We're still waiting on next revision of plans from architect.

Mommytoty, I love the tile work in dd's bath. Does it go to ceiling height?

And a question for everyone....everyone says not to use marble, but how come if it's so difficult to maintain its on every single light cabinet bathroom on Houzz? I'm confused. And in love with marble. ;). On a side note....there are some seriously ugly bathrooms on Houzz.

Ok...I've been reading about marble. Here's a great blog post ....very informative. Think I'll consider honed and sealed marble for at least the master bath.

Here is a link that might be useful: Blog Post

Hi Michelle- I think the marble trend is due to the shift in colors away from browns to grays in the popular magazines. White kitchens are coming back into vogue ( they were always around) and the most popular choices or common choices have been an absolute black or brown (uba tuba comes to mind). Marble is beautiful and soft and generous to touch. Also delicate. My stone is white macaubus or calacutta QUARTZITE dependent on the way they slice the stone. Harder than granite and somewhat in the expense range of marble. Not as pretty IMO but much more durable in the long run.

Michelle, marble is SOOO pretty. But I would say that practical choices don't make it into Houzz's top pages. Anyone can post a pic, but they get put to the top of the list the more other people add them to their ideabooks. So the pretty, trendy stuff gets to the top, and the boring, practical stuff falls to the bottom. :(

Michelle, that is a great link! Thanks for posting it. I learned a lot! We are considering marble for our MB floors.

Hoosier - what a mess! As long as the work is well done, I imagine its worth it.

Planning two meetings this week with potential GC's.

Been painting all weekend. Here is a pic of the back porch.

This post was edited by JDez on Mon, May 19, 14 at 7:34

WE ARE MOVED IN!!! It was a crazy weekend with the move, DD getting sick, school science fair and concert, and baseball games, but we made it!!! I'm just glad I don't have to do this again for a very long time!!!!

mrsfireman--The rope pulls are from Anthropologie. They are great!

illinigirl--Beatiful lockers!

Skyangel--The stain color on our hardwoods is Jacobean.

nhbaskets--Congratulations! Doesn't it feel awesome to finally be HOME! :)

musicgal--Gorgeous slabs!!

Michelle1973--The glass mosaic in DD's bath does not go to the cieling. Her mirror frame meets the crown moulding at the cieling. I was originally going to do a whole wall in her shower in this mosaic, but it was pricey, so I did just her shower niche and vanity backsplash.

The house is still upside down, but I do have a few pics to share:

Great room looking into kitchen (this is our temp couch until our new one arrives; black barstools are temp also):

Kitchen window seat (need to order a bench cushion):

Two new slipcovered chairs:

Deck furniture (all cushions need to be replaced and everything needs to be power washed but our power washer died on us this weekend!):

Pantry:

Looking into pantry from kitchen:

A fun fruit bowl I found at Home Goods:

Love this sheashell pot I found in a little shop--I plan to put some succulents in it :)

Keep up the good work, everyone!!! It is soooooo amazing to be in the home you designed and labored over for so many months. I'll definitely keep up with this board and will post some more pics when we are more settled :))))

Our builder and architect want to have professional pics done of our house so they can put on their websites and have offered to host an open house for us. Said they will pay to have the house cleaned before and after, etc. I said great, but I need some time!! Hoping to have the house mostly furnished in July sometime, so shooting for a late July timeframe.

Mommytoty- Congratulations! What a beautiful home! All of you are making great progress.

I keep plugging along, working alone. The winter here was brutal, so I focused on interior stuff- not much to photograph. All of the electric is done, and up and running, as are our heat pumps. Now that the weather is nice, I'm trying to get the outside wrapped up. I just finished the stucco on the lower level, and the stone work on the front porch columns. Now just picture the fat, square, tapered wood part that will go the rest of the way up.

Mommytoty, Congratulations on getting moved in. The house looks great. More pictures when you get a chance.

Nhbaskets, Congrats to you to in moving in.

jdez, The black porch looks good.

