Tying it All Together -- The Design Theme

The time has come when I have to make decisions about how all the design details come together to create the look and feel of the house. I don't think I have to remind anyone that these details will make or break the design of the house. Let me walk you through this, starting with the exterior stucco and little horizontal lines called "reveals." I'm not sure how they get their name but in this picture they are the three small horizontal lines between the two windows. These silver "reveals" match the color and material of the house's doors and windows giving it a contemporay and clean appearence. The silver will be played against the color of the stucco wall. Also in this picture the stucco has been applied but not the color.

P.S. I'm afraid of color so I have changed my mind several times, to the frustration of Mateo, of the stucco being either a stained white, or left unstained and unpainted so that it dries into a smooth grey. White or grey, grey or white, hmmmm. The reveals also appear in the second floor exterior elevations (not visible in this picture.)

Continuing this theme in the picture below, the silver reveals and baseboard are shown inside one of the rooms. The walls will be white, however, with the exception that one wall in each room will be a bright primary color.

Moving on to the next theme is the woodwork. The two wood panels below are the cabinets and floors. Half of the flooring will be concrete but the upstairs and all bedrooms will have wood floors. The vertical panel in the picture is the finished cabinets for the kitchens and bathrooms and the piece on the floor will be the floor. I think they match. No silver here.

Finally, the next two pictures are part of the same great room. All white walls, with silver doors and windows. There will also be a bench with cabinets below along the entire far wall and bookcases on the left corner of the room, enclosing the sets of small windows. The bookcases will be the same color as the cabinets.
This wood beam, although a different color than the cabinetry, will remain as is.

Insulation, Drywall, Retaining Walls, Drains, and a Discussion About Art

A week ago the house passed what Mateo says is the biggest inspection of the construction. It was for mechanical systems, framing, retaining wall grouting, and other stuff that halted construction until they were approved. Now that the Casa passed, construction resumed in earnst this week.

Insulation all around the house (including the fireplace) followed by drywall. It looks like the whole 2239 square feet interior of the house will be drywalled in about a week.

The following pictures are from two different angles but are of the same retaining wall along the easterly property line. In the first the foundation was approved so that the wall can be constructed. Here you see it made out of concrete block.

The finished wall from the other end of the lot with the drain pipe installed. Because the dirt was not as solid as originally believed (bedrock), the footing for this wall had to be dug deeper causing the wall to be taller than the plans called for. Structural engineer Jorge redrew the plans and was going to drop them off today.

Finally, the house begins to get wrapped in preparation for stuccoeing. I've changed my mind twice so far on the color of the exterior stucco. I believe the colors of the stucco and metal roof will more than anything else define the "look" of the house. I have thought long and hard on this (and changed and not made up my mind several times.) The relation between the surfaces or elevations, and the sharp lines of the roof and it's effect on the whole house are what is at stake in these colors.