E-Haus: Framing, Continued.

The downside of construction is the massive amount of mud. Thanks to a good amount of rain (though thankfully very little snow) throughout the build process up until this point, it's been a messy mess to go visit "New House." Tyvek really helped make it seem real. Here's our framed-in garage. Thankfully, the walls have made it evident that though the garage will be full of cars, it is also big enough to accommodate the fair amount of clutter that it will inevitably collect in it.

Here's the view from the doorway between the garage and mud room. To the right will be a big closet, we plan to build in cubbies right against the shared great room wall that's been framed in ahead, and to the left is our future kitchen.

I actually really loved how the stairs in our house come down at an angle and don't face directly toward the front. I also like the landing halfway up that just adds some interest and a safety buffer in case that kids (or me) take a tumble. That's also partially the reason that we've opted to have them carpeted to start. It will be a fun project to re-finish them someday, but it wasn't worth the 4k upcharge at this point in our lives to get hardwood treads.

The little cave is our future kitchen! The doorway in the back will lead to a "butler's pantry" and then the empty space to the right behind the kitchen is our pantry! It's not huge but it's many times larger than any food storage space we've had in the past, so this feature feels like an absolute luxury to us.

Another great room view! We haven't made any fireplace decisions other than gas (I insisted-- I want to be able to use my fireplace at the flick of a switch, and we just aren't clean enough people to effectively deal with the byproducts of a wood fire haha), but those will come. Maybe not until after we've moved in, but that's okay. We're just not willing to make a four-figure mistake on what will eventually be a main focal point of our home. Plus, DIY runs thick in our blood even as we're handing over many other house projects to sub-contractors.

Our future powder room, where we'll no longer have to frantically hide our toiletries every. single. time we have guests over (the single bathroom in our final house had an extra-narrow single sink cabinet and a 2 inch nook behind the mirror- toiletries basically lived in our rooms or behind the shower curtain).

This room is called the "library" on the plans, and I've taken that suggestion seriously. We opted against a side window on the right so that we can DIY some built-ins. I was an English major and have dreamed of a giant bookshelf that could house my entire collection, so a library fits! It will otherwise function as a playroom for the kids.

The library will be open to what is labeled a "dining room" on the plans, but is going to be a TV/ den space instead.

Another view of the stairs!

The upstairs requires a little more imagination at this point.

N in her future room!

E in his future room!

E

The start of a front door view... I'm imagining it'll look pretty different once the second story is framed, but even so, I like where this is headed! Especially as far as that bay window is concerned.

E-Haus: On to Framing

It's so strange how house building can take forever to get from even thinking about a floorplan to getting the final loan approved, and then even longer to get permits together, but once ground is broken the project can move forward at lightning speed. Our builder was adamant that our home would take approximately 5 months to build from foundation to completion, and though we heeded the advice that is EVERYWHERE online and mentally added several months in our heads, he's on track so far. In fact, there are crews of men on site 6-7 days per week. So we'll have to see what winter brings. Snow has a tendency to slow life down...

It sounds strange to say, but though our house looked enormous to me when the foundation walls went up, once the floorboards went on I started to wonder why we had chosen such a tiny home. Then the rest of the house got framed and once again, it looked big. Square footage, as with life, completely depends on the place from which you are viewing it.

This shot actually terrified me. I have no personal fear of heights but when my kids get within 10 feet of any kind of drop, I become convinced that their lives are in peril.

That tall wall on the right is the start to our (great!) great room!

And that bank of windows makes me smile so hard. I love the woods view, and I can't wait to watch the seasons change from a cozy seat within!

Walls!

I never quite considered the possibility that one day, I might wax poetic about poured concrete walls. But here I am, and actually it's a great place to be. After the perhaps ubiquitous delays that plagued the first few months of our building experience after we closed, every little bit  of construction that indicates our home will be real is awe-inspiring.

This week we were jazzed to discover that the inspection apparently went flawlessly and that our concrete basement walls were poured and then the area was backfilled in less than a week. We have egress windows and random tubing. We even saw metal trusses on site, which means that we might actually have the full outline of a house by Thanksgiving because vertical framing starts this week!

We also, of course, are realizing that the landscaping is going to be no joke at all. There is so much brush to mow down and grass to grow and general prettification of the area to be done after we move in. I don't care. We will have a house, and that is thrilling. That being said, I have big theoretical plans for a giant garden and an equally giant outdoor living area with a built-in fire pit. Someday.

