happy thursday

i thought you might enjoy these glamour shots of our on site canine- finley  he loves to pose in front of the barn wood siding! we are busy getting everything cleaned and buttoned up so that we can be ready for our inspections next week.

progress report: siding

so here is a quick shot of what the front of the house looks like right now.  the hardie board siding looks good right?!  but compared to that barn wood siding....well it falls short big time.  its kind of a puke-y yellow color so björn and i are eager to get it painted as soon as we can. 

originally we really wanted to paint the south house a lighter blue-grey color.  this was our plan all along, my grandfather did an amazing rendering of the house based on a color i had picked back in september.  however, after seeing how beautiful our barn wood turned out we were feeling like the south portion of the house needed to be able to hold its own without competing with the barn wood and that light blue-grey was just not going to cut it.  it seemed kind of weak.  

while björn and i were in new zealand two years ago we noticed many of new houses had black or very dark colored siding and we both really loved it.  i don't think it ever crossed our minds to paint our own house in such a bold dark color.  now before everyone gets a little scared i have rounded up some photos which are good examples of how black or almost black siding can look very elegant.  if you will notice all of these homes have beautiful bright white trim which is key to the house not looking darth vader like.

black board and batten siding Battle Associates Architects via Houzz

dark dark green siding and beautiful white trim- Birdseye Design via Houzz

i love this swedish house with charcoal grey siding
- Ike Kligerman Barkley via Houzz

Ron Brenner Architects

Union Studio Architects

Are you convinced yet?  Björn and I are really loving the richness of the dark colors and the white trim just makes it look so happy!  We have narrowed down our choice to a Behr paint color called Evening Hush.  I am going to do a little research tomorrow to see who has the best exterior paint and also who has the best price. If all works out we will be painting the house at the end of this week.  The weather here is pretty good for painting, warm but a little cloudy.  I hope that we can share photos of the finished Hardie Board soon!

Evening Hush - Behr
(it looks better in real life- it looks a little flat on the computer)

products galore: lighting selections

its pretty exciting that björn and i get to pick out everything for our house.  lighting is certainly something that we both are acutely aware of where ever we go and we wanted to make sure that all of our lighting selections were classic. that last thing we want is to look at a fixture 10 years from now and say "that is so 2012"  the elements that we looked for when making our lighting choices were elements of classic design, some kind of industrial feel and simple clean lines.  i think all of these fixtures have these qualities and will stand the test of time.  while we are still tweaking our selections most of these are a go!

the Julian from Pottery Barn

two of these fixtures will grace the foyer hall.  because of our 8'-0" ceiling height we wanted to choose a flush mount fixture to maximize the clearance in that area.  i love the Julian because of the beautiful hand-blown seeded glass and the simple diamond pattern in a soft bronze finish.

lantern from durango light art

we like this lantern light for the stairwell, it has classic design.  we plan on using led chandelier bulbs which are a little more expensive up front but are said to last 20 years!

vanity light from durango's light art

this vanity light will look great flanking the bathroom mirror, the chrome finish will match the bathroom fixtures and the simplicity of design is just perfect!

industrial pulley light from durango's light art or decor interiors

this very cool pulley light would look excellent in the great room.  i thought since it is a wall sconce it would look best positioned over one of the end tables next to the sofa.  we love the industrial feel as well as the vintage vibe!

morovian star pendant via shop greige

two of these pendant will hang from the giant beam in the great room.  björn has been enamored with this light since the beginning of the project however it took a while to find the perfect example.  this particular fixture we love for many reasons, it is very sleek and clean, with beautiful bronze welded points and clear glass.  we also love the 20" diameter size.

hubbardton forge simple sweep chandelier

for the dining room we chose this contemporary take on a classic design.  with six graceful arms this light will look beautiful over our dining room table.  i also love that it is hand forged in vermont one of my favorite places.

