This is the third installment in our series of building our home. Click here for part one and part two.

When you are building your home, especially when working with an architect to create your plan, it is important to determine your design aesthetic. A person will never fit perfectly into one genre of design. Each individual is a blend of their unique experiences and preferences and so when you are searching for design inspiration, keep a collection of things that catch your eye. While traveling and living abroad, we recorded architecture we liked as well as home functionality. Magazines, design books, social media are all helpful tools as well.

Pinterest was one of our most valuable tools in curating our images. We created a board for every detail of the home, from the bedroom and kitchen to the landscaping, to hold our inspirations, ideas, and comments. As you start collecting images, an overall design eventually reveals itself. For Deeyn and myself, we obviously have an affinity for minimalist design, as did the architect that we chose, so it was relatively easy to agree on our options. We worked with DIG:A to plan our home and really appreciated their attention to detail.

We picked up the kitchen appliances and functionality of European design while living in London. A trip to Japan inspired our bathroom designs, such as Toto sinks and toilets and finishes of stone and glass. We also knew that having smart home technology integration was crucial. We were adamantly against wasted space and focused on a design that was completely functional. Our trips to Denmark and France influenced the materials we chose: light woods, marble, lava stone, and bronze and copper fixtures as well as the interior details minimal cabinetry without pulls, herringbone parquet floors, large glass windows, and doors. The blend of these different design aesthetics made our home unique to us and tells our story as soon as you walk through the doors. We wouldn't have it any other way.