Family and Fixtures

This week the kids came with me to the house.  My grandson's had a wonderful time playing in the dirt and running through the empty house screaming (because it echoed and was loud).  

I managed to get some great pictures of them, and one of Jeff and Vicky that is very nice.

My lovely daughter-in-law and my son.  Love them both.

The boys had a really good time playing in the dirt.  But then they are boys and don't all boys like dirt time.  :)

I really wish this one had come out clearer.  This is a really good shot of the boys.  

This week at the house, the fixtures are in all the bathrooms and kitchen.  I received an email on Friday from the builder giving me a heads-up that many of the fixtures are wrong.  I order oil-rubbed bronze, and all the sink and bath fixtures are chrome.  They still have not fixed the cabinets where the refrigerator will go but they have finally fixed the lack of outlets in the craft room.  

So looking at the pictures, note that the light fixtures are ORB, but the faucets are all wrong.  
Tile is in and the stone tiles around the master tub are also installed, with one section pulled away due to the faucet issue.  The tiles in the pictures of the shower look like they don't match; however I didn't notice it when we were checking everything out so I believe it is just the photo or the lighting in the photo.  

The half bath is almost done with the exception of the base board trim and the correct faucet.  The floor will need to be scrubbed, but they bring in a cleaning crew before the first walk-through and also touch up the paint in areas that are roughed up.

This bathroom is going to get a lovely Ralph Lauren wall treatment.  He has some wonderful paint techniques that include metallic finishes and since this is a completely enclosed room, having a shimmer on the wall will spread the limited light.  

The lights fixtures are all standard and the fans they have installed do not have lighting.  I have already found replacement and will order them in December.  I have yet to see that fixture they have for the entry, but I hope its a simple piece like I had in the Plano house.  I really liked that one as it gave off great light and the design went well with my style. 

The kitchen looks wonderful, I am so glad I went with recessed lighting over the island.  The more I see kitchens with the pennants hanging down, the less I like them.  Dust catchers is all they are.

The exterior up-lighting is in and has a nice dark finish that looks good against the dark brick.   

This week I need to go over to the storage place and take a look at the coffee and sofa tables.  My interior designer (Kim Wofford at Ethan Allen Frisco) thinks the counter stools I love will do just fine with all the ORB because I already have the iron worked into the existing furniture, and the Plano house was filled with ORB and it never looked odd.    

The table for the entry way will be delivered on the 20th of this month and the bookcases for the study will be here in December.  It will be a challenge to store these new pieces in that tiny apartment.  

The plan is to have as many workers as possible out at the house that first weekend after I sign the papers.  The carpet is already scheduled to be installed that Saturday.  If I can swing it, I'll see if I can get the ceiling fans installed that same Friday in the afternoon.  

WOW... 10pm, where did the evening go.  

Week 22: Primer, Pavers and a Close Date

The close date has been scheduled for January 27th.  I'm thrilled to have a date for closing, but unfortunately it puts me on month-to-month at this apartment complex and the rent is ridiculous once I hit that point.  I looked at the numbers, and it would cost me more to get another storage unit and move out, then it would to just suck it up and pay the rent.  

With closing at the end of the month, I won't be able to move in right away due to Month End Close at work.  However I have already requested 2 weeks in February immediately after we are finished with closing the books and submitting the reports.  I do not want to move into the new house the way I moved out of the Plano house, piecemeal.  That was too stressful.

Waiting a few weeks to officially move in will allow for the carpet to be replaced and maybe some paint work.  

A lot of new changes at the house today.  All the primer paint for the walls appears to be done as well as the high gloss painting for the doors, trim, shelving in the pantries and the bathroom cabinets.  

Today I picked out the pavers that will be on the back porch.  The picture below is from the model, the paver I selected is darker and compliments the darker brick on my home.  I also met with my interior designer this afternoon and we completed the various room designs and furniture layouts.  Before the end of the month we will go out there and measure all the windows so the order for shutters can be placed.  We are trying to time this so that the window treatments and new furniture purchases come in right at the time of the closing.  That way things like window treatments can go in before the actual move in.  

Todays Pictures:

It was a rainy day today and I really liked how nice the brick looked in this weather.  I love rainy days like this, even stormy days for that matter.   

Constructions workers are SLOBS!!!

