House on Hillsboro

One Week Later

 

Picture above:  Here is the desk off of the kitchen.  I have decided to top it in the same Caesar Stone I will put on the kitchen counters.  The upper cabinets will be covered with doors and are deep enough to store my printer, freeing up the top of the desk of everything but my monitor so that I will have space to lay paper and write.  The cabinet below will store my hardrive.  There will be lighting mounted flush under the upper cabinets and a corded wall phone mounted on the wall on the left - the one in the house that will work even when the power is out.  The guys will create several tunnels through the wall into the pantry so that all my computer/printer cords can be organized in there and out of sight.  And not underfoot!

 

Picture above:  The bannister made by hand by the builders.

 

Picture above:  Master bedroom with finished ceilings! looking through master bath and into the closet.

 

Picture above:  Master bath counter tops.  I wanted something seamless and shiny and white to match the tubs and toilets.  I went with the cultured marble from Lowe's and while I had no fewer than five nightmares that they didn't fit, they did!  And I am really happy with them.

 

Picture above:  Can you believe it?  Flooring!  Not only have I finally committed to something but I LOVE it, it was UNDER budget ($2.77/square foot), and some is even installed!  It is a SwiftLock laminate from Lowes. 

 

Picture above:  The master closet is finished except for a small piece of trim that will finish the molding around the floor.  Ray built the custom closet system after a quick consult with me and it is so nice.  The shelves on the right will serve as the bathroom storage for towels and such.  The thought of filling the rest of the space neatly with our things AND having space for it all is so exciting.

 

Picture above:  Here is Ava's cultured marble counter top.  Perfect fit!  And, yes, that is a shell sink.

 

What?  She really loves the ocean. 

 

Picture above:  This morning they laid the floor in her room and closet. 

 

Here is one of the windows in Jack's room.  I had fifteen or so lights in various spots throughout the house that I wanted to match and be relatively simple and inexpensive.  I found the school house-esque ceiling mount at Lowe's for $30.00 a piece and was thrilled to death. 

No stone progress this past week.  Here's hoping for Monday!

Beadboard

 

 

 

We are slowly getting there!

The bead board has been installed in Jack's bedroom.  I had them finish the top with a two (three?) inch ledge instead of just a trim piece.  It looks wonderful plus you can use it to lean pictures and such against the wall or to sit tiny horse or zebra or giraffe or rhinoceros figurines and anyone that knows Jack can tell you that will tickle him to death. 

The white primer is so soothing and beautiful that I am almost scared to walk in the room the first time after they paint.  Choosing paint was so hard for me and I have a history of never liking paint when it first goes up even if I come to love it later.  They are painting now, the first coat is on in most rooms and walking over in the evening has a new touch of fear to it.  I am fairly certain that painting is my least favorite part.  I'll let you know how many I got right and how many I didn't.  I am hoping for at least 50/50!

The rain.  Our little pond is breaching the levee as we speak and Hillsboro Road is completely covered in several places.  Today is so dark and stormy the guys can't work at all AND rain is predicted every day this week.  We need several sunny days to stain the outside and install the metal roof.  In the meantime, I am officially needing wood floors.  Decision time has come. 

Around the House

 

Yes, yes, yes.  Perfect.

 

Picture above:  Front door, looking in and to the left. 

 

Picture above:  On the other end looking toward front door.  Frank is sweet.

 

Picture above:  I do believe the fireplace is our favorite thing in the whole house.  I began to worry that when they finally built it in it would feel big and obtrusive because I had gotten use to nothing being there, but it feels just right.  It will soon be covered in a stone veneer that will come down over the top three rows of the white fire brick so the opening won't seen so tall.  They will also build a hearth. 

Over the weekend JD and I sat our lawn chairs where the couch will go and imagined watching tv.  It wasn't awkward in any way!!  It is definitely not too high.  Relief!

 

Picture above:  Master bath tub nook and shower on the left.  Because the shower is seven feet deep, I made the decision to make the outside wall a half wall.  The top will be covered in glass and the door will be glass.  It will definitely feel brighter and less claustrophobic when you are in the shower but I am having second thoughts about the way it looks from the point of view from the tub.  Another tricky compromise.  I think it was for the best, though.

 

Picture above:  Across from the tub nook.  The original plans showed dual sinks with knee space in the middle and one long counter top.  I think I have decided to have a sink on the left, counter top with knee space (a vanity) on the right, and floor to ceiling storage in the middle - drawers below to store the little stuff and large cabinets above to store towels.  Otherwise, the only storage will be in the master closet (the plans show a built in linen closet there). 

