Friday, November 14. The shoes I wore to meet the architect.

I prefer post-modern. Will prefers the traditional. And, lucky for Mies, we both prefer dogs, despite all this.

We are starting to think about materials and surfaces, and interviewing builders now to get a price estimate to take to the mortgage lender. We need a builder who can meet our requirements. Driven by what we refer to in software design as use cases. In this instance, dog-centered use cases:

Remodeling 101: How to Build a Dog-Friendly House

Hi, Mark.

I just thought I’d share this as an important consideration for the house. Attached are photos of destruction by Mies that I came home to tonight. He’s a neurotic dog with severe separation anxiety issues that manifest via chewing on and clawing at wooden surfaces. He chewed the original trim and doors in our Baltimore row house, he’s chewed corners on several pieces of furniture and clawed armoire doors open. And, as pictured, has also deconstructed trim in this house. He can open doors and escape from most kennels.

See also: Get To Know the Weimaraner

If he does this in our new house, I will kill him. So, I would like to take preventative design measures to save his life, i.e., via an area where we can leave him and Oslo during the day where they’re comfortable, but physically prevented from accessing most parts of the house. My thoughts are that we can design a very secure yet aesthetic door going from the library to the front part of the house. We could then take a more modern, industrial approach to the library and mudroom, using hot rolled steel for the wall and door surfaces. Or another material that’s indestructible.

And two more things:

1 I would like to figure an access point to the roof with a small observation deck. I hear that we may not use it very often, but I would still like a small, simple deck. Even if just accessed through a skylight via a ladder.

2 I’m thinking about a dormer window in the attic on the east side of the house; a private writing space where Will and I can hide if we want to and look at the Cascades…. I’ve seen dormers on other hip roofs and they look nice when done proportionately.

See you soon!
Callie

And Will’s response:

So I think the caution provided to Mark is smart. I feel, however, that we could confine dogs to mud room. I am not keen in an industrial look to the library.  It is the only space. Can we talk about this?

—wtd

Sent from my iPhone

I guess it’s safe to say that our demolition has officially begun.