Boxed beams before paint

Our finish carpenter Chris is the best! Boxed beams waiting paint Sherwin Williams Echelon Ecru.

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

Sunday, and all was quiet except for Chris the Finish Carpenter and he was working in the garage so I spent an hour wandering around inside the house, imagining. I had a list of the mirrors we currently own so I could match their sizes and styles with different rooms of the house. 

The coverings have been removed from the French doors so the house looks more friendly from the outside and is brighter inside. In this photo, the gravel is compacted awaiting the flatwork guys who will pour the two patios and cement walk this coming week. Also, installation of the long awaited fence should begin this week. Annie will be so happy to be able to explore without us calling her back every few minutes from the lake or the neighbor's perfect lawn.

Boxed Beam Ceiling

Rainy days at the lake. We're waiting for better weather for the patio cement to be poured. Today we met with Arnie the Landscaper to talk about sod for the lawn between the house and the lake.

Inside the house, Chris the Finish Carpenter is building our boxed beam ceiling in the Great Room. The house is getting very cozy. The fence is scheduled for next week then comes the driveway. Someplace in between, truckloads of top soil will be delivered.

We have gutters!

We're happy to have gutters and a bit amused about the way they bow out for the belly band. Our builder has agreed to paint the gutters the same color as the main color of the house. Thank you Chris!

Mantle and Hearth

Chris, the finish carpenter, built our mantle and hearth this week. We LOVE it. And, tile guys Vitaliy and Misha are working on the slate tile for the seat and surround. To see the progression to this point, click here.

Master Bath shower tile

3-11-14 Vitaliy setting tile in master bath shower

We were at the house today meeting with the Carl the closet man. Chris and Carl made improvements to my plan to have closets with just a rod and a shelf. Also we put together the shelving plan for the pantry. While we were in the closets, Vitaliy was in the master bath putting tile on the walls. Yay! Everything is YAY these days.

our nice neighbor

3/10/15 photo by Marci

Just received a text with photo from our nice neighbor, Marci. She let me know the trim has received a second coat of paint. Looks like the blue ribbon above the belly band is yet to be painted. Thank you Marci!

3/10/15 later, same day, photo by Chris

And, later in the day, another image, this one from our builder, Chris. Railings are in on sky bridge and front deck. Thank you Chris! Note how this Sherwin Williams color, Retreat, changes with the light. I love it!

kitchen cabinets going in

Kitchen cabinets 3-8-15

Finish carpenter Chris was at the house this weekend working on our kitchen cabinets. They are natural cherry and looked very light when they were first delivered but they are darkening a little each day with exposure to light. We love them and we are so pleased with the work that Chris is doing for us.

second exterior paint day

3/6/15 South side, second paint day

What a difference a day makes. All sides of both buildings have been painted one coat.

3/6/15 East side, facing the lake.

exterior paint day!

When I arrived at the house today the painters were busy transforming our yellow house to Sherwin Williams "Retreat," a lovely sagey green/blue depending upon the light. The spray painting goes quickly.

A short time later they were starting on the SW Dover White trim color.

wet bar, skybridge and moles

The Birch cabinets for Jay's wet bar are in place against his Sea Salt walls. This is the upstairs of the garage. To the right is the door to the sky bridge.

When I stepped out onto the bridge, I saw Jay and Ken trying to catch the moles that have had the audacity to pop up through Ken's new sod. I really can't imagine that our lawn will ever look like that but it should in about 8 weeks. It will be the first perfect lawn either of us have had. Hopefully by then, Jay and Ken will have convinced the moles to leave the area.

Attic Ladder, cabinets

We delivered the attic ladder to the house today. There it is, lying on the floor of the upstairs landing. Lucky Chris the Finish Carpenter gets to install it. From what I have read, this is not the most fun job. Today was our first look at the paint, can lights and cabinets!

Our beautiful natural finish cherry cabinets have arrived and they are everywhere - it seems a cabinet or two is in every room. I even saw one upstairs in the guest bedroom - it must belong in the powder room downstairs because there is a pedestal sink in the guest bath, not a vanity.

The corner lazy-susan part of the cabinet is in the the laundry. Are the stacking Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer really going to fit in there?

The master suite is painted SW6219 Rain. Compared to the neutral colors of the majority of the house, it is looking very blue right now. I think the SW7574 Echelon Ecru trim and crown moulding will calm it down. And, though a dark vanity in the bath was stuck in my imagination even after we ordered the natural cherry, the warm wood is a nice complimentary color for the walls.

The majority of the cabinets seem to be stored in the Studio for now. What an exciting time!

tape and mud

2-17-15 Tape and mud.

Tape and mud. Cool stilts!

Siding Complete!

Our siding is done and our house looks perfect. Now, imagine the real exterior colors (shown below). I have added color swatches of the interior colors to yesterday's post. Scroll down.

