Tuesday, April 08, 2014

Picks for the Home...

Building this house has become such an overwhelming, but oh-so exciting process so far.  We haven’t even actually started building yet, but we’re hoping to by the end of this month, early next.  We have a few loose ends to tie up, an appraisal to order, and a loan to settle on, but the majority of our subcontractors are lined up and ready to go. 

I thought I would share a few tidbits of things that we have picked out.  Of course these are all subject to change, but these are the choices I feel most confident about so far.

Siding.  We decided to go with LP SmartSide siding rather than vinyl.  It’s made from engineered wood and is more durable than standard vinyl.  We will be doing a combination of lap and shake siding.  I’m so excited about our color choices, Sand and Montana Suede, they should be beautiful together with an accent of ivory trim. 
here's some inspiration... shake on the peaks and lap on the rest.  Beautiful!


Flooring.  We want hardwood flooring all throughout our house.  Only the two guest bedrooms will be carpeted.  We decided on a hand-scraped Acacia wood called LaHoya.  We always pictured our floors to be really dark, but thought that going a little lighter would help with dog hair and other debris that can be easily seen on floors.  I know I will probably be Swiffering often, but it will be worth it for these beautiful floors.

Lighting.  Although not every single light has been decided on, there are a few that I’m pretty dead set on.  I’m super pumped about these pendant lights from Etsy.  I want Edison bulbs all throughout our kitchen area, I think they just look so warm and inviting rather than the blue glow that you get from today’s light bulbs.  These pendants will hang over the island and I found a perfect chandelier to match at Menards for a very reasonable price, which will hang in the breakfast nook area. 


this will have an oil rubbed bronze finish rather than a brushed nickle finish and it will match this....

Paint Colors.  Probably the last thing I need to be worrying about at this point since we aren't even close to needing to decide on them, but I did a little browsing yesterday in the paint section at Home Depot and picked a few colors I think I'm going to go with.  


Kitchen Cabinets.  I've had a vision in my head from the day we bought the property of what my kitchen would look like and I'm not budging on it.  Ivory cabinets, with a dark wood island, beautiful counter tops, and GE Slate appliances. This is the room I'm most excited to see finished.


Thomasville in Toasted Almond.

Things will only get crazier from here I'm sure, but I'm so excited to see all of our hard work and years of waiting finally get put into action!




8 comments:

  1. I love the colors I think blue and grey looks sophisticated in a home. Can't wait to see everything :)

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  2. So beautiful, I love your choices!

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  3. love everything - that kitchen sounds pretty divine! cant wait to see the finished home :)

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  4. Oh my gosh, that house is STUNNING, and to know that that is your inspiration....wowza. Girl, I can't wait to see what the house actually looks like! You have an amazing eye for design :)

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  5. So exciting and I love hand scraped floors - they are my favorite. Yes dog hair will blow like tumbleweeds through your house but that's what a swiffer is for (or a roomba!)

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  6. Is this the house plan you have built? I love the look of this house and would love to know where I could find the plan.

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  7. Exciting times for you, looking forward to seeing the finished product.

    Here are some things that are often overlooked when building a new house but you may want to consider
    1) install a water cop - one of the best things we did, if a leak is detected it turns the water off at the main and contains the episode, can also be installed post build but if you can plan on having sensors installed in key areas now all the better
    2) backup generator - even if you're not doing one now let the electrician know now you may want to do one some day so they can configure your panel in such a way that makes it easier and cheaper when you do decide to do it
    3) above cabinet lighting - have outlet installed above each cabinet run with all outlets controlled by a single/common wall switch, then you can use white xmas light strings or tube lights and turn on and off as desired, wiring is concealed behind crown molding on the uppers
    4) fireplaces - run a gas line to anywhere you want a gas fireplace even if you're not installing one there now, including outside if you want to put in a gas firepit, a natural gas grill, or a pool heater
    5) outside electrical and water spigots - plan a run for the opposite side of your driveway so you don't have to tunnel under after the driveway is in (or at least have them install and mark conduit so you can get under driveways and sidewalks with ease)
    6) heating cables - if you live where you get a lot of snow install switched plugs under the eaves so you can control turning them on/off, also break out into zones as north and east facing sides are used more frequently than west and south facing
    7) basement - if you're not finishing it now at least put in the required infrastructure for a toilet, shower, and sink...and a kitchette
    8) dimmers - plan on having the electrician install them so you don't have to swap them out later
    9) finishes - don't overlook door knobs and hinges
    10) sound deadening insulation - install in key places like the ceilings below kids rooms, bathroom/shower walls, shared bedroom walls, media rooms
    11) baseboard, door, and window moldings - don't skimp on size here, typically you'll only pay the difference in material not labor for a 10" baseboard vs 3" and what a difference it makes
    12) additional UV/sun protection for south and west facing windows - to protect your floors, furniture, and artwork from sun damage, we had Vistafilm installed after the 1st year as the premium windows didn't provide enough protection and we noticed how much our furniture had faded

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