Design 101

Well the design of our house took over FOUR + years for me to create. Now I know that doesn't seem like a positive but because I had the opportunity to "play around" with lots of ideas, I feel confident that the final design solution is a successful one. We balanced our relatively simple needs with what the neighborhood market requires and came up with a very inventive major remodel of our exisitng rambler.

By using most of the existing structure we are saving on some labor and material costs for sure. Another big savings that you might not think of is in permitting. Our remodel permits were about $4-5k. I estimate that a new construction permit would have been in the mid $25k range. That's a $20k saving right up front! Not to mention that with a new house the jurisdiction would have additional requirements that would have added $. It might have been easier to demolish our rambler but I believe that we will save quite a bit with our thoughful design. Plus we are truly being green by reusing much of our existing 1968 home.

Our remodel will be approximately 2900sf with a three car garage. The main living space is on the upper floor but this level will be at street level due to our sloping lot. The bedrooms are downstairs, which encompasses the existing structure. An interesting twist is that the garage will be over the Master Bath, Media, and Laundry area. This allows us to eliminate our sloped driveway which I hate currently! A little different layout but it's a good solution for our unique site topogragphy. With the great room and deck on the upper level we should get some great views of the neighborhood and perhaps a glimpse of Mt. Ranier! This space will have a sloped ceiling with exposed GluLam beams and connections. Somewhat reminiscent of a loft hopefully.

The front of the house will have what I call a "butterfly roof" with the main elements sloping towards each other. The materials will be a mix of metal, wood and smooth finished panels. Northwest Contemporary with lots of connections and details and warm wood finishes.

Ok enough on the design for now. I will talk more of my design thoughts as the project progresses. Time to get STARTED! :-)