Sunday, June 11, 2017

House and Spring Updates!


Hi friends! 

Recently Rosetta asked me if it was summer yet.  When I responded not quite yet, she told me she was glad, because she didn't want summer to end.  That's exactly how I feel!  I'm so, so excited we will get to enjoy summer in our new house and hopefully be somewhat settled by the time school starts back up.  I love everything about summer, and even though it's not officially summer, we sure have been enjoying many of the things that come with it!  

Our new home is almost finished... we are hoping to be moving in in two weeks, BUT I have not gotten out the moving boxes yet... meaning, I know there are plenty of things that can still push that date out.  ;-)  We are still spending weeks in the city, where we enjoy swimming at the pool every chance we get, and weekends with my parents, where we mostly make about a hundred trips to our house to see if anything has changed - ha!   

 

There's  been a lot of porch sitting with all this warm weather...


Baby calves, ducks, and chicks...
 

 Time at the flower garden preparing for a hopefully busy flower season (and as you can tell from the grass, lots of mowing for the boys)...


(My first bouquet of the season... nothing says cheerful like a bouquet of sunflowers!)


 And lot of ranger rides around the farm... or just down to our house (haha). 
 

 Since I last posted, there has been a lot of activity at our house.  In the above photo, the brick was (finally) finished and Justus was working on bringing power and water all the way to the house.


 Once the brick was finished, concrete was poured on the two porches, columns were built, and the hardie siding went up. 


  After months of staring into a deep, empty front porch, it was pretty exciting to actually be able to walk out the front door! 


 Just yesterday the hardie siding and columns were painted and this week the HVAC system was installed.  Natural gas was also brought to the house, which we're using for everything we can (heat in the winter, stove, fireplace, and grill). 


 Other than painting the open rafter tails and doors, all that's left for the exterior is the porch railing and brackets we're having installed on some of the gables!  I was so excited to see the siding painted!  All these little touches just continue to bring the house together and as I told Justus yesterday, it's such a huge relief.  There have been an unbelievable amount of decisions to make, and I have worried so much about making decisions we'll be unhappy with.  The exterior paint color is Shoji White by Sherwin Williams, and I LOVE it.  We really wanted a white front porch, but it couldn't be a stark white, and this color turned out to be the perfect amount of creamy, especially when paired with the brick.  


As I'm sure you can imagine, there have been packages arriving and arriving and arriving... lights, faucets, more lights (will they ever end?!).  


My favorite room in the house is the kitchen!  We had carrara marble installed for the perimeter cabinets.  Choosing a countertop material was so hard... I really wanted marble but was afraid to commit.  In the end, it was Justus who pushed me to get it (get what you love!) and once I saw it in the kitchen, it just brought everything together.  I'll let you know how I feel after living with it, but we did choose a honed slab and had our fabricator apply a sealer with a 15 yr. warranty for stains.  However, I'm preparing myself for the inevitable etching... (and any tips are welcomed). 

 In some ways, you could say I planned the entire kitchen around this backsplash tile.  Our contractor's wife told me about it and I loved it the minute I saw it and knew it was perfect.  It's a soft white tile and I chose a very light gray grout for a soft contrast.  


 Also, here's the built in cabinet I asked our cabinet maker to build!  Oh my goodness, a picture can't even capture the beauty of this piece!  He was really able to create this piece based on all the descriptions I gave him and make it even better than I ever dreamed.  Can't you just hear me... "At my previous house, I had this gorgeous old built in cabinet in my dining room... I want it to look old... Can you add some drawers on the bottom?... It needs to have latches..."   Haha!  And getting the proportions right too... this piece is 9' tall!


My sweet father-in-law (who made our gorgeous countertops in our previous house) made us our island countertop out of old reclaimed oak and he and Justus just installed it!  This wood adds so much warmth to our kitchen, which otherwise has a lot of cool colors.  He spent hours working on this countertop for us and it is so beautiful and has so much character.   It means the world to me to have something so special and beautiful in our new house. I'll show you a close up soon! 


In other areas of the house, we have toilets, bathroom countertops, faucets, lights and the trim was recently finished too (we have real stairs now!).  There's not much left to finish in the interior... just painting the walls and a little more trim work.   Oh, and a TON of clean up! 


 Hope you are having a wonderful June!  Do you have any fun summer plans???  


31 comments:

  1. Andrea, everything looks so beautiful! I'm so happy for you and your family. I can't wait to see how you decorate it and make it yours. Please keep us up to date. Happy summer. ~Hillary

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    1. Thank you so much, Hillary! It will be so fun to decorate! Hope you have a wonderful summer. :-)

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  2. Your built-in cabinet is absolutely beautiful! I agree, the butcher block counter does bring warmth to your kitchen island. Did you mention the type/brand of wood flooring in your previous post? I like its rustic farmhouse appeal.

