Your home is absolutely beautiful! The interior is lovely and the detailing is just gorgeous. You have done an excellent job and should be very, very proud. Congratulations! Sigh--I'm extrememly jealous right now--but that's a good thing.LOL!

Wow! Congrats on a gorgeous house! Love the stonework!

Your home is absolutely stunning! I have a question about the columns on your porch as our plan calls for something very similar. What kind are yours? We've been given lots of advice to use the composite columns and I was wondering what people have used. Thanks so much!
Susan

Just beautiful. Hope you are moving in very soon!

I have to tell you, I would have fought DH to the ends of the earth to not use the red on the exterior. And I would have been wrong. It is eye-catching and smashing!

Very pretty. Looks like something out of a fairy tale book. The color is great. You need to send lots more photo's though for us to enjoy.

Let me ask you, why the sconce over the window? I ask because I've never seen that before and I'm on this board to learn everything I can about decorating.

When is scheduled move in date? Looks close.

i'm sorry about the rain ...and the painters. but it looks absolutely stunning! i'm so anxious to start but the architect just started on the final draw. i'll be lucky if we can break ground before christmas. you're teasing me with so few pics of the interior. i want to see more! still trying to get a look at the gray shakes IRL. we still have some time so hoping something will turn up. good luck on the rest of the build and post more pics, please? thanks for the info on where to buy. again, good luck and congratulations!

Your house is gorgeous! I LOVE the exterior. It has so much character, and I'm guessing it's perfectly suited to your part of the country. I guess what I'm saying is, it's a totally different style than I would choose to build where I live, but that's what's so great about it. It looks authentic! The interior looks lovely, too. I would like to see more pictures.
Oh, the site looks beautiful, too.

Wow!

Well thought out, appropriately detailed inside and out. I am impressed by the combination of roofs that, on the face of it, I wouldn't think could work well together.

This reminds me of the "story" homes I've seen in Architectural Digest

Have you revealed something about the design process in another thread?

I love your home. It looks like the scene from an old Bing Crosby movie.

Can't wait to see more pictures. Great job.

Yes, more pictures please! What a beautiful house you have.

Thank you all for your kind comments. Some very interesting questions and comments.

Mlauder - the columns are fiberglass.

Lindybarts - Ha. We have been in the house since May 17th. We were in an apartment up until that time, when my contractor let us know that the house would be done by then. So we gave our notice, reluctantly, and the house still isn't done. So we are mainly confined to the upper floor where the bedrooms are. I now can be truely empathetic to others living with dust and subcontractors.

Bj inatlanta - I agree. I was/am the one who has been involved in the building process and all the decisions. So when my husband had a strong preference, I would usually go with his decision.

Brutuses - I did not want a two story foyer, but due to several factors I ended up with one. And I did not want a chandeler. So those lights were a compromise. I do like a nice balance of layers of lights. I have seen that look many times in magazines. I don't have light bulbs in them yet and I'm anxious to see how well they will work.

Owl-at-home - you are so right. This is a very traditional look for this area, the NE. We have some gorgeous older homes in town that have this same kind of look; gambrel roof, cedar shake siding, eight sided sunrooms, etc. The offical term is Shingle style.

Worth - You have a good eye. The architect felt a gambrel roof on the gargage would overpower the house, and therefore, we ended up with "Greek revival" meets "Shigle style." And yet, as you say, it works!

I'm not sure how to explain the design process in a few sentences, but I'll try. We bought a 1968 raised ranch in 2002 with the intention of doing some remodel once we figured out what we needed. Hired an architect a year later, and after he drew up the plans, we realized that it was just too much money to put into a 1968 raised ranch. So we stepped back for a while and tried to figure out what we wanted to do. We wanted to stay in the area, my husband liked the commute. But almost all of the newer houses on the market were starting at around 5000 sq.ft, and many of the older homes needed a lot of work. So we took a deep breath and decided to tear down and build new. A friend of ours was working for an architect that he highly recommended, and we hired him. We told him we did not want a "dream house" since this was not our forever house. We plan to move from the area when my husband retires. So I gave him several pictures of ideas we had, and he came back with a drawing of basically the house you see in the pictures. Well, we were awe struck, and asked if it would be expensive to build. "Oh no" he answered, or something to that effect. And the rest is history.

Here's a few more pictures.

This is the stone wall that is being built.

Our foyer at night.

The kitchen (still needs painting and the lights over the island needs the cords shortened.)

The dining area.

Our master bedroom:

My tub:

More to follow soon.

Joan

Joan, your house just takes my breath away! It looks like it's been there forever, a beautiful balance of styles and setting. And I can't get over all the interior details -- the stairs and levels and nooks, your ceilings and crown moldings and PERFECT paint colors and floors that just knock my socks right off. I know you'll enjoy living in this wonderful home.

Your house is wonderful! This may not have been planned to be your 'forever dream house' but it sure looks like it could be to me! Congratulations and best of luck with the finishing up!

