From the street looking towards the back of our land. The land is sloped down from the street to a pond at the back of the property.
{{gwi:1446477}}

Looking at our land from across the street. You can get a better idea of how much slope there is from this angle.

I don't know why I don't have a better picture of the view. From what will be the right side of our house if you were facing the front door, we have a view over the lake. This was taken from the low corner of the property, so you'll just have to trust me that the view is much better than it seems.

If you moved the camera to the left based on the picture above, there is a decent view of the mountains so long as the weather is clear. Don't have a good picture of that either.

Across the street is a grassy hill. To the left of house (if looking at the front door) is currently nothing, but we could eventually have a neighbor.

Front elevation

Rear elevation

The overhang over the rear door on the lower level (to the right of the plan) will probably go, I think it looks funny.

What we're thinking for exterior colors and materials. The natural stone is not necessarily the stone we would use, just there for the general idea. We'll probably use some type of Tennessee fieldstone.

I'll post the rest when I get to my other computer.

Beautiful setting/views...I like your materials and color scheme. First thing that caught my eye...is there is no front porch to sit on to enjoy that amazing view as well. I would have to have one to change up a sitting area...and with that front view...I'd some how incorporate a tad bigger front porch. Congrats!

I couldn't tell....maybe the front porch goes over more than I initially thought....is there front porch flooring over under the window to left of door (facing the house?) If so that would be perfect!

I like it... floorplan?
I wonder if the trim color and body color are distinct enough from each other though.

I think this site plan may be a bit difficult to read, and the topographic lines don't help. I'm thinking that maybe the house should be rotated a bit so that the left side of the house (as you're looking at this plan) is parallel to the street labeled "Drive". That would also move that side of the house away from the slight western exposure that it has. Thoughts?

I put a few notes on this copy to help orient things.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Right elevation (don't have the materials drawn, but they are noted)

Left elevation

Lower level. Storage area to the left of the stairs will be a safe room. Storage area to the right will probably be where our dogs hang out while we're gone. Not sure about the bed and bath layouts, and would appreciate your thoughts.

Main level. I've made some changes based on suggestions in another thread. Again, please excuse the wonky photoshopping.

I'm not happy with the way the porch around the right rear corner is drawn, specifically the stairs. Any suggestions? Where should the stairs come off the porch? Should we have more than one set?

Also still need to decide what to do with the "library" space- turn it into a powder room again, make it storage space for fishing rods, etc. accessed from the garage, something else...?

The upper level will be unfinished bonus space.

Some thoughts on the layouts: We have some out of town relatives that regularly visit for the weekend and its possible that down the road my mom would want to move in with us if something happened to my dad. The lower level is designed so that our guests can have some space to themselves if they'd like, and so it could function as a separate living space for my mom if needed. If Mom did move in and the upper level hadn't been finished already, we would finish it and have guest rooms there instead of the lower level.

Garages: yes, I know, there's a lot of garage space. It's because of the HOA rules. We have three vehicles so we need a three car garage (my car, husband's car, husband's work vehicle). The garage on the lower level is for boats, yard equipment, etc. We're going to try to use the landscaping to minimize the garage doors, at least the one on the lower level.

Main floor with notes for orientation

You have a very pretty setting and the home will be lovely! I like your selections, very neutral, but it will be beautiful. Your floorplan looks great to me other than the dining room location too far away from the kitchen IMO) And if it were me I would turn the library back into the powder room. I wouldn't want my guests to have to walk all the way through the kitchen to get to the powder room. Plus with kids it would be nice to have a powder room that is more or less off limits so that there's always a spotless bathroom for guests. I really like how you can access the laundry/mudroom from the master closet, that's a great idea!

AllieBr8, the porch does extend over under the window to the left of the door, under the area where the metal roofing is. But, thereâÂÂs not much of a view from the front of the house, really. The lake view is on the right side of the house (as youâÂÂre looking at the front door). Thanks for your comments.