Mushcreek, Love the stone work on your pillars.

Autumn, You are almost there with the new carpets and other stuff. Hope the plumber shows up as planned and you move in as planned.

Hoozier, The Granite will look great with your cabinets and trim in the rest of the house.

On our front we had our official first large party this weekend and I am glad to say the house worked as expected and loved the open feel and how it did not feel crowded.
We also have Grass :) and the final building inspection happened today and need to go back to see if we are officially done with the build.

I took some pictures yesterday but need to load them and re arrange them so I can post the reveal. Will do it as soon as I get some time.

askhars - you have grass? Oh that is wonderful! Glad to hear the party was a success and things are flowing like you envisioned. :)

mushcreek-winter WAS brutal but you are looking great! That stone is perfect and I can picture that, two thumbs up!

marjorie-how are you? What's new there?

jdez-your paint looks great! Are your hands cramping up yet? ;)

So the toilets and sinks are a go! Counters to be installed today and would you believe we have an early game at a different field about 20 minutes from home so no time to go to the house right after work to check it out. :( BOOO! I hope dh sends me pics! Finish electrical to start today also. This is one of those days I wish I was not at work.

mommytoty- your home is beautiful. can't wait to see it all furnished and decorated. Love your style! Do you have a pic of your sliding doors onto the deck and the window above? I'm collecting ideas for that exact space in my home. Is it sliding doors with a window on either side?

I continue to keep up with everyone's progress and pick up ideas. This site is invaluable!

Mommytoty - Holy!!! Everything looks wonderful. I love your style, but am afraid I would not be successful in keeping those spaces tidy.

Mushcreek - love the porch, the stonework looks great.

Jdez - great colors and so timeless.

Congrats to everyone that is MOVING IN! so exciting.

We finally have a beautiful treeless spot for our barn. All the trees are cut and piled. We are officially obsessed with chainsaws now! FDH did a great job cutting with no accidents and only one super stuck chain incident. Stump work is next.

Love all the progress. We had some vandalism over the weekend. Some kids broke the temp. door down and dumped nail buckets and wrote on the subfloor. Nothing major but its unnerving. They didn't damage the electrical, plumbing, furnace, or fireplace so they weren't very good at doing damage :) They did jab our garage door with a pipe so we have to have that replaced. Wind is sort of out of our sails but we put up a second camera and hope to catch them if it happens again. Our first camera went dead a few days before and my husband got it working again, after the vandalism.

Mfatt, I'm so sorry. That is so disheartening!

jkl-oh I remember when our land looked like that, and I loved it then. :) A clearing is progress. Woohoo!

mfatt-that is very disheartening. :( I will never understand why it is 'cool' to destroy other peoples property. I hope you do get good images on camera. That would be the best if you could identify and prosecute. But then again that would mean they would have to have come back and that would be unnerving too.

So dh sent me a pic from his phone so I *had* to post a pic quick. I just want to touch it, lol! And now that I can actually SEE IT I think I can start thinking about a backsplash...

And stair railing that dh put up the other day:

Woot woot. Now I can stop fretting that they were going to drop the slab or something.

Mommytoty, gorgeous! Congrats!

Mfatt, I'm so sorry about the vandalism. :(. I hope you catch the little suckers.

Autum....beautiful slab! Remind me the granite choice and perimeter again?

Thanks, I sort of hope they do come back but not really.

Autumn, that counter is gorgeous!

Mommytoty...congrats on moving in! Your home is beautiful. I only hope mine will end up that good!

Illini...love your kitchen pics...think my space will end up somewhat similar. Congrats on the offer on your current place. We were planning to list in late summer when we were further along with the build but the stars were aligned and a friend met a couple that really wanted to live in our neighborhood, they came & saw our house and made an offer within 24hrs that allows us to rent back until our build is complete. I feel for you showing it multiple times...having everything look perfect for days on end is so stressful! It is such a weight off my shoulders to just be able to focus on the build now!

