People obsess over cabinets and barely discuss the roof.
That is backwards.
The roof protects everything below it.
Simple roof geometry generally has fewer places for water to find trouble than a roof with endless valleys, transitions, parapets, penetrations, and decorative intersections.
Complex roofs can be beautiful, but every complication needs a reason.
Flat roofs are not truly flat. They still require slope, drains, scuppers, overflow paths, and waterproofing details.
Choose materials for climate and risk: metal, tile, shingle, membrane, concrete, or other systems.
Think about wind, salt air, fire, maintenance, lifespan, and insurance.
Remember overhangs. They shade walls and windows, keep rain farther from openings, and create protected exterior areas.
Design the roof for the equipment that may live on it: solar panels, vents, HVAC, antennas, skylights.
And provide maintenance access.
Eventually somebody is going onto that roof. Make it possible to reach and service what is there safely.
The roof is not decorative trim.
It is one of the most important systems in the house.