Its All in the Details

I met with the Color Consultant at our local Porter Paints store the other day.  I didn't feel prepared AT ALL to pick out wall and trim colors for my entire house.  In fact, I was feeling pretty anxious about it.  I almost called to reschedule, but I found out from our builder that I didn't have as much time as I thought I did. So I put my big girl pants on and trudged down to the store not expecting to get much accomplished. The consultant had suggested that I bring tile, fabric, rug samples or any kind of color "inspiration" that I had.  So I brought my box of stuff and we used those to select our color scheme.  It was quite an interesting process and not as hard as I thought.  I had the PPG paint deck at home and had been stressing myself in thinking I had to do this alone.  It is so much easier when you have a professional to help you!!  The colors I picked are trim: White Umber, Interior walls:  Spiced Vinegar, Jute, Heavy Cream, Woodbridge, Tempered Steel and Phantom Hue.  Cannot wait to see them on the walls which should be soon!!


In other news, the gas line has been installed.  We will be having a gas range in the kitchen and a gas grill on the back porch.  No more half-cooked burgers/steaks when we run out of propane!!

I selected the stain for the tongue and groove wood ceiling for the front and back covered porches.  It is MinWax Provincial.  I think it will look great! 
The wood floors are being installed on the first floor and should be done this week. The fella has been working late into the evening!.  It is a #2 common white oak, 3 1/4" wide.  We will have it in all rooms and stairs on the first floor except for the bedrooms, baths and utility room.

The trim work has begun on the second floor and the interior doors are being installed.  We will also have a few pocket doors and those have been installed as well.  My 5 year old son thought those were cool!  Hope they're sturdy!!

Also, this week we should have our garage doors installed.  Our builder said he will probably put temporary locks on the exterior doors as well. 

My husband has purchased our grill for the outdoor kitchen.  It is a Napoleon gas grill and currently lives in my home office!!  It's a nice big box:)  Hopefully they can install it soon!

Well, that's all for now!  I'll try to take pictures this weekend but now need to start cleaning my house. We have a showing for a prospective buyer tomorrow!  Got my fingers crossed!  Hope everyone has a great week!!

Tile Selection

I had so much fun picking out tile the other day!  I have to admit I was kind of dreading it.  I was afraid I would walk in and be overwhelmed with choices.  You could very easily!!  I had a couple of pages from magazines of bathrooms and kitchens that I liked and brought them with me.  The designer I worked with was wonderful and just made it completely stress free.  I had no problem picking out everything including grout in under an hour!!  I knew I wanted to stay fairly neutral in the tile color but wanted a pattern/texture.  She let me bring home samples to show my husband and to help with paint selection.  If you click on the pictures below it should give you an enlarged view.   I hope it will be within my budget!

I must say that I have always heard how stressful it is building your own home and we have not found that to be the case.  I think it helps to do your homework and have an idea of what you like.  I think so far the hardest part for us has been deciding on a floor plan and the exterior brick. I hope I'm not jinxing myself!

Kitchen backsplash and granite counters

Bathroom floor/shower tile, accent tile and granite counters

Close up view of accent tile

Guest Bath floor tile and granite counters

Drywall - Part 2

Sometimes "Blogger" can be fun and easy to use and sometimes it can be very frustrating!  Hopefully the pictures I posted make sense.  The ones I couldn't put a caption on were another view of the Great Room to the second floor and the other one was a view from the Kitchen into the Living Room with a peak of the outside fireplace.

I believe the drywall is mostly complete.  There may be a little more "mudding" going on and I say that only because there is a bunch of the stuff still in the garage, not because I know for sure!!

I cannot wait for the cabinetry to be installed!  They had said it could take 6 to 8 weeks for them all to be built.  We will have a little snack bar area where you walk into the bonus room which will have a small refrigerator and a microwave built in.  We will also have a built in desk with bookcases in the upstairs loft area.  I have agonized over the kitchen layout and sometimes I think you just have to let go and tell yourself "It will be fine!!".  Can't wait to share!

Drywall

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Great Room - View from Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Bonus Room

Brick and drywall

Long time no post, but that doesn't mean things have been slow! On the contrary!! With the kids home this summer and all the running around that entails there hasn't been much time to sit at the computer.

Our new house is coming along nicely and we get more excited each day. The brick has gone up quickly and the front and back porch have been poured. The wiring is nearly completed and the dry wall is going up as I write this. They anticipate the dry wall to be completed next week. It was such a shock to have walls up! No longer can we just walk between the walls and "see" each other through the house. The fireplace has also been installed in the great room and on the back porch.

I have been busy too! I was so worried about our brick selection but now love it more than my original selection. I have also finalized our kitchen and bath cabinetry and other built-ins. I have selected cabinet pulls and knobs and picked out granite and vanity tops. I had to select a stain for the front door and have continued to look at lighting fixtures. I have also picked out stair parts and trim work. My next decision is selecting tile for the kitchen back splash and tile for the bathrooms.

Meanwhile, we are continuing to show our existing house but have not yet had our first offer. It will come I know, just a matter of when!! The kids are back in school, so that does make keeping the house clean and ready to show a little easier. Our new house should be completed some time in October. I have a feeling the next couple of months will fly by!!