And yes, our counter people attached the sink in the current house. We bought the sink from Amazon, and gave it to the counter people. When the counter arrived, the sink was attached.

I had an important inspection today- Permanent power. As usual, the inspector was only here a couple minutes, but gave us that all-important piece of paper- the release to get our permanent power! After struggling through one of the area's coldest winters on record with nothing but a puny 120 volt extension cord, we will now have the luxury of real power.

I also finished the installation and commissioning of the A/C units, so not only do we have power, but we have climate control! The only inspections left are all of the finals, which are still some months away.

Since the winter was so harsh, I spent my time inside. Now that spring is finally here, I'll work on finishing the outside, hopefully before the really hot weather sets in. On rainy days (like today) I'll work on interior stuff- the fun stuff. All minor victories, but very important for a DIY builder.

Woo hoo for real power!!!!

I don't think my bid will go too much higher. Our plans were electrical heavy and they had bid to the plans. I added 2 outlets and 2 mini cans, oh and under cab lighting but not too many. I also removed a bunch of outlets that we didn't need. Maybe they will cancel out....doubt it but one can always hope :)

yeah, yeah, it could be worse ... lol :) crazy weather.

Yay for real power MushCreek!! :)

Here's my link to my reveal thread. I'll have some pictures to add to it soon once my bar is done :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Lori's home

I have been MIA and just starting to catch up with everyone's updates, but too much for me to comment on individually! I am glad to see some of you are moved in, some are very close and some have just started building!

Part of the reason I have been MIA is that we have run into an issue with our cabinet paint and trim paint and I've been really upset about it. It is so frustrating to put all the time and energy into making the house the way you want it and then find out someone made a mistake and is not willing to take responsibility. Both the cabinet guy and the painters were told to use the same paint color--SW Pure White--and it appears that the cabinet guy used something else and the two whites look very different, with the trim being a crisp white and the cabinets a warm white (which of course makes the cabinets look dingy!). This only became apparent after the painters took down all the paper/plastic they had up while they were painting. It was the first thing I noticed when I walked into the room and my heart sank. I won't bore you with all the details, but our builder is in the process of figuring out how to fix it. We are supposed to be moving in in a month and not sure how this will affect timing.

Here is a pic of kitchen upper cabs that shows the color difference:

On top of that, NOTHING got done at the house all last week. Everyone is apparently finishing up other projects meanwhile ours sits unfinished. Electricians finally came yesterday and started the trim, but they now can't come back till Friday....

Anyway, on a more positive note, I do love some of the features that have gone in over the past few weeks. So much work still left to do. Crossing fingers they will be done in a MONTH!! :)

Reclaimed beam mantle and board/batten above fireplace in Great Room

Painted office

Painted ceiling beams and railing for loft

Custom powder bath vanity I ordered from Etsy (we have a vessel sink that will sit on top)

Master bath vanity in progress

Pebble surround for Rec Room fireplace (they need to redo the border around fireplace opening so the pebbles are in a straight line)

Deck being installed

Exterior on a nice sunny day :)

so this happened today....

And here are the neighbors across the street

YAY!

Hilltop! - I forgot to tell you that everything is looking beautiful at your house, including the shutters.

Mommytoty - To be honest, when I first looked at the cabinet/trim picture, I kind of liked the contrast and thought it had been done intentionally. However, if it were me, knowing that someone didn't do what I told them to do, there is no way I could live with it. In fact, I would HATE it just because it was wrong. So, I totally understand you having a problem with it. Everything is gorgeous though! Even the cabinets.

Carson - WHAT??? Is that...No, it couldn't be... It looks a lot liiiike.....YYYYYYEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!! WWWOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!

Congrats carsomheim! How exciting! I can't wait until we're there with you!

Mommytoty, oh geez, I'm so bummed for you. What a let down. Hopefully GC can get them reprinted for you ASAP. The rest of the house finishes are gorgeous. I love the rustic touches along with the casual sophistication. Very nice job!