Main Color SW6207 Retreat

Main body of house and garage will be SW Retreat

Sherwin Williams Dover White

All trim around doors, windows, belly band will be SW Dover White

Ribbon above belly band and all french doors will be Benjamin Moore 1635 Water's Edge

Entry door, SW Rainstorm

Entry door will be SW Rainstorm

marble and paint colors

Exciting day today. We picked out the marble slab for the master bath counter and the quartz for the laundry room and wet bar. We also confirmed the paint colors for the house interior.

Jay wants a cheery entry so it will be Ralph Lauren IB65 Mexico Yellow. A rich ochre color, discontinued by RL but no other color is quite like it. Our upstairs bathroom has been this color for years and I love it so it will be custom mixed for us. Our entry door is a deep blue, SW6230 Rainstorm that will look wonderful against the ochre wall when the door is open.

Ralph Lauren IB65 Mexico Yellow

SW 6230 Rainstorm

Also, I have a perfect piece of art to hang with it.

Lavender Sky (Leavenworth, WA), pastel, 2009

All interior trim is SW7574 Echelon Ecru - arrived at this color by matching the trim in my daughter's West Seattle home. Her overall palette is warmer than mine but I love the period color of her trim.

SW7574 Echelon Ecru

Great Room is SW6163 Grassland - nearly the same color as our great room now.

SW6163 Grassland

Kitchen wall between counter and cabinets - Behr S-H-200 New Brick. The color of my kitchen for the past 7 years - I found it by matching a jar of homemade tomato sauce. This color, with Zodiac Mossy Green counter top and under cabinet lighting makes food look extra yummy. And, no outlets on the wall so I can hang small artwork as I do in my kitchen now.

Behr S-H-200 New Brick

Studio, powder room, stairway wall, upstairs landing and my upstairs office all SW7568 Neutral Ground.  

SW7568 Neutral Ground

 Stair risers will be painted SW6204 Drizzle (same color as the blue/green foliage in my painting above).

SW6204 Drizzle

 Master Suite will be SW6219 Rain.

SW6219 Rain

Guest Suite is SW6204 Sea Salt. My first choices for the Guest Suite were rosy beige colors until I discovered the colors were in the Sherwin Williams Collections called Senior Living and Acute Care. I imagined my older sister and husband as overnight guests and was afraid they'd never leave so I changed the color.

SW6204 Sea Salt

I could ponder and tweak the wall color forever but at some point, one has to just walk away and call it good. I suspect the first room I'll repaint is the very small laundry - for now, the walls are intentionally the same color as the trim - a blank palette for me.

Fireplace progression

There are so many decisions to be made when building a house! I thought I would take a small area (the fireplace) to show the progression and mention the decisions that had to be made just in this small area.

In mid December of last year Mike, the Site Superintendent, mocked up a fireplace for me to see. Even before we got this far, we had to decide if we wanted a wood burning (there is nothing like a wood fire!) or gas fireplace. We decided on gas and this mock-up helped us decide the width and height. We also had to think about how deep the mantle would be, and when Jay added a raised hearth, we had to choose a height and if the hearth was all tile or wood and tile. 

A double check was made of all the decisions up to that point, especially the height of the hearth and depth of the mantle as well as the way the mantle would wrap around and connect with the wall. Our builder will have his finish carpenter build a Craftsman style cherry wood mantle.

The fireplace arrived and was installed. We also decided to put support  or a TV above the fireplace. I plan to hang an antique mirror or art there but someday, someone might want support and cable and an electrical outlet so we are having those things put in now. The electrical outlet could also be used for small lamps or Christmas decor on top of the mantle. I have revisited the tile supply company and selected a rustic slate with lots of texture (to play against the smooth texture of the cherry mantle) for the surround and the hearth bench (will need cushions).

First week of February and we have sheet rock walls. No decisions this week, just a discussion about matching the cherry mantle and hearth to the cherry cabinets that will be built-in on each side of the fireplace.

Chris, the finish carpenter, built our mantle and hearth this week. We LOVE it. And, tile guys Vitaliy and Misha are working on the slate tile for the seat and surround.

Rain and Sheetrock

Torrential rain via the Pineapple Express moving through our area the last couple days delayed work on the skybridge but the sheetrock guys were dry and busy here this week. This is a shot of the kitchen and great room from the breakfast nook.

My office views East, South and West.

The lake looks refreshed after all the rain.

Getting Cozy

1-30-15 Insulation in the dining area of the Great Room

We were at the house this morning as the sun was low in the East over the foggy lake. Our hearts are warmed (pun intended) to see insulation! Project Manager Mike warned me about the first heating bill we will get as they dry the moisture out of the house.

1-30-15 Foggy Lake