Thanks for those additional photo's, truly beautiful. Now that's a house done right!!

What a lovely, lovely home you have created. It looks like so much care, thought and detail have gone into this place. Congratulations on a superb job,well done.

What is your fireplace? It looks like a wood stove insert? Is it the Fireplace Extrodinaire by any chance? Does it look as good in person as it does in pics? Are you happy with it? We are in the midst of choosing a zero clearance wood stove right now...something that produces heat but looks like a fireplace. The Extrodinaire is our current first choice.

I just love your home! And I like the reds, too. The house looks like it has been there forever and your new wall does too. The staircases to the upstairs are marvelous. Wonderful design and so New England!

Ditto to all who wrote! I love your staircases too! Would you have a close up picture of the boxed newels?
Thanks for all the info you are sharing with us!
Susan

Oh, my, what a lovely home you have, Joan! I love your foyer and all of the stairs, and your colors, all the details (a special little shout out to your barrel ceiling arches between the kitchen and family(?)room. But I LOVE the TUB! And the tub window, and the color in the room. Now I'm shamelessly babbling, but in a word, beautiful.

Amy

Great job!
The attention to detail is so apparent in your home. I love your cabinets and your lighting is great!
Nice job...My hat's off to you!

Thank you all for your sweet comments. I have been just too close to all the building decisions and all the problems, that it is nice to remember the overall accomplishment we have made. I still have many more decisions to make, and I need to start asking the questions!

Scwren - yes, it is an Xtrordinair, model 36 elite. I'm such a practical person that I didn't want to build a fireplace unless it could actually heat the house. We haven't used it yet, but since we had to cut down so many trees, we have a TON of wood to burn.

amyks - I love that tub and paint color too. But wait - there's more. I'm having a local stained glass artist make a piece that will fit in the lower part of the window. That way light can still filter in and I can take a bath in privacy. It is going to be beautiful. I got that idea from someone on this site, can't remember who. I'm also having him make two transoms for the doors flanking the fireplace. I went and looked at them last Friday and he thought they would be done in around three weeks. And, of course, having learned a few things during this build, I multipied that by two and added two days. Ha.

vfish - I tried not to obsess too much on the details, but those lights took a long time to find. I finally found them in Europe. Now I'm getting catalogs from the company all the time in German. Even though I took two years of German in high school, it is just not enough to translate!

Mlauder - I took some pictures of the newel post for you. My contractor decided to have our trim person install the stairs, and I'm so glad he did. Our trim person was just first rate. He did excellent work on everything he did. Instead of having the railing die into a rosette, he made a half newel post, and then added a flurish on the bottom of the posts. Here are a few pictures.

Joan

Thanks Joan!
Your stairs are just gorgeous! I will print off your pictures and show them to our trim guys! You are so kind to share everything. I really do appreciate it.
Susan

Thanks Joan!
Your stairs are just gorgeous! I will print off your pictures and show them to our trim guys! You are so kind to share everything. I really do appreciate it.
Susan

Joan, your house is one of my faves! It's nice to see that the interior is just as beautiful as the exterior! Thanks for sharing your photos and I hope you enjoy the final stages of your build. Good luck!

Joan,
Your house is simply AMAZING! I am a lurker and have been researching on GardenWeb quietly for quite some time as I try to plan a lot of change here in our house. DH is around for 'veto' power and to pipe up if/when he feels strongly about some design aspect, etc. :)

We are also in CT.

I am interested in the contractor that did your siding. You indicated that they are experienced with Hardiplank and we are going that route. We have a quote from Burr out of Darien but I'm interested in getting another one or two to compare. Could you please tell me who you used?

TIA,
Dorothy

What a beautiful home!!!

Joan,

I remember your house from several months back. How wonderful to see all of the progress you've made on the home. It is absolutely breathtaking. I love it.... inside AND out.

Your colors are so beautiful and pure. What brand of paint are you using indoors? I LOVE the green.... it's amazing!

Great job. Thanks for sharing interior photos... you have done a beautiful job on your home.

I have to say, I'm impressed that you'd be willing to leave that home. It's a dream house for sure in my opinion! :o)

Hello Totallyblessed,

Thanks for the comments. It has been a long time coming but we are seeing the end. A lot of work being done outside right now. A tremendous amount of landscaping is really showing off this property to its fullest. And we are taking over the house room by room. I finally moved into our study, but my computer is not hooked up fully so I can't download any pictures right now.

The paint is SW. Flat on the walls. The color in the greatroom is Ancient Marble I think. I love it. We went for a slightly darker green in the sunroom.

We will certainly enjoy the house while we are here. The theory is that we will be here until my husband retires. But you know how life can be.

Joan

Joan,

Thank you for sharing your paint color. I like the sunroom green also (and OMG... that ceiling!!) but I LOVE the living room green. I'm writing that name down to check out next time I get to SW.

When you are able to share more photos, I'd love to see the study. :o)