The end is in site

This house is going up way faster than I expected. I really thought it would take at least 8 months to build but they are almost done! Our contract has an end date of sometime in mid-January but Tommy said he’ll be done on December 30th! Who wants to help us move?

Nearly all the lighting is done now. I was slightly concerned that the foyer light would be to big for the space but it fits the space perfectly. I think anything smaller would have been too small.

Front Porch Light

Entry Way Light

They also installed the granite.

Kitchen Granite

Master Bathroom Granite

Installing Kitchen Granite

They are also making progress tiling the Master Bathroom.

Whirlpool Tub Tile

Master Shower Tile

They’ve also been working on the final grading. It has been raining a lot lately so it is super muddy.

And last but not least, they started painting real colors. The closets are all painted and they hung the closet shelves. I only have pictures of a few of the colors but there are more to come.

Overall Color

Master Closet

This house is going up way faster than I expected. I really thought it would take at least 8 months to build but they are almost done! Our contract has an end date of sometime in mid-January but Tommy said he’ll be done on December 30th! Who wants to help us move?

Nearly all the lighting is done now. I was slightly concerned that the foyer light would be to big for the space but it fits the space perfectly. I think anything smaller would have been too small.

 

Interior Progress

I use to work on a weather satellite and I joke that it gave me some pull with the weather. In fact when Roderick and I were first dating we liked doing outdoor activities. Often it would threaten rain but by the time our date rolled around it was beautiful out. Unfortunately it looks like my pull is waning. Tommy’s been trying to do the final grading for almost a month now and it’s just been too muddy.

They are more than making up for the lack of exterior activity with interior progress. Behold a tour of the highlights.

All of the tile floors were laid but still need to be grouted. I can’t remember if I mentioned it but another nice little thing that we’re doing is using an epoxy grout which is easier to clean. They are also laying it so as to minimize the amount of grout. I love the look of tile but hate hate HATE cleaning it. It cost about $200 more per room but if it performs like I expect, it will be well worth the cost.

Monkey Bathroom Tile

Laundry Room Tile

Fish Bathroom Tile

They’ve started installing the bathroom hardware too.

Downstairs Bathroom Tile and Hardware

They’ve installed most of the lighting and it looks fantastic. The day I visited was cold and dreary but the house was so warm and inviting (even unfinished) because of the bright lights. I’m an admitted lightaholic. The brighter the better! I think we’ve got 60 watt bulbs in all of them. The huge chandelier in the foyer hasn’t been installed yet and I just can’t wait to see what it will look like.

Dining Room Light

Diningroom Transoms

They’ve also installed the fireplace mantle, a beautiful piece of solid maple. They are going to route it in place and then stain it to match the kitchen cabinets.

Great Room Fan and Fireplace Mantle

Kitchen Lights

Kitchen Hardware

And the piece de resistance the stairs! I love love LOVE LOVE the metal rails! They are beautiful, they are sturdy, and best of all they didn’t cost us anything extra. Have I mentioned that we love our builder?

Stairs

Stair Sconces

Stair Close-up

 

Lighting

So far the lighting has been the hardest to choose. I think part of it is that there are so many options and part of it is that we clash personalities with Tommy’s lighting person.

Here is what we’re most likely going to go with but we haven’t made any final decisions yet:

For the Foyer

Sconces along the stairs

Dining Room - The shades will actually be the cream color, not the amber color shown.

Breakfast Room

Island - Again, with the cream not amber glass

Flush Mount

I’m also having a hard time deciding on the bathroom. The faucets will be brushed nickle for sure because the oil rubbed bronze shows every little spot. I’m not sure if we should match the lights to the faucet, or if it would look fine to have the light be oil rubbed bronze and the faucets brushed nickel. Thoughts?

Bathrooms - Brushed Nickel

or

Bathroom - Oil Rubbed Bronze

Exterior Light Post

Exterior Hanging Light over Front Door

Exterior Side Lights

Fans for all the Bedrooms except we'll use the walnut side of the blade

I’ve found a collection from Dolan Designs that we (meaning I) really really love but it isn’t carried by Builder’s Lighting. However, they ARE carried by an online store – http://www.lamps-lighting.com. I sent them off an email to see if they’d give us their builder’s pricing but haven’t heard back yet. What I covet:

Alternate for Foyer

Alternate for Dining Room

Alternate Stairway Sconce

Alternate Pendant

Alternate Breakfast Room

 

Visiting the Lot

We met with the builder today to go look at the lot and see his showroom. There’s been a lot of rain recently and the driveway was pretty bad, but once we got up there it was as beautiful as I remembered it being. R and Tommy walked the lot while I fed P.

After that we went to their show room to start picking out stuff and I started feeling very inadequate. I have no sense of design at all! We know we want stacked stone on the outside but as to the exact color we’re not sure. Which means we’re not sure about the exterior color, which means we don’t know if we should go with white or tan windows … Tommy is going to email us some of the exteriors that he’s done before and we’re going to start driving around neighborhoods looking at houses. I’m not too worried but it was definitely a wake up call.

The only thing we’ve decided on for sure is that we want brushed nickle finishes upstairs and oil rubbed bronze finishes downstairs. We’ve picked out the faucets for the kids bathrooms.

Here are some pictures:

What do you think? We like lots of information so if you have any suggestions or comments let us know but don’t be offended if we don’t take your advice … it just means that we think you’re a gaudy, unstylish, tacky, tasteless person and we don’t like you. :p