YAY!  The kitchen counter tops are in.  They are covered in plastic right now which is why I could not get a clean picture.

They did a great job making sure every inch of the cabinets were covered for painting the walls.  

Everywhere they painted with the high-gloss paints, they covered the floor and the area's around it.  This is the master bathroom cabinets.  I love all the graduated drawers.  The center area is the "vanity".  I won't ever use it but it looks nice.

All the drawers for the master bath cabinets.

These are the study doors, but they will be replaced with the correct doors; hopefully soon.  The only light in the main hallway comes from the front door, so I decided to make the study door glass pane.  Not sure if they will have to tear out the whole door frame, or just replace the doors.  

This is a picture of the model home back porch.  The pavers really add a nice finishing touch.  The pavers I selected are darker, I'll try and remember to take a picture next week.  

PS:  Love this model.  Unfortunately it was a higher price and it would have forced me to work for another 10 years to pay it off.  I want to retire in 5 years and the model I selected will allow me to meet that goal.  Plus it is over 3000 sq ft; I don't need that kind of space, I'd just clutter it up.  LOL    

I'm off to bed.

Week 21: Moving Along

Week 21 and all the interior doors have been installed and the base boards in the bedrooms, office and media room is done. The closets and both pantries have shelving, and the shelf over the W&D in the laundry room is in.  

Speaking of, they must have been working in there yesterday because there is a river of water in the laundry room that has flowed into the media room, master closet, hallway closet and the half-bath.  I let the sales person know when I stopped by the office and he called someone go over right away to see if it was an actual issue, or if someone forgot to close a valve all the way. 

I measured out several area's today and sadly discovered that my wonderful plan for the craft room won't work.  There is not enough room between the long wall and the window.  There is only 9 inches to work with there, and the plan cuts into the window by 5 inches.  So change in plan; once in, I'll keep the bulk of the room packed and play around with the craft furniture for awhile until it falls into place.  Probably best to do that anyway; it would be a pain to go with a plan, unpack everything and then find the flow is off and have to move everything all over again.  

The front guest room is all planned out; the bed, night stand, chair and my Grandmother's beautiful vanity are measured and will fit perfectly into the space.  Since that room faces the street, it will have plantation shutters asap.  The only thing missing is artwork.  

And speaking of, the gorgeous picture below was my Mom's.  It is a very large piece and I plan to hang it right in the main hallway on the opposite wall from the office.  It will have natural light, but no direct light, which will really show it off nicely.

It is currently hanging in my office at work so the color in this picture is not very good.  The prominent color is obviously green, but there are purple, blue, yellow and some pale pink flowers in the foreground.  I have always loved this picture and I am thrilled to have such a great spot to hang it in the new house.  

A few pictures of the current installs.

Media room from the far corner.  I like that this has the double doors.  

Kitchen Pantry.  I will ask tomorrow if I can have one more shelf at the top installed.

Master bedroom, doors installed and trimmed and the base board trim all in.  Love that there are some many electrical outlets.  The two that are side-by-side are actually for cable/internet.

Kitchen nook from where the fireplace hearth will be.  

This is the hallway pantry; it is right outside the laundry room and next to the coat closet.  I was thinking this would be good for guest towels and such, but there is so much room in the guest bath and closet, that it would be easier to just keep the towels there.  Love that I have storage options.  

It's late and monthly close starts tomorrow.  **sigh** Long long days and very little sleep will is how this next week will go.   

Can't wait to get into this house so I can start looking for a new job.  

Furniture Choices

The general design or style of my furniture is traditional, but distressed.  I want my home to always be inviting and warm.  I want family and friends to feel like they can come in kick off their shoes and curl up on the sofa. 

So in order to maintain this style, I have to buy piecemeal which means I adore furniture sales.  More than that, I LOVE it when floor samples are sold.  There is simply no better bargain, and since most of my items are distressed, a dent or scratch here and there just looks like part of the plan.  :)  

EA is having a 30% off on one item sale this month so I went in to have a final look-see and decide on which item to apply that discount.  

But instead I find that the floor sample bookcase set that I've been wanting for years....literally.....is up for sale.  Of course the 30% discount doesn't apply when its a floor sample on sale, but that's just fine by me because it's almost 50% off and the right color for the study, YAY!!

