In the past 10 days, I have reviewed all interior products, priced all options and made those last minute critical decisions. Like deciding tile for a guest bath shower should not cost $5000.00... but remember, the less money you spend, the more work you have to do!
You look at these two houses, at this phase, and you need to know what colors are going work for the roof tile, on the decks, color of stucco, on the trims and for the railings...
Then you begin to contemplate how the colors of the landscape will affect the outdoor and indoor finishes. Regardless of years of training and experience, there is always the chance you are going to forget something that is important. Like where will the sun be hitting the surfaces inside and what shadows will that create? So first you go over everything on paper, and then you walk through it visually, a couple of times... Sometimes it becomes a little overhwhelming!
The more contemporary home is the one on the back lot, 320 Calle Miramar.
Interior finsihes are shelled concrete, steel beams for stair stringers, concrete block walls for the master shower and artisan crafted stainless steel cooking center in the kitchen. While doing research for another product, I found a reclaimed wood company called Centennial Woods. 
http://www.centennialwoods.com/
This company reclaims snow fence in Wyoming, remove the nails, and turns it into tongue and groove 3/4 wood floors, paneling and planking. In the midst of all the contemporary finishes, I have decided to use this reclaimed wood on the 2nd and 3rd floor. This is going to be a massive focal point with a lot of movement and in reality; most people would believe it belongs in a log cabin.
However I believe I can use this wonderful green product and make an unexpected design statement. As strange as it may seem, I believe the remaing products will need to be extremely contemporary in order to make this work. I guess time will tell!! The moral of this story, good design means sometimes being fearful. But never be afraid!