Kirkhall, I have the floorplans posted now. I was planning on posting a bit quicker, but ended up grabbing dinner with my parents. IâÂÂll post a bit of the plan with the colors applied below so you can see what you think. They look a lot closer in color on the exterior selections sheet I posted than they do when you put them right next to each other. ItâÂÂs definitely not a dramatic difference, but I sort of like that. I saw this color combo in Southern Living a while back and liked it. Do you think there is enough difference between the two colors? IâÂÂm not sure if IâÂÂll be able to tell for certain until the house is up and we can put up some samples.

Olivesmom, thank you for your comments. I agree, the dining room location is definitely not ideal. That was a tradeoff to maximize the views. IâÂÂm not sure what could be done at this pointâ¦I toyed with putting it below the kitchen and reconfiguring the pantry, but then it throws off that right side of the house. If you have any idea IâÂÂd be interested to hear it. Since I anticipate we wonâÂÂt use the dining room every day, IâÂÂm hoping it wonâÂÂt be too much of an inconvenience. I imagine we will eat at the island usually or outside, weather permitting.

Sorry, forgot to post the mock-up of the colors and materials. The shingles aren't quite as dark IRL.

Beautiful house! I don't see a problem at all with the kitchen, family room, doning room set up. We will have that same arrangement. It seems to be fairly common - Sarah Richardson of Sarah's house used that arrangement in seasn 4. This house (see link) was in the MN Parade of Homes and had that same arrangement.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dining room

Thanks neroselover! That makes me feel better about the dining room.

From a materials standpoint I would probably do the stone around the foundation level and leave it at that.

The stone gable projecting up over the front door, and the way the finishes are split under the porch and the stone wall on the upper story of the garage elevation are "unnatural" in the sense that a solid masonry structure would not be built this way.

Actually the stone wall on the upper story of the garage elevation Could not be built, because it projects beyond the stone around the garage door, even though it is Above it.
The stone detailing is a bit overwrought and indicates that is not structural stone and just a veneer.

palimpset, that is something I have given some thought to as well. I remember that point from one of the books I read... Get Your House Right, maybe? (or something like that).

Is this better, in your opinion?

Beautiful lot and future home. I love your outside lights as well! Would you mind sharing info on the lights?

Thanks swtceleb! The lantern style light is a Landmark Lighting Madison Wall Sconce in Matte Black. The other light is Design House Mason 1 Light Outdoor Wall Sconce.

I would not even raise the level of the stone on the master bathroom wing.

The only way this would look natural would be to sheathe the entire master bedroom complex in stone from top to bottom all the way over to it's inside corner on the grilling porch so that the entire master suite looked like it was in a stone building that was at some point connected to the house.

Other than that, I would leave it all at foundation level.

Just stone at the lower level (not above your front porch). Also, to avoid the stone veneer look the lintels over the windows in the stone walls should be wider so that they appear to be supporting the stone above. Sills are fine. What are they made out of? Not sure why this material is at some of the door jambs.

Like you said, you might consider a slight rotation to avoid the southwestern exposure--although not extreme you might find some annoying, difficult to shade afternoon rays in your great room.

Thanks so much for posting site photos and a site plan with north arrow.

Palimpsest, I looked at your comments again and wanted to clarify something. The wall on the upper story of the garage elevation doesnâÂÂt actually project beyond the garage door wall, I donâÂÂt think. ThatâÂÂs one solid wall, but from the front view of the house you only see the upper portion due to the slope of the land. I think the elevation makes the lower level part of the wall look a bit cut off because there is a retaining wall there. IâÂÂll double check that, though. I think what youâÂÂre saying is to keep the level of the stone on that upper portion of the wall lower to the ground, as it is on the front of the house. IâÂÂll play around with that and see how it looks.

