What a Difference

Two changes to any home that make a drastic and quick impact are paint and landscaping. At this moment, the painters have moved from the trim on the interior of the house to the final coats on the ceilings. The walls will follow on their list later in the week. Every step in this process produces noticeable changes and inches us one step closer to completion.

Meanwhile on the outside of the house, the landscapers arrived Friday, and their efforts gave the outside of the house a dramatic face lift from its construction blahs. They installed    zoysia sod along with the bushes and a few trees. Our landscape designer opted to wait until closer to our move-in date to plant a few of the palms, the grapefruit and the live oak because we have had some freezes this winter. But the photos below can give you a good idea of the tremendous progress they made in one day.

I asked him to plant a variety of bushes that alternately would give year-long color and would be in keeping with the home's "timeless" charm. Quite honestly, I have no idea what all is in those beds; Randy and I just picked out what we liked at the nursery with guidance from the designer. But I do know we have some holly bushes, roses and hydrangeas.

The electricians have been working as they have been able and were out there again this morning, bright and early, to install speakers and lighting. I've included a few photos of their work outside.

So when in the move-in date? It looks like it will be the last week in February if we stay on track. This week is a big one, and several crews will be out there to get as much done as they can before the hardwood floor crew comes in early next week. They get the house for two weeks to sand and dye the hardwood floors, which cover the majority of the square footage in the house.

Back porch

Front porch

Bermuda shutters on the south side

Rain chain

Front landscaping

Back landscaping

More landscaping

Four Weeks?

While we saw much progress during the first two weeks of the new year, the countdown has begun. Will we really be in the house by mid-February? That's four weeks from now, and counting -- and much work needs to be done.

On the inside, the countertops are now installed, the painters are almost finishing priming and sanding the trim, and the cabinets have now been installed. On the exterior, most of the shutters were hung this week, the front door was installed, and the tile on the back porch was laid. We also saw the first lighting fixtures go up inside and out.

But the to-do list is long: painting, tile work, hardwood floors, and cabinets all must be completed, and appliances, plumbing fixtures and lighting must all be installed. Landscaping is scheduled to go in this week.

In the meantime, I have been working on the current house, getting it ready to sell. We list tomorrow, I hope! And I have many new photos to share:

Front door

Master tub, completed

Wainscoting on stairs

Ceiling fans and foyer light in great room

Correct granite in mudroom

Tile on back porch

Built-in in master bath

Shutters!

Before & After

Pool Bath - Before Paint

Pool Bath - After

Dining Room - Before Paint

Dining Room - After

Fireplace - Before Paint

Fireplace - After

Perspective

On