Choices, choices choices....

Well, framing is starting and I'm in panic mode......I have been procrastinating on designing the exterior building's finishes for a while now.  There are so many choices as what color is the fascia, roof, what are the soffits, windows, exterior trim, doors etc. And I'm also balancing the budget constraints and the promise I made to myself when I started this project that I wouldn't go typical, that I would keep my mind open. It's not easy folks.........So I headed down to the water, I have a thing for rocks, I'm always picking them up and putting them in my pockets carrying around like a ton of extra weight.....but I pretty much designed my color palette around these rocks from my mom's shoreline. 

So yesterday I finally sat down, turned on some music and started sketching away.  I really haven't gotten my markers and pencils out for quite some time (since school like 8 years ago) but I think it gives me some reassurance that its going to be what my mind has been working on for the last couple of weeks.  I have been really struggling with modern buildings lately.  Not because I don't love them, but because they are starting to all look the same.  They are beginning to become a common formula, or at least they are up here in the Northwest.  So my challenge was to create something similar but a little off the grid.......

There was one certain material that after seeing IT I knew it would be a yes right off. However figuring out how it has to be installed, waterproofed and trimmed out is another battle.
I have THREE exterior building materials:

1. Rusted Metal siding / rust and orange rocks from beach........ It's cool as hell and it's really maintenance free for a long time.  I have been letting a piece of metal rust outside my house for the last month to see how long the process will take to get to fully rusted The rusted metal element will be the lower part of the garage below the green living room. 

The green living roof was a great way to pay homage to the green building side for the environment, it allowed me to cut my square footage down for the living space, and not have a ugly metal roof in your view from the living room.......instead you will see a wonderful succulent garden.

2. Grey Cedar tongue and groove Wood / grey rocks from beach...........Everyone uses cedar siding up here, its readily available so the price is good, but by staining it grey its changing it up a little and makes me think of old used up barns, or beach cottage houses.  (I have to admit I saw a great modern house at the beach last weekend with grey siding and it rocked, so it definitely added to my curiosity) It is the horizontal stripes on the drawing and will be trimmed out around all the windows and doors.

3. Maxi Panel Cement 4 x 9 sheets painted / Yellowish rocks from beach.....Again it is a common material for modern design however, I was able to salvage it from my favorite place, Second Use, for half the cost!!!! It will be painted a nice golden yellow tone and is also a very low maintenance material that stands up well to the elements. Also, I bought my exterior front door for $50 dollars at Second Use as well.  Its a brand new Douglas Fir commercial rated door that has one baby scratch on the bottom, no biggie will sand it right out!

The white rocks represent my windows....I originally wanted aluminum windows but have changed my mind for cost and energy efficiency reasons.  These Milguard white vinyl windows are going to save me a ton of money and are really going to pop against the grey texture of the wood. That's the plan people, hope it all comes together, at least I have a plan!!!