From some of the designs I have created it is pretty clear to see what type of look I'm trying to obtain. However its important to note some of the environmental factors that will affect the design.

For one, since this home will be located in Canada, there are certain things that will have to be considered:

1. A flat roof - The flat roof is very much a part of a lot of these modern homes, however most of these homes are located in sunny or dry climates, like the Southern USA or the warmer parts of Europe. A house in Canada with a flat roof could be asking for trouble during the winter season. I know its certainly possible to do, i mean, almost all industrial / commercial buildings have flat roofs here, but i feel a slightly sloped roof would likely be a safer design, while still maintaining a modern aesthetic.
2. Stucco - I love stucco. I love the way it looks, I love its clean, seamlessness. BUT i don't like the potential maintenance. Again, in a climate where things can go from -30 C to + 30C its hard to find a material that will resist this well. Stucco can crack under expansion and contraction. I feel that a combination of a modern brick / ledge stone on the lower part of the home, and then stucco or some other panel type material on the upper parts of the home would be an ideal choice.

Some design elements that I feel are important, that you will find in many of my designs are:

1. Concrete floors - I love the look of polished concrete. Its easy to care for and easy to maintain and wont show dirt as much as a dark wood or tile floor would. Assuming concrete floors are present, the home will likely not have a basement and thus be built on a slab. If we decide to use wood or tile flooring anywhere, it will have to be a light to medium color. This is simply because we have dogs that shed, and our current home has beautiful dark chocolate colored maple flooring...that needs to be vacuumed every two days. Dark flooring looks wonderful, but is extremly hard to keep clean.
2. Single Level Design - No basement. I find that in most cases, we never spent time in our basements, and if the home is big enough there isn't a need for one. In addition, a basement is almost not possible in a lot of these designs, a lowered level in conjunction with the expansive open space of the main floor and concrete floor wouldn't be feasible from a construction and support point of view.
3. Loft - I love lofts. I had one in our previous home and I really liked it. Right now a loft is a toss up. I could see a loft being used as office space, and not much else. So if the home is big enough, a single floor with expansive ceiling height may be sufficient.
4. A courtyard - I'm not 100% sure why, but I seem to have an obsession with courtyards. In this case, I'm referring to a partial courtyard, where 3 of the 4 sides are the walls of the home and one side is open, so that the home "wraps" itself around the courtyard. I'm a big fan of outdoor living, so i feel a large seating area, pool or pond in the courtyard with the home surrounding it would be a great way to bring a natural element to a home with an industrial feel.
5. A greenhouse - This isn't a 100% requirement but i feel some type of addition either to the home, or inside of the home that is strictly used for plants and air quality, would be a very cool feature to have.
6. Open Layout - This is likely a given, but worth mentioning. I see large expansive spaces as a must, where one large room could accommodate multiple areas, like a kitchen, dining area, living room etc. I feel that walls should only be used in private spaces, like bedrooms, bathrooms and closets. The rest of the house should be pretty open and free flowing.
7. High ceilings - Although this ties into the "open layout" concept above its important to note that the ceilings should be high, to further open up the space. The height of the ceilings are going to be dependant on whether or not a 2nd floor / loft is present. I envision all main floor ceilings being a minimum of 10'. If the home was a single floor design, i think all the ceiling would have to be 11', with perhaps the lobby / great room area being raised a couple more feet to give an even more expansive space. If the home had a loft or wing with more than one level, then a 10' ceiling on the main floor along with 10' or 9' ceilings on the upper floors would be ideal.
8. Generous office space - Since me and Erin work from home, its vital that we each have dedicated office space large enough to be able to spend the entire day in without feeling isolated.
9. Attached and detached garage facing each other - The home should have its own attached garage enough for 3 or 4 cars. It should face the external garage / warehouse, which will be approximately 3000sq ft. The garages need to face each other so they can utilize the same laneway. Our current home has the garages on oppsosite sides of the property, creating a larger driveway and more maintenance.
10. Low maintenance materials - Keeping with a minimally modern design, all the exterior and interior materials should be low maintenance. For example, exterior wall panels made of metal or composite. All landscaping pathways and garden borders should be polished or stamped concrete. The driveway, should, ideally be paved. The interior should feature concrete flooring, quartz composite countertops and low maintenance easy to clean wood.
    

Location Assumptions:

Yes, its ideal that before you start designing your home, you want to have a piece of land already in place. However, I'm not at that stage yet. So all these homes are designed on the assumption that the location will be a relatively flat piece of land, with the rear of the property having a forested area. The rear forested area is important because the rear of the house will be covered in windows and will blur the lines between indoor and outdoor living, so a natural environment with privacy is a must.This isn't a far reaching assumption, most of the property in the area I'm in right now would meet this requirement.