This wooded area, while a little sparse-looking in late November, will be our view out of the two stories of windows in the great room. Whether they are green, flowering, or covered in snow, it will be so nice to have some nature as part of our every day home decor.

 I spy one of our egress windows! It's so strange to see a 3D version of our house plans.

Nate's standing in our three-car garage. We are realizing that it's going to be a little full once we've parked our three cars, and he's already pining for his someday pole barn.

More side yard and playtime in the garage. The best part of building a house? In my kids' opinions, it's all of the dirt!

In other news, besides vertical framing, we should finish up with our selections this week. Our builder is dropping off countertop and fireplace selections, and then we're kind of set for awhile. It's scary but also a relief. I'm excited to see all of the plans come to life!

A Little Bit of Progress

Standing near the left edge of our property facing the top of the driveway that's been cleared so far. We have a huge side/ front yard and I have big plans for gardening and outdoor living spaces.

A giant hole in the ground and the first obvious sign that yes, a house is imminent!

Kids causing all kinds of trouble knocking over wooden markers and playing in the mud!

 Despite the rainy, interrupted week-- we got our first bit of cement in the ground!

 I never thought that footings would make me feel so excited!

We requested a sample door from our cabinet people (this isn't the same style- just the same finish) so that we could make sure it worked with our vision and floors. This is the brightest I could get the light, which means that most of the time, the lower cabinets will read straight black. Perfect. 

Can't wait to see what additional progress we'll find at the property at the end of this week!

Reality [Our Budget] is Setting In

Now that we are a day away from actually getting some machinery on our property and building this house, many more decisions are starting to come into play, which is both exciting and terrifying. We are finally looking at specific kitchen layouts and talking with designers about our weird ideas to see just how realistic they are.

We are also getting the real numbers behind the choices and upgrades that we've been hoping to make. This is where perhaps our home journey sets us apart from other people building custom homes-- we don't have the budget to do everything we want to do, and as it turns out, everything we want to do is definitely more expensive than we anticipated. The hickory hardwoods I posted about? Yikes. Fiber cement siding? Yikes-er. So it's time to make some cuts.

Some decisions are easy. We aren't having our built-ins done by our builder because we are more than capable of doing them ourselves, and in fact prefer to do so. We are also going with some inexpensive options for the time being that we will upgrade ourselves when we can. But when it comes to decisions like the quandry above, it's kind of a headache.

In this case, we made that decision because we had to, and when we turned off our hearts-- because my heart really, really "needs" both options-- it was clear. We were looking to upgrade from hardwood to a different hardwood, or from a finish choice that I abhor to one that I love for many reasons. And vinyl seems like it could make us cringe for years, whereas we'll happily live with the standard wood floors. So, yeah! Upgraded wood is out and Hardie Board is in. Best of all, we can make this compromise without compromising our move-in budget and ability to buy some furniture.

Now please keep your fingers crossed about our quartz countertops. Because I'm pretty sure that whatever numbers I'm given there are going to make me cry*.

*Inside. Please someone shake me if I ever actually shed physical tears over a finish selection. It just isn't that serious.

WE HAVE PERMITS!

All permits have been submitted, we have a driveway construction plan, and excavation is imminent. It's so funny how deciding on patience sometimes ends up timing perfectly with action. We're so thrilled. In the meantime, we have a whole lot of selection decisions to finalize this week.

To celebrate these latest developments, here's a few looks I'm really digging today:

A Classy Two-Toned Kitchen

TV Nook

Planked Fireplace

YAY!

(Temporary) Change of Direction

The longer this wait continues, the more I sometimes feel like this whole "building a house" thing is a dream. A fairly realistic one with a hefty downpayment and actual plans, to be sure, but something nebulous and theoretical nonetheless. That being said, I suppose we ought to start settling into our apartment for real.

When we first moved in here, with probably a quarter or less of our belongings and a 6 month lease, it felt very much like a long-term hotel stay. I enthusiastically have shoved things into every little corner, knowing that this is not my house and it doesn't need to look good. But after almost two months, I've also realized that while this is not a forever or even a long-term house, it is in fact our home for the next indistinct number of months-- possibly even a year-- and so we've got to create some kind of a routine and enjoy the moment.

That being said, the goal this week is to stop drooling all over Houzz and Pinterest, and start making this current place work better for us. First step: start putting stuff away. Also, update our family calendar so that we're looking at October instead of August. Novel concepts, eh?