Calhoun Glass Pendant via Pottery Barn

this is a potential for the kitchen fixtures over the island.  we both like this fixture but aren't completely sold.  we are still searching but this is still in the running.

for our other kitchen lighting we are installing two cable light tracks from tech lighting.  it will allow us to focus lighting on different areas of the kitchen and we love how it kind of disappears.  we especially like that we can add extra lighting as needed, say if we add a piece of art in the kitchen.  

hello light from tech lighting

björn and i really love this light because it can swivel 140 degrees and the giro light below can actually swivel 360 degrees.  tech lighting also has some fun lights that we could add in the future including this parachute man!

giro light from tech lighting

parachute man 

there are still a few fixtures to pick out light outdoor lights but i'll leave that for another post!  let me know what you think about our choices!

happy weekend: spring has sprung

happy friday!  spring is here in durango and björn and i are very excited that our siding will be complete very soon.  for now here are a few photos of the house from a fresh vantage point!

progress report: fiber cement siding

a few days ago i wrote about the second type of siding that we are using on our house.  our artisan hardie board has been rearing to go and i have been so eager to see it go up and see the contrast with the barn wood.  the trim around all of the windows, and the edges of the house go up first so that the lapped siding can butt against it.  our trim details are very simple, i wanted to frame the house with the wide 5.5" trim all the way around, and we added a second 3.5" piece at the top of the walls on the gable ends and sides.  this creates a really awesome shadow line.

the pictures really tell the story so here they are!

this photo shows the sill that we created using the hardie trim

the edges of the house are trimmed with 5.5" planks and the bottom
trim is made up of a 5.5" piece with a 1.5" sill trim. 

the boys started putting up the siding and i am really loving those shadow lines!

the great room window wall has a lot of trim
which will emphasize all of that beautiful glass!

a cool view of the bottom trim

a close up of the siding

as you can see the standing seam roof is finished- more on that soon!

the hardie board is going up much faster than the barn wood so i should have more photos soon! now i just have to decide the exact color to paint this stuff!

bathroom # 1 mood board

it is time to get serious about finishing our house.  björn and i are running into the problem of too many choices and too many decisions to make and as a result we have yet to make very many interior finish selections at all.  we both have spent hours (maybe days) scouring the internet and houzz.com for everything from lighting ideas, to wall finish options.  i have about 2 thousand "inspiration boards" on pinterest, houzz, and my desktop and things are getting a little out of hand.  luckily this little blog is actually helping to pin me down to make a few decisions...i think.

the bathroom layout

below are a few photos that inspired the design of the first floor bathroom.  this bathroom is going to have an enclosed shower / steam shower, a custom designed vanity (design is in the process), and tons of natural light from three windows so i wanted it to feel light and airy and to reflect the contemporary farmhouse feel that we are going for with this house.

aqua glass tile and a herringbone marble mosaic floor
(mueller nicholls cabinets and construction via houzz)

love the large format glass tiles in a grey-green color
(studio m design via houzz)

white horizontal wood panelling for the walls

i put together this mood board which summarizes my wishlist for this bathroom.  björn and i had already decided to run the hardwood cherry floors into this lower bath.  we love the look of the rich cherry with beautiful painted cabinetry and with the radiant underfloor heating it will be toasty warm underfoot even on the coldest days!  

1. herringbone carrera marble from AKDO

2. glass tile in "whisper" from Dal Tile

3. sherwin williams 6218 tradewinds- ceiling

4. sherwin williams 6168 modern white- trim and walls

5. vanity lighting - from durango light art (manu. unknown)

6. infinity mirror- room & board

7. archer self-rimming sink & archer lavatory- kohler

8. shaker style custom cabinetry

9. cherry hardwood floor

10. persuade two-piece elongated toilet- kohler

11. artwork

i really would love to put horizontal wood panelling painted white on all of the walls, i think it looks clean and contemporary but definitely give some farmhouse charm to a space.  it will also make the walls have a ton of character so that i can hang minimal artwork.  speaking of artwork i would love to incorporate profile silhouettes of björn and i as children somewhere in the house and i think the bathroom would be a great place!  

my dreams for the steam shower include soft grey-green glass subway tile walls and ceiling, and a beautiful herringbone marble mosaic floor.  i love the luxury of the marble paired with the simplicity of the glass tiles.  because we have to tile the entire height of the walls and the ceiling due to the steam shower aspect i may need to add an accent stripe of white to break up the grey-green tiles.  all of our fixtures for the shower are from kohler in a chrome finish.

