We're Off and Running!

We've had our first meeting with our this week! This is the architect we had selected last year. When that deal fell through, we were really disappointed not to have the chance to work with him. Steve is a really reassuring guy who has a ton of experience designing homes in this area, particularly in the hills. In addition, we really love some of his houses. He has a lovely aesthetic that combines traditional elements with a contemporary feel. So, when this Palomar Oaks project came up, we knew we would go back to him. We did talk to a couple of other architects, just to feel like we performed our due diligence, but it was an easy decision to select Steve.

Anyway, we met him on Wednesday to give him our initial download of ideas. It was so exciting to talk with him about what we wanted and start the process of visualizing our new house. Rick and I have actually spent a fair amount of time discussing every room in the house and how we will use them. For example, we almost never use our current living room. So, in the new house we don't want it to be very big. We want it to be big enough to accommodate a piano and a couple of chairs, but it doesn't need to be this impressive showcase of a room -- it's just wasted space to us. We covered every room with Steve in detail talking about what we like and don't like, about ways in which we will and won't use different rooms. For instance, we don't keep a television in our bedroom -- so we don't need to build in any kind of space for one there.

We also discussed the overall style of the house. Rick and I really like a lot of Craftsman elements, but don't want the house to stick strictly to that aesthetic. Steve got it. He helped us articulate that we want something that is Craftsman-inspired, but is more contemporary in execution. Since the meeting, we've found a few pictures online of homes (just the facades) that we like and have passed them along to him so that he can get a better idea of what we're envisioning. We're still in the "getting to know you" phase of our relationship with Steve, so it may take a few tries before we all understand each other.

He plans to have us our first set of drawings to review in a couple of weeks. I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with. In the meantime, I am continuing to look at sites, magazines, and books to get some more ideas.