Autumn...your slab is beautiful! You are getting so close...you must be so excited.

MFatt...so awful about the vandalism. Although it would be nice to figure out who they were, I sure hope they don't return!

Hoosier...your slabs are lovely. Your home looks like it will be so warm and inviting once it is finished:-)

Michelle...hope your plans come back closer to what you want.

Jdez...paint is looking good!
It has been a busy week...our lot is staked and the diggers arrive tomorrow. Things are staring to get exciting around here!

Illini, add my voice to those wishing you a quick sale. Your mudroom cubbies look great.
Akshars, Mommytoty, and who else has moved in lately? CONGRATULATIONS!! Mtm, your house pics are lovely. Everything came together so nicely, I can fully understand why your builder wants pics.
MFatt, so sorry to hear about your vandalism. Happy that no greater damage was done, but still, it's discouraging and awful.
Mushcreek, your exterior looks great. Love those stone pilings.
JK, what a lot of work! Once you break ground it will go fast for a little while.
Lisa, It Looks Awesome! Just lovely. I hope that it fits with your vision of what you wanted. re backsplash, go read the thread on the kitchens forum by the person who just put in bs and counters, both gorgeous, but combination is not so great. Then think "quiet" backsplash. Right now I'm seeing white subway tile.

So I'm in FL right now. Have been to hosp with my dad for last two days for outpatient treatments, things are not going so well. Will go back for another tomorrow. Hospital is in town 45 min from here. He's scheduled for an exploratory surgery on Friday, but regardless, I think I'm driving home on Thursday. I don't want to drive in Memorial Day traffic, and I have to get home. Dh's 60th birthday is next week, and I really want to do something special for him.
I can't do anything here except spend time with my dad, which I am doing now. And relieve his wife of some of the caretaking responsibilities for a bit. We had a great time today just eating chicken salad and talking.

I got a call this AM from our builder. In my haste to get everything in writing before I left I mixed up the number/name of one of the paints. Fortunately they called, so I think that I got that straightened out.
When I get back I expect to find a driveway and the house all painted. Dh is there, but today he's golfing on Hilton Head!

Michelle-perimeter is absolute black leathered, island is Alaska White, sink is cinder. I hope to be out there yet tonight to later it in person!

Marjorie-yes I have seen that thread and that stone is very similar to ours. I am thinking maybe a 2x4 instead of 3x6 but definitely quiet. Have you seen whippiechicks thread? She just has a quilted stainless behind the range and I am kind of taken by it. I will link it later, I am on my phone. Sorry to hear about your dad's health. Good that you are having quality time. :). I hope you do have a drive in when you get home! Safe travels.

Thanks for the comments on my island. It was the fist one that caught my eye and never left it. :)

love it Autumn! great combination!

MC....I see window flashing on both sides of the windows but not at the top or bottom?

Jkliveng - Beautiful piece of property. Your house will look good there.

MFatt - NOT good! And the camera was inop! NOT good. I hope they don't do any more damage.

Mlweaving - Time can not be replaced. So good that you've been able spend some with your Dad. Have a safe trip home.

Autumn.4 - I'm sure you realize it now, but that slab was worth every shiny cent you spent on it. It looks awesome. You have a better eye for design than you think you do. It looks sooooo good with the black perimeter. The stair railing is also amazing. Giving DH a thumbs up for a job well done. I like the stain color too. And yes, hands were cramping and my back feels like it belongs to someone else, someone much older....lol.

Happyvalley - I love that you are so excited. Where I'm at in the process, I am very tired but still extremely excited as we see every little detail take shape.

Akshars - Glad the party was a hit. And how exciting to have grass! I'm already worried about the yard. I want to plant trees but can't until the fall. Dang it!

Mommytoty - Your house is just beautiful. Simply beautiful.

Mushcreek - I love your stonework and your stucco looks awesome. That place is looking like it was built by a crew of pros, not just one Mushcreek. You are very talented. I've been waiting to see your tin ceiling in the kitchen.

