So first a bit about us so you know who and what you are dealing with. We are just a normal couple. Not normal enough to dvr house hunters international every night but not eccentric enough to make it to Burning Man either. You'll probably find us in the upper right plane near the fun quadrant but with a firm foot planted somewhere along the x axis known as responsible. Well, I say "firm foot" but some days we're just dragging our long toes on either side of the line. Anyway, we're a cool couple, you'll just have to take our word for it. More importantly, we love architecture! More specifically, modern residential architecture. We have been working on our idea of our perfect modern house for over a decade. So after years of sketching, picture collecting, book buying, house touring, and brainstorming we are finally ready to take the next step. Yes, that's right, we're going to blog. No, actually we are going to build this thing, the blog should be interesting as well though. Now just to clarify we are not architects, engineers, or interior designers. What we are are people with very specific ideas about the home we were going to build "one day". We felt like our tastes and ideas of living had to be the most importatant part of the design so we designed this house based on simplicity, common sense, and openness with a modern comfortable asthetic. We knew we had to have an architect as part of the process but we wanted the basic idea of the house (and some very specific parts of house) not to change. So here are a few key goals that we tried to keep in mind (in no particular order). First, we wanted a very simple open design concept living area with tall ceilings and clerestory windows. Second, we wanted to achieve a real connection between the inside and outside which included a large screened in porch to catch breezes in the summer. We live in San "Austin is only an hour away" Antonio so connecting with the outside means contending with extreme heat for much of the year. This isn't Santa Monica where you can just throw up a Nanawall and be done with it. Third, we wanted to keep finishes basic and inexpensive. Fourth, we wanted it to be efficient as possible. For us that meant no attic space, sprayed foam insulation, and proper orientation. And last, we wanted a modern design that was not cold and uninviting. We wanted the exterior to feel warm and fit in with the extensive watersaving landscaping we had planned for the exterior. And for the interior we wanted modern but more farmhouse and homey than sleek and stark. We've been suscribing to Dwell since it's inception, own every book by James Grayson Trulove, and go on every modern home tour we can make it to but it is a true rarity to find a modern home built by normal (not wealthy) people. The homes that are showcased or written about are usually very expensive, have architect/designer homeowners, not practical for everyday living, and/or just completely unachievable for your everyday normal couple (even if they are very, very, very cool people). And honestly, more money does not translate to better design. We really do believe these things and this house is our attempt at proving that point...............Let's see what happens
