Posted on by Emily · 2 Comments

Day 454

It’s been a big week!

First and foremost, WE HAVE POWER!!! This is a huge deal because it means we can now do all of the things necessary to finish the house. And by we, I mean all of the tradesman, contractors, installers, etc.

Related to this critical development – we have heat! I was able to be in the house without 47 layers on today.

We had a little family site visit today, and though, as I mentioned, we have heat and the climate was practically tropical inside the house, old habits die hard for Eugene and for Kath, who wore her earmuffs the entire time she was inside.

The other major event was the countertop installation! I am at a loss for words to describe my love for the kitchen countertops. I practically wept tears of joy when I walked in and saw the island.

As I shared a while back, it was a journey to find these slabs, and my love for them grows each day.

I will try to pull it together.

I learned the other day that soapstone is extremely heavy and that this island slab weighs approximately 1,100 pounds. I’m really glad I did not witness the guys putting this in place.

In the laundry room, we have leathered black granite. I love the texture.

I put quartz in the (very dusty) master bath and hall bath so we don’t have to worry about ruining the countertops with beauty products, which are the devil when it comes to natural stone.

I almost always do a taller than standard backsplash in bathrooms because 4″ just doesn’t catch all of life’s splashes. These are 6″. I find straight backsplashes to be terribly blocky and dull, so I threw in a curve.

The walls aren’t grouted yet in the hall bath, but I am loving the niches.

The brick fireplace hearth and surround is coming along in the living room! These bricks are from the same lot used at my grandmother’s house, which are from an old jail.

The mantel surround is in progress in the library.

Also in progress for the library are the built-ins. My dad is building them for us so I sent him this design package I put together of the plan, elevations, perspectives, exploded versions, lumber cuts and layouts, and notes. It’s quite a project, but it will mean so much to have something he built in our home.

Fingers crossed for another week of major progress!

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.