Post date: Apr 29, 2015 1:06:03 PM
I’m trying to select interior finishing materials. Since this is far outside of my expertise (and talent) I have hired an interior designer. Last Friday she and I spent three hours discussing and observing materials and lighting in her house.
Some of the things we need to select include the following:
Given my technical nature, we tackled the technical issues first: a second light fixture in the mud room and a ceiling light fixture in the kitchen. We also changed the front door to swing out (against tradition - but screen doors swing out) to improve access to the coat closet, and shifted that closet to be closer to the front door.
The doors and windows are on the critical path, because the rough openings have to fit them. So I’m struggling with doors and windows. My criteria included frames that don’t rot (left over from my experience in wet Seatle - a criterion that doesn’t really apply in arid New Mexico). So initially I opted for fiberglass door and window frames. While these can be painted, a factory finish is generally more durable. But the fiberglass color choices are not really suitable for this area.
And the interior of most doors and windows are veneered with wood. Not exciting woods like walnut or mahogany, but dull woods like pine or alder. Even with stain, there is no interesting grain figure to see. I thought, ‘Our windows in Seattle were all painted. Why not have painted window frames here? After all, the exterior of the house doesn’t have to match the exterior style.’
This line of thinking didn’t fly with either my architect or interior designer. So, acknowledging that I am incompetent at color design, and given that I can live with most anything, I’m about to accept stained wood windows. Besides, the local salesperson (for wood windows) has been the most responsive of nearly all of the 30 salespeople I have contacted, and both architect and builder like these wooden windows.
As to exterior doors, wood doors have a tendency to warp, so I’m still considering fiberglass doors for the south patio. We shall see…
While the building crew finished forming the foundations, I went off to look at flooring materials and colors. I had looked on the Internet, but seeing and feeling is better. So I picked some cork flooring (which now comes laminated onto snap-together planks, rather than glue-down tiles). I also found some possible tile for the bathroom. I will confirm my choices with the interior designer this Friday.