So, for months I've been dreaming about oil rubbed faucets and door handles/hardware. But I don't see it happening much anymore. Is anyone here using those? Or would it be a total design failure on my part?

Carson, those are the best neighbours!

Mommytoyt, I love so much about your house. I may steal the ensuite design. You've also got me second guessing my plan to build a brick fireplace. The paint issue sucks. I think the problem is that you give them a BM colour, but 9/10 times, they go somewhere other than BM to get their lacquer, and it's usually close enough. But if they go to different places and both get "close enough", then... I have learned to either get colour samples from the paint supplier, or not to spend too much time stressing about the "right" white because the painter is just going to get "close enough".

Michelle, I don't think ORB is going to ever be the brass from the 80s. The problem with the brass is that it was EVERYWHERE. And most people didn't really like it to start with, but they didn't have many options. So when new options came along, people rebelled. ORB hasn't been as ubiquitous as brass. And people who use it, use it because they love it. If you love it, it's never out of style. So no, I wouldn't say it's a design fail.

Thanks Amberm, I appreciate that. I actually put brass in our first custom build in 1999, and I hated it just a few years later, so it's good to hear your take on ORB.

Carsonheim- Your picture of the 'neighbors' made me think of the thread about 'looky-loos'. I guess you have 'looky-moos'!

mommy ~ love your home! Your half bath vanity is similar to mine. I have an old reclaimed bucket as my vessel sink :)
Sorry about the paint mess up, we're all here for you to vent!

Carson!!! Congrats on the dirt moving! Where are you? Beautiful scenery...judging by the pipe fencing, I'm guessing west somewhere. I love calves. Robyn is surrounded by horses & you're surrounded by cows. I believe I'll plan on visiting :)

LOL at MushCreek's Looky-moos!!! That freaking made my day!!!

Have a great day all! ;)

Mommytoty, my heart sank for you. What a hassle, and what a let down. I've forgotten, are your cabinets fully custom or are they made by a cabinet manuf who uses SW paints? I know a lot of manuf of semi-custom cabs use SW colors as their custom color line. Ours does, and the custom blue we chose is a SW color. Fortunately, they got it right.
Can you live with the cabinet color? Because of the two, it's undoubtedly going to be easier to get the trim repainted. Both are pretty whites, just not together.
Other than that, your house is looking great! Love the pebble stones you're using. What color is the office wall? I just love how it's come out.

Carsonheim, congratulations! What if anything have you decided on the sconces? I found that during the process of building I've managed to edit and edit and edit so that what we're ending up with is spot on with my vision. But it is hard to leave off all those fabulous elements that individually are wonderful but together just create a jumble.

Michelle, I don't think the issue with ORB is going to be whether you get tired of it, but rather how it's going to wear. Go to the kitchens forum and post your question, as there are a lot of folks there who've installed ORB and have been using it for awhile and have feedback. I recall reading somewhere on this forum how someone has had to start replacing fixtures because the ORB isn't wearing well, but the recollection is fuzzy.

I have to submit colors today, and we are STILL undecided on the library color! It's the one room my dh wants input on the color on, and it's the one room that isn't going to be consistent with the rest of the house because we're using my 9x12 Persian rug in there - which is a red/blue carpet. Our painter uses SW paints, so I've tried to stick to their palette because I'm not confident matching colors from one manuf to another is always successful. But in this case we've given up. We went to the Benj Moore store and have picked two blue/greens that we've painted swatches on the wall. Two days ago we thought that BM Affinity Azores was going to be the winner, then I looked at some pics online of rooms painted Azores, and we both said we need to rethink this. So yesterday, in dreary rainy light we looked at both swatches, as well as rooms online painted BM Fort Pierce Green (which is actually blue). It may be the winner. Today it's sunny so we'll go back out there and look at the paint, and hopefully have a decision.
This is Fort Pierce Green in a bedroom

[

[Contemporary Bedroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bedroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_715~s_2103) by Nashville Interior Designers & Decorators Connie Long Interiors
and here it is in a dining room
{{gwi:1434218}}

And here is BM Azores

[

[Traditional Bedroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-bedroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_715~s_2107) by Jacksonville Interior Designers & Decorators Housedressings Interiors, LLC.

