We have MORE walls!

So I kind of lost count of what day this was.  Somewhere around March 23.  This is a view of the garage (obviously).  There will be three cedar posts with stone base under the overhang.  

This is a view of the front of the house.  Window to the left is the garage. Window to the left of the front door is the dining, and window to the right of the door is the playroom.

Another view of the front from a different angle.

This was a nice surprise we found after purchasing the property - a field of buttercups!  I posted about them last year.  They are my favorite flower (note my blog page title).  They are a wonderful preview that Spring is on its way!

The back of the house.  For some reason, they didn't cut the plywood to the full size of the windows.  The forklift is sitting in front of the french doors that will lead from the great room to a patio.  The covered patio is off of the kitchen and breakfast area.

Another view of the covered porch, and again, windows have not been cut to correct size yet.

The side of the house.  Window on left will be den and window to right is son's room.

View from covered porch.  Stone fireplace will be where bump-out is.

My daughter loved that we had stairs that at the moment lead to nowhere.....

except a good view.

The future bonus room.

Looking into kitchen from breakfast nook.

Storage for all some of husband's crap that I hopefully won't have to look at in the garage.

Looking into garage.  We had no idea that the slope of the land was this substantial.  It really looked quite flat.  There will be about 5 steps leading down into our garage.  I'm not really happy about that but the alternative was to flip the entire house plan, which would completely change the views from windows.  I'll deal with the steps.

Looking into great room from dining room.  Patio doors in middle flanked by windows on each side.

I have obsessed over the original plan, modifications we made to the plan, and our revised plan for months (I'm talking 24 or more).  I thought it was perfect.  Like there was nothing we would change.  And then they framed it.  And then I realized, with the help of my husband, that we had a really small master bath and a decent amount of wasted space next to it.  In the original plan, I wanted some separation between the bath and the WIC (labeled Hall in the blueprint below).  I bought a beautiful little chandelier to go in that area.  There is a small window at the end of the hall, and I had visions of a dainty little dresser to hold my jewelry.  Pretty right?  And then I saw the size of the vanity area in the master bathroom.  It was about the size of a pedestal sink, and I realized it just wouldn't work.  

Here's my fix: extend the vanity on the exterior wall to the wall of the WIC, eliminating the partial wall of the cased opening leading to the MB.    

Now for problem two- the windows had already been ordered and while we could place a second order, I wanted to save time and money.  The master has two transoms in it, one in the shower and one over the sink on the exterior wall.  We'll eliminate the transom in the shower and move it to the new location of second sink.  Imagine something like this with a transom above each mirror.  

   http://www.houzz.com/photos/6500349/Minikahda-Vista-Cape-Cod-traditional-bathroom-minneapolis

Or maybe something like this with a transom above each mirror.  I can't decide if I like the storage or the vanity.  ? ? 

http://www.houzz.com/photos/206373/Presidio-Heights-Pueblo-Revival-Bath-Vanities-traditional-bathroom-san-francisco
Here's the area framed.  Standing at the double doors entering the Hall from the master.  Bye bye pretty little area with a chandelier. . . : - (

Remember me saying that the vanity area was small?  Well, this is it.  It will now be changed to a small linen closet to provide some much needed storage for the bathroom.  Another thing I felt sure we could live without but will probably be happy to have.

Another picture of the area that was to be my pretty "wasted space" with a window and the original transom over the sink to the left.

Onward to the next problem. . . the powder room.  An oddly shaped little room. . . with a niche I'm sure I would hate.  So when we decided to do away with the niche, it only made sense to straighten the wall.  I've drawn a line to show where the new wall will be.  The only thing we lose is an interior corner of a cabinet in the kitchen.  This change should also allow us to put the pedestal sink and toilet on the same wall.

I'm also hoping that by eliminating the niche and straightening the crooked wall we will be able to brick the walls of the powder room.  Here's my inspiration pic:

http://www.houzz.com/photos/11524176/Pinebrook-rustic-powder-room-other-metro

And now to something that didn't need changing (not yet anyway), the covered porch.  When the foundation was poured, this was one of two areas that I didn't think looked small (the other area was the master closet).

This is the front porch.

That's it for now!

We have walls!

Since we had two of the biggest snows in, well, since I can remember, I figured we might as well make some memories.  The kids and I had a great time riding the four-wheeler, and Daryl had a good time playing on his tractor (which I didn't get a picture of).  

 February 18, 2015

 From the barn looking out over our property.

Framers first day on the job was Thursday, March 12, and then, it rained.  2nd day with framers gave us a floor. 

March 16

 And the third day with framers gave us walls.

March 17

JB standing in his bedroom between his bathroom (on right) and his closet (on left). 

 TV room off of kitchen.  Open space in framing will be twin windows on right overlooking covered porch and triple windows with transoms on left.

