The meeting with the architect last week was useful, if a little long (am I the most impatient person on the planet? Maybe.) This is the side view of the property, for what it's worth.
The best news was that the architect had actually been to California and seen two of the Case Study Houses in real life, which is a bit of an amazing fluke as we had no idea he was into the same style of architecture as us when we chose him. Actually, he chose us: because he lives 4 mins from our current flat and his work premises are close to the new house he agreed to do the job. Despite the fact our budget's about half what he'd usually deal with on a residential build. Yay.
The trip to Ikea to look at kitchens last week was actually really useful. Hubby and I agreed in 3 minutes flat on a kitchen (high gloss white, either with tiny handles or preferably no handles) and counter top (either moulded acrylic ie: budget Corian, in off white) or a black high gloss stone (depending on availability and practicalities). We managed to get out of there after spending only £43 on stuff we didn't really need.
After perusing the latest Ikea brochure over the weekend we decided that actually we liked their retro beige kitchen, and it fits quite nicely with our Case Study House aesthetic. We have a design meeting with the architect on Friday to sort out these kinds of details so we'll see what he thinks before making a decision.
Flooring is going to be an issue as I really didn't want wood again (sick of the scratches and maintenance) but it really is one of the more affordable options, and it does look great. We looked at Amtico which is an almost impenetrable surface that mimics wood, but we both decided that it's kinda naff. I suggested bamboo - it's hard wearing, comparitively cheap and it's eco-friendly - so hubby's sorting some samples.
