New Home - Exterior

Our drive out to the new home is about an hour away. 

We have our benchmarks along the way:

1/4 of the way is that large multicolored building,

1/2 of the way is the transition to the next interstate,

3/4 of the way...progressions of small communities,

and finally...our exit.

I always have to remind myself, as I exit the interstate,

...No Speeding...

even though you're excited to be there.

Speed limit is 55 mph on the access road.

Relax and breathe,

you're almost there.

Then each time as we round the corner, 

I always anticipate what we'll see.

Did the subs show up?

Did they begin/finish on schedule?

You just never know...they are sometimes on "their own schedule":

Monday really means Wednesday...

Tuesday really means Thursday...

and Wednesday...usually means the following Monday.

ugh.

I just retired from teaching and our timing was of utmost importance...really.

If you were 1-2 minutes late to a meeting, someone was on the phone looking for you.

...really.

So, coming from that profession and taking on this project has been a lesson in patience...

and yes, I've adapted. I've become a fairly laid-back person.

I've just learned to ask the right questions (to ease my OCD nature)

 and to be very thankful for all the progress so far.

All that to say, we just never really know what has happened over the past 24 hours with the house.

But, boy oh boy were we thrilled to see this stage...

Primer!

The primer is a little grey but it was very close to the final color.

and a great transition from the Hardi primer.

By the way, that 40 yard dumpster...

It's so great!

Really!

It holds sooo much stuff!

Can I even put any more exclamation marks so show my love for this thing??!!

Kinda distracts from the view, but I'm ok with that..

it's well worth it...

it's handy in keeping the place picked up and tidy!

Until next time,

{the OCD contractor}

Sharlotte

This is a post in a series, if you're interested in starting at the beginning, click here.

And just as a reminder...here's the

inspiration house...we're getting there!

New Home...Part 6

This is a post in a series. If you're interested in starting at the beginning, click here.

I thought I'd put trim and brick in the last post,

 but I kinda got carried away with

the interior brick.

Sorry about that

but

it's one of my favorite things about our new home.

However,

the trim is running a very close second.

So this post is all about the trim.

My husband and I have always loved the richness of trim and simple, clean lines.

So we began with the front and back porches:

tongue and groove

and door casings.

{yes, that beautiful brick will need to be cleaned.}

Window casing...

and planked walls...

with entry casings.

Exterior brick will be next.

See you soon!

New Home...Part 5

This post is part of a series, if you're interested in starting at the beginning, click here.

Brick, brick, brick.

I have always loved exterior brick but

 when it's used on interior walls, I kinda go weak in the knees.

I think it adds such warmth and coziness.

When we were planning our home

 interior brick was high on the list.

This pic is in the breakfast area...

and looking into the den.

This little wall is wrapped around from the breakfast area.

And looking in to the kitchen from the den.

I was going to put trim in this post, but I'll save that for the next post.

See you then!

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday

source

The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, 

the week before his death and resurrection.

New Home...Part 4

This is a post in a series, if you're interested in reading from the beginning, click here.

One of the fun things of building your own home is shopping for everything you need!

Really, everything.

Really.

It's a bit overwhelming but on the other hand it's kinda been a game 

to find things that we love within our budget!

It was a bit early to put up lighting, but we just had to see if this light was going to work.

{We're going for that vintage look, 

with a bit of French Acadian thrown in the mix.}

Size? - check

Height? - check

Style? - check

Color? - check 

Using the roofing as our color guide, we've decided on black accents in lighting and hardware.

Ok, back to reality...the sheet rock stage.

We were excited to see real walls and get a good feel for the actual size of the room.s

This is a shot of the breakfast area overlooking the back porch and yard.

Did you notice the electrical plug? 

They are placed low and horizontal...I'm hoping this will help hide cords.

This is the den...

...and taken from the foyer into the den.

This shot is taken from the breakfast area into the kitchen.

And finally, on the exterior,

the decking was completed for the porches.

Up next, trim and...

more brick!

New Home...Part 3...

This is a post in a series, if you'd like to read from the beginning of this series, click here.

After the walls and roof decking were in place, 

we were ready for our house to be completely in the "dry".

Our inspiration house had a metal roof.

Beautiful.

We checked into it, but it was not in our budget.

We considered putting on a partial metal roof but we just couldn't get the right look.

We drove neighborhoods looking at various roofing but didn't find anything that we felt would work.

So, we decided on a composite shingle.

The color is charcoal...this would begin the accents of black throughout the interior and exterior.

The back view...

Siding and windows were next. 

Those front windows are on their way to being "mock" French doors. I originally wanted the doors to be exactly like the inspiration house, but again, for budgetary reasons, we decided to modify the front.

(It will make more sense in a bit.)

Garage doors and trim were complete...

and

windows and doors were installed.

Mechanicals were put in place:

plumbing...

electricals, 

and HVAC.

Did you see the flooring in the photo above?

Yep...that's brick.

We didn't want wood in the laundry room so we opted for brick.

I just love it!

We also added a bit to the master bedroom.

 A few interior rooms were insulated...

while the majority of the insulation was blown in.

Are you still with me? 

I know, that was a long post!

Sheetrock is next!