 Breakfast area in kitchen.  Opening on left will be door leading out to covered porch.  Other two openings are for windows.

 Living room from front door.

 BK standing in her bedroom between her closet (on right) and her bathroom (on left).

 BK striking a pose.

March 18- More walls!  From the great room looking out the front doors (on left) and dining room (on right).

 This is the office nook.  Do you see the size of the window?  Yeah, there is supposed to be a built-in desk under the window.  Hmmmm. . . looks like we've got a problem. 

 Pantry!  Can you say hello storage?!?!

 We have a walk-through laundry room.  There's a pocket door into the lr from the kid's wing, which is where I'm standing.  The other end of the lr leads to the drop zone between the kitchen and garage.

This is the other end of the laundry room.  Drop zone (small bench with hooks above) where the orange box is.  Doorway on right leading to laundry room.

Snow dayssssssss standstill

Snowmageddon2015 halted the progress we were making on the house.  It hit February 17 and left 10+ inches, some of which is still lingering.  My attempt to meet with plumbing, lighting, and appliance reps was pretty unsuccessful since many businesses were closed for several days.  I tried  to make good use of my time looking at fixtures on the internet.  I've known for months that choosing the lighting would likely be the death of me.  How in the world does one choose light fixtures for an undecorated room that doesn't exist in a house that hasn't been built?  AND how do you do that and stay within a budget?  The first light fixture (yes, I said fixture as in singular) was more than 1/2 of my entire lighting budget.  It did come from Restoration Hardware though.  I quickly established the fact that if I am to stay in budget, I'm going to have to find some major deals!

Let's start with these two little pretties.  They are made by Minka Lavery.  The large one, measuring 35.5" H x 30" W x 30" D, was on sale for $194.95.  MSRP is $899!  Can you say deal?  It will hang in our master bedroom.  The smaller one will hang in the hallway between our master closet and master bathroom.  It was $129.95.  MSRP is $389.95!!  I LOVE them!!  Wayfair

**Update on the mini chandelier.  Due to the changes we made in the master bath, I no longer have a place for this.  (Insert sad face.)

This little cutie will go in the playroom (unless I find a better deal elsewhere).  It's currently NOT on sale but still just $99 at World Market.  Four Sided Pendant Lantern

Searching for a hanging fixture for a boy's room that has an 11 foot ceiling is a little more challenging than I thought!  I found this one that is just the right combination of industrial and traditional and should grow with him (he's 8 now).  It measures 11"Hx20"Wx20"D and was $54 including tax.  Mudhut Fixture from Target

These are for the kitchen.  The globe pendant (3 of them) will hang above the kitchen island.  The are actually quite large at 12" wide.  I love their simplicity!  Globe Pendant from Lowe's are currently $118.  Hoping for a sale soon!

The fixture on the right is the Jeremiah Thornton Aged Bronze Chandelier.   I purchased it from Amazon for the breakfast area and if I told you what I paid for it, you's swear I was lying.  So until I receive it and can confirm that it is perfect, you'll just have to guess how much it was.  (It retails for $492!!)

**Update on the Jeremiah chandelier.  It came in packaged beautifully and from what I can tell, is in perfect condition.  It was $79.00 on Amazon.

 

This is the knock-off of the Restoration Hardware fixture I'm in love with for the great room.  Problem is, the biggest knock-off I can find under $1,000 is 32".  I need at least a 40".  Still hoping something will turn up on the internet in my budget!

I've picked out this fixture from Overstock for the dining room.  It's a great price, but I'm hoping I will eventually find it cheaper.  Cavalier 9-light from Overstock

I've found that there are times I run across a fixture that I just love but have no idea where I would put it.  Maybe the laundry room?  Everyone needs a little bling in the laundry room!  It's $174.59 right now on Overstock.  It's 11"Hx18"W, not including the rod.  I just LOVE it!!  Dark Brown Crystal Chandelier

And the most recent purchase, the foyer light manufactured by World Imports and purchased from Amazon for $135.

January has now come and gone, but before it left, we made progress!  We chose a builder, signed a contract, and chose our building spot.  

January 30

This picture is taken from the front of the property looking directly back where our house will sit. 

A little closer to where the house will sit.  You can actually see some of the flags in this picture.

Standing on the right side of the property looking toward our barn.

Taken from the back right corner of the property.

This sign makes me smile.  

Taken from where the corner of our driveway will be.  

I have been following home builds on Gardenweb for over two years.  I think I know now why everyone posts pictures like this:

Pushed out on February 3, poured footers on the February 4, and delivered block on February 5.

We are blessed that there are several houses similar to ours going up in our area.  This is one of them.  Not the best picture of the house.  We were actually picking out roof colors. 

Here is another home similar to ours.  Where the first was a bit smaller, this one is much larger.  We love the colors of it and will likely do something very similar.