Day 281

Some things have happened at the property this week.  Let me fill you in:

I noticed last weekend that we had a rather significant framing issue upstairs.  Not a structural one, thankfully.  In fact, the house is built like a tank, with more lumber and hurricane ties than you can imagine.  No, the issue was regarding measurements.  I realized the issue when I walked into the master bath and the vanity wing wall was partially obscuring one of the windows.  Per my plans, this should not have been the case.

I started investigating.  Come to find out that the guest room had been framed over a foot too deep(!), thus throwing off every wall upstairs east to west.  Mostly notably, the master bedroom was 10 square feet too small as a result.  No bueno.

I did my best not to have a “come apart” (as they call it here in the south) and started documenting everything for the builder.  I was particularly wound up over this because my plans are not only to scale but also dimensioned.  I can forgive an inch here or there and realize there may have to be an occasional adjustment, but variations of more than a foot simply will not do.

Good news: I noticed this while still in the framing stage and not as we were trying to move in furniture.

Bad news: I was the one that caught this.

Good news: It can be fixed and our builder is on it.

Bad news: Nearly every wall in the main part of the upstairs has to be moved.

Good news: We will not be charged for this.

Bad news: It will delay us about a week.

I had two 2-3 hour site meetings with the builder this week to go through everything and mark what needs to be corrected.

I should have brought snacks.

OK, now onto the next critical item: the kitchen cabinet color.

It is well-documented that I am my own worst client.  While I can be incredibly decisive with selections and decisions for my clients’ spaces, the same cannot be said for my personal spaces.

I have painted this poor door sample with 5 different colors and then my own custom blends of these colors to get the color just right.  Let me just say that neutrals are complicated because they can take on various undertones depending on what time of day it is and what kind of light is hitting them.  My struggle was that I liked some better in natural daylight and the others better at night with incandescent light.  In the daylight some were taking on a fleshy undertone (which I am absolutely allergic to) and at night the others took on a green cast.

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My cabinet guy will be delighted when I tell him he has to paint match a 50/50 blend of 2 colors, one of which is at 75%.  Here is the winning combination:

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This is the same color on the whole door.  See how different it looks in light and shadow?!

While the cabinet color took an inordinate amount of time, it took me about 45 seconds to make the call on the roof material.

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Back to regularly scheduled programming and progress photos:

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They put on the underlayment for the roof and some of the flashing.

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They started on the dining room chimney.

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They have done some more digging around the garage, though there is still a bit to do.

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Josh and my dad laid out where the 4 rail fence will go along our shared property line.

They have their work cut out for them as they put in this fence next weekend.

I will be providing supervision and snacks.

 

Day 274

Well, as predicted, things have ground to a halt on the house.  Nothing happened at the house this week that I could tell, unfortunately.

I met with the cabinet guy yesterday to go over the kitchen and master bath cabinetry.  Though it will be months before any cabinetry is installed, just the thought of it makes me so happy.  As an interior designer who designs a lot of kitchens, and as someone who thoroughly enjoys cooking and baking, I have put more time into perfecting this kitchen than perhaps any other space I’ve ever designed.  I can’t wait to be in this space, whipping up a new recipe (likely from a Barefoot Contessa cookbook) for dinner with my family.

Probably about 6 more months until that’s a reality.

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I’ll just be over here at the corner of the property, dreaming about gatherings of family and friends until then.

In the meantime, Josh and my dad have been working on securing the perimeter. Josh discovered that our neighbor along our tree line was perhaps unclear on the actual boundary of his property.  We’re giving him the benefit of the doubt, but as he was clearing his entirely wooded property, he cleared almost 20 feet onto our side of the tree line. So, over the course of the past two weekends, Josh and my dad have put up metal stakes and wire along the property boundary to help make it clear.

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Not the most beautiful thing, but effective.  It’s hidden by the trees from our side.

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Along that same side of our property, past the tree line, there is another neighboring property that has recently sold.  We spotted some markers we think indicate a building envelope so we are being proactive and planning a four rail fence along that shared boundary.  It will tie into our neighbor’s fence on the West side of our property, shown here:

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As they say, good fences make good neighbors.

 

Day 243

I can barely concentrate on anything else at the moment because I’m so excited about the framing!!!

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But, first things first: Check out our driveway that has been graded up so there’s no longer a pond in the middle of it. They also put in a massive pipe specified by my dear husband who does not mess around when it comes to proper drainage.

I had been parking at the very beginning of the driveway due to it being impassible in my short SUV.  Next time, I will drive on up and park in front of the house…

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… right by the front porch!

They are starting to put in the floor system for the second floor.  The room above the front porch is the guest room.  Kath (my mom) will be so delighted to see this as she is eager to stay in her suite.

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They put in the stairs to the future headquarters of my design firm. The way things are going with COVID-19, it sounds like I will be subletting some of my office space to my husband.

Ok, back to the tour.

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My kitchen!

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Which will eventually look like this!

But probably not for 6 months…sigh.

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This is the living room, which overlooks the front porch and yard.  They had somehow missed one of these windows in the first round of framing, but they quickly got it added in after I brought it to their attention.

I’m sure I’m their favorite already.

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Though I planned for all rooms to have lots of light and pretty views, I am particularly smitten with the view from the dining room.

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I am also a big nerd about sight lines and axes.  This is the view looking the opposite direction of the previous photo.  Once all of these lovely temporary supports are removed, there will be a sight line down through the hall and out the windows of the library on the back of the house from the dining room table.

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The L-shaped screened porch that wraps the back and side of the house will have an uninterrupted view of the tree line.  Though right now, these temporary supports are really killing the mood.

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Here’s another angle showing the screened porch and those library windows I’ll be able to see through from the dining room.  I foresee spending a lot of time on this porch.  So does our cat, Bu.

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And this is the beast from her widest angle.

This house has been in my head and in my heart for so long that is really surreal to see it come to life.

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Still quite a bit left before she looks like my rendering, but well on her way!