And here is closeup of the center of my rug.
We will have white trim, white plantation shutters, and navy leather chairs. The room is south facing and even with the overhang of the wrap around porch still gets strong afternoon light.

Opinions?

Thanks all for your words of encouragement on our paint issue. I'm meeting with the builder and the interior designer on Friday to discuss the fix. We'll see what they propose....

Carson--Very exciting!!

Michelle--So happy you picked up the style we are going with for the house--casual sophistication with rustic/natural elements. It is reassurance that all the elements are coming together as I envisioned them on paper! :) On your ORB question, I am doing ORB on all door handles, kitchen cabinet hardware and some lighting fixtures, but not on plumbing fixtures, so you might consider something similar if you are concerned about doing everything in ORB. I do think ORB on plumbing fixtures is a bit more limited to certain styles and has the wear issues that mlweaving notes.

loribug--Yes, I saw your great powder vanity! Very cool! I thought about using an old bucket or bowl of some sort for the sink, but was concerned about whether it would be hard to clean, so went with a ceramic sink. I know you just moved in so probably haven't had to clean yet, but wonder if you see that as an issue?

mlweaving--The color in our office is BM Wythe Blue. I really LOVE it! Lots of pics online showing this color in various rooms, so you can take a look. With the deep colors in your beautiful rug, my inclination would be towards the Fort Pierce Green over the Azores.

I also have ORB almost everywhere, door handles, plumbing fixtures, lights...
but I want my stuff to look worn. :) I love love love it, personally. I had brass & antique brass in previous home and changed them all over time to satin nickel. Just wanted a complete change here.

Bucket sink seems pretty easy to clean so far. We got it REALLY clean to begin with, took the wire wheel to it. I've just been wiping it out periodically since there's still TONS of dust to be reckoned with.

I did ORB on cabinet hardware and lighting fixtures. Satin nickel doorknobs and chrome faucets. Obviously I wanted a little of everything and I also couldn't make up my mind.

Well I must be out of style. Faucets are chrome and door knobs are black. Oh yeah, the kitchen faucet is stainless. I haven't gotten to the cabinet hardware yet. I like the chrome, ooh...its soooo shiny.

I did 2 bathrooms chrome and 2 bathrooms ORB-it depended on how I was planning to decorate the rooms-my powder room has a hammered black copper vessel sink (same color as ORB)-picked that out so long ago it feels like a dream... cant wait to see it again in real life LOL--I even got ORB toilet levers-go big or go home!

Mommytoty - Love your house! What type of decking material are you using? Love the color. Hope you get the kitchen paint problem sorted out. Thanks.

Mommytoty - please share the etsy shop you purchased that vanity from? It is exactly what I am looking for for my rustic mud room bath.

I am doing ORB too. I think it is no longer high fashion but it goes with what I am doing style-wise and I like it. I am not auditioning for a decor contest, just a livable house. Kudos to everyone mixing finishes! I have no skills in the mixing finishes dept. but it usually looks cool when others do it successfully.

Mlweaving, I've got an appt with Mike Nagy for Monday. Thanks for the reference. Regarding the library color, I know this is boring, but since you have some fairly bold colors going in that room, how about a nice light beige wall color that won't compete?

Thanks everyone for ORB feedback. Mommytoty, I love your idea of going with ORB on doors, pulls, and some light fixtures. The door hardware is where I wanted it most, so that will work perfectly for me. Don't know why I didn't think of that. :)

Well, we met with our potential architect today. She has designed some pretty impressive stuff. Mlweaving, have you been to Crystal Mt? She designed all of the little bungalows there around the pool area. I love her style. Thanks to amberm, I asked about her current projects. She's working on three others. She said if we got back to her on a timely basis, she could do preliminaries in about six weeks, then two weeks for full construction sets. She charges $70 an hour. She's currently putting together an est of hours for our project. What do you guys think on her price and time estimate?

