Over the last year or so my wife and I have finally wrapped up one of our dreams. Our dream of designing, building, and contracting our own home. From conceptualization all the way to the interior design. Wow, what a ride it was… and actually still is.

We lived in Seattle for a while, which heavily inspired our design of the home. We always wanted to move back home (Arkansas) to start a family and that day came a lot quicker than expected. One of our stipulations of moving back to Arkansas was that we would have to design and build our own home. This was something that both of us absolutely had to do since I am a designer and my wife has a huge passion for art, interior design and upholstery.

Our goals were to stay within a tight budget, be earth conscious, have a killer open space and maintain our sense of DIY and Modern style. There was a lot of work involved. I am not even going to lie. The following is a quote in an interview on Book of Lions and I think it explains my feelings very well on the process and the reality of designing and building your own home.

Let me first state that “designing and building a home is a bitch”. It’s definitely not for the light hearted and for people that don’t want to put in the effort or work. Other than that it was an awesome joy to see something that me and my wife designed on that large of a scale.

Here are a few quick facts about our home:

Concrete fiberboard panels (Hardie Board and Hardie Plank) are manufactured from recycled products, making them a great alternative to traditional siding.

Metal roofing has low environmental impact, is UV/solar reflective and has a longer life span than traditional roofing elements.

Cellulose insulation is composed of recycled wood products, requires less energy to create and is cost-effective.

Gravel driveways and water permeable paving keep excess rainwater and contaminants out of drainage systems, and are an affordable alternative to a paved driveway.

Polished concrete flooring is easy to clean, and is a recycled and recyclable material; it doesn’t harbor allergens either, as carpet can.

Low or no-VOC paints for improved air quality, a priority especially for a household with young children.

Below are photos taken by Nancy Nolan for a feature article that was published in At Home in Arkansas magazine. Enjoy.

The Photos