THE BONES

ARE YOU SHOCKED?  

Two posts in one week?

Can't believe it myself.

I decided that I would NOT wait until everything is done 

(like I did in the last 2 houses)

before I post pictures because then I NEVER post them.

You have to use a little bit of imagination.

We have yet to move into a house that is completely finished.

We just can't stand it.

We have good intentions

but as it gets closer to the time

I say "if the toilets work - I'm moving"

Well, the toilets don't work,

and yet, we have moved!

Yep, we are using an outhouse and an RV

while we wait for the septic and well to be hooked up to the house.

The mobile home had to be moved (it is)

and now we wait for the subcontractors to come and do their thing.

It's suppose to happen Monday.

We shall see....

Anyway, it was one of the easiest moves to date

as I put things in a box and walked next door.

Put them away and walked back.

Over and over again!

So, I am going to put aside my desire of blog worthy pictures

 and show you some snapshots

of my house unfinished, kinda the bones of it all.

I wish you could see in my head

what it looks like finished....

THE KITCHEN:

See my wonderful range hood?

I helped (mostly watched and held things!) Warren make this.

You can't believe what it takes structurally (and time wise)

BUT I knew he could do it even when he told me he couldn't!

My pantry.

I wanted a big walk in pantry.

A girl can't have everything she wants 

and we just couldn't make it happen...

How can I not love this though?!

Things you should NOT notice:

No crown molding or finished toe kicks.

No handles on the faucet (did I mention that I have no water?!)

Dishwasher is not installed...

No island yet.  (I know exactly what I want- of course -

 and it will be unpainted wood)

No back splashes.

It will all happen I just don't know when....

GLIMPSES OF SOME OTHER SPOTS AROUND THE HOUSE:

Looking into the dining room from the living room.

Out of those very windows there use to be a view of the mobile (very close).

It still looks strange (wonderful) without it there.

I made the chandelier when we lived in the Boise house.

This is the 4th house it has lived in.  I hope it can stay awhile!

Inside the front door.

See in the lower right corner is the dining room chair

and above that is the hall into the "guest wing"

(that sounds like a mansion, doesn't it!!!

it's not!)

The house is U-shaped so the guest area is off to itself.

The living room.

To the left is the double entry doors and to the right is a wall of windows.

Obviously the fireplace is not done,

nor is the entertainment center

and the furniture is a hodgepodge because

I sold a lot when we moved

but I DID warn you that we have 

a lot to do and it's not going to happen over night.

Well, Warren said he's off to bed

and I've got painting at the church to do again tomorrow.

(We bought a building that we are remodeling!)

I hope you"ll continue to join me 

as we finish one project at a time....

Decisions That Matter?

We have remodeled many, many houses. 

 I love the process  (not always the mess that goes with it!)

There are a lot of decisions but they are made over time, one room at a time.  

Details matter to me and when the pace is slower

 I can concentrate more on individual things.

We have only had one other house built. 

 I knew what I was getting into. 

 I've seen it over and over with some of Warren's customers.  

By the time they get to the final stage of the finishes they are tired of decisions.  

They are ready to hand them over to someone.  

Like a couple of weeks ago -

"have your wife pick out our hardware.  I am sure they will be fine."  

(she liked them!)

So, with the build, I was determined to know what I wanted 

and have everything picked out and bought BEFORE they were needed on the job.  

We had a storage container still on site from when we built the shop 

and had decided to keep it there for this very thing.  

Amazon, Wayfair, Overstock, and other specialty stores 

should have known my address by heart by the time we got done!

guest bathroom floor

I also did some shopping local and even some 2nd hand stores.

And the majority of the time I stayed on top of it.

There are tons of decisions:

What pitch do you want the roof?  What kind of eave vents do you want? 

Siding - smooth or woodgrain?  Real or fake?  

How do you want to trim everything out?  

Paint colors?  

Any wall faucets? (any type of wall faucet needs to be decided by the rough in stage)  

What finish do you want on the concrete?

Where do you want the towel bars? (there needs to be backing behind the sheetrock)

Do you want ceiling fans?  (different wiring needs)

What are your cabinet layouts (plumbing and wiring needs)

What type of materials are you using for the floors?

Where do you want outlets? Switches?

ETC

You get the idea.

Master Bath floor

This is literally all I had left!

The tile came in 12" squares with a mess backing, HOWEVER;

 because I nearly ran out,

 I actually put each piece down individually around the toilet.  

IT TOOK FOREVER!

 fireplace/entertainment center

Double doors for the entry. 

I tried 12 samples of paint 

before I painted them with a color I hadn't sampled.!

Still don't think I'm in love with the color :( 

At this very moment this tub still isn't installed.

I can't wait to use it!

Master bath cabinet.

I added this photo so you could see the detail work Warren has done for me.

I can't say enough how he amazes me every time
(wait until you see my range hood :)

I wanted a more "simple" door style this time 

but felt a little bit of detail was needed so I requested the bead
around each door and drawer.

   They turned out just as I had envisioned.

Even though we are painting them
they are made out of knotty oak. 

 I wanted the grain to show 

and a little bit of "rustic-ness"

Do not judge Warren for the white melamine interiors -
 he does that at my request!

I like the brightness of the white interiors and the ease of cleaning the melamine.

I cannot get him to make the drawers out of it though! 

 They are made of wood for quality and durability sake.

The basic cabinet before the "frills"

kitchen cabinets in process.

Yes, they are BLUE!!!

I had been thinking about blue cabinets for the last two house

but always chickened out.

Even at this point I was a little bit nervous but now that they are finished I love them.

If you look closely you can get a hint of the range hood!

front door hardware

There is suppose to be a set on the other door too

but when we went to put them on we realized they had not drilled the door for them.

Later!

I'll try to be good about getting some more posts
so you can see it come together.
We will be doing the finishing things for some time yet.
And the grand "finish" will probably never come
as we are project people
and there is always something to "try"

We are splitting life right now in the house and an RV

while we wait for our septic and well to be hooked up.

The building experience has been hard/good.

We are tired but we are smiling.