Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Our First Christmas
We were so excited to celebrate our first Christmas in our new home. Our entire family came over on Christmas Eve to spend the night and help us celebrate Christmas. I was so excited about breaking in our new kitchen. We cooked snack foods all day on Christmas Eve, and made a terrific breakfast and dinner on Christmas Day. The highlight was when we woke up on Christmas morning to a fresh blanket of snow! The last time it snowed on Christmas morning in Chattanooga was over 20 year ago. We really felt blessed this year!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Table & Chairs, Window Treatments, Mirrors, and Pendants
We have been living in our house for a little over a week, and it is finally starting to feel like home. Because a majority of our furniture was custom ordered, it has yet to be delivered. This has been a little inconvenient and left the house feeling slightly empty. However, it has enabled us to have the space to complete other tasks, such as finishing our kitchen table!
As I explained in a previous entry, I have been really excited about our kitchen table and chairs. The table was built from scratch by my husband. It is made of solid dark walnut. For the chairs, my mother made white linen slip covers. They are tailored beautifully to fit the Parsons chairs. We used a bamboo Roman Shade for the windows in the kitchen and keeping room.
The turn-buckle (at the bottom of the table) is one of my favorite parts. It makes the table truly unique!
All of our window treatments were custom made by my mother. For the master bedroom, we selected a coffee/gunmetal silk for the side panels. Behind the panels, we made Roman Shades out of a sheer striped fabric. The curtain rods are brushed nickel with crystal finials.
In the dining room, we selected a brown, green, and blue silk stripe for the panels.
In the great room, we used a dark stained wooden blind. The panels are a beige linen with a rope tie back. We used a large piece of bamboo as curtain rods.
In the bathrooms, I had specific ideas of what I wanted for mirrors. I love the look of framed mirrors, but I felt that would be too heavy and masculine for our master bathroom. I was so excited when I found the master bath mirrors at Pier 1. They are rectangular, and framed with beveled glass. This creates the look of a framed mirror, while keeping it feminine with the glass.
The powder room mirror was also a great find! It is a white-washed, rustic framed mirror from Home Goods. The antique looking frame looks so unique paired with the chic light fixture.
For our kitchen pendant lights, I wanted to continue the rustic/contemporary look. The round glass piece provides the edginess to the heavy stainless body of the light. They look perfect with the glass backsplash, drum light, and table & chairs.
As I explained in a previous entry, I have been really excited about our kitchen table and chairs. The table was built from scratch by my husband. It is made of solid dark walnut. For the chairs, my mother made white linen slip covers. They are tailored beautifully to fit the Parsons chairs. We used a bamboo Roman Shade for the windows in the kitchen and keeping room.
The turn-buckle (at the bottom of the table) is one of my favorite parts. It makes the table truly unique!
All of our window treatments were custom made by my mother. For the master bedroom, we selected a coffee/gunmetal silk for the side panels. Behind the panels, we made Roman Shades out of a sheer striped fabric. The curtain rods are brushed nickel with crystal finials.
In the dining room, we selected a brown, green, and blue silk stripe for the panels.
In the great room, we used a dark stained wooden blind. The panels are a beige linen with a rope tie back. We used a large piece of bamboo as curtain rods.
In the bathrooms, I had specific ideas of what I wanted for mirrors. I love the look of framed mirrors, but I felt that would be too heavy and masculine for our master bathroom. I was so excited when I found the master bath mirrors at Pier 1. They are rectangular, and framed with beveled glass. This creates the look of a framed mirror, while keeping it feminine with the glass.
The powder room mirror was also a great find! It is a white-washed, rustic framed mirror from Home Goods. The antique looking frame looks so unique paired with the chic light fixture.
