I can't believe we've been living in our house for 2 full months already. Time flies when things are crazy busy (but the blog sure doesn't get updated)! Although we had 90% of our belongings unpacked and put away within the first week, it takes a long 
time to actually finish moving in to a brand new house and that process will continue for the year(s) to come I know. But the hard part is behind us and we now have time to really enjoy our new home. It's a lovely retreat from the cold South Bend winter and I found over the holiday break that there were many days that I never left the house and never minded or felt cooped up. These first pictures are from the literal and figurative 'heart' of the house. Our new kitchen feels just right! And the wait for our Amish-built barstools was worth it - they are both sturdy and comfortable. I don't mind spending time in the kitchen so much anymore. (Don't forget to click on the pictures for bigger shots if you want a closer look!)
When we're not curled up at the island with the morning paper and a cup of coffee, the dining room has plenty of room to accommodate the three of us or much larger parties. It's not always set so grandly, this picture was taken at 
Thanksgiving. Brian was a picture-hanging fool over Christmas and we now also have a wall of family pix up which makes that big wall seem a little less...I don't know...what's the word?...oh yes, YELLOW!
I've decided that pictures on the wall are what really make a house seem like a home, they make it personal in a way that even the most carefully chosen fixtures and furniture can't touch.
The main living area is coming together, although it now looks a little bare without the Christmas tree taking up a 
major amount of space. The furniture fits well and is very comfortable, but I'll be actively looking for a sofa table and some end tables so that our guests don't have to clutch their drinks all night! Our shelves also need some brass &%#$ (otherwise known as tchotkes to everyone but my stuff-phobic husband) to fill them up but there's lots of more practical purchases higher up on the to-buy list.
The office/library shelves, on the other hand, filled up as if by magic with books, photo albums, framed photos etc. I'm sure it will evolve overtime, but it is one of the few spaces that became 'finished' and functional very quickly.
The man cave is still very much a work in progress, but the men are working on getting their visions to mesh into a coherent design. While I 
unpacked, washed and organized an entire house, Brian unpacked, washed and organized his beer can collection. There's actually a nice story that goes along with the collection, but you have to visit to hear it. And I'd rather have it out and sparking conversations and trips down memory lane (most of our visitors, oddly enough, have drunk A LOT of beer in their lifetimes!) than packed away in boxes for another 30 years. Brian and Conor are actively shopping for a pool table to complement the collection and hope that will be installed before long.
The other side of the basement is kind of a hodge-podge of old, but completely servicable, furniture. It's not up to Conor's high standards, however, and he is lobbying hard for a flat screen plasma TV and some leather reclining sofas. Brian assures him that a straight-A student can have all that and more! For now, he seemed to somehow manage to spend nearly his entire Christmas break playing video games without suffering too much!
The guest suite in the basement turned out very nicely, even if the paint that was specifically chosen to match the shower curtain doesn't...match the shower curtain! It would appear to have been mixed incorrectly, but we actually prefer the color and it works with the bedroom linens, so we'll call it a happy mistake and move on! PLUS, it's much easier to replace the shower curtain than repaint both rooms!
Early visitors will be happy to know that Brian's lovely sheet curtains have been replaced with temporary blinds and we are probably ordering permanent replacements for most of the windows this week! Sometimes you just have to live in a house for awhile to know what will work best! One thing we know works (and how fortuitous given the climate)...our house looks GREAT in the snow!
So that's it for now. I think this may be the end of the blog but I really want to thank my loyal readers (you know who you are). It has been good therapy to put it all into words and share it with our friends and family. Like the photos on the wall, it has kept me connected to the people and places that were and are important no matter where we call home. You all know where to find us. Just know that until you get here we'll be........
All the 'actors' must be reading off the same cue card this week. You know, the cue card that says, "Of course you'll be in by Tuesday!" I'm thinkin' Wednesday maybe, probably Thursday. It's not a real problem either way as we scheduled the movers for Monday, Nov. 3 just to be safe. It's almost surreal to think it will be OUR house this week.
It's like this project we've had going for 7 months and you almost forget that you get to LIVE there! Brian and I were over this afternoon when the wind was howling outside, but it sure felt warm and cozy and quiet inside! I think winter might almost be tolerable in such lovely surroundings!
Here's a couple more pix of new additions. Above is the tile for the backsplash, which may or may not be done before we move in. I was going to just wait, but 
they don't want to install the microwave until it's in (or they have to take it out and reinstall it). We're getting the 2x4 subway tiles in the lower left corner of the board. It picks up on the green walls and the cabinet color very nicely (and is quite similar, if memory serves, to what I had in VA).
To the left is the basement rec room looking into the guest suite. The neutral wall color I picked just didn't work at all with the tile down here (I swear it's a different color in every room it's in). At the last minute I found some linens we liked that worked with the tile and picked a pretty blue/green paint to go with them. Then Red Santa (that is the honest to god name of our 78 year old painter) painted the bath, hall and bedroom all the same
color. The guest room will be the 2nd nicest bedroom in the house (after Conor's, of course... he's getting a new bed and we ordered new mattresses for this guest room as well -- you're welcome!)This last pic is the stairwell down to the basement which has a nice feature we didn't really plan for, which is always a bonus. There's a little display shelf area around the window. Don't know what's going there yet, but it's kind of cool. (It will look better once the walls are painted!)
I forgot to take a picture of the fireplace now that the mantel is in and we also have appliances. We are so looking forward to new appliances. I may even learn to love cooking! I do love all the paint colors, although the yellow in the dining room is maybe a little brighter than I planned. I think when the furniture is in and some of the walls are toned down with drapes and pictures, it will be just fine.
