Framing has begun on our cottage

Our cottage is coming right along.  Framing was started this week.

I stitched several pics together.  I wanted to get a feel for how the house sits on the lot.  We are hoping to put a small pool in the back.  I am really excited about the waterfall at the pool.  I told DH that we could only have palm trees if we had a pool.  I just don't think they belong in the front of a cottage....Probably not the back either, but it is supposed to look very tropical in the back, so that's ok.

Look at the large front porch.  This porch will really make this house to be my cottage.

This is the front of the house.  The front porch is the length of the front of the house.  The elevation of this house is one of the prettiest country style homes I have ever seen.

I want to remind that that David Weekley Homes is building our home.  They provide you with your own website which has all of the selections to make your wish list.  Our builder posts pictures of the stages of our home.  Every stage of our home is inspected.

In fact, the slab could not be poured last week until the inspector approved the slab form, gas lines, plumbing lines and the Pier and Beam design of our slab.  As I have said before, there is a ton of work to do to prior to the actual concrete poured for the slab.  The prep work passed and our slab was poured last week and then framing began this week.

One last thing, as a David Weekley client, I get a phone call each Friday from our Sales Consultant and our Builder.  They are on a speaker phone so we are all on the same page with any part of the conversation.  Also, special conference calls will be made prior to doing work that I might have a question about.  Such as, my first special conference call will be before the sheet rock is installed.

David Weekley Builders goes out of their way to let you know what is going on with your house.  No, I am not a spokesperson for them...it's just that I have built 2 houses before this and did not have this type of involvement and inspections for every phase of the home building process.

The Sabrina Model - Part 2

The Foyer:

The Foyer - To the right is the formal dining room.  I will never use this room and hope to enclose it one day with French Doors and turn it into my husband's study. To the left is the study.  My husband will use this room as his office.  It actually backs up to our closet.  My dream is to open a pass-through in our master closet and turn the study into a large walk in closet....We will see.  DH is saying no way to that!!!

The Foyer from the Family Room.  You can get a feel for the open floor plan here.  I still want to turn the dining room on the right into DH office.  Open or Not!!!

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Waxes

I have come upon several blogs and websites where the owner uses Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Waxes for re-doing furniture.  I am very excited about trying it out.

Always in Wonder has a complete tutorial of taking a buffet from a sad state to a very glam state.  She uses both the chalk paint and the waxes.  After seeing this, you will want to try your hand at these awesome products.

Going from this:

To this:

You can purchase these products at Classic Wall Finishes.

I can hardly wait to give them a try!!

The Sabrina Model - Part 1

This is the model of the home we are building.  Our colors and style are very different from this one, however I thought you might get a feel for the rooms.  I love the floor plan.

Front of the House:

Back of the House:

This house shows the colors we are using.  This is not the elevation of our home and we will have stone around the columns, however the blue is just beautiful.

We will have the 3 dormers, as well.  I will have to special order shutters to go on the dormers because they are so small.  You build a house, then start the changes. 

The slab is poured - June 24, 2011

Time is flying by and I didn't post the pics of our slab.  Well, here they are!!!

Sarah's Tutorial: Mirrored Writing Desk: How To

  This lovely desk is beautifully done in the style of mirrored furniture.  Sarah give a step-by-step tutorial on her blog:

Three Boys: Mirrored Writing Desk: How To:

Or you can purchase a mirrored desk for the small price of  $1,000 here:

Bassett Mirror Furniture Collette Mirrored Writing Desk

Kenny the Cat and a Glimpse at House #2

I was looking at some pictures today and ran across Kenny the Cat.  He was hilarious!  You, also, will be getting a glimpse of the kitchen of House #2.

I have just completed a shelf in my kitchen and wanted a picture....I look down and...

Kenny has followed me into the kitchen with his toy.  Don't worry, he isn't stuck in the wine rack...That's one of his favorite places.

Kenny tires of the wine rack and decides to see what Mommy is doing.

With one leap, Supercat Kenny jumps from the table to the bar...2 no-no's, however such a cute picture.

From the bar to the countertops...well, they melt into each other, actually.

Ok, I should have stopped Kenny at this point, but by now, I am cracking up.  Kenny is so nosy!!

I am shameless, I know...showing you a sink of dirty dishes I was about to get to...really, I was...Anyway, Kenny is having a grand time, but I think it is time to get down.  I need to start washing dishes :(

Nap time.  Kenny is so tiny on the bed.  What a cutie pie.

A loveseat for my hobby room

While my new house is being built, I am scouting for furniture, paint, decorating ideas, etc.

For my hobby room, I want a slip covered, white, cottage loveseat.

For now, decorating must be on a strict budget.  So, I have my wish list in order of "Dream On," "Possibly," and "Most Likely."

Ballard Designs is one of my favorite shops.  So, I took a look at their cottage look loveseat. 

Ballard Designs Vintage Vogue Loveseat

The frame is $779 and the slipcover is $220 plus shipping.  The one review posts that the seats are too low and the slipcover shrunk after being washed.  This is in my "Possibly" category, anyway.  I love the room, though.


Next, is Pottery Barn...another of my favorite stores.  

Pottery Barn Comfort Slipcovered Loveseat

This beauty sells from $949 to $1,999.  There are so many choices from Boxed or Knife-edged cushions, polyester or down blend wrap, type of fabric and, of course, color.  It's not as "fluffy" looking to me as the Ballard Designs loveseat.  The reviews are outstanding...at least for the sofa version and there are 2 pages of reviews.