Dadereni, thanks for pointing out the issue with the lintels. IâÂÂm not sure what youâÂÂre referring to when you ask what theyâÂÂre made out of- lintels, sills? What material would you recommend for the lintels- IâÂÂve seen people use timber beams, large pieces of stone, smaller stonesâ¦and IâÂÂm sure IâÂÂm forgetting some options. What do you think would be best? As far as why the material looks to be at the door jambs- I modified these elevations in Photoshop to change where certain materials were used, so anything that looks weird is probably my fault. IâÂÂm fairly certain IâÂÂm going to ask for the house to be rotated away from the southwestern exposure. I was at my parents yesterday and their porch has a similar exposure- I had forgotten how annoying the angle of the light is in late afternoon. Thank you for your suggestions.

You can have a level line of stone all the way around the house denoting the foundation, so the side of the house where the ground is lower would have much more stone (about one story's worth) exposed, while the front would have a few feet exposed.

The key thing about any lintel is that it has to look like it could support itself and the wall above. If it looks like the Window is holding the Lintel up, that is not correct. The lintel has to be large enough to look structural to have a natural appearance.

Palimpsest, thanks for the follow-up. I checked one of my reference books for lintel sizing and will make sure they're adjusted correctly.

Here's the front elevation with the stone dropped to foundation level.

What do you all think about the arched window in the gable above the front door? Should it be square? And the three small windows on the master wing...I think dropping the stone makes them look out of whack with everything else. Any suggestions, other than making them bigger?

Here's the back with extended lintels (I didn't measure them and they're probably not the correct height/width proportion, but just for an idea)

Do we need to add a full cornice return to the gable on the right side of the house? Any thoughts?

Do we need to add a full cornice return to the gable on the right side of the house? Any thoughts?

I would remove the cambered arch window in the front gable and make it rectangular.

Could you Drop the three small windows so they were not higher than the others? That might help. But also remember there are going to be plantings around the house, too (I would assume). I wouldn't do a surface treatment that doesn't make a lot of sense just to compensate for the need for smaller windows there. You could have some taller plantings or a trellis or something.

I can't comment on the last question because I am not sure what you mean.

palimpsest, this is what I'm referring to in my last question. I'm probably calling it the wrong thing.

I would do a double tall window on the master wing to go with the others, you could put a bench in front like a window seat. Or you can keep the short windows and just plan to use landscaping to make it work.

Where do you plan to put your bed in the master? Seems like there are doors and windows blocking it all. Do you have room for a king.

I think I would make the powder room a full bath. You have the space and it might be handy at times.

In terms of the front elevation, the master wing is pretty far back, so you could consider it separately from the rest of that elevation. The closet is closer to the garage and parked cars than the front of the house. The high windows are appropriate, IMO. Especially if it's to serve as a dressing room. If anything, you could lower them slightly so head height matches.

This post was edited by dadereni on Tue, May 14, 13 at 10:42

Regarding your earlier lintel question: a lintel can be anything a beam could be--wood, steel, reinforced concrete, one piece of stone if the span isn't too great. Larger spans generally require deeper beams. An arch is an option too if you want to use bricks or smaller stones. These days, garage openings present the biggest challenge when punched into a veneer masonry wall because either the lintel is too shallow, or it's deep enough but there's not enough wall left above to visually or economically justify the big beam. Or people use an impossibly long brick jack arch which just looks ridiculous.

I would probably do just a small gable return on each gable and keep it at that.

lyfia, thanks for your input. In the master bedroom, we plan to put the bed between the two windows on the wall overlooking the backyard (at the top of the plan). It is sized so a king will fit between the windows.

dadereni, thanks for pointing out that the master wing being recessed makes the small windows OK. For some reason that hadn't occurred to me, but now that you point it out that makes perfect sense. Regarding the lintels, what material do you think would look best for this house?

palimpset, I'm attaching a revised exterior with a small gable return. I've also added a square window above the front door instead of an arched window.

Any opinions on the latest front elevation?