Posted on by Emily

Day 565

Greetings, loyal followers,

A whole lot of nothing has happened construction-wise since my last post. We are still waiting on the following, which at this rate may or may not be done by the end of the year:

  • shutters to be hung
  • cupola to be painted and installed
  • porches to be adjusted and screened
  • porches to finish being painted
  • exterior paint touch up
  • floors to be touched up
  • interior paint to be touched up
  • window film to be removed and screens put in
  • a bunch of other miscellaneous items. Our punch list is two pages long

Since these items are out of my control, I have focused instead on furnishings and décor.

We took a trip to Kentucky a few weeks ago to pick up items from my grandmother’s house. The good news is all of this furniture is very sturdy. The bad news is it is heavy. The guys are smiling in this photo but they had a real time moving these pieces.

But, everything and everyone made it safely to our house.

These twin beds were my mom’s and aunt’s growing up. I adore them.

Also, fun fact, this piece of furniture on the left is called a “chest on chest”. I thought my mom was “pulling my leg” when she told me that, but lo and behold, it actually says that on the tag on the back of the piece of furniture.

I’m waiting on the drapery hardware to arrive to install the buffalo check panels, but this is shaping up to be one of my favorite rooms.

We also picked up this church pew in Kentucky, which had been a fixture on my granny and papa’s carport my entire life (I’m sure even longer than that). I gave it a fresh coat of paint and it will go on the screened porch with the dining table (that I do not have yet).

In outdoor news, Josh purchased this monstrosity to collect rain. It too, will soon be painted black.

Out front, we started on the landscaping. Still much to do, but it does feel less like a job site and more like a home each time we plant something.

And my irises that I transplanted last fall from our old house are in full bloom by the driveway.

We got tired of waiting on the painters and exterior trim guys so we went ahead and put out our random assortment of porch furniture on the front porch so we can use it as the weather gets nicer. I got some new cushions for the sofa and chair that were from Josh’s bachelor life and painted the rocking chairs that were also on granny and papa’s carport for years. All of this will go to the screened porch once it’s complete, but we have been enjoying it in the meantime.

I installed my custom kitchen window treatments the second the were ready. I am in love with them. I found this fabric several years ago and knew I had to have it somewhere in the house where I could enjoy it everyday. They were a splurge, but I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Bu assisted with the shade installation.

There is still touch up to be done in the butler’s pantry and the wine fridge needs to be put back (it currently looks lovely in the middle of the mudroom), but I have put on the cabinet hardware and we are using it as a bar.

Bu got a little touch up – his first bath in his new sink.

There was some verbal protesting, but everyone made it out unscathed.

He’s always happy to be fresh and clean, but does not enjoy the process. I have similar feelings about working out.

Bu says please no more baths this year.

We’ve also had quite a bit of rain. We lost power and cell coverage for a while the other day. Wouldn’t recommend it.

As a result of all of this rain, Josh spends a lot of time spreading grass seed and putting down erosion control matting.

It’s about time to be thinking about our garden and all I want to do is plant things. All Bu wants to do is follow me out onto the porch.

Alas, due to MORE rain, my projects for today will have to be indoors. So I will be painting this bench, with Bu’s supervision.

Please pray for shutter installation soon.

Posted on by Emily

Day 532

Hello!

I didn’t realize it had been a hundred years since I last posted. Sorry about that.

It turns out moving your home and business is not for the faint of heart.

Highlights from the past month:

  • we are in the new house
  • we closed on the old house
  • we survived
  • Bu is adjusting well (likely because he’s getting to sleep with us)
  • both Josh and I have received our first dose of vaccine

This is where we left off last…

March 12:

Who knew we could cram over two hundred boxes worth of stuff into a ranch house?

The weather had been beautiful all week and then, of course, the day of our move was rainy.

It took the movers over six hours to pack the two trucks. Somewhere along the line, they decided they needed an additional truck and accused us of accumulating more stuff because the estimator said we would only need two trucks. We assured them that, if anything, we had purged stuff. They sorted out the third truck, sent another guy, and by 4PM(!), we were headed to the new house. We bought them pizza and with renewed energy, they unloaded the trucks in half the time it took them to load.

Fun plot twist: we still hadn’t received approval on our final inspection at this point, so we couldn’t actually unpack, set up, and move in.

So, our house looked like this for the next week.

During that week, which I took “off”, I went and collected final items from our old house, hounded the builder to get things done to satisfy the inspector, set up a temporary office headquarters at my parents’ house, closed on our old house with a power of attorney for Josh, and moved in with my parents while Josh was out of town all week for work. Oh, and for kicks, I agreed to do a cleanse with my sister.

Our old house also did a cleanse and was unrecognizable with out our three trucks worth of stuff.

I will miss our view of downtown Nashville.

It was a great first house, which I bought planning to live there three-five years. Three rounds of renovation, six years, and a husband later, we sold the house to a couple who will take good care of it.

I will say, it seems like a lifetime ago that we lived there.

Because we live here now! We officially moved in March 20 after receiving approval on the afternoon of the 19th.

Our satellite internet was installed nearly one week later, which meant I was basically living in 1992 until then.

(still waiting on them to put on the shutters and finish painting the exterior – which is killing me)

The screened porch is framed, awaiting a few adjustments, and then it will be painted and screened. I can’t wait to use this space, especially as the weather improves! Though, as you can see in this photo, we’ve had some extreme weather lately.

