Refining the Concept

In mid-June we sat down with Ryan for another design meeting. Meeting with Ryan in closer succession has really made the process more fluid, and we have been making steady progress. 

While many of the ideas from the initial drawings have remained, in the below images, a few new concepts have emerged. There is now a small glass hallway that separates the master bedroom from the main living area. The master bedroom has been bumped out to accentuate the views of the mountains and provide for a more modular feel to the home's profile. There is also a slick window in the master bath that will accommodate views while in the tub.
 
The kitchen has been moved forward, pushing the dining room to the back portion of the house. The kitchen has a huge island and is oriented to capture the views. Moving the dining room was an easy choice because we will spend way more time in the kitchen.

The lower level has also been modified to provide for a large media room and spare bedroom.

We are very happy with the new design additions! We are still considering a few more details related to the floor plan but are getting very close to finalizing the concept.

2nd Design Meeting | Initial Concept

In mid-May we had our second design meeting. Needless to say, it felt like an eternity between having our initial meeting with Ryan and having our follow-up to see the first concepts of the cabin.

Below are a few images from Ryan's initial design. While there was somewhat of a tense moment after Ryan showed us the concept--K did not make a sound and did not appear to be breathing--we were very happy with this first go-around. We particularly liked the floor plan's open concept with tons of windows, the floating roof and roof lines, the use of thick cement walls, the entryway and roof overhangs, and the bermed-in lower level with the ceiling acting as a cement deck off of the living room.

However, there were a few areas that needed work. We are in the kitchen a ton and wanted that area moved forward to take advantage of the views. We also felt like the master bedroom was not separated enough from the main portion of the house. The lower level layout also need to be modified to reflect our usage.

Overall, it was a good starting point, and we were looking forward to our next meeting and continuing the design process.

Topo

Before Elemental could begin designing, we needed to obtain a topography (aka topo) of the land. 
The topo would be used by Ryan for designing and modeling purposes. In early March we retained Tackman Surveying to do the job. Bill Tackman has been surveying land in the Valley for years. As soon as the snow melted, he was going to complete the topo. By late April the topo was completed.  Bill and his crew did the job fast and for a fair price. 

1st Site Inspection

In March 2012, we organized an excursion to the Valley with our architect. To our happy surprise, one of Elemental's go-to contractors, Modern Shelter, joined us to inspect the property.

Walking the property with the architect and contractor was very helpful. We were able to discuss issues ranging from the slope of the land to access for the cement trucks. Overall, there were no major concerns that would inhibit our project, and everyone seemed positive about the building potential of the lot.

The weekend was not all work. Not only did we get to check out the land, but there was a ton of snow and the xc-skiing was excellent. The more we are out at the Valley the more we are enjoying it. 

Let the design process begin!

1st Design Meeting | Brainstorming

In February 2012, we scheduled our first design meeting with our architect, Ryan. We were really excited. In preparation, we completed the Elemental Design Questionnaire, looked through piles of magazines, and reviewed a lot architecture websites. Looking at the websites was really helpful and allowed us to see a ton of homes. We also used Houzz to store images that we could in turn share with Ryan. The Houzz website is a bit clunky, but somewhat effective.

We sent all the information to Ryan prior to the meeting. Gathering all that info was a serious process! While there was no way to completely express what we were looking for, we felt confident we provided Ryan with enough information to get the conversation and creativity flowing. We assured Ryan ahead of time that we did not expect or want him to have a design concept prepared for our first meeting.

Overall, the meeting went very well. Ryan was able to process a lot of information and see a number of themes from the images we showed him. Also, he seemed genuinely excited about the project. Yay!

we own land...now what?

Now the proud owners of a few acres of dirt in the Methow Valley, we began to look for an architecture firm to design our cabin. To narrow the search, we looked at a ton of websites and found a list of the Top Mountain Architects put out by Mountain Living Magazine that proved very helpful. 

We were looking for an architect that was local and designed homes that were modern, with a rustic natural feel.  Most importantly, we were looking for someone we could work with to develop the design because we wanted to be involved in the process. 

After a detailed search, we narrowed the list to three architects that we wanted to meet in person. All three were excellent at their trade and had designed beautiful homes. Two of the firms had been designing great homes in the Methow for the last 20 years, and the third firm was building some of Seattle's most beautiful modern homes.

In the end, we decided to go with Elemental Design LLC. Our decision was primarily based on the in-person meetings with our architect. We had the opportunity to see a few homes he had designed that were still under construction and felt very confident that we would enjoy working with Elemental and get the home we wanted.