This is a three piece unit with interior lighting.  The best feature is that it is glass enclosed. Along with the books, I'll be able to put some of my MA dolls in there as well as maybe a few tea cups, though it will mostly be books.

While I was at the store, I checked out counter stools and found some that are wonderfully comfortable, especially at it relates to my bad back.  There are three designs, with the Baylor being the favorite choice.  The only issue is they are iron, but in a silver tone.  Everything in the house will be in oil-rubbed bronze so I don't think these will do.  Kind of sad because I could sit in these chairs for hours and not ache.  

Baylor, Becker Dempsey (the bottom left Dempsey was in the store with fabric seat.

 Now the hunt is on to find stools that are as comfortable as these but in the right metal or wood finish to go with the rest of the house.   


Last for tonight's post is the ceiling fans.  I found the exact same fan that was in the Plano house but I also found another I like.  The first fan will be for the family room, but the second one is coming in at a super close second.  I might just buy both and decide on which room later because the 1st one would do very well in the media room as well as the family room.  

1st choice for family room.

2nd choice for family room.  This will more than likely go in the media room since it does not have a remote.

It's late and I have to work tomorrow, so off to bed.

Week 20: Wall Texture and Cabinets

It was a beautiful day in North Texas and it was made better by the progress on the house.  

The main garage door has been installed; the kitchen and bathroom cabinets are basically in; all the drywall and texture appears to be completed.  All the interior doors are leaning up against the garage wall, but unfortunately we only had an iPhone for a light source (the flash is not working on the camera) so the picture didn't come out very well.

I am hoping they begin the stone work on the fireplace this upcoming week.  

The great big mound of dirt is still in the front yard, but I'm not too sure what that is for.  It looks to be a bit too sandy for landscaping; maybe it's for the brick and stone work they are doing next door .  

Did a lot of measuring today so I can start to plan where everything will go and what I need to purchase.  Later this week if I can escape work at a decent hour, I'll work up a post with some of the decorating choices.  Now that I have the counter height, I will begin looking for stools.

I'll head over to Peek's Flooring this week and see if Mark or one of the other men can get out to the house to measure the guest room and master bedroom so we can get the carpet ordered.  For now the carpet in the media and craft room will remain unchanged.


Off to bed now, its been a long week.

From master bedroom looking into master bath.

Standing in the closet door at the end of the master bath, looking towards the bedroom.

Standing at the end of the entry hallway looking towards the main living area: kitchen to the left, family room straight ahead, nook to the far left, and dining immediately to the right.

Kitchen from the nook.  The island is 38 inches in height, and the back counter is 36.  I think they raised the back counter to keep the visual in sync.  The model cabinets were only 34 and that's just too low for my freakish height.  

From the front door looking down the entry hallway.  The hall to the right leads to the media room, a half bath and the garage entrance.  The door to the left (where the light is coming into the hallway) is the office/study.  The model and plan calls for solid doors, but I requested glass framed doors to let in more light.  The study faces north so the lighting will be perfect. 

Kitchen cabinets from the family room POV.  I plan to be three counter stools.  

Kitchen from the nook where the china cabinet will go.  

Not sure where this door belongs.  It might be for the media room or the master bath; more likely the master bath.  There is a good dozen or more doors stacked up behind this one.  Excluding the exterior doors, there are 15 doors in the house.  

No news right now other than no work has been done on the interior of my home in over five weeks.  I didn't even bother going out to the house yesterday.

The brick on the exterior is the only work completed in over a month.  Hugely disappointed when looking at all the other homes around me which weren't even foundations when my home was at framing stage.  Now every single one of them is past drywall and cabinetry stage while mine is still sitting at open framing on the interior.

Week 12 - Waiting on Inspection

Every week my builder calls to give an update on the status of the build.  So the Monday after Week 11, he called to tell me windows are in and framing is complete but now things will start to slow down.  Between each stage of completion, the builder has to wait for the state/city/county (I don't know which) inspector to come to the site and approve the work.  I called on Friday of week 12 to see if the inspector had come by, but no.  

That turned out to be a good thing because my current home went on the market Friday the 26th, plus I had to work all weekend so there was nothing to miss by not going over to the house.  

This week instead of pictures of the house itself, the pictures will be of the selections for the interior and the exterior brick.  