AnitaLadyRose - I hope you're able to narrow the field of GC's as the interviews continue. Maybe you will find "the one" very soon.

Cz scrap - Your cabinet maker should be able to help you. When I made the final decisions on my kitchen, I had already had three designs from big box stores, had asked for advice on the GW kitchen forum and talked to my own personal design specialist friend in Michigan. So, I knew what I wanted and just told him.

Hoosier - Very nice slabs! They will look perfect with your mahogany looking cabinets. I hope your mud issues are subsiding. We will have no rain this week so hoping it dries up for you so your garage can get a break.

Musicgal - Gorgeous slab. I love it.

Nhbaskets - Congrats on your move. I hope all your unpacking goes easy.

LadyBrownCoat - Did someone steal your camera? What's up?

Later taters!

jdez-"my back feels like it belongs to someone else, someone much older" - LOL! I'd love to tell you it goes away immediately but that ain't happenin round here! OH wait - maybe it is because I *AM* older, doggone it! I seriously keep thinking I need to get a massage when this is all over. My shoulders and neck are still so very stiff. Thanks girl - you are sweet. :) We actually stood there looking at it and dh remarked that it is 'too nice for us'. Hahahaha! It is pretty nice and kind of weird that it is sitting in MY kitchen. I am so ready to cook in there. Care to guess what our first meal might be? ;)

hoosiers-we have been burning cardboard on and off - it is everywhere. I am just about to the point where I can start cleaning for good. I think our last subs are in the house tomorrow and then we are good to go for inspection on Thursday, crossing fingers for occupancy on Friday!

czscrap-well, what is your gut telling you when you meet with your cabinet maker? I did go to one that sold cabs and made them custom as well. My gut did not at all like what he was saying to me nor did I like that he didn't seem to listen much to my preferences either. Later in my search I did also learn that some other customer actually paid a KD that sold a different line to design their kitchen and then took the design to custom guy to follow. I think he was a great cabinet maker but not so much a designer and not much for details either. So I think if you have a good idea of what you want and they are good listeners then you are golden. If however there seems to be communication trouble from the start (not saying there is) I'd RUN. Just my own experience.

illini-fyi...island is about 111" with no seam. I am thrilled with that for sure. In fact, I don't have a seam anywhere. Woot woot! Where are things with the packing?

I finally got out there to check it out. I love it, I really do (as much as you can love a cold hard object). So far my fav items in the house are the 1/2 bath faucet, the island pendants (broke open the box but they won't be up until tomorrow), the kitchen counters. I like the matte and slightly textured surface of the black, I like the flecks of copper and silver shimmer in the island. I also like the areas of different whites. I think I will continue to find new and fascinating spots each day. I think I am so taken with it that I've started to second guess pulling out that center stile cabinet and changing it. Almost like I don't even see it anymore, I am looking at the world through Alaska White colored glasses.

Here are a few more pics from tonight. The color isn't exactly true in some, I need to bring my good camera out there. It is way past my bedtime. I will pay tomorrow - I see coffee and coke-a-cola in my future.....

Dh and I set the hutch cab on the counter tonight, needs trim yet:

Tried to get the texture in the leathered finish (I love that it's soft looking against the white cabs):

Straight on view:

Some of it's 'character':

I think cinder was the right choice for the sink. The gray was too light and the black was too stark. Truffle may have worked as well but I'm good with that I've got.

Backsplash-so I have been thinking matte or honed finish but with the black being matte I think I could pull off polished as well....??? Thoughts? I need to run to the tile store and get a bunch of neutral samples this week. We don't need to have it done before we move but I'd like to get going on it. What if I just put a splash in behind the stove and left the rest paint?

Autumn, gorgeous! Just so pretty!!! And, moving in on Friday? Wow! Is everyone in your family excited?

We are plugging along. DH is getting cabinet doors installed. Carpenters have closets and mantel left. Painters got our lap siding caulked and two coats of paint on. First coat of exterior trim paint yesterday.

