today was particularly efficient and brought substantial changes in the design-phase. the pictures below should help explain more than words. 

 this was my vision before the roof design took place.

 the roof is obviously taking shape during this stage of the design. 

 this is the final roof design. it took some minor modifications but i am satisfied with the outcome. 

after tackling the roof, the driveway and environment began to take shape as i began to tackle the problem of how this house would engage with its surroundings. because the garage is a floor below the first floor, this created some interesting problems (design-wise) but also has the potential to create a pretty creative structure for the back porch. 

view from the backyard without any structure. more pictures and ideas to come.