E-Haus: So Close, But So Far Away!

And here we fit our first real inevitable delay of the build process.

Though the permit process has been going smoothly and our builder has been great about scheduling changes and touch ups as indicated, Mother Nature has finally put her foot down. Though this winter was the 5th warmest ever recorded in our typically snowy area, it hasn't been a dry one. The incredible amounts of rain have made for a super muddy yard, and so the top of our driveway and sidewalk in front of our house haven't been able to be installed. So we wait.

Hopefully the delay will be short and sweet, but even if it ends up being more involved, we're still incredibly lucky to have gotten through the build process with so little setbacks. Soon enough we will be embarking upon the hundreds of projects we have yet to tackle-- the best is yet to come!

In the meantime, it's been pretty exciting to see so many details come to reality as we've watched the floors and appliances get delivered over the last few weeks. We even have a giant bag of cabinet hardware ready to go as soon as we find a few minutes to install them!

I love this view of the house. From the dark hardwood floors to the richly toned light fixtures, the french doors and the giant window, I have a feeling that these two rooms are going to see a lot of action. Though billed as a "library," the first will primarily function as a playroom for awhile, and the other will serve as a cozy space for hanging out and watching tv.

This is a small but big thing, since it's one of the details that almost got overlooked in our kitchen plan. We're so excited to have a pull out trash can and compost area!

I have a feeling that I'm going to get very used to this view. Though the pendants still need corrected (the far one, if you can't tell, is just hanging out in space and will be replaced by two of the same pendant spaced out over the peninsula) and the fireplace needs a surround, these rooms make me smile hard. I especially love the high contrast counters and cabinets on the bottom.!

We have carpet upstairs! We have a love seat that's going to make for a perfect little reading nook up here, and the view isn't half-bad, either! Bets on how long the carpet will stay white?!

Laundry room! I have since seen this room with the washer and dryer installed, and though it's by no means roomy, it easily fits two front-load units side by side and we'll be installing some upper cabinets and a countertop over them shortly.

Everett loves his room! It's just about ready for his bunk beds and a modern mural.

Like I said, I can't get enough of this view. Plus I absolutely love how our giant fan has grounded this space.

A (nearly!) finished master bathroom! I have taken daily baths for YEARS, and this will be my first opportunity to do so in a roomy tub. Unfortunately the kids have informed me that they plan on joining on the regular, despite the fact that they get their own not-quite-so-roomy tub!

The master bedroom is not large, but feels airy with the addition of a  faulted ceiling. I like a cozy sleeping space, so this is perfect for us.

Norah loves her room as well! This is the only light fixture with any bling in the whole house, but Miss Nu insisted, and so we conceded the point. The double window feature and 10 foot long closet aren't too shabby, either.

Paint, trim, carpet, hardwoods, railing, balusters are DONE-- all this view needs is some decor!

The view from our entryway. Though I initially fought hard to keep the two-story foyer that was in our first round of house plans, I'm actually so happy that I conceded this point. This space is just large enough for people to come in and deposit shoes and coats in the closet or on a hook, and feels homey besides. The extra square footage on our second floor doesn't hurt, either.

I have big plans for this little powder room. Nate is so scared, but I can't wait to give this space an extra dose of personality!

We have stone! Besides the sidewalk and a whole lot of landscaping, the only thing left to do out here is to paint our front door. I'm thinking yellow. Nate is, again, scared.

All About that Wood

One of the first things we knew about our next house-- whether we ended up buying or building-- was that we needed hardwood floors in the living areas. We were spoiled by them in our first house, and they are infinitely easier than other flooring options (in my opinion) to clean and deal with when a problem arises. Even our experiences with tile in living areas has been problematic. That stuff shatters when hit right, and either we are awesomely accurate at dropping kitchen items and optimizing the damage, or we had seriously bad luck, but we have a solid track record of at least two broken tiles per year in our former kitchen.

Here in 2015, the options for wood floors are many. Did we want hardwood or engineered wood? Shiny or matte? Pre-finished or stained on site? Painted? Dark, light, white, gray? Wide or skinny planks, or something in between? Laid traditionally or in some kind of pattern? Heavy or minimal grain? Hand-scraped? Beveled or smooth? And the choices go on. But given my aesthetic, most of these choices were easy. It was really in the breakdown of engineered versus traditional that we wavered for a while.

ENGINEERED HARDWOOD FLOORS: The wood surface is much thinner than in a traditional plank-- it's a veneer. There are multiple layers of material that have been pressed together, and normally the center is plywood although the specifics vary a bit. Due to the thinness of the exterior veneer, engineered hardwood can only be resurfaced a finite number of times (some can only be recoated and not refinished, but many can be refinished a few times if needed) but also its construction makes for less expansion and change due to weather and settling as well as creates an overall harder surface. Engineered hardwood can be low quality, but it can also be very high quality; it depends on the manufacturer.

TRADITIONAL HARDWOOD FLOORS: These are also layered, but the exterior part is much thicker than engineered hardwood and it is sliced from the log. This is just traditional wood flooring and prone to the same problems-- moisture, settling, dings and dents, etc..  It goes without saying that overall wood quality and hardness/ softness varies based on both the tree and the manufacturer.

Ultimately we found that the differences between the two were not nearly as dramatic as some of the other decisions that we're coming up against (see: vinyl versus fiber cement) and that furthermore, both options have great advantages as well as some disadvantages. We wanted pre-finished flooring for multiple reasons, including a more consistent finish that wouldn't depend on dust/ dirt/ hairs and people not walking on them for some time after installation, the durability of factory finish, and of course the cost advantage. So ultimately, this battle came down to our simple preference. We ended up choosing a number of wood flooring options-- both engineered and hardwood-- and looked at them both in pictures and in real life. A hickory hardwood ended up being our clear favorite and the winner, and I cannot wait to see them installed in our house eventually.

First of all, we love that hickory is one of the hardest domestic wood species, which we hope means that it will hold up nicely against the demands of our young and wild family. But most of all, we love the slightly rough but not insanely wavy finish, the darker color of it (it is notably darker in person), and the high variation of tone within that dark finish for a more organic look.

Countertop finishes are up next!