We've had more delays. The microwave trim kit which we special ordered with our convection microwave (2 yrs ago!!) was for the wrong model microwave. Not our fault, but sales person. Now both trim kit and microwave have been discontinued. Kudos to Lowe's who refunded us and we ordered a built-in microwave which will look even better! It was all a two-day mess but had a great guy who worked with us. Lesson learned. Don't buy appliances that far ahead!!!

Granite is are big delay. It won't be installed until June 12! That is holding up our plumbing. And the ground is still too wet for septic. Now the question is, when will we ever move in??

But here are some update pics

Beams and lights and fan in family room.

Exterior paint.

hoosiers-that is a gorgeous ceiling and the paint color for the surrounding walls is *perfect*. :) I think we will start moving stuff on Friday but dh is working so it will be a bit slower with just the boys and I and just boxes no furniture or heavy stuff. Our hope is to be sleeping there by Monday. The only piece of furniture we are purchasing is a new bed and we are soooo excited. It will be delivered on Tuesday. It is a long time coming. Bummer on the granite. The good news is it is just a snip over 2 weeks away! We do not have closets finished. The plan is to work on those once we are in. We can 'muddle through'.

Everyone continues to make great progress. Nice to see all the different build stages to look forward to. Been quite busy here redesigning the kitchen, which put us behind on things for the master bath. Getting back on course though.

Mommytoty: I love your pantry. Open shelves, butcher block counters. What's the dimensions of that room? I think mine will be about the same. I'm debating having just a straight stretch of cabs/shelves or doing an 'L' shape like yours.

MFatt: Sorry to hear about the vandalism! Our camera continues to pick up a steady stream of trespassers, but fortunately so far just looky-loos.

Autumn: I like your island sink, we've decided on the same arrangement, so it's nice to see a real-life example. Is that dark sink a Blanco? What finish would you do for the faucet? I'm thinking black sink and black faucet, so that it disappears instead of stands out on the island. I also love the leathered finish on your counters. Adds great character.

Hoosier: I really like your exterior detailing. Nice windows, stone, siding. A home with great character. On your front door, is that clear or some stain? Our door was installed recently (Simpson, fir) and I didn't realize it would arrive unfinished. Of course they're asking how we want it finished. Most of the colors look the same to us, so I can't tell which way to go. Probably going to have to find time to buy samples, stain some wood, and drive it up to our build site.

Robin- The top of the windows are flashed, but then the building wrap is over the flashing. The bottom is flashed internally, over the sloped sill, but not sealed on the outside so if water gets in, it has a way to get out. I read a lot of articles on window flashing to get this important detail right. There will also be flashing over the top of the window trim.

Jdez- I can relate to the aches and pains! I should have started this when I was much younger......
It will be a while on the tin ceiling. I'm mostly working on the exterior when the weather is good. I work inside on bad days, with the focus on getting a Certificate of Occupancy. The tin is further down the list.

Autumn, your kitchen is just LOVELY! I really like the finish on your perimeter countertops, and your island slab is beautiful. We begin to move in this weekend also. Exciting times!

oicu812, the front door is a Barrington Craftsman fiberglass door which we had factory prefinished with Mahogany stain. We are very pleased with the heavy sturdiness of this door.

Thanks for the compliments on the house. I couldn't wait to see the trim finally painted yesterday. The trim color is a perfect match to the bronze of the Marvin Integrity windows and the bronze door casing. Happy Happy Happy!

MushCreek, DH & I agree about wishing we had started this when we were younger. Knees and back are constantly aching. Sounds like you did the same research DH did on the window flashing. The siding guys had to rip out some of the trim pieces because they didn't get the flashing done the way we had wanted. You can never be too careful.

JHester--Here is an older pic of the slider wall. Yes, it is a slider with windows on either side and windows above. I had our carpenter trim it out so that all the windows are connected by trim rather than separately wrapped.

MFatt--So sorry about the vandalism!! How upsetting!

