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)!
We finally ordered furniture for the living room today. Very exciting! We went over to the house this morning and they were getting everything out of the living room 
so that the floor guys can put the first coat of stain/poly down on Monday. It actually looked like a living room!
I laid out our newspaper furniture and called Andrea, the designer at Ethan Allen, to see if she could run over and hold my hand as I made the final selection. She volunteered to bring the rug and so we got a really good feel for how it would all fit and decided we could actually have MORE furniture. We were 
planning to get two loveseats and a chair but instead, ordered an 86" sofa, a 70" loveseat, a nice sized chair and two leather ottomans! It's all much more comfortable than it looks in these pix. We'll probably put a sofa table behind the sofa (I know, where else would we put it?) but we're going to wait on all end tables etc until this furniture is in place.
The furniture is due in early November so we're not too far behind! Being able to lay it all out gave me so much more confidence when I placed the order and I really feel like we ordered the right pieces to fit the space and maximize the seating! Can't wait to curl up with a good book and a roaring fire! The picture on the left is looking in from the foyer and on the right, it's looking in from the kitchen.
We got our final (dare I dream) move in date. It's been shifted back a week to October 28th. That still gives us a little wiggle room but not as much as we'd hoped for. We'll be in for Halloween though, won't that be a treat! Looking at all that still has to get done, it seems more like a trick, but we're keeping our fingers crossed.
The laundry room got cabinets and countertops late this week. They are just laminate and I was a little 
worried about the color but it looks great with the tile and is a really nice contrast against the simple, white cabinets. I bought some black craftsman-y knobs for the cabinets. I had ordered some funky ones that both Conor and Brian rolled their eyes at, but they had been discontinued, so I just picked these up at Lowes. I am definitely approaching the slap-anything-in-there-let's-just-get-this-over-with mode. My goal is to make measured choices but make them quickly and then MOVE ON!
The master bath shower has been tiled but not grouted. The end result is going to be simple and tasteful and not at all reflective of the 
complete snafudle it has been! Yes, I typed snafudle - it's in the dictionary right before strategery! I was grasping for a word that summed up all the false starts, setbacks and miscommunication we have experienced trying to get this one small part of the house completed. Three different tile combinations and the complications of the clipped ceiling didn't get us off on the right foot and then I must speak Greek when Rob and I go over things because we're always a step off. But I think it all ended up pretty well and it's nice and neutral so we can paint any color we choose (another choice...yippee!).
Conor's bathroom is apparently living under some kind of curse or black cloud. First the tub didn't fit, then it was the drawer issues and the latest is that the countertop was ordered with the wrong sink specs so that 1) it looks ridiculous, 2) you'd have to shave and brush your teeth with one shoulder pressed up against the wall and 3) the drain pipe would run right through the bank of drawers! I don't know much about construction, but I think that last one, in particular, poses a problem! It's being reordered on a rush ticket, but didn't anyone in the chain of production question whether the order made any sense?!?!
On the plus side of the bloopers column is that the 
garage was drywalled in it's entirety. The code requires that the ceiling and the adjoining wall to the house be drywalled, but we were going to leave the rest unfinished, However, someone didn't read the contract very carefully...so that's a little bonus for us!
The upstairs bathrooms have cabinets! And the master even has sinks! The sinks are a cultured marble but in a very cool pattern/color called pumpernickel that looks sort of granite-y and is mostly black but with greenish undertones.
It's very pretty and a nice contrast to the cabinets and the lighter floor tile. The accent tile in the shower is a mottled black that should tie it all together. (At least that is what I envisioned...the jury is still out on how it really will all come together!) What you don't see is that the tower runs into the clipped ceiling and so the cabinet had to be clipped as well. I love the slopes in bungalows but I'm not sure how all ours ended up in the bathrooms. That wasn't so obvious on the flat blueprints! Ah well....
Conor's vanity is definitely a bit of a blooper. You can see from the picture that the cabinet design has the drawers all the way to the walls, with no filler. I hadn't really focused on this and the original cabinet style didn't have full overlay drawers (the master 
bath are not full overlay for example) so it might not have been an issue. However, when we switched to the beadboard cabinets, it lengthened the drawers as well. Now, when you open the drawers on the left they will bump into the molding around the entry door. We might have been able to live with that but it also means you can't remove a drawer without removing the molding and under the heading of 'you just never know' we figured it was better to address it now! They've removed the drawer fronts, which are very simple in style, and are going to trim them an 1" on each end, and sand and finish them. Keep your fingers crossed that it works. I'm skeptical but hopeful (and very glad I didn't pay for full extension drawers)!