The space is 9'4" long, so if the built in was about two feet wide (the width of two rows of folded towels) each side would still have 3 1/2 feet of counter space.  Do you think the space will feel crowded?

 

Picture above:  The landing at the top of the stairs.  Door to Ava's room on the left.  Eventually, the floor to the left of the stairs will be cut out to the floor joist creating a space to look down into the foyer from the second floor.

 

Picture above:  Looking into Jack's room.

  

Picture above:  Jack's room view from his bathroom.

   

Picture above:  Looking out Jack's door at the bookcase.  Ava's room is so full of saws and sheetrock and such that I am not able to get a good picture now. 

Aren't we making progress!  Building this far has been an absolute pleasure but the hard part (for me)is about to really begin.  Lights, paint, wallpaper, counter tops, sinks, appliances, and MORE FLOORS.  Oh, dear. 

Sheetrock, Plumbing, Electrical

 

Picture above:  Master bedroom

 

Picture above:  First floor heating and cooling unit.  There is a separate one for the second floor.  Laundry room on the left.  Master bedroom on the right.

 

Picture above:  Master bath shower.  Master bedroom on the left.  Master bath on the right.

 

Picture above:  View into master closet from master bath.  It's a doozy.  There is another window to the right.  JD and I won't know what to do with ourselves. 

 

Picture above:  The closet area I turned into a built in bookcase.  Second floor heating and cooling unit will go there on the right and the fireplace will come up to the right of that.  Window nook on the left.

   

Picture above:  Jack's room

 

Picture above:  Ava's room.  I am having heck making a final decision about furniture placement in this room.  Every room, really.  It matters because the phone jacks and coax go in now.  I wish I had thought about thinking about that a long time ago.  It just never occurred to me.  But I am learning!

As a side note, I recently realized that house plans are on the same scale as graph paper.  I honestly had no idea!  One square foot is equal to one graph paper square so you can make to scale cut outs of your furniture and place them around the house really easily. 

 

Jack's Room

 

The picture above is just as I entered the room.

I have a weakness for slanted ceilings in second story rooms.  It's like you are in an attic.  They make me feel safe and cozy.  Jack's room feels very cozy and boyish.  I will use bead board here also, but for him I plan to stain the wood instead of paint it.

 

The picture above, I panned left.  The door opening on the left is to his closet, on the right to his bathroom.

 

The picture above is standing in his bathroom door.  Door out on the upper right.  I have given up trying to take a picture without an animal somewhere in it.

I will use bead-board here also, but for him I plan to stain the wood brown instead of paint it.  Then...more wallpaper!  I have this idea in my head of a plaid.

Something like

   

(too blah)

or

 

(too busy)

but not those.  They aren't exactly right and when it comes to plaid wallpaper not exactly right can be so very wrong.  I plan to keep looking until the last minute and if the right one doesn't come along we'll paint.

Ava's Room

The rain is back.  But now it's okay because the builders just move inside and keep working!!  They have spent the last two days working mainly upstairs on the electrical wiring, framing, and windows.  I am absolutely thrilled with how the kid's rooms are turning out. 

Ava's room in the orginal plan had an odd dead space area along the windowless wall that we suspect was to be used for duct work for a house on a conventional foundation.  We will not use that so it and the built-ins alongside it are out.  That will leave a long, solid wall with a angled ceiling above (what do you call that type of wall/ceiling?) which is where I have decided to put her bed.

 

I am standing in the doorway looking in.

In the picture above, you can see the slant in the ceiling on the left.  The doorway to the right opens to a little foyer (here we go again, what is this area called?  It is like a little entrance to her bath and closet.) with a door to the right leading to her bathroom and a door to the left to her closet.  The window you see is in her closet.  If the sheetrock were up you would not be able to see it.

 

Here is the full wall.  I think a bed under that slanted ceiling would be so cozy.  That is the dining room behind.

 

The picture above is the opposite wall.  Door out on the right.  The 2x4 running perpendicular is to adhere bead board.  My plan for the room is off white painted beadboard on the bottom with wallpaper above.

 

This wallpaper.  It is English Elegance Trellis by Laura Ashley.  I chose it a long time ago and have never wavered.  It is classic farmhouse, sweet and understated and I think it will be as appropriate for her in ten years as it is now.  But which colorway?  I am about exactly 50/50.

  

Then the wood floors used in the rest of the house and a bronze bed to match the windows and Ava will have (most of) her first very own room.