She made a couple of remarks about our budget being too low. We're building a 3000 sq ft 1.5 story home with an addl 1,000 sq ft finished in basement. Does $600k seem low for a custom home? That doesn't include the lot.

Ray--Thanks! The decking is Azek XLM (previously a Timbertech line) in Rustic Bark. It is a PVC material. The railing will be powder coated aluminum (in white). Hopefully, this will result in a fairly maintenance-free deck! :)

NWHobart--The Etsy shop is TipsyFish and they were great to work with. They make all kinds of tables/benches and offer a couple different finishes. Very responsive and made it to my exact specs. Turned out great! It was $135, which was a great price, though shipping was $95 given the weight and the fact that they had to ship the top and legs separately (may not have to do this for smaller/shorter pieces). For a custom piece, I still think it was well worth the price!

Hi Michelle, welcome! In what part of the country are you building? How many of your 3000sq feet are on the main floor vs on the second floor? I think 600K is certainly doable depending on where you live. We have the same number of square feet above grade, with something like an additional 1850sq feet finished walkout basement. Our build (construction cost only, not including lot) will go well excess of 600K, but it really depends on the finishes you are choosing, cabinet prices, etc. Since you own your own home outright, maybe you could consider a home equity loan for some extra cash.

I posted a thread in the Home Decor section to ask for help on choosing a siding color if any of yews want to check it out and give your two cents. I didn't really know where to put it.

Illingirl, we're shooting for about 2,000 square feet main level and 1,000 second floor. Is that about what your build is? I'll admit, the finishes I like are getting expensive. :( But this is our third build, our DREAM home, ya know? :) So I'm trying to find some balance of spoiled and practical. We are building in Traverse City, Michigan. :)

JDez, I'll go look for your color post.
I posted my color question today too on the Home Dec forum here. Would appreciate some input from those of you here as you're more aware of the direction we've gone in our house, as we've all been on this merry go round together. ;-)

Michelle, email me at mlweaving at gmail dot com. Your profile page isn't set up here to accept emails. Glad to hear you're going to go talk to Mike. I sort of think that yes, your budget is a bit low unless you plan to build pretty basic without a lot of material upgrades. You're only budgeting $150/sf, and that's not much. Shoot, we went and picked doorknobs today and I swear just on door hardware we upped our build by $1/sf!
Also, plan on overages. Whatever you plan, add at least 10% for overages. They happen. Like falling in love with a granite or quartzite that is out of budget, or deciding to add whole-house water filtration midstream,( or falling in love with Emtek door hardware!).

Wow, now that this has started, I'm REALLY busy! I'm self employed and work from home, so I have lots of flexibiltiy. BUT... my clients expect a quick turnaround on work from me. so I'm finding myself working a lot in the evenings now.

Here's today's photo:

JDez and mushcreek -- you guys are hilarious!

Loribug - We are in College Station, TX. Gig 'em, Ags!

mlweaving -- I haven't *fully* decided about the sconces yet, but I'm thinking I might leave them out. I already purchased them, so I may repurpose them somewhere else, or return them to exchange for some other lighting we will need.

And just for fun, here is the fabric for my kitchen window treatments

New here, but glad to meet some of the other passengers in the building boat. What a ride already. Our work started last July and we are looking forward to moving in this summer. -D

A picture of the front of the house. The masonry work is still unfinished on the back and East sides.

musicgal -- beautiful home. Where are you located? I see that lake back there.... :)

Very cool pics, everyone! (ok I think the one with the cows is my favorite since my last visit here).

It's also good to hear that others are splitting finishes too. In our place once everything is done you'll probably find brushed/satin nickel, chrome, actual antique bronze, and antiqued brass for the front door hardware.

@carsonheim - I spent the best 6 years of my life at a small school in College Station with 44,000 of my closest friends...

I put in about 110 sq ft more flooring yesterday evening so the kitchen is getting close to being done. Batch 1 of appliances get in today too and they'll need to find a home for the next few weeks before being installed. The black marks on the floor are from the mill. It's unfinished white oak so they'll all go away once it's finished.

