as our architect stated) timeless modern!


PICTURE A:  We like the big panels- but note that you don't see lines between thh panels- smooth!  Also-they have overhangs (soffits) that are wood.  We will have that too- nice touch.  This house will be referred to as PICTURE A.



Love this house- maybe a bit more modern than we want.  Like that the hardi panels are cut in 1/2.  Want less visible lines however.




Love this house- this picture is CRAP....sorry..from my phone.  We like how it has horizontal slats on left and larger hardi panels on right.

 


PICTURE B:   Another nifty hardi panel (aka fiber cement board) siding with very smooth integrated finish.



A bit modern, but sweet house in the hood.



PICTURE C:   Our favorite house.  Again, the photo does not do it justice.  This place is a great work of art.RE





PICTURE D:  Neat wood siding house.  Although I love this place, we don't want wood because of upkeep.



A closeup of some trim we liked on a house

PICTUE A...again.

As a reminder, below is the mock-up the house being built. 




So, we are thinking of changing the colors- the middle will have siding like PICTURE C or D (above) and the right and left sides will have siding like either PICTURE A or B.  Color suggestions below..

  These are computer versions of some colors we are looking at....


This is the color of all trim on windows and around edge of the rooflines. Dark Bronze (near black)




Shagbark- option for center portion- it is lighter than this looks!




Status Bronze- option for center

Warm Stone: another option for right and left side little too green



Like this color- it is MINK- it would be for right and left large panels





Like this color- it is FLAGSTONE- it would be for right and left large panels

Feel free to comment on what you do or don't like...

If you have other siding ideas- please let me know!

This is not what I am good at!

thanks all