What inspires your design style?

We backed into our design knowing we wanted a brick house, single story. From there inspiration came from house vernacular where we live, the garden shed of a friend (really) and our architect.. Those were the big pieces. Little pieces get filled in in a variety of ways and some of them get tweaked on the fly as the build progresses but those have been adjustments rather than design changes.

It's a leading question, methinks! The answer is (or should be), that every strong and enduring architectural design grows out of its site and climate analysis. For example, one seldom builds an atrium-type home in the middle of Manitoba, or two-story and basement house in south Texas.

That said, exteriors are not some sort of cosmetic stage set with magenta lipstick and pink rouge which one simply throws over a floor plan. Floor plans and exteriors are only strong if developed together simultaneously, since they are inextricably linked together. What happens on the inside directly affects the outside and vice versa. One of the biggest mistakes many consumers make is to spend inordinate amounts of time trying to develop the "ideal", "forever" floor plan and then ask an architect or builder to throw some roof trusses over it to keep out the rain!

If one has an early preference for a type of architectural style--colonial, federal, mission, etc.--then that will have great impact on how the floor plans may or may not be developed. For example, true colonial houses were only 1-2 rooms deep and organized by climate. In the colder northeast, the fireplaces were centrally located in the middle of the house, with 1-2 rooms on either side. In the more moderate Mid-Atlantic and southeast, a central entry hall, providing access and ventilation might be located between the 1-2 rooms on each side. The rooms on each side would share a fireplace for winter warmth.

Thus, if one wants a strong and enduring design for their home, they will consider site, climate, the type of architecture which is appealing if any, and the relationship between interior and exterior.

For those who may not care about any of this, just make the exterior pink. The neighbors will never bother you...

DLM I would love to see photos of your home! And agree with most everything said above by the previous posters.

We're in the beginning stages and just received final plans from the architect,. A couple of months ago he asked about materials and my response was "you designed the house, so how do you see the materials, he showed us a couple of options that he thought we would like and prepared a materials board. We're going with his choices. It's a mountain house with lots of telluride gold stone in greystone, light brown cedar siding and darker brown beam work, expresso windows and charcoal shingles that pick up the window trim.

I'm wondering why this supplier is asking the question. Is he trying to sell us on his product?

Virgil Carter Fine Art

Well stated. I like the way you think but I'm sure your spot-on analysis will ruffle a few feathers here.

It's my belief that the best structures are those that look like they "grew" there!

My thoughts exactly cpartist, it is only a matter of time before lunch is served and it will definitely be spam. The Design Dilemma forums at houzz are full and they seem to be migrating this way everyday.

Our design decisions were based on economics, the land the house is on, the type of vintage houses in our area, and a dash of personal preference. I prefer plain, simple houses, so we built a rectangle with a simple roof line, sort of a push-back from the g-g-g-g-gables in preponderance today. We're out in the country with a heavily wooded lot, and I wanted the house to blend in, rather than shout its presence. The typical homes out in our rather poor area are small and simple, with tin roofs and big front porches. A lot of them are simplified Craftsman style, which we tried to emulate. The biggest compliment to me would be someone mistaking it for a 100 year-old house. In more detail, the exterior finishes were selected for longevity and low maintenance, using fiber cement siding, a tin roof, quality windows, and strong, energy efficient (ICF) construction. All of this on a desperately tight budget and DIY.