big plans: plan reveal update

so you are probably wondering where is it?! where is the house design? well, we are currently working with the structural engineers (hooray to dave wilson of wilson structural engineers in durango, co) to finalize plan details.   they are ensuring that the house we designed is going to stand up and not have any problems down the road.  we will be revealing the drawings soon enough but until then a little about where we found inspiration.


the design of the house has grown from many different seeds of thought. bjorn has probably been thinking about building a house since he was in college and dropped out of architecture school to study atmospheric science (he decided sitting at a computer was not for him). we have taken our experiences & ideas from our travels & strived to create a space that incorporates all of these things.


durango in itself is a very interesting place architecturally, it was founded sometime in the late 1800's because of the discovery of gold!  and like so many western mining towns it has a unique mix of victorian homes, mining cabins, & adobe dwellings. the beautiful old wood of these mining buildings was always a thought in our minds as we envisioned the house.

I love this old mining cabin in the ghost town of Ironton, CO- only a few miles from Durango.

Mining Building just north of nearby Silverton, CO via Flickr

I thought this old post office in Montezuma, CO was pretty cool too! via here.

we also have spent a great deal of time in new england, specifically western vermont where Bjorn's grandparents have a farm.  the simple shapes of vermont county farmhouses have always appealed to us.  there is something about these homes that is charming, even when they are a little worn around the edges, they seem to invite you in & say stay a while.

Love the look of the three different cladding materials.
Breadloaf View Farm- Cornwall, VT

Old Barn wood and a dark roof.
Bread Loaf View Farm- Sugar House

Simple geometry farm house.
Vermont Country Home via unknown

as you will soon find out hugh newell jacobsen is one of our favorite architects.  we admire his use of light & space, along with the simplistic detailing of his structures.  we hope to incorporate some of these details into our house.

Beautiful light, high ceilings & clean simple detailing.  via Hugh Newell Jacobsen

Beautiful clean detailing.  Great door!
Steinglass Residence via HNJ

this structure is just awesome, bjorn came across it in a book several years ago & has always kept it in his mind.  there is something so cool about the mash-up of windows used to create the facade.  it is an idea that we hope to employ in our barn-garage.

Glass House- Freetown Christiana, Denmark via Design Squish