Can't wait to post the "DONE" pix, but realistically that's still months away but slowly but surely we'll get there!
We must be reaching the end of the line, because our house has turned into the Extreme Home Makeover set! When I went over this afternoon to meet with Alan about knobs and bathroom fixtures, there were no less than 12 workmen on site. 2 indoor painters, 2 
outdoor painters, 2 granite installers, 1 tile guy, 3 carpet installers, 1 carpenter and one guy delivering Conor's bathroom counter! With all that chaos, I went through just praying that they were doing more good than harm!!
The upstairs bedrooms have all been painted and the neutral walls work pretty well with the carpet. If you think neutral means it goes with anything, you haven't picked paint colors lately! There are warm neutrals and cool neutrals and if you can tell what will 'go' by looking at two by two swatches of paint and carpet in a showroom with bad lighting...you are a better person than me!! I think when we get some furniture and fabric into the rooms it will all blend together in a very muted, unobtrusive way, which is just what we want until, somewhere down the line, we pick more specific colors!
The granite looks great! And we ordered the most 
comfortable wood bar stools ever made in Amish country on Saturday. Brian says your back just melts into the chair! They will be sturdy oak and painted black. The downside is that they won't be at the house for 8 weeks but we think they'll be worth the wait!
The fireplace tile is going to be beautiful with the furniture and the green wall paint 
- Texas Sage to be exact! It's not grouted yet, but it's on the wall and that is huge! The mantel is going to be a little simpler than originally planned because we want to keep it somewhat low so we're not straining our necks to watch TV, but given that the tile is 'busy' it's probably better that the mantel is simple and understated.
The gaffer is, of course, the lighting professional on a movie set. Our gaffer is Steve and he has been a steady, competent contractor throughout this process (and he's funny to boot!). All our lights etc. are now in, with minimal hoopla required.
The biggest glitch isn't really even Steve's fault. Code requires that the island have an outlet but the cabinet 
design, since we have drawers on the non-breakfast bar side, doesn't have room for the outlet so we're having to modify the top drawer of the bank with a little cut out in the back to make room for the outlet. I'm telling you, it's unreal the number of things that 'no one ever tells you' to take into consideration when planning your house! It's often something that no one else will ever notice, but also, usually something that could have easily been planned for (instead of around) if only someone had clued you in from the beginning!But I love the lights and as each of the other components 'comes on line', I am happier 
and happier with the overall effect!
Going clockwise from the top left, the lights shown here are the master bath 'track' lights (needed due to the clipped ceiling), the pendant lights over the island with the dining room chandelier in the backround, the light in the upstairs stairwell which actually looks very cool from above which was a nice bonus (wish I could say I planned it!) and the ceiling fan in the master bedroom. And finally below, is a picture of the front of the house with the porch lights and post lamp. Brian worries that the line between Craftsman and Asian is a little blurred, but I think they are a nice accent. It will be particularly great when our real front door goes up as the current one just doesn't do the rest of the 'set' justice!Remember to click on the pictures to get a closer look! And that green stuff?? You betcha!! It's grass (thin and fragile looking but grass just the same)!
I can't believe we've been living in our house for 2 full months already. Time flies when things are crazy busy (but the blog sure doesn't get updated)! Although we had 90% of our belongings unpacked and put away within the first week, it takes a long 
time to actually finish moving in to a brand new house and that process will continue for the year(s) to come I know. But the hard part is behind us and we now have time to really enjoy our new home. It's a lovely retreat from the cold South Bend winter and I found over the holiday break that there were many days that I never left the house and never minded or felt cooped up. These first pictures are from the literal and figurative 'heart' of the house. Our new kitchen feels just right! And the wait for our Amish-built barstools was worth it - they are both sturdy and comfortable. I don't mind spending time in the kitchen so much anymore. (Don't forget to click on the pictures for bigger shots if you want a closer look!)
When we're not curled up at the island with the morning paper and a cup of coffee, the dining room has plenty of room to accommodate the three of us or much larger parties. It's not always set so grandly, this picture was taken at 
Thanksgiving. Brian was a picture-hanging fool over Christmas and we now also have a wall of family pix up which makes that big wall seem a little less...I don't know...what's the word?...oh yes, YELLOW!
major amount of space. The furniture fits well and is very comfortable, but I'll be actively looking for a sofa table and some end tables so that our guests don't have to clutch their drinks all night! Our shelves also need some brass &%#$ (otherwise known as tchotkes to everyone but my stuff-phobic husband) to fill them up but there's lots of more practical purchases higher up on the to-buy list.
unpacked, washed and organized an entire house, Brian unpacked, washed and organized his beer can collection. There's actually a nice story that goes along with the collection, but you have to visit to hear it. And I'd rather have it out and sparking conversations and trips down memory lane (most of our visitors, oddly enough, have drunk A LOT of beer in their lifetimes!) than packed away in boxes for another 30 years. Brian and Conor are actively shopping for a pool table to complement the collection and hope that will be installed before long.
The guest suite in the basement turned out very nicely, even if the paint that was specifically chosen to match the shower curtain doesn't...match the shower curtain! It would appear to have been mixed incorrectly, but we actually prefer the color and it works with the bedroom linens, so we'll call it a happy mistake and move on! PLUS, it's much easier to replace the shower curtain than repaint both rooms!
Early visitors will be happy to know that Brian's lovely sheet curtains have been replaced with temporary blinds and we are probably ordering permanent replacements for most of the windows this week! Sometimes you just have to live in a house for awhile to know what will work best! One thing we know works (and how fortuitous given the climate)...our house looks GREAT in the snow!
