Happy Wednesday All!
This week's title was inspired from the suggestion of the ever-wonderful Jenn Monk after viewing my Snapchat video tour of the house progress last week featuring, yes, a puppy butt and our ovens. Psh, it's like she does this marketing thing for a living! No joke - she's an awesome marketing professional and has a kick-ass blog about FOOD (seriously, go follow @amonkinthekitchen on insta!).
Now that we are getting much closer to U&O inspection, and we aren't quite as concerned with a certain someone "marking" the walls... our little co-pilot accompanies us to check out the progress and finds his way into virtually every picture. I mean, a puppy makes any picture more exciting, right?
You guys. We are really in the home stretch now. It is really, and I mean really hard right now to keep the anticipation at a minimum. Now that the air conditioning is cranking, the team has been able to start the final finishes including the wood floors, installing and staining the balusters on the stairs. The electricians and plumbers are finishing up their trim outs, installing the light switches, toilets and bathroom hardware, plus all of the chandeliers (*squeals*) and light fixtures. Our hardware in the kitchen is being installed and the appliances are almost all installed!
So let's talk about lighting for a second. We are so happy with the selections we made for each space. We incorporated lots of iron fixtures to balance the expansive wood floors on the first floor and glammed up the master bathroom with something a little different! By far, the great room chandelier has my heart. It's almost six foot in diameter and will look fantastic against the shiplap fireplace! We saved thousands of dollars by going for a like-style candelabra through Forest Hill lighting than my original (*cough*) Restoration Hardware ($$$) vision. And, much to John's satisfaction, I think I like it much better! We will eventually install two ceiling fans on either side to circulate the air from the fireplace to the rest of the house.
Our dining room chandelier came from Pottery Barn - and by extreme coincidence, it is called the "Quinn" chandelier. I love the balance of the iron and the sparkle of the crystals - it adds a touch of formality to the dining room space.
The kitchen is almost done! Norm at Carefree Kitchens swapped the island out on the granite for a slab with less-rounded corners and it looks fantastic. Now that we can turn the lights on, I can get much better shots of the granite for you guys! Almost all the appliances are installed and I may have had something in my eye thinking about all the family and friends we will have gathered in this space.
Outside the house, we had the trim piece over the front door transom corrected. I'm obsessed with the way the light bounces off the house during the twilight hours. We love the exterior light fixtures on the porch, on either side of the garage and the back exits (they are so fun!). Our front sidewalk and basement walk-out pad were poured last week as well! They've almost finished the final grade and are cleaning up the driveway pad to prepare for asphalt.
Jumping away from the "aesthetics" for a moment - we passed the first of two water tests, after failing the first. They took a few days to re-chlorinate the well, process it out and then test. We've learned a lot more about getting the wells prepped for new construction just due to the fact that we knew almost nothing about the process. Apparently it is much more common than we initially thought to have one or two repeat tests, depending on the output of the well (ours is high-functioning, so no worries there!).
So, we are hoping that by the end of next week, we will be... Done. Complete. Finished. I don't think those words could sound any sweeter! Then we apply for the Use & Occupancy (U&O) inspection and this house is ours... officially! John and I have truly enjoyed sharing this journey with you all. We've received so much support to get to this point and can't wait to share updates on our projects (oh, I have a list) once we are settled in. We hope that this blog has captured enough information to educate anyone looking at exploring new construction - because we certainly can relate to feeling worn out by the home buying process. Regardless of your decision to buy or build, the most important thing to remember is that you're building your home. Your home should be special and unique to you and your family - because that is where the memories are made.
"Coming home is one of the most beautiful things." -Andre Rieu
Until next week!
- Cassie