This is the exterior brick which is called Flagstaff.  I love the various shades and there is a hint of red in there.  That was the one regret I had with my current home, it was a spec home so I didn't get a choice with the brick.

The carpet will be in the two bedrooms and the media room; the hardwood flooring is everywhere else except for the bathrooms and laundry room.  The tile above the wood floor is the laundry room, guest and half baths.  The tiles to the left are for the master and can be seen in the next picture.  The scrap of paper under the brick and tile will be my wall colors..... for now.

This is only a partial display of the master bath choice; there will be a stone design element in the shower and the 6x6 tiles will be around the garden tub.  The large tile will be in the shower and on the floor.  The trim piece above what will be a 18x18 in size for the floor tiles is the trim for the shower.  

My plan is to get workers in there immediately after purchase papers are signed and the keys are handed over to complete the following projects.  

I opted out on carpet upgrades from the builder and will go with Peek's carpets as their service and guarantee have always been top notch.  They have carpeted all my existing rooms and I really like their selections, lots of selections.  

I'm also going to request bids from the three major closet design companies in advance.  

I already have shelving for the garage that I will take with me and that will need to be reinstalled, along with the Elfa I plan to put in the laundry room.  

The closer we get to the final purchase date I'll start making appointments with all these vendors to come out to that house and provide quotes for the post purchase work.  I'll place the orders based on how long they anticipate it will take for the materials for install to arrive.  I prefer to have all of the extra stuff done (paint, carpets, built-ins) ASAP, as in before moving in all the furniture.    

:)

Week 11 - Roofing and Windows

I wasn't expecting to see much in the way of change this week so I was surprised to see the roofing is almost done, windows are in all around, the water heater is in and I can see that a lot of the plumbing is also installed. 

The builder calls me every Monday to discuss the status and I usually ask questions regarding what I see on site, this week I plan to ask about that front window.  The windows in the front have grids in them, and I was told none of the windows would.  The grid windows appear on the elevation plan but my paperwork stats single panel windows.  So not sure if this is an error or a developer change.  I don't exactly dislike the windows, its just not what I was expecting.

WEEK 11 PICTURES:

There are only a couple places that are not yet complete on the roof.  

I can't figure out why this picture turned out so awkward.  This looks like the house is leaning or is twisted.  Very strange.  

This is the south side of the house, and that box on the wall next to the window, that's the water heater.  Its one of those new energy efficient units that heats the water super fast when you need it.  Unlike conventional units that keep the water hot all the time.  Great picture except for that bright blue port-a-potty!!  

Construction workers are slobs!!!  There is all kinds of food and drink trash tossed in with the construction mess.  Not to mention all the non-construction trash out back and in the house. 

Next weekend will be an Open House at my current home so I have to make myself scarce for the weekend.  If I stay in Roanoke with the kids, I might not go out to the house.  No sense in driving all the way over there and then back again.  

Gorgeous day today, just beautiful!!

Weeks 9 and 10 - Coming along

Week 9 was framing up to the roof and the beginning of the weather barrier siding.  I'm guessing that Week 8 must have been the start of the framing, i.e. walls.

 WEEK 9 PHOTOS

South side of house.  

Front of house faces west.  One bedroom and the front door.

Standing on the corner looking south towards my house.  

Five years from now, or possibly less, I'll share this photo with my neighbors of what our street looked like when building was first started.  Currently my home is the furthest along in the build process.  There are two other houses down on the corner that were started after mine.  The one immediately next to mine is a spec-home and framing started on it during week 11. 

The other lots belong to a different builder.  For those that don't live in Texas, developments here tend to have more than one builder in a community. 

Twenty years from now it will be interesting to compare this picture to a fully matured neighborhood picture.  


WEEK 10 PHOTOS:

 Some interior framing.  This is standing in the garage looking through the house. The door into the house is to the left.  Directly ahead from where I am standing is the media room,

 Standing in the master looking towards the garage.  The view is Master bedroom, master bath, closet, media room and garage.

 This is the family/living room fireplace.  

This is standing in front of the fireplace looking towards the kitchen.  That is the pantry door slightly off center to the right. 

Week 10 Standing on corner looking south.  There are now two homes on the corner being framed.  

EXTRA  -  I'll be planting a Chinese Pistache in my front yard.  :)