They made the repairs to the window well outside (still waiting for the 
drywall/insulation repairs inside). After digging it all up, they poured a truckload of gravel underneath it and then smoothed and graded the top layer. It's starting to look like a real yard...croquet anyone?
October 21st (MI day) sure feels like it is right around the corner and there is an awful lot that still has to happen at the house! The trim is complete upstairs, but hasn't even been started in the basement. On the main level, the crown and baseboard are in, but there are still built-ins and a mantle to build around the fireplace and cabinets to build in the office. And the painter (yes, the lack of the plural is NOT a typo) just got started, soooooooo...........you can bet I'll be asking Dave daily if we're going to be in on time! Stay tuned!
Looking less like a construction zone and more like a home!! Well, except that's only true from the north side of the house.
The south side has the crater around the window well (see today's earlier post) but from this carefully chosen angle it looks downright habitable. The huge mounds of dirt have been graded into what looks remarkably like a yard! Brian's meeting with the landscaper tomorrow to talk about hydroseeding the yard - apparently it has better long term results than sod and, happy coincidence, it's cheaper. If we can get it done next week we think we'll be in good shape weather wise for it to 'take' before the long, cold winter sets in. We're just going to cut in beds and mulch for now. Real planting requires a plan and more decisions so it is just simply not happening! I'll curl up in front of our fireplace with a lot of good gardening books over the winter and be ready to go as soon as spring arrives (sometime in June!!)
We have upper and lower cabinets now! The back of the island will be beadboard and there is molding for the top of the cabinets. Feels very much like a kitchen. We had the designer out from Ethan Allen this week and are narrowing down the selections for furniture, fabric and paint colors. 
This was a pretty shocking sight when I came around the corner in the master bath. I can tell you that whatever tile goes up will be a huge improvement over this outrageous pink waterproofing stuff. Yikes. The floors have all been tiled and grouted, just the shower and the fireplace surround to go.
The painters are in doing all the caulking and prep work for the whole house. Then the trim gets painted, so I've got a few days to finalize the wall colors...
Sorry for the lapse in postings. I went back to work this week (for those that don't already know) as an Academic Advisor at the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame! Our whole 
life will be contained in an area about a mile square now that Brian and I both work at ND and Conor's school is just across the street. If you're going to live the dream, you've got to go all in!! I think it's going to be a great job and it feels good to have something to obsess about besides the house for a change.
But work continues at 918. Despite some inclement weather, Mike got the patio poured, stained and stamped this week. Since the house has such square lines, we purposely put some curves in the patio for a little variation. Not sure how much planting we'll get down this fall (ok, probably none) but we envision this as a lawn-mower-free zone ultimately!We also got our final stairs and some beautiful oak banisters 
going up and down! The half walls will also have oak tops to match the wood floors on the main level, but you still need a banister to meet the ubiquitous and all-important 'code'. One thing I didn't know when we started this is that they put in "construction steps" and only put in the real deal as part of the finish work. Even if you're carpeting, as we are. We put the stairs in the back so we didn't have to spend so much money to make them centerpiece worthy!!Three out of five areas finally have tile, but that has been the biggest challenge of this project. Poor Rob! He's carted more 'wrong' tile around than you would think possible. After scrapping Plan A due to cost, Plan B for the master bath came in wrong TWICE. The wall tiles were fine but two different lots of the floor tile came in with a greenish haze that just didn't fit with our planned decor!! Gotta love the Chinese quality control standards! So we're onto Plan C for the master bath, which is a combination of some tile from Plan A in a lighter color, the layout from Plan B and some new deco tiles and ceiling tiles. I did tell Rob that at this point I almost don't care what he puts in -- no matter what, it is going to be new and clean and he does beautiful work so slap something up already!
To the right is the basement bath/hall - almost complete. The diamond pattern was originally planned with 6x6 tiles, but those ended up only coming as wall tiles which are too thin to put on the floor and trying the mix and match routine just made my head hurt. We kept the same plan for a rug-look in the hallway and just used the 12x12s. I think once it's grouted and cleaned up, it will be just the thing! In the laundry/mud room we finally got the right color tile but a couple of the boxes of the 18x18 were more than a shade off so some new stuff were supposed to be delivered today. I'll check it out tomorrow when we take the football fans down to check out the progress. Hopefully the tile odyssey will come to an end within a week or so.