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    1. Thanks, Amy! It's Shaw hickory hardwood - the color is Summer House. :-)

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  3. Andrea I love it. So gorgeous. God bless it.

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  4. Beautiful home on Beautiful land.. and close to family.. Can't wait to see the touches you give this one.. Talented girl.. Good luck with your flower season.. they are beautiful..

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    1. Thanks, Connie! We feel so thankful to be so close to family! :-)

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  5. I love the look of your new home! It's always a thrill to get another update on the progress your little family is making on it! And you have the cutest little girls :)

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  6. I don't think you will regret the marble, ever! We installed marble at our last house, against everyone's recommendations, and will use marble again in our new house. It did get a few etch marks (though we never had stains) and I dropped a can, twice, and chipped the edges! However, I love the wear and tear of a life well lived, so I count it all as patina! You use your kitchen every single day, it should show some wear! Enjoy!

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    1. Thank you for leaving your comment about the marble! I appreciate it so much and love what you said... I so agree about the patina. :-)

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  7. The workmanship of the cabinet and your Father in laws oak counter top makes your kitchen more beautiful:). Even though you have a ways to go unpacking and making it cozy, you have a good start. Have a wonderful summer flower season, Kathleen in Az

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    1. Thank you, Kathleen! It will take a while to unpack and get settled, but I have a feeling we'll enjoy every moment. :-) Hope you have a wonderful summer!

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  8. Wow, that is one beautiful home. It won't be long before you will have it looking like home sweet home. Blessings!

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    1. Thank you, Teresa! It doesn't feel quite real yet, but we are so anxious to call it home sweet home for sure. :-) Hope you're having a happy June!

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  9. Thank you for sharing the color, I am looking for the perfect white for our exterior as well! It all looks so lovely.

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    1. Thank you! I think Alabaster would be a beautiful white too... I just felt like it would be a bit too stark with our brick. Good luck!

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  10. What a lovely piece of property, and your farmhouse is so beautiful! Yes, so many decisions have to be made right away, but you've proved yourself in your former home of making a lovely place for your family. Just take your time and enjoy it all. And what color for all of those fabulous flowers at your farm market stand! Thank you so much for sharing with us.

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    1. Oh, thank you so much for the encouraging words!

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  11. Your new home is charming! I love the way it looks on the outside ( like it has been there for years) !!!!
    And that built in cabinet is to die for!

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    1. That is the sweetest comment! We were hoping it didn't look TOO new. ;-)

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  12. Andrea, I love it! Wow, it's really coming along nicely. We are still months out from being able to move in! :) Can't wait to see your home once you move in and unpack. Hope you have a good rest of the week. ~Miranda

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    1. Thank you, Miranda! Your place is going to be such a dream! I love how it's coming along!

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  13. I'm so happy to see an update--It is gorgeous!! I bet you are so ready to move in and I am so with you in being overwhelmed with so many decisions :) Thanks for sharing your paint colors--I love a true white but am unsure about a super stark white--I can't decide between SW Pure White or a more creamy like SW Alabaster for the exterior and interior--I love your exterior white color and hadn't considered it before. I hope everything wraps up smoothly and you get settled in soon!

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    1. Megan, your house is going to be gorgeous! I love the progress pictures! I think either color would be beautiful... I will say that our contractor is building a home right now that is meant to look like an old farmhouse and they used Alabaster on the exterior and it looks really beautiful. Paint colors are so hard! I'm sure whatever you pick will be perfect. :-)

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  14. I have enjoyed following your blog for the last few years. I am so happy for you and your little family. But I must admit that I cringe at such stairs in a forever home. I never expected my husband to have a stroke at 48 and then face terminal cancer needing ramps the last few years of his life. When you are young, you can't imagine that one day God would ask you to go through such things.

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    1. Oh, Sara, I am so very sorry. I can only imagine what heartbreak you have been through. I wish I could reach through the computer and give you a hug! Thank you for your kind words... and I promise you are not the only one to cringe over the front stairs. We also cringed when the foundation was first built... fortunately, the front grade is much lower than the back and there aren't any stairs leading from the garage into the house. I am sure our front stairs will see very little use! Warmly, Andrea

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  15. I can't wait to see it all! You make me want to build a new custom house! 😉💕

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  16. Wow! I LOVE the counters, the island and that fabulous kitchen sink! The custom made cabinet is spectacular too! I can't wait for your finishing decorating touches. Oh, and P.S., any husband that says "get what you love" is a definite keeper!

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  17. I absolutely love this post. Thanks for a fabulous update. You are very talented as all your decisions are so very beautiful. I am looking forward to seeing how your decorate as I adore your cozy, elegant, gorgeous style. Best wishes as you and your family make wonderful memories in your home sweet home!

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