K Manor

So I am feeling really lazy tonite knowing that I have to clean because a butt load of guests are coming tomorrow. I also have soooooo much sewing to catch up on and yet I sit here lazily going between blog reads, pinterest, facebook and finally this post. So to continue with procrastination, let me tell you a little more about me and our house which the family have christened "K Manor".

I have been asked by many what I have done with my Bachelor of Design Degree from the College of Architecture at UF... and the answer is my house! I am proud to say that I have designed and drawn every single nook and cranny of our house including personally picking and purchasing every single fixture and appliance from the toilets to the handles of our kitchen cabinets. The house is English Manor in style and we have tried our best (as budget allows) to try and get it to look as old as possible.

In keeping with the old English style, I wanted the cozy rooms but with an honest intent on making the most of the windows and sustainability. I think that our open layout works well and if it weren't for S1's need to live like he was in Antarctica, our energy bill would be minimal, even living here in Florida!

Our builder was a great sport but thought that I was crazy because of all the custom design requirements! Not wanting to have any square rooms, there is only one room in the entire house that has all its walls having a ninety degree angle. The rest of the house have rooms and closets that have a play with angles with the main areas having a hexagonal layout.

The builder had a difficult time contracting with a truss engineer because nobody wanted to take on the work. But the trouble was all worth it for us, as it accomplished the look we wanted, with a wonderful elevation design and an impressive roofing system. I just wish we could afford the slate tile roof! =o(

The house is situated on almost 3 acres and I did alot of site studies on how the house is placed to make the most of the sun paths, and the placement of the windows. Wherever one stands, besides two of the upstairs bedrooms facing the street, all views into the house are totally private where window treatments are not needed.

The house is still a work in progress, but it is a happy home having hosted so many celebrations with guests exceeding in the hundreds!... and we've only been here 3 years!

Stay tuned for more posts of K Manor in the future. I will also learn to organize all my house posts in this blog eventually! This picture was taken 2 months after we moved in for our Christmas card!