All the cabinets were delivered on Wednesday and Alan has started installing the kitchen. So far - so good. It's a bit of deja vu as the kitchen will look remarkably like our Vienna kitchen when it's all put together! Why mess with perfection? I haven't picked backsplash tile yet, but that can wait until the granite goes in!We're less than 6 weeks to MI day so keep your fingers crossed. I'll try to update at least once a week. Next week we hope to finalize the main floor furniture and paint colors. Stay tuned for more of the Perils of Pauline!
The front of the house is finally finished (except it needs lights and a mailbox and ok, grass would be an 
improvement...whaddya mean you don't think the dumpster adds anything???). In construction, we use the term finished rather loosely! But the house is now fully clad in it's red cape and it really is Super! (It can't leap tall buildings, but it IS a tall building...)
It was a little disconcerting that when I was over there an hour ago, there were no tradesman on site. Not a one! That hasn't 
happened in over 5 months! Maybe they took off early for their Labor Day weekend, so I'm guessing there'll be no labor on Labor Day (as it should be). That probably means I won't have anything to post until mid-week at the earliest, so enjoy your long weekend!
With two months left until MI Day (Move In...), I added a time elapsed sequence of the house building process (see right) that shows just how far we've come in 5 1/2 months. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but they can also be put together to make a pretty nice house! (Ed Note: I obviously need to hire a new photographer as the current one can seem to hold the camera level! I said this process would drive me to drink but I really was sober when I took all these pictures...)
Alan is almost finished with the master bedroom closet shelving and I think we'll have ample place to put all our stuff!! 
This first picture is our little shoe shelf just as you walk in the door. On the wall directly behind it are two more shelves over a rod for hanging longer skirts and dresses. The second set of longer shelves are in the back corner of the closet and will have about 9' of double hanging along the back
wall to the right of the shelves. That should be plenty so that Brian and I don't have to fight over space!
Brian and I stopped by the house on our bike ride to the Farmer's Market this morning and caught Rob just as he was finishing the laundry room with.............the wrong tile!!!!! Actually, it was the right tile just in the wrong color - although that is a distinction without merit when you have to rip up a half morning's hard work!! We felt so bad for Rob, but the order form was accurate so I don't know whose mistake it is (not mine!). The good news is that the tile hadn't 'set up' yet so it was easy for Rob to rip it out -- would've been worse if we hadn't happened by. We checked the tile for Conor's bath and the powder room and those looked good so he can still get something done today, but what a waste! Mistakes happen.
We're off to look at some furniture and compare our paint swatches to the carpet samples. More later.
Ok, so it's grey and it's cement but let's face it, a real red carpet would clash with the house and be a little bit of overkill. Our new sidewalk and walkway DO make the house more inviting, however, and we sincerely hope that lots of folks will make the trek up to the porch to visit. I don't think you'll be disappointed unless you're expecting the 
papparazzi to be there!
We also worked with Mike yesterday to get a layout for the driveway, access walkways and the patio. He laid it all out in orange spray paint to help us (ok, me) visualize what it will look like. I need to make a paper patio table or two to make sure it's wide enough etc. None of it will get poured right away as he has to figure out a trench for where our drive meets the existing drive and get gutter info from Dave. It continues to amaze me how each piece impacts and is impacted by so many other little pieces.
We're also getting tile this weekend!! I can't wait to see what it is going to look like in the house but wow, what an odyssey that process is! So many choices, so many price points and so complicated to come up with a final number. After switching gears once on the master bath, I feared that we still weren't quite done after talking with Rob this morning. But it turned out he'd counted the cost of the floor tiles TWICE, so when you pull the extra cost out we're back in budget (well...close counts).
I'm starting to look at paint colors for the main level. Having some tile down will make it easier to test drive the various colors. I read a great tip in one of the many home magazines I've been perusing. They said instead of painting directly on the wall, you should paint onto extra wallboard. That way you don't have darker spots on your wall that have to be reprimed and are sometimes still a little visible AND you can move the board around the room to see what it looks like in different lights etc. Very wise, I think! I'll let you know if it makes me any more decisive on colors. Brian's stock response to any color other than beige seems to be "Are you sure it's not too dark?" Oh well, I'm not as stressed about this as I was the exterior. One room can be repainted more easily than a whole house!
I think we're going to paint much of the house a neutral color to start and then live in it a while before choosing bolder colors. The first floor is the exception. I'd like to start with that level pretty much DONE except for tchochkes (sp?) and a few accent pieces. Actually, I'm just kind of 'over' all the decision making and would like time to more thoughtfully consider my selections within the context of something that actually exists! I don't know how people build multiple houses. I guess you get better at it, but there will always be too many choices to make as far as I'm concerned. I'm glad we're never leaving this house!
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!
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).
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!)
