Sorry, hyperlink to the blog didn't work above - here you go...

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Modern House Blog

I had seen pictures of your kitchen earlier and had fallen in love with it. You have a beautiful but relaxing house.

I love it...so I have questions. Can you describe the windows? The interior is a stained wood, but what is the exterior? Are they painted white? What are the dimensions of the footprint and the overall square footage? And the exterior siding is black stained cedar? Had you seen that before? What is the ongoing mainenance for that?

I looked at the floorplans and the house seems really dramatic, but livable and functional.

I love the pool.

Although very different from my stodgy traditionalist taste, I can appreciate the purity of your vision and the execution. It is true art.

Love the covered porch.

You did an amazing job with your house. It is very modern while still be comfy and inviting. I don't think that a lot of people pull that off well, and you really did. I so want to hang out in your pool and kitchen, especially! Thanks so much for sharing it with us :) Speaking of the kitchen, do you mind sharing what kind of hood, faucet, and barstools you have? Many thanks....

Thanks all.

solie - The windows are from Loewen and they're really beautiful. The interior is Douglas Fir and the exterior is clear anodized aluminum. So, they aren't painted. This was an upcharge, but well worth it, in my opinion.

The interior footprint is about 71' x 20' and the square footage is around 2,500. We originally wanted to limit the design to 2,000 square feet, but as this house is really meant for entertaining, we needed three bedrooms + den. It does feel larger than it really is, primarily because of the open plan. The covered deck also feels like another room.

The siding is knotty red cedar stained black. The initial plan was to use reclaimed barn siding, but the quote on that was $9 per square foot! We then planned to use knotty cedar and let it weather to gray, but nixed that idea because of the possibility of mold growth. We finally decided on black. We had seen other modern homes with cedar stained black, and agreed that it would work well on our house, especially with the aluminum windows, galvanized steel roof and clear red cedar ceiling over the deck. We wanted the grain of the wood to show, so that's why we stained instead of painted.

I'm not really sure what the maintenance is going to be. It has already begun to fade a bit over the last 6 months, but we like that. It's gaining character. So we're just going to keep an eye on it and make a decision when the time comes.

dcclerk - the hood is the 48" Plane model from Futuro Futuro, the faucets are from Danze (great quality for relatively low price), and the barstools are from the Sundance catalog.

Thanks again.

Your house is not a barn style.
It is a Barn Abstraction (there is a big difference to me).
The barn style house is just a house that looks like a barn, including same materials, etc.

Were you the designer or you had an architect design it for you?

Your design just takes the essence of a barn, and convert it to something evolved.

I have to give you credits: Great job!!!

Most houses here are like standing in the time. Please folks, do not get me wrong - I am also guilty.

marthaelena - You are correct. I should have written "barn-inspired" home.

We're surrounded by farmland, and there are these beautiful old barns everywhere you look. We took this basic and simple form and mixed it with the modern look we love to come up with something new.

My wife is an architect and I am design-obsessed. We designed the house together. I have to also give credit to our contractor, who did an amazing job not only executing our very precise finishes, but also offering valuable design input throughout the construction process. He shares the same modern aesthetic, which made all the difference in the world.

Modern is generally not my thing, but your house could make me re-think that. It looks great and fits the space so well. The rear elevation and backyard pool is just gorgeous. Congratulations! It must feel wonderful to relax on those chaises!

I would say more "covered bridge" inspired. Awesome home and surroundings!

Impressive mix of clean, simple design with a welcoming feel...nicely done!
Are your floors white oak? Very helpful to me to see the mix of woods and how they work together.
Thanks for sharing.

Thanks coffeehaus. The floors are indeed white oak. I've copied some of the text from a post I made in the Kitchens forum...

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A quick note about our floors. We looked at quite a few wide plank flooring retailers, including the usual suspects like Carlisle. Originally, we wanted reclaimed white oak. When we realized how much it would cost, we settled on rustic grade old growth white oak, which most retailers priced around $12 a square foot. We found an amazing place, just over the border in Connecticut that was able to do it for $4.15 (6, 7 and 8 inch widths and 6 to 12 foot lengths, although 95% were the full 12 feet) including delivery. If you're looking for rustic (or character) grade flooring, which we wanted, this place is amazing. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll email you the name of the company.

Where did you get your sofa if I may ask?
I am looking for one.
I like the row of pending lights above the dining room - instead a single big light fixture.

The sofa is the Townsend model from Room and Board. We chose one of the non-standard fabrics.

See what you have done? ;-)
Now I have to drive 3.5 hours to Chicago - I love their sectionals and sofas.

Are you happy with their quality? Maybe a can order one online, maybe they can mail a fabric sample.
They are a little bit higher priced that what I wanted but the thing is, I can not find something that I like in a lower price.
I do not want leather and most stock sofas are either microfiber or a bulky fabric.

Thanks!

I am putting white oak in my new house too. I love the finish color of your floors! Many finishes tend to cause the floor to yellow and your does not appear to be yellow at all. what kind of finish was used on your floor?

ccoombs1 - We used a matte water-based polyurethane. Water based polys will not darken/yellow the wood nearly as much as those that are oil based.

White oak is great in that it has plenty of character, and tends more toward brown or gray hues than yellow or red. We were looking for a "desaturated" look, if that makes any sense.

The matte finish does have a bit more shine to it than we expected, but it still looks great.

marthaelena - Room & Board is great. I find the quality of their furniture to be a step above the other big furniture retailers like Crate & Barrel or Pottery Barn. Plus, they sell lots of great modern furniture, including many of the classics from Eames, Wegner, etc.

billyc-
Would you be willing to share the name of where you bought your oak flooring in CT? We are in CT and looking to put white oak in our home. It sounds like you got a really great deal. Thank you for sharing!

tralee5@msn.com