Thanks for the responses! Mightyanvil, I know what you're saying about asking our architect, and I will definitely do that, but I have to say that I've realized over the past 8 months working with him that he and I don't always have the same taste, especially on the details...maybe it's my east coast aesthetic vs. his west coast aesthetic. My "eye" still tells me that clapboard should be smooth like the New England farmhouses I remember growing up around, but maybe it's different for Prairie/Craftsman style? Also, he has not specified every single detail (such as colors). He's pretty much just spec'd materials and left individual color choices to us. Yes, I do have elevations, but since our architect is "old school" they are hand drawn and are not on my computer. Maybe I can reduce and scan them. I'll see about that. Ronnatilie, your house looks great. Thanks so much for the photo, which helps a lot!! Our house is similar in style with hip roofs and a mix of exterior siding. Our windows are white (we went with Andersen wood and vinyl clad so the exterior of the window, unfortunately, can't be painted), and I think this window color choice limits us in exterior siding colors. I don't care for the look of brownish earth tone colors in siding, up against a white window, so I'm thinking that we're going to stick to a dark charcoal grey on the stucco, some sort of lighter grey on the Hardiplank, and a stone with greys and other colors in it. I'd love to find a good photo of that combination or similar, but I'm having a hard time finding one. Thanks again for the help. Please keep it coming! Susan

Actually I have seriously considered building a home of light clay and may do so someday. Ideally we should not be building with materials that will not, when we are done with them, be able to return to components that existed in the environment before we intervened. Stone, wood, metal, even ceramic or concrete can eventually break down to ancestor substances. Many plastics will not. The ones I personally object to most vigorously are the vinyls and the styrofoam-related ones. On the other hand, plastics can do wonderful things that other materials simply cannot match. My personal code is that they should be used only when they are the best material, and not when they are merely the cheapest. But I do not make decisions for others, or even want to. You will note that I said what I would do, not what Larimie should do. (In fact, it is just now that I am noticing what an old thread this is. By now the decision has long since been made.) As always, each person must make his or her own decision. It is a wide world, and there is room for difference of opinion. Rosefolly

I will hand draw the rough floor plans and elevations so that I will not violate the contract. It will take a while and might not be to the exact true scale of it, but hopefully is close enough. I love the floor plan, it was made with a lot of our feedbacks, but hate the curves put in the master bathroom - seems pointless and expensive. I deeply dislike the exterior and interior detailing (not just cost matter, I feel it was pushed on us against our interests), and I also am feeling very unsure about our roof line and gables (can it be simpler or fewer? does it matter to reduce cost?). I am annoyed that we have to spend almost 30K on a fake chimney. We don't want to trigger structural review if possible (6 months delay + 20K structural eng fees), but given how bad I feel about it, we are discussing that maybe it is not too bad if we delay the project for a year while trying to fix the design issues and looking at the housing market for alternatives. And who knows, if we are ok with triggering structural review, the additional saving could be substantial that we care less about the 20K structural redesigning fees. We started the design process years ago when we were of more limited means. Ours is a building designer, not an architect. cpartist, I do think the yellow house look like a farm house. Our started out as a Tudor, and we keep most of it when the city wanted craftsman instead. I think it only look like a forced G&G, and the only thing that might fool some people into thinking it's G&G is the brick/rock work and excessive detailing. But then again, reasonable G&G homes I look at have much quieter exterior. The house on the left of our lot is "supposedly" a craftsman, but doesn't look like it at all. I think the city wants the craftsman "flavor". We are not purist, I don't mind some modifications to craftsman, but don't want a loud expensive exterior and interior. Thanks to the veteran architects in this thread, I am learning a lot from you.

Personally, it's all too the "same" for me. Lots of brown: brown siding, brown stucco, shutters and light fixtures. I would try black shutters and light fixtures (but I understand changing fixtures may be an issue if they're new). But those shutters are not suited for the window. If you do a search of the forums, you will find many recommendations and links to sizing shutters correctly. In addition, the shutters, if you insist on having them, should look as if they would work. Post updates, please!