Sometimes things cost more than you think.  Back in 2010 we were in the Super Bowl of home competitions with this home we presented in the Cresta Bella Parade of Homes.  We were building this for a couple who had a budget and due to the elevation, or height of the pool the concrete decking that was scheduled to go there came back super expensive and cost prohibitive.  For the folks building, this can ruin their day or create stressful moments and I get that.  For me, it fires me up and here’s why.  Life is full of twists and turns and all of us, including myself have encountered budget constraints that force our hand and cause us to go a different direction.  When I face this as a builder, it creates a sort of creative spark that forces your hand and puts your innovative juices in overdrive.  I love this process.  I love it because it’s an opportunity to introduce a new method, or design opportunity that you don’t see everyday.  In this case we played around with wood, and finally settled on Brazilian IPE (pronounced eee-pay) which is so strong it requires diamond tools to cut and has a shelf-life far greater than most woods if maintained properly.  In addition, it also provides an interesting texture change that seems to work well with this style and is nice on the feet.  This home exceeded all of our expectations and ended up winning 9 out of 14 possible awards available for the show.  The best part is, I had to convince the developers at the time to even allow a home of this modern style to be allowed into the show.  So next time you bump up against a budget constraint, have no fear because you are on the cusp of something wonderful.