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Building a Home

We've moved in!

14 years ago

So glad to finally post those words! We've been in for a week and are starting to get settled.

some details:

broke ground mid-July (2008)

Custom home and floor plan (about 3700sqft, with unfinished basement - eventual project!)

Local custom cabinet guy did cabs throughout the house

Cumaru hardwood floors and stairs

before:

after:

foyer/front door

dining room - like our table and chairs?? Out of money for now!

mudroom

kitchen

butler's pantry

family room (before furniture!)

stairs

patio

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Comments (28)

megradek
Original Author
14 years ago
here's a few more pics!

front porch

laundry room

a little bit of whimsy for the daily chore!

masterbath

master vanity area

walk-in shower
crazyhouse6
14 years ago
Congratulations! Absolutely beautiful home!!! Where did you find those pulls for your laundry room?
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According to the article in the Washington Post, the changes are based on data from the past 12 years. The data was gathered from many more sites than the previous base (which was gathered 22 years ago). It is solely for cold hardiness and doesn't consider possible changes in heat. The mountain house was and remains solidly 6a, but down here the barely 6b was rezoned into 7a. As anneliese points out, in reality that depends on the specific site. My back patio and veg garden area is surrounded by house and then trees and tall fencing. It's been reliably 7a for decades and now would meet the criteria for zone 8; that doesn't mean plants with a maximum hardiness for 8 can be depended on to survive every winter -- but it would take an exceptional cold spell to kill them. OTOH, the front yard is much colder: open and facing north, in the past few years I've lost shrubs rated for zone 6 and even for zone 5. Which isn't going to stop me from trying them again, lol. So far *this* winter, we've had three nights that cooled to the high teens, and maybe 5 more that were below freezing. Climate warming or normal chancy variance, I don't think there have been enough cold-hours to meet the requirements of the pear trees. February may be cold enough, but the norm is that Feb throws us one or two snow storms and then starts to warm up. I may have to search for an organic orchardist.
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We've moved in!
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Oooooh... just like a postcard! I just posted on your other thread, asking to see a larger photo of the exterior. And here it is. LOVE THIS HOUSE!! Do you want to sell? :o) *smile* Of course, dh would tell me "no, you have to finish your own house" and then he would remind me that I'm trying to ESCAPE the snow. But why does snow have to look so gorgeous in photos? :o) LOL! Good job Denise. Glad you shared photos. Everything is perfect!!
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Glad to hear that you've found a place and are getting more or less settled, Danielle. Were you in the middle of moving during your recent cold spell and snow? Yes, dial-up is a pain. I hope that you enjoy your new place. A friendly visit to a few neighbours will help you find friends in the community ... and have them include you in things that are going on. Good wishes to all of you for the coming months. ole joyful
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have moved out - do I need to take new pix?
Q
Comments (9)
Thanks. We'll leave the listing as-is, then. One less thing to do. The realtor said my pictures were excellent, and this property isn't priced to merit a professional real estate photographer, they're expensive around here. My "fancy flyer" has all the pictures from the listing and a stack is kept at the house, and I'll blow up a nice picture of what the house looked like in early August with everything blooming its little heart out. There will be no more work done on the house except for a major scrubbing and a very little bit of landscaping once the annuals die back next month - we blew our budget to smithereens bringing the house "up to snuff" before we put it on the market. We just can't spend any more on it even though there are things that could be done, unless someone finds a money tree. The idea of only having TP in one bathroom so they won't use the other ones is a pretty good one, I think, since I'm going to be the one driving 45 minutes each way every week to clean the place (a housecleaner being $60 a pop!) and satisfy the insurance company. I'll get some paper towels, too - I put the proverbial "fluffy white towels" in the bathrooms and really don't want to deal with having to launder them! We had 3 (!!!) failed offers with one realtor in the 100ish days he had the listing (very long story), changed realtors at the beginning of September and the local market promptly collapsed. The phones went dead at our realtor's large office on Labor Day weekend and haven't started ringing again; our realtor currently has 6 listings and has had only 1 showing in a week. And there's still that whole hotel-next-door thing hanging over us, too, which may be contributing to the general paralysis at this end of town. We're going before the planning board in about 3 weeks, with some other neighbors who don't want it there either, in hopes that we can kill it. It will probably count against us that we've moved out already, but so be it. I think most of the neighbors who will be there are probably also selling, there are more signs up in the neighborhood than there were this spring. We moved out - into the house we bought when we thought we had the last offer totally nailed down, and it just wasn't cool with us to then screw OUR seller over - primarily because it was really sucking big wet hairy dog to be living in the house while it was being shown. We were all incredibly stressed out, even the dog. (And you know what happens when dogs get stressed!) Also, we wanted to get the move over with during the early fall since the weather is good and doesn't contribute to the fibro issues. I'm pretty much useless in the winter and it was going to be much harder to keep the house "show perfect", particularly managing "doggy odors" once the house got closed up tight in cold weather. We're looking forward to actually being able to cook a real meal once we get the kitchen unpacked; since a lot of our showings were in the "after work" time, we haven't really cooked since Memorial Day! BTW, chispa, thank you again so much for the paint, that was such a big help and so many people have commented so positively, espeially about the Monroe Bisque that was used in one bedroom as well as the kitchen and hallway. Hope you're settling well into your new digs and having more fun than culture shock. ;-) tauphidelt, I may find pictures of empty rooms kind of boring but it didn't stop us from buying this house, which had been vacant for over 2.5 years! (Rehab/flip gone very bad due to bad market timing, poor bahrstid took a bath.) Hope the third time's the charm for you, fairygirl!
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megradek
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, crazyhouse! The pulls are Michael Aram. You can get them on special order at Lowes, but I found them online at knobshingesandmore.com for a bit cheaper!!
gopintos
14 years ago
Congratulations!!

