Day 99

Here's an update on the eve of our 100th day of the building project. This week the roof was completed and our builders installed the windows and exterior doors. Take a peek!

We're so happy with our super energy efficient Anderson 400 Series windows. We decided to put double hung windows throughout the house because they are practical, easy to use and easy to clean. With all those windows in the house and with Summit's wet nose, I DO NOT want to be spending a ton of time washing windows! Each double hung has grills for the upper sash that will be installed later. We decided to only do grills on the upper half of the window so they didn't look so traditional-colonial because we're not going for much of a traditional New England look if we can avoid it. One of the windows was ordered incorrectly and came with the grill between the glass. We originally were going to order our windows with the grill between the glass because it seems to be a popular option these days but at the last minute I changed my mind. I like the idea of being able to remove the grills if we want to and something about the between the glass look just wasn't as appealing. I'm really glad we made the last minute switch, even if it means the odd window sash in our laundry room needs to be reordered and replaced.

The windows will have removable grills in the upper 1/2 like the small one pictured on the right. This one has to be replaced though - we didn't want grills between the glass!

And oh! Check out our living room windows. They are huge! These pictures almost don't do them justice. On thing there will be plenty of in this house is natural light. We'll have lots of passive solar warming in this room.

Exterior doors went in as well. We'll have to figure out what color to paint our front door. I want something fun and inviting, no boring colors! I'll be soliciting suggestions once we reveal the color of the house.

Windows and slider in the master bedroom


Even the front door has lots of windows!

Day 94

Last weekend, James and I were busy wrapping and taping up the house. The thick, sticky tape is used to seal the Typar paper seams to help to keep moisture from reaching the plywood beneath.

The other big news this week is that the roof will be completed and the windows and doors will be installed. I've been amazed how much the house transforms at each step of this process. I think having the roof on and the windows and doors in will really be a big step forward. I'll be sure to take and share more pictures later this week!

Energy Star skylight for our kitchen

Now that you know what our roof will look like, be sure to share your vote for siding color in the poll in the right hand side bar of the blog. All will be revealed in just a few weeks!

Under the Lights

All work and no play makes Cary a cranky wife. James knows this so he took me to see the Yankees crush the Orioles under the lights at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night. The Yanks scored 12 runs in the first inning alone and the final score was was 17-3!! Guess they knew they needed to win big for me, haha.

Let's Talk Floorplan

Below is the floorplan for the main level of the house and pictures of each room. You'll have to use your imagination a little since we have a way to go until the sheetrock goes up so the walls are still just framing. Ever since we decided to build (more than a year ago now!) I've been bookmarking inspiration pictures for all the rooms in the house so I shared a few of those with you as well. Thank goodness for Pinterest!

Here's the floorplan for the main level of the house:

Let's start with the front entrance and foyer of the house. As soon as you walk through the door, you'll see the view. The foyer and stairs going down are open. These are just temporary stairs.

To the right of the foyer is the large, open dining room. We intend this to be a "casual eating" area, not a stuffy formal dining room. It has big open walkways to the foyer and the living room/kitchen.

Top: dining room looking into kitchen; Bottom: kitchen looking into dining; Below: Inspiration

The foyer, kitchen and dining room open to the living room with its vaulted ceilings and a wall of windows. Includes a double sided gas fireplace (other side is in master bedroom) and door to covered porch. It's also open to kitchen.

The kitchen is connected to the living room and dining room. There are also french doors to the left of the window that go out to the back deck. We are planning a white kitchen with a big farmhouse sink, industrial lighting and a wood island countertop. Pretty similar to the inspiration pictures below.

Off the kitchen will be a door attached to the garage, a short hallway with access to the guest bath and a laundry room.

The two car garage and an inspiration shot of my grand plan for the outside of it:

Moving back to the other side of the house...when you come in the front door into the foyer, I'm hoping we can find or build some kind of bench and coat rack. A few examples:

Off the foyer is the study with built in bookshelves, maybe another bench and room for two desks. This room will likely also have a double personality as a nursery if we decide to have a family because the extra bedrooms are on the lower level.

Our master bedroom shares a wall with the living room. The best part about this is the ability to install a double sided fireplace in order to maximize enjoyment. The master also has a masterful view thanks to its location in the house and two walls of glass. A triple sliding door leads out to the covered porch. If you're wondering where the bed goes, the answer is in front of the windows! Apparently this decision was quite scandalous ("nobody puts a bed in front of a window!") but it was our plan all along. I think it will turn out just perfect. Check out the bed inspiration below. I think we can even make it ourselves!

Between the master bedroom and the master bath is a short hallway with double sinks on one side and access to the closet on the other. James likes to joke about how the walk in closet may not be big enough to support my shoes, bags and jackets. I should have shown him my inspiration picture, haha!

The last stop on our tour of the main level is the master bathroom. Pretty standard here - jacuzzi tub, toilet, shower, linen closet.

Phew! That took longer than expected. Part II: The Lower Level is coming next week. Stay tuned!