Next, is the Ikea Ektorp LoveSeat.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S79875833

There are many positive and negative reviews on this furniture line.  The price is $379 and it comes with the slipcover. 

It certainly is tempting since rarely will anyone be using it besides me and my puppy, AnnaBelle.  Yes, AnnaBelle sheds, however I will be keeping her out of that room if I am not in there.  Also, I plan to put a beautiful quilt over the loveseat when it IS being used.

Those are the loveseats I have researched.  Of course, there is always purchasing a used loveseat and getting a slipcover from Target for $99.  I will definitely think about that course of action.

We will talk again, later.....

Our lot was cleared and slab form built today!!!

I decided to take a trip to our new lot.  Instead of seeing our wooded lot, I saw this:

Side view of backyard

And, one tree was saved!

Actually two were saved, however one is a skinning pine.  We saw our builder yesterday and asked him to take it down. 

What a wonderful surprise!!  Our builder told us that the slab pour date was in a week, June 24.  Slab preparation is very detailed.  I work for a developer and we used to build homes.  More dirt brought in and packed, the support and reinforcement materials, the plumbing lines, gas lines, etc.

More pics of the lot we will call our home in a few months:

The driveway will be in this empty area.  A long driveway for our family to visit!

This is the front of the house.  The saved tree can be viewed from our family room.

Cottage Kitchen Selections

My new kitchen is going to be wonderful.  The Sabrina (Plan name) has a smaller kitchen than what I am used to, however that was a big plus.  I could put most of the things I had wanted in my kitchen without going too much over budget.

Each time I thought about my kitchen, I remember a line from "Sleepless in Seattle."  Tom Hanks is an architect, Sam Baldwin.  He is standing with Jay, the builder and Claire, the client building the home:

"So, Claire, is there a problem?" 

"I was tossing and turning last night.  I realized I'm never going to fit my platters in the refrigerator we ordered.  When I give parties, I always put in platters.   So I thought I would get the Sub-Zero refrigerator instead. The only problem..."

"We have to redo all the cabinets.  We'll be into this wall. - That's a bearing wall.  That's a delay, Claire, of..."

"Two, three... - Five, six...Twelve weeks."  

"I don't mind.  The important thing is to get it right."

"Absolutely. - Your words."

"I've got to rush. La décorateur calls.  Bye!" 

"Bye-bye."

That is my favorite line, "The important thing is to get it right."  I don't know that everyone thought that way when I went to my 3rd Design Meeting.  However, everyone was very sweet about it.  Larry stood back and let the designer and I design a perfect kitchen!!!

Here are my selections for the kitchen:

Medallian - Visby {15" Round}
Style: VISBY ROSONE 36 -15" round-(blue glass and blue pearl granite)

Deco Tile @ Kitchen Backsplash
Color: HT-2139F2 (2"X 4") MAPEI

GRANITE-BLUE PEARL WITH STANDARD 1 1/4" STRAIGHT EDGE

RUSHMORE PAINTED MAPLE SQUARE LINEN

A Sliver of a Courtyard House in Paris

The New York times featured a story about "Kein Cross, a Manhattan designer, redecorated his rental carriage house in Paris, a space that is only six-and-a-half feet deep."

This is an amazing transformation of what can be done to a small space.  The courtyard area is truly inspiring. 

Courtyard Before

Courtyard After

A Sliver of a Courtyard House in Paris - Slide Show - NYTimes.com

www.nytimes.com

Credit: Valerio Mezzanotti for The New York Times

Our Beautiful Lot for our Cottage

Front of Lot

Corner view of lot

I was hoping to build my cottage on a lake, however with both hubby and I working in town, we chose to build in a lovely subdivision.

As of today, my new house is a partially wooded lot.  Hopefully, June 9, the lot is cleared.  As you can see, the lot is very large.  Since most of the rooms are on the first floor, this house will need a very big lot.  The only rooms on the second floor is my husband's sports room.  It will be a combined media room and game room.  I hope we get to keep at least one tree.  The builder will leave any good trees that are at least 5 feet from the slab.  We think there is one tree that qualifies.  All pines are to go.  There is too much clean up with pine trees.  Pine needles, pine cones, pine sap....Ugh!!!

Building our Cottage - Introduction

http://homesite.obeo.com/214424

Well, the picture is not really MY house.  I am having this house built.  It is my dream home.  I would love to have my new home built on an acre of land, however that was not to be.  It will be built in a very beautiful subdivision on a large lot by David Weekley Homes.

The decisions of building a new house are overwhelming, but very exciting.  It took 3 trips to the Design Center to get all selections done.  Everyone with DWH has been wonderful to deal with.  I am practically building a custom home.  DWH has allowed me to make changes where I wanted.

I wanted the fireplace centered in the family room with arched, built-in bookcases on each side.  In the master bath, I have taken out the linen closet and a dead space to have large cabinet type linen closets.  I wanted a dream kitchen with glass cabinets on one wall, so the microwave/oven cabinet is being moved down into the pantry, however the pantry will be enclosed from dead space in the dining room.  This is the picture my new kitchen was designed from.

Later, I will post my color selections.  I think this house is going to be so lovely.