Oh wow, I haven’t updated you all on the blog since the end of May! I regularly share updates on Instagram, but I was shocked to see it has been that long since I’ve shared a blog post. Even then, all I shared was that we had finally demolished the existing home and then a separate post showing all of the inspiration I have going into the home design for the new house. But you haven’t gotten any blog updates on the actual construction… and believe me, I have a lot to share.

I think it’s best if I separate all of the progress up to this point in individual blog posts. Today I’m going to share construction updates, like framing, windows, etc. Then in a separate post, I will share plumbing fixtures and tile. Another post for home interiors choices, and then finally another post for lighting! After that, the shares will continue as new things are done to the house. I’ll be better at keeping everything up to date on here!

The last time you saw the house on the blog, it looked like this.

 

 

And today, it looks like this!

 

So let’s discuss how it got there. Going back to the blank lot, they did the concrete footings, foundation, and pillars.

 

 

And then put concrete down where I’m standing above. This is our garage floor! The kids loved to watch this part. Well, Watson did.

 

And then, of course, we had to put our handprints in it.

 

This is probably one of my favorite pictures ever.

 

 

Then the wood framing began…

 

 

Framing goes by really quickly, considering it makes the biggest impact. It was so beyond cool to see this home that we’ve imagined up over the last year and a half become an actual tangible thing! The biggest impact was made when the roof went on.

 

 

We’ve taken every opportunity we could get to run by the house for little progress check ins. This was before dinner one night!

 

 

Super fun to imagine what will be. This space below is going to be the guest room.

 

Next came windows. We went with the Andersen A Series windows, after much debate between Marvin, Sierra Pacific, and Windsor. Below is our kitchen (right side) and breakfast room (left).

 

 

…and doors! We did solid mahogany doors for the exterior and they are so pretty that I don’t know if I’ll be able to paint over them. We will likely paint the back ones whatever our white trim color is, but then just stain all of the front ones.

 

 

Below is the back view of the house.

 

And how those same doors look from the inside!

 

 

Another fun update has been the Ipe wood flooring on the porches. Has made a big difference! The left picture is the before and the right is the after, or the “during,” I guess I should say.

 

 

Now they are working on the siding! We really wanted Hardie’s Artisan siding, but unfortunately that is no longer being made. It is thicker to really resemble wood, yet it’s a cement plank. Our builder’s found a similar product in Nichiha, though. Good to know if anyone runs into the same issue, however I believe it’s also really hard to get right now, though. Getting building supplies right now (and paying for them) currently is pretty stressful, not going to lie. However, I have to say that our builders have really taken the majority of that stress and made everything as seamless as possible for us so that we don’t notice most of the supply issues!

 

 

We also selected our roof color!

 

 

And bath tubs are in. (Plumbing is also complete!) This will be Watson and Rosie’s Jack & Jill bath.

 

 

IsoKern system is in for the fireplace. Cannot wait to see the full build out!

 

The interior of the fireplace will have an ivory brick in a herringbone pattern. That’s the one on the top out of the two below.

 

 

We also met with Arborists about our trees and what we could do to keep them just as healthy as can be. All of them needed pruning but also, construction can cause a lot of shock to the root systems. We used Andrus Tree Service. I cannot recommend them enough. Below is a picture I snapped during our initial consultation.

 

 

You can see below how our front tree was really crowding the front of the house. They were so wonderful in taking each branch down one at a time while we studied it to make sure they weren’t taking off too much. We left as many low hanging branches as we could!

 

I think that just about catches us up to speed! They’ve also completed electric and then low voltage electrice/AV, like security systems, speakers, TV hookups, etc.

Here are a few random pictures of the kids. Always a cute spot to say goodbye for now.