Michelle,
We are building in the Grand Rapids area. Our main is almost 2400, with about 650 on second floor (just building the 'bonus' area over the garage). Main floor square footage costs the most, basement square footage the least.

Musicgal- love the style of your home- we don't see that much in our area. Beautiful!

Schicksal- floors looking great!

I should have known TX, carson. Love it!

You know this ORB convo makes me go back to my original statement.
It's YOUR house...do what you want & what YOU like. It's not for anyone else :)

Schicksal, I'm so impressed! Gorgeous floors.
Musicgal, beautiful home. Welcome.
Carsonheim, LOL, wonderful! I love your toile! The first thing I bought for our home, a couple of months before we broke ground, was a bolt of Stroheim and Romann Toile. It has literally driven a lot of my choices. I thought I was buying it to slipcover the living room couch, but it arrived and announced quite clearly that it intends to hang vertically and be window treatments. Remind me again what your kitchen windows look like. How will you be using the toile? Shades or panels or something else? My first love is fabric, can you tell?

Re finishes, we have polished nickel going into the kitchen and bath fixtures, polished nickel kitchen knobs and pulls, hand forged pewter knobs and pulls in the great room built-ins, satin nickel door hinges although they look very pewter to me, and yesterday we chose some ORB door hardware for exterior doors.
For interior doors we ended up choosing crystal knobs. Awhile ago I chose these ludicrously expensive knobs for the master bath vanities - faceted crystal, because I loved them. So dh got a wild hair thinking we should do crystal door knobs instead of levers on the first floor. Project creep, they ended up on the second floor too. We have a pretty open plan, so not a lot of doors.
This knob

JDez, I bet you're more confused than before you asked for color input over on the Home Dec Forum. We ended up deciding on the Fort Pierce Green for the library.

Upon, are you moving yet? Autumn, when do you start the new job?

Carsonheim, want to see my toile?

Schicksal - the floors are looking good! You are inching your way closer and closer to the finish line.

Mlweaving - I am so jealous of your crystal knobs. I couldn't affords new ones and I thought about picking up used ones at thrift stores one at a time but I knew that if they didn't all match it would drive me insane. They are beautiful and they go perfectly with your house.

Here is a pic of my front door entry set and interior door knobs. We haven't decided on the back door yet because we're thinking about gettting one of those with the keypad on it. If not, it will just be a black lever and deadbolt.

Mommytoty, I'd say you did AWESOME on your pr vanity. Have you seen the price of Pottery Barn's version?

JDez, we're doing the Schlage keypad doorsets for the garage entry door and the workshop entry at the back of the house. We still had to pick doorknobs to go with the keypads. Because those aren't really public spaces we chose simple satin nickel levers.
I love the simplicity of your ORB round knobs. Do think though about using levers for your egress doors. If there is a fire or an emergency, you have a lot easier time opening a lever from the inside than a round knob. It's been proven over and over.

schiksal -- yes, I *think* there's a small school close by, LOL!

mlweaving -- your style looks a lot like mine. I'm also doing glass doorknobs throughout my home.

My kitchen has a large triple, counter-height window over the sink. In fact, the layout is very similar to this:

[

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Wayzata Architects & Designers Alexander Design Group, Inc.

Our window treatments will be like this:

[

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Charlotte Interior Designers & Decorators Katie Emmons Design

Then down on the far end of the room, we have a window seat built in between two bookcases like this:

[

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Fort Worth Design-Build Firms V Fine Homes

we will repeat the fabric, and also need a coordinate. I'm also incorporating burlap. My 20 foot drapes on either side of my triple french doors in the adjoining family room will be lined burlap:

[

[Traditional Dining Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2107) by Seattle Kitchen & Bath Designers Kayron Brewer, CKD, CBD / Studio K B

I'm so excited!