A week into living in the house, we had record levels of rain and flooding, accompanied by some of the brightest lightning I’ve ever seen and sizeable hail.

Thankfully, we made it through without damage.

Most mornings look like this, with the sunrise gently waking us. No, that’s not fog, it’s the window film that is still on the outside of our windows.

It’s on the punch list, along with 82 other items.

Still some final interior painting to finish up…

The butler’s pantry is going to be one of my favorite spots in the house, but right now it just looks creepy.

The rest of the house is coming together, with Bu supervising all of the unpacking from a comfortable perch.

Getting reacquainted with all of the upholstery…right after I had cleaned it.

These chairs will go in the library (inherited from my parents’ house) and the rug from our old bedroom is too small, but for now they are helping to make the living room feel like a real room.

Approximately one hundred of the two hundred boxes were kitchen items. Window treatments are in the works!

The dining room is feeling a little sparse. We need six more chairs to fill out the table, but we used it for Easter and it was perfect for social distancing!

The laundry room is being put to good use. Bu assists with washing and folding each load.

Tonight will be Bu’s first night in his room and not in our room. Yesterday, we assembled his new cat tree, which we thought did not come with instructions until we had it 80% together and then the instructions somehow materialized.

I’m convinced Bu was sitting on them.

Taking his new tree for a spin. I had to order a “large cat” tree with perches large enough for Mr. Seventeen pounds.

I guess it’s time to move his sign from the master suite to the pet suite. Hopefully the punch list will be wrapped up soon and we’ll no longer need this sign!

Posted on by Emily

Day 382

What do you think of our new furniture?!

Just kidding, we have a long way to go until it’s time for furniture.

We had a big inspection last week for the rough plumbing, HVAC, and framing. The inspector was cranky and came up with a list of things (several of which the builder and I have never heard of before) that need to be fixed before he’ll pass us. Still working on getting that completed.

In the meantime, we are bursting at the seams with insulation.

Progress continues on the exterior:

I am loving the paint color!

The black doors and shutters will add some much needed definition.

Less exciting but extremely necessary, they are putting in the septic system. I am not sure what all this entails and I don’t think I want to know. All I know is that the ugly orange fencing is gone and the open yard feels a million times better.

So much more open from the porch!

This will soon be a lovely, grassy field.

The cellar door is in! Getting close to being able to secure the house.

Perhaps most exciting of all in the last week, I selected our soapstone slabs for the kitchen and butler’s pantry. I am absolutely obsessed with them.

If you need me, I’ll be staring at pictures of my slabs.

Posted on by Emily · 3 Comments

Day 297

Nearly 300 days in and it’s been a big week!

At my site meeting with the builder Friday, there seemed to be dozens of people working.  Some were framing, others were putting in windows, and then John was out on the bulldozer moving dirt.  I’m not entirely sure that some of them weren’t paid actors to make me feel like there was major progress happening.  It worked.

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The first major item I discovered was the driveway.  It has been graded up to the level Josh specified with a fresh layer of gravel.  Compared to what it had been, it was like driving on glass.

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The second major item: windows!!! They are all in and I couldn’t be happier not only to see my pretty windows, but to see the views again from inside the house.

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We have also gained a dumpster.  Less exciting, but it means things will be happening.

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I’m obsessed with these windows in the library.  I had originally planned for 5 here, but when I was reining in the budget, I cut it to 3.  Though you’d be hard-pressed to convince me there is such a thing as too many windows, I think 3 feels right here.

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Several items of note in this photo:

  1. windows
  2. the raised hearth
  3. there is a chimney and it is the correct size

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All of the framing issues upstairs have been corrected.  This is the spot where it all fell apart a few weeks ago.

Many walls have been moved to achieve the specified measurements and alignments in each room.  Please note here in the master bath that the vanity wall no longer obstructs the windows and that the hall and doorway into the bathroom are now centered on the windows as intended.

Now I can sleep at night.

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Chimney take II.  Now that the chimney has slimmed down, my shutters will be able to lay flat against the exterior wall.

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The lovely library windows again.  I am also in love with the small window to the left of the dormer.  I put it in to tie in with the windows in the mudroom clerestory on the front of the house.

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The driveway up by the garage is looking better and better as John continues to dig it out.

And you might be wondering where all of this dirt is going?

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To the front yard!  John is getting pretty close to the final grade up against the house.

And who is that off in the distance?

That would be Josh and my dad, continuing to work on the fence.

Yesterday morning, I gave my mom and grandmother a guided tour of the house, highlighting all of the structural updates and furniture placement thoughts.  I fielded questions at the end, which led to an in depth discussion of stair parts.

I was stalling to avoid fence duty.

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But, alas, I was summoned to put in something on the order of 500 screws to be sure the boards were well-secured to the posts.

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Though I own many power tools and am not afraid of a little DIY, we will be hiring out the fence on the other side of the property.

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Josh finished putting in the last few hundred screws today.  Meanwhile, I sat in the dining room and finalized a detailing document for the builder with diagrams and notes about things like plumbing fixture placement, countertops, tile layouts, and cabinetry coordination.  It’s currently 36 pages.

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This was my fancy setup.

I never thought I’d be so happy to have a $5.98 folding chair from Walmart.