Many nice touches, thank you for sharing!
hollyh3kids
14 years ago
Beautiful! Congrats!
brutuses
14 years ago
Congratulations, it's beautiful. Love those cabinet knobs in the laundry room. Very cute!!
booboo60
14 years ago
Beautiful home! Love your windows, hardwood, kitchen, everything :) Congrats!
shelly_k
14 years ago
Love your home! I'm sure you are so happy with how it turned out!

Are those windows in your shower? I've never seen anything like that...
justmeinsd
14 years ago
beautiful home. You are going to really enjoy living there with all your special touches. BTW - I have the same dining set.
eventhecatisaboy
14 years ago
Congratulations! It looks beautiful! Your kitchen is wonderful...love the bell jar lights! Would you mind sharing where you purchased them? And...would you also mind sharing your kitchen cabinet color? Looks black on my monitor, but I wasn't sure.

Great job! Enjoy and cheers to many happy memories!
megradek
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks to everyone for the nice comments!

shelly k: we added the "windows" (just openings into the rest of the bath) so that the walk-in shower wasn't so cave-like (a little more natural light) and for venting purposes.

justmeinsd: LOL! what can ya do? we decided it would be more important to spend the $$ on insulation! It'll be better to find just the right set at the right time. good thing we moved in now - I've got many months until the next major holiday (thanksgiving)!!!

evanthecatisaboy: The bell jars are from Potterybarn. The kitchen cabs are walnut with "java" stain - not black, but very, very rich brown. I'm planning on doing the official Finished Kitchen Blog post over on the kitchens forum, but was going to wait until we decided on our stools and bfast nook table!!
newhome3
14 years ago
Mairin,
Congratulations on your GORGEOUS new home!!!

I just love the colors and the warm and classy feeling they give to the home.

I want those laundry room pulls!!! Beautiful touch of whimsy....
Would you mind sharing which paint colors you used, especially in the living room and master bath?

I think those windows in your shower are unique....such an excellent idea. What kind of glass is in them?
Enjoy your new home!
crazyhouse6
14 years ago
Thanks for sharing more pictures of your new home. Feel free to add more. :) I've been looking forward to seeing them after seeing glimpses of your gorgeous kitchen and awesome mudroom. I wanted to add that I love your cabinet color choices in the mudroom and laundry room - different and classy.

Enjoy your new home!
megradek
Original Author
14 years ago
here are the paint colors for the whole house - it was easier just to copy and paste! Obviously I didn't include all of the rooms, maybe I should add more this afternoon during nap time!