Mlweaving - The inside of the front door entry will be a lever. Just the outside is a round knob. I just didn't have a pic of the inside. We actually don't anticipate using the front door at all, which is why I like the covered key thingy. We live in a small town and everyone we know will probably come to the back door which is on a screened porch. All of the knobs are flat black. I figured that would go with anything I chose as far as light fixtures and ceiling fans.

Carson - Your kitchen is going to be beautiful!

carsonheim...we are building on a lot in an older lake community close to College Station, Tx. I feel as though the carpenter is my new best friend nowadays.

Michelle--Wow! I should show that to DH so he can see how much I've SAVED for a change! :) Granted, the PB one comes with the marble counter, sink and a drawer, but STILL!!!

Illinigirl- thank you. The stone is from quarries in the hill country and they use it a lot in our area. I had to fight the mason to get the slightly darker color as he is accustomed to using a pure white stone... he likes it now:-) The tower has caused quite a commotion in the neighborhood- everyone wants to know "what's it for????". I've received many suggestions.

Just got a phone call from my hardwood estimator... he ended up in Houston looking for my street address. Uh oh.... about 70 miles off.

This post was edited by musicgal on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 12:50

Carson, it looks like we have similar kitchen. We have 8 foot windows.

JDez - Last time I looked, Lowes/HD sold just crystal doorknobs that you could use with your existing hardware. The shaft is square, so it works perfectly with an older lockset.

If you're looking for something in a modern door hardware size with a glass knob I'm sure there are affordable ones out there.

Here is a link that might be useful: Glass Doorknobs

Loving everyone's updates and photos! It's especially fun getting progress updates from those who broke ground around the same time we did in September. To the rest of you, yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I promise!

Sorry I don't post much. Our wood floors are in, most of the painting is done, cabinets and built ins are installed, all but one bathroom tiled. Next up is stair risers and treads, banisters, closet organizers and extra shelving, light fixtures, railing on our veranda and finishes to the front portico. Quartz countertops will be delivered in a couple weeks. I can't believe we're still on schedule for moving in by Memorial Day with all the weather setbacks we had this winter. The flurry of activity on finish details at our house is exciting and is definitely worth the necessary headaches and aggravation along the way.

Michelle, we have a vacation home at Crystal Mountain, and I agree that the architectural style around the village is fabulous - so charming. We are building a custom home south of you along the lakeshore (with shed dormers and other Craftsman details... a la Crystal Mountain) with roughly 2800sf on main floor, 1000sf on second level and a fully finished walk out lower level for around $100sf not including lot, and I feel we chose quality materials. I certainly don't feel we skimped. My number may sound low per sf since I'm including the lower level in the calculation. Our goal was to downsize since we'll be empty nesters soon, but ... ummm that didn't happen. We expect lots of visitors during the summer months since, and we wanted to have room for them and all our future grandkiddos, who get their own bunk room on the second floor.

Dang it Schicksal!! They didn't have them at my Lowes. I should've checked online. I already ordered the black ones. I look for everything online! Why not those? Ugh...sometimes I disgust myself.

Jujubean.....woah in your $ per sq foot! Who is your GC??

So hard to keep up!
Xc60, love those pictures! Beautiful colors, especially in the kitchen.
I too am mixing hardware, but keeping it to two��"ORB and brushed nickel. ORB light fixtures and cabinet pulls, and brushed nickel bath fixtures, sink faucet, and door handles. I wanted ORB originally on the interior doors, but then we decided to paint our doors a dark brown-black, so the brushed nickel should pop. Hopefully. 
NHHobert, thanks for the mention on Tipsy Fish. I visited their website and like their stuff. I will keep them in mind for future purchases.
Musicgal, welcome, and lovely house!
We finally have drywall! It felt like it was sitting at the framing stage forever. They did the first round of drywall in a single day. Big change in a small amount of time! It finally looks like a house now. :-) Of course, now that it's too late I notice little irritating things like how the electrician wired the light switch boxes 18" from the end of an already short 4 ft. wall which means no hanging pretty pictures there .... why don't they put these things as unobtrusive as possible? It's hard to catch things it seems at framing when your eye looks "through" the walls. Oh well. Still exciting. :-)