Autumn--Beautiful kitchen! Love the color of the island. Can you believe you are moving in just a few days!!! :)

Hoosier--Love the ceiling beams!

oicu812--The pantry is about 6' x 5' with the back wall (where the Kitchenaid is) being the 6' wall. We still need to add one more row of shelves above, but I really love the layout!!

Well. I went through all these yesterday and wrote a nice long message... that didn't post. Boo. So the general gist is that everyone's homes are coming along quite nicely, and man so much is going on it's hard to keep up but what fun it is to look at all these pictures :)

Meanwhile, we're finally through jumping hoops for the county with our permits, and our inspections have all passed with flying colors, so now we're moving on!! Lumber was delivered over the last two days- so now hopefully we can get this party started!!

Ladybrown-that is exactly right, you start that party girl!

Oicu812-it is a blanco précis cascade, fits in a 33" sink base. I actually have a brushed stainless faucet and our pendants are chrome. :O. They were just hung but the plumber was just working on the faucet. I will try to attach a pic from my phone.

Juju-yay we are moving buddies!!!

Back to baseball.....

LBC - Yay! Glad to hear that things are underway. Party!!

Autumn4 - Love the pendants. They go perfectly with your kitchen. I actually mixed finishes in our kitchen too. This won't bother me in the least.

I have screwed up royally! I forgot, yes I forgot, to get a draw after I wrote a very big check for our metal roof. I just discovered this and the bank is closed. Our account balance will not be enough if the check clears tonight. So, will this get me arrested? I really don't have time to go to jail. And...I won't have bail money. I am stressed about this, to say the least. It is 13 hours until the bank opens. Oh, and I will lose my job if I get arrested. I really hope that this check, that should have already cleared, doesn't go thru tonight.

Autumn- What is the black countertop made of? I've loving it! And it looks great with the granite choice on the island!

jhester-thank you. It's absolute black granite but leathered so it's matte and has a slight but not rough feeling texture. I actually enjoy it almost as equally as the island (okay well not quite) for it's differences. I am loving not having shiny granite on the perimeter.

jdez- :( pfft, for sure you don't have time to go to jail - that would be preposterous, I mean come on anyone who builds should be exempt from that. ;) Seriously crossing fingers that it has yet to clear and if so the worst you get is an over draft charge. Did you go through your bank for your build? If so maybe they would catch it because it IS a large check and realize you have money in your build. One can hope.

MFatt- That is so infuriating. So sorry that happened.

carsonheim- the party will be around 7/4. You are invited!

jDez, Do you have overdraft protection? If so the check will clear but you will have a overdraft fee (25 dollars in our case). If you do not have overdraft protection the check will bounce and their might be a fee associated with the bank and may be the people you paid the check to. You will not be arrested so try to relax and take care of it as soon as bank opens tomorrow.

Autumn, The counter tops and the pendants are looking great. Love the stairs and somewhat miss them (no stairs in our house as it is a ranch)

Mfatt, so sorry about the damage to the property. I don't know what some one thinks while doing something like that.

Hoosiers, Love the beams. You are also almost there.

My parents leave tomorrow and I am kind of feeling a little down. I loved having them here and mom was great help with packing/unpacking. Will not be seeing them until next summer so will miss them.

The check went through the bank last night but the bank paid it and charged me a fee. So, I guess everything will be ok. I'm sending DH to take care of it since he is off and I have to work (and I don't want to do it myself). I guess the worst thing that happens is a NSF fee, so that's not too bad.

Autumn - Our construction loan is through a different bank where I am amazed to see that they still use a typewriter to print out the draw checks. And I need one of those little ladders you have with the bigger platform on the top. I'm too clumsy and that looks safer than most ladders.

Akshars - Thank you for reassuring me that I wouldn't be sitting in a jail cell by dawn. I tend to imagine the worst case scenario when I'm in freak out mode. Hope your parents have a safe trip home and I hope you are able to get back in to your daily grind so that you don't get lonesome.