the vanity is being designed by moi and will be built by björn and matt.  i am leaning toward a simple shaker style painted the wall color, with a grey concrete or engineered stone top.  i will share the design with you as soon as it is more complete. we are using kohler's archer series sink and faucet which i love because it has a very clean look with some traditional styling.  and the toilet has actually been decided upon for months.  björn fell in love when he saw this toilet and its sleek "spaceship" like design. (his words)  i love it because it will be so easy to clean and has a fun dual flush button on the top.

i would love to paint the ceiling of this space a grey-green color like sherwin williams tradewinds, to compliment the glass subway tile.  i hope that this first floor bath will 

life in durango

i thought i would do a little mini-series about durango, you know the place we are building the house!!  i figured since sooner or later we will be at least semi-finished, or at least finished enough to have guests, that i should start enticing ya'll to get out here and check out not only our house but this kick-a** town that we get to live in. 


if you didn't gather already durango is in the south west corner of the state of colorado.  this little map kind of gives you an idea of the location!  

and just so you don't think i am the only one who thinks d-town is a cool place look at this:

Men's Journal names Durango as "Put Your Outdoor Life First" in their April Best Places Issue.  Here is what they have to say:

"The high-desert city, cleaved by the Animas River and perched 6,500 feet high at the stoop of the San Juans, has just enough oil and gas, ranching, and clean tech to support a handful of coffeehouses doing fair-trade brews, four microbreweries (seriously — it’s the water), and fine community arts and theater programs in an Old West downtown. The presence of four-year Fort Lewis College lends an additional cultural boost, but Durango is also decidedly laid-back, the kind of town where a shopkeeper is likely to lock up early and post a gone skiing sign when fresh powder falls at Purgatory, just 24 miles away."

Just this last October Outdoor Magazine named Durango as "The Next Big Thing"  quoting that its amazing network of trails, Colorado's largest national forest just to the North and the town nestled into some of the most beautiful mountains in the country makes it a place to be.

a birds eye view of the animas river valley
(this is just 4 miles north of our house)

Durango have been on lists for Money Magazine as one of the best places to retire, Backpacker Magazine quotes it as being one of the best places to raise an "outdoor" kid, no doubt because of the incredible access to so many outdoor activities its hard to even name them all.  From, kayaking, snowboarding, rock climbing, mountain biking, you name it Durango has got it.

Even National Geographic Adventure recognizes Durango as an Outdoor Mecca in its Where to Live and Play issue.  

So over the next couple of weeks I am going to try to highlight all of the great things about this little Wild West town.  The locals probably won't appreciate it, they like to keep people in the dark about their little slice of heaven, but I think there is plenty to share, come visit, just don't move here- we don't want you!

another siding change up

if you recall from the rendering the stair "bump-out" as we so fondly call it was originally going to be clad in the same antique barn wood as the rest of the north house.  however, because of the change in plane björn and i thought it was a perfect opportunity to introduce a different material, one that is often found on the old minin buildings here in the south west.

rusted metal has been gaining in popularity as a siding option for a while.  this product is sometimes called cor-ten or corten steel, which refers to weathering steel, a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting and forms a stable rust-like appearance when exposed to weather for several years.  (def. from wikipedia) 

you see it everywhere from new condo complexes, banks, schools, and of course homes.  you get rusted metal simply by letting non-galvanized steel face the elements and well...rust.  air, and moisture do the trick but a little help comes in the form of some kind of acidic liquid sprayed on the metal.  the best part about this material is that the rust is a good thing, in essence the thin rust layer forms a protective coating, and it also looks great with barn wood siding!

un-rusted steel- i give it a week to start looking a little rusty

a better view of the stair bump out
all of the windows are trimmed in barn wood

here are a few examples of rusted metal in use.  i hope to have our metal looking a little rustier soon.  i think a nice bath of hydrogen peroxide will work, rusting is after all just iron reacting to oxygen so something like hydrogen peroxide will make the reaction go crazy!  

i love the barn wood garage dor and the surfboard
(CCS Architecture via Houzz)

rusted metal looking very clean and contemporary
(Laidlaw Schultz Architects via Houzz)

a cool use for rusted metal- raised planters ( Exteriorscapes LLC via Houzz)

rusted metal roof looking fabulous with a weathered barn wood house
( Timothy F. White via Houzz)