Benjamin Moore colors:

trim: decorators white
mudroom: 997 baja dunes
powder room: 1593 adagio
foyer/hall: HC-172 revere pewter
living room: 998 cabot trail
dining room: 2072-20 black raspberry - above paneling
kitchen/bfast nook: HC-172 revere pewter
family room: HC-87 ashley gray
stairwell/upstairs hall: HC-172 revere pewter
Clara room: 177 mushroom cap
Evelyn room: HC-72 Branchport Brown - below chair rail
1403 french lilac 1403 - above rail
master bedroom: 985 indian river
master bath: HC-90 crown point sand
JJ bath: HC-81 manchester tan
guest room: 1535 seattle mist
guest room bath: 1611 graytint
laundry room: HC-45 shaker beige

no glass in the shower, just an opening!
rich52
14 years ago
Mairin, nice job on the house. Looks beautiful. Can you post a picture of Graytint? It seems BM does not have a color card that you can take home for that color.

Thanks,
kateskouros
14 years ago
i think it's stunning! i gasped at the sight of your kitchen (in a good way) ...and i'm a white kitchen girl! such lovely details throughout. LOVING the mud room and laundry rooms too. it looks like it will actually be "fun" to do the wash (although i'm sure i'd get over it). you should feel very proud, it is a lovely and welcoming home. wishing you many happy and healthy years, enjoy it!
megradek
Original Author
14 years ago
Okay, here's the rest of the rooms. This is truly testing my photographic (in)abilities!!

DD2's room

DD1's room

JJbath

jjbath tub area

guest room

guest bath - rich52 - this is the graytint on the walls

shower for guestbath

living room/playroom for now!!

no picture of the master and closet yet - major work in progress!!
Phobie Privett
14 years ago
Congratulations! It's lovely!!! I know you had concerns with your facade, but it turned out great! And I LOVE your black cabinets! Gorgeous!
rich52
14 years ago
Mairin, thanks for posting the pic. Where did you get the framed mirror for the master bath? The vanity looks similar in size to ours which is 72".

Thanks,
megradek
Original Author
14 years ago
rich52: after hunting for what felt like a century, we ended up having our cabinet maker build the frame for us, then had the glass door/mirror guy make a mirror to fit! I had the hardest time trying to find the right sized mirrors for all of our bathrooms - especially the ones with double sinks since the spacing is important. We almost resorted to finding a big tall 'dressing' mirror and turning it lengthwise. good luck with your hunting!
jenanla
14 years ago
I don't know where to start. That mudroom, that kitchen,that living room ceiling. Wow!!!!
rhome410
14 years ago
LIke so many others, I don't even know what to say or where to start. What a beautiful and warm home with excellent detailing. I love your kitchen, the wall color in the living room, and the cabinet color in the laundry. So jealous of the mud room! Congratulations and enjoy!
lindybarts
14 years ago
FANTASTIC!! I love everything you picked out but especially the kitchen. My jaw hit the desk when I saw that photo. Just stunning!

Great job and congratulations!
Lindy
niffy
14 years ago
Your house turned out so beautifully! I peeked in earlier this week specifically wondering if you'd have posted photos yet, since I remember seeing you complain about our lovely weather delaying your concrete (and thus your move-in). Aargh. It's still affecting our build, so you are lucky you are done and in! Every room is just gorgeous! Who did the painting in your girls' rooms? And where did you get the glass tile in the shower in the jack-n-jill? LOVE it!!
megradek
Original Author
14 years ago
thanks so much to everyone!

rhome: the cabinets in the laundry room are "olive". I am now so happy that I went out on a limb for the laundry and mudroom and used color!!

niffy: My mom painted the girls' rooms. She's done comfortable with many mediums, but is primarily a water colorist. I am lucky to have a great number of her paintings for the house (someday I will hang them!). We got all of our tile (except the kitchen backsplash - that was Ann Sacks) from Prosource Flooring since our builder got a nice discount through them. For some reason I can't find the manufacturer or name of glass tiles. It's a blend of matte & glossy off-white and tans. We still haven't been able to finish our landscaping because of all the rain. we'll be lucky to have grass by mid-July at this rate!! hope your weather delays go away soon!!!
Carey Wilson
4 years ago
Your home is so beautiful. I came across it on Pinterest and it has been one of my Inspiration homes. We have been really struggling with the exterior and I love the look of yours. Would you mind sharing the color trim and soffit that you used I’m really struggling with picking colors for that? We are also doing brick, stone and bronze guttering. Thank you I would really appreciate your help.
The_Lane_Duo
4 years ago
Congratulations on completing your home & moving in!
millworkman
4 years ago
"Congratulations on completing your home & moving in!"

They completed and moved in 11 years ago........................

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