JDez-not an awful outcome. A typewriter? Huh? Wow. So my ladder-I love it! It is mine, picked out my me for me. It is light weight so I can drag it all over the place and yes I love the larger platform. We bought it at Menards when we started the build.

It is inspection day....crossing all fingers and toes!

Autumn.4 - Inspection will go fine. Looks like you'll be packing tonight, Your about the join the ranks of the "moved in" crowd. I am jealous. Yes I am.

Autumn,
Your kitchen is looking just gorgeous! more photos!!! Very nice choices. I saw your bs post and looks like GW is giving you good direction. I hesitated to post because I'm no good but I like the glossy idea against the matte perimeters.

I tell you in my house it seems like we are stagnant. It's not really true but the painting is just taking for everrrrrrrr. And they have at least another week to go. Nothing to post pictures of because the primed, one coat, and two coats on trim and cabinets all look the same! Not to mention it's all being covered up now for the wall painting which is to start next week. The biggest excitement I've had to look at is seeing that the plumber must have stopped by and put down an orange water proof liner of some kind in the shower, lol.

The painters reported to me that usually the light fixtures start going in before they are fully done painting so that could be coming up soon.

Autumn, we have a similar ladder that we bought at Menards when I painted parts of our home last year before putting it on the market. I love having the handle at the top to hold on to since I don't particularly like ladders. :-)

By the way, I really like how your pendants look in the kitchen. Everything came out so nice! Good luck on the inspection!

JDez, whew, about the check! Thanks for the reminder. We have to pay our trim carpenter this week and then get money back from the bank on our next draw. I need to transfer some money from savings to checking.

Today our glass shower door is being delivered and the carpenters are going to start working on our closets.

Oh, and last weekend we bought this for my catch-all desk right inside the doors. Craig's List find. Plenty of room for mail, purse drop off, keys, charging station, land-line, etc. Needs a little clean up in the grooves but in excellent shape. It's extremely heavy.

JDez - Whew! Glad the bank paid it! If you have/choose to set up an overdraft protection they might even waive the NSF fee...

Autumn- Good luck!! I'm also jealous, but good luck :)

Hoosier- Nice find! I've been on the hunt for a similar piece, and they can be hard to come by (or at least reasonably priced ones can be). Pretty!

Jdez - Very sorry to read about the angst with the large check. It is always unnerving. I am surprised that your bank does not require all payments/draws to be handled by a title company. We built in 2011/2012 and our bank required all payments (except our personal cash) be completed by a title company with lien waivers.

Glad everything is resolved for you.

I'm picking paint colors right now and am going for the same look you have, mommytoty. Can you tell me what are those blue colors you have in your master bathroom and living/family room??
Right now we are having all the trim/molding installed. Next week hopefully painting starts and the septic goes in.
We used LP Smartside for the exterior, we haven't painted the outside yet.

Here is the trim we are putting in.

tulips33--Beatiful trim detail! Our great room is Sherwin Williams Sea Salt and our master bath is Benjamin Moore Bali. Good luck! Would love to see pics when they are done. Always fun to see the same colors in different spaces :)

We passed!!! And as luck would have it the inspector we had also could issue the occupancy permit-BONUS! There are only a couple that can do inspections and occupancy I guess. He was going to send it in today but we have verbal approval to move in.

Now to pack. :). The goal is to be in by Sunday.

Nice trim Tulips!

The vandalism is not so bad but we carry the insurance so we have to handle the claim instead of the GC. Blech.

Jdez, I laughed at your post. I hope you were not serious about it. A bounced check is not great, but I guarantee its not the first for the business.

Latest saga, my electrical went over by 50% and they never gave us price changes or a change order. We walked through, added stuff, waited 3 weeks for the prices so we could sign off and then they were just done. Now we have to fight about it. I am sure this won't be the last thing but I am exhausted. I just looked the GC in the eye when he asked what number we were comfortable with and told him zero. Felt good.