For our kitchen pendant lights, I wanted to continue the rustic/contemporary look. The round glass piece provides the edginess to the heavy stainless body of the light. They look perfect with the glass backsplash, drum light, and table & chairs.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Closing
The past few weeks have been so busy! Last Monday, our finalized punch list was completed. Once the last few details in the house were touched-up or corrected, the only thing left to do was wait on the bank. We thought this would be a lengthy process; however, we received a phone call Tuesday morning that we were cleared to close. Fortunately, we were able to close that afternoon! Little did we know: the lengthy process was only beginning. On Wednesday, we installed accent lights in the house and started hanging window treatments. Thursday, our stored furniture was delivered. Friday, we had our personal belongings moved. Saturday and Sunday we unpacked tons of boxes. Today, we worked on organizing the garage. Over the next few days we plan to have our bedroom furniture delivered, along with our new Samsung washer & dryer. Sadly, it will be another 3-4 weeks before we get our living room and keeping room furniture.
We are so excited to have gone through this process. Although stressful at times, it has been incredible seeing our final product. Once the boxes are cleared, there will be tons of pictures to follow!
We are so excited to have gone through this process. Although stressful at times, it has been incredible seeing our final product. Once the boxes are cleared, there will be tons of pictures to follow!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Landscaping
Thankfully, the weather was nice today. The landscapers were able to completely install our landscape lighting, irrigation system, and plant all of our shrubs. The front, sides, and back yard are temporarily covered in straw. I look forward to seeing the pretty green grass in the next few weeks.
We used a combination of different shrubs to give a woodsy/multi-textured look. We planted: arborvitae, japanese yews, loropetalum, indian hawthorne, and cleyera. Once the sod goes down in a few weeks, they will plant a Maple Tree and River Birch Tree in the back yard.
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We used a combination of different shrubs to give a woodsy/multi-textured look. We planted: arborvitae, japanese yews, loropetalum, indian hawthorne, and cleyera. Once the sod goes down in a few weeks, they will plant a Maple Tree and River Birch Tree in the back yard.
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Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Almost Finished!!
Yesterday, we met with our foreman to do a walk through. We were absolutely amazed to see that the house was so close to being finished. With the exception of our landscaping, all of the major details have been completed. At this point, it is mostly small things that need to be touched up or corrected. It is looking like we will be closing in the next 1-2 weeks. It is so exciting to know that the finish line is right around the corner.
The hardwood floor details:
Dining Room & Foyer
Greatroom
Carpet Details:
Upstairs Hallway Carpet
Master Bedroom Carpet
Upstairs Bedroom Carpet
Fridgidare Appliances:
Stove & Microwave
Refrigerator
Dishwasher
We have had a few rainy days, so unfortunately, our landscaping has been delayed. Hopefully, they will be finished in the next day or two. We have decided to plant our shrubs now, but wait until late September to plant our trees & lay the sod. Apparently, this is a very bad time of the year to lay sod because it is so hot. So, for the first month or so, our yard will consist of straw.
Plants in garage, ready to plant.
Irrigation System
The hardwood floor details:
Dining Room & Foyer
Greatroom
Carpet Details:
Upstairs Hallway Carpet
Master Bedroom Carpet
Upstairs Bedroom Carpet
Fridgidare Appliances:
Stove & Microwave
Refrigerator
Dishwasher
We have had a few rainy days, so unfortunately, our landscaping has been delayed. Hopefully, they will be finished in the next day or two. We have decided to plant our shrubs now, but wait until late September to plant our trees & lay the sod. Apparently, this is a very bad time of the year to lay sod because it is so hot. So, for the first month or so, our yard will consist of straw.
Plants in garage, ready to plant.
Irrigation System
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Backsplash, Front Door, Mantle, and Furniture
Now that our estimated completion date has been moved up, the contractors have been working long hours, every day! Thankfully, the final details have been coming together nicely. We should be seeing a final product next week!
We were so excited to see that the glass tile backsplash was finally installed in the kitchen. I have been waiting for months to see how it would look. The combination of the glass tile with the granite is so beautiful. So far, this is my favorite part of the house!
The front door was also installed today. We used a full glass front door with a prarie grill. The wood will be stained to match our cedar columns.
The fireplace mantle is in place. Once they come to paint the final coats on the walls, they will paint the mantle white, to match the trim.
We have also been furniture shopping for our keeping room and greatroom. Klaussner is a great furniture line because you can customize the fabric and wood selections. For the keeping room, we have decided to use 4 chairs from Klaussner. The fabric is called "Rust".
This is the style of chair, called "Virgina".
This is a sample of the fabric we will have covering the chairs. This fabric really gives the chairs a rustic, warm look.
The couches for our greatroom are also by Klaussner. We have a large greatroom, so we will be using 2 of the couches, and a chair (which we have not decided upon yet).
The design of the couch is called "Sonoma". I love the straight lines combined with the low, sloping arms. It is also about 8 feet long, so it will provide a lot of seating space.
The fabric that will be covering the couches is a black, brown, and tan tweed.
We were so excited to see that the glass tile backsplash was finally installed in the kitchen. I have been waiting for months to see how it would look. The combination of the glass tile with the granite is so beautiful. So far, this is my favorite part of the house!
The front door was also installed today. We used a full glass front door with a prarie grill. The wood will be stained to match our cedar columns.
The fireplace mantle is in place. Once they come to paint the final coats on the walls, they will paint the mantle white, to match the trim.
We have also been furniture shopping for our keeping room and greatroom. Klaussner is a great furniture line because you can customize the fabric and wood selections. For the keeping room, we have decided to use 4 chairs from Klaussner. The fabric is called "Rust".
This is the style of chair, called "Virgina".
This is a sample of the fabric we will have covering the chairs. This fabric really gives the chairs a rustic, warm look.
The couches for our greatroom are also by Klaussner. We have a large greatroom, so we will be using 2 of the couches, and a chair (which we have not decided upon yet).
The design of the couch is called "Sonoma". I love the straight lines combined with the low, sloping arms. It is also about 8 feet long, so it will provide a lot of seating space.
The fabric that will be covering the couches is a black, brown, and tan tweed.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Gutters, Staircase, Mailbox, & Garage Doors
We received an exciting update from our foreman yesterday. According to him, the new goal is to have the house completed by August 24th. That is 13 days from today!! It seems like there are so many minor details still left to complete.
Yesterday, they hung all of our gutters. At the last minute, we changed our minds on what color to use. During our exterior selections process, we decided on white. I never really paid much attention to the colors of gutters until now. As it was getting closer to the time to hang ours, I began noticing other new construction homes had used colors other than white. Several people will match their gutters to the roof color, and others choose to match them with the trim color. After much thought (and lost sleep), we changed from white to terra bronze. This color blends well with our roofing and siding colors. I am so happy with the way they have turned out! It was very much outside my comfort zone to go with such a dark color, especially when the idea is to get the object to blend in to the background. This was definitely the right way to go!
Today, our interior staircase was completed. One more coat of stain will go on the treads once the workers are finished with a majority of the work upstairs. The open catwalk looks absolutely beautiful from the foyer and the greatroom.
View from the foyer.
View from the greatroom.
Today, we also noticed our mailbox was in place.
It makes it seem so official!
Our garage doors were installed and in working order today. We used the carriage style doors with black accent straps. We are thinking about painting the doors Timberbark, to match the color of our siding. They are so stark white, and I think they will blend in better being dark (like the gutters).
Exterior
Interior
Yesterday, they hung all of our gutters. At the last minute, we changed our minds on what color to use. During our exterior selections process, we decided on white. I never really paid much attention to the colors of gutters until now. As it was getting closer to the time to hang ours, I began noticing other new construction homes had used colors other than white. Several people will match their gutters to the roof color, and others choose to match them with the trim color. After much thought (and lost sleep), we changed from white to terra bronze. This color blends well with our roofing and siding colors. I am so happy with the way they have turned out! It was very much outside my comfort zone to go with such a dark color, especially when the idea is to get the object to blend in to the background. This was definitely the right way to go!
Today, our interior staircase was completed. One more coat of stain will go on the treads once the workers are finished with a majority of the work upstairs. The open catwalk looks absolutely beautiful from the foyer and the greatroom.
View from the foyer.
View from the greatroom.
Today, we also noticed our mailbox was in place.
It makes it seem so official!
Our garage doors were installed and in working order today. We used the carriage style doors with black accent straps. We are thinking about painting the doors Timberbark, to match the color of our siding. They are so stark white, and I think they will blend in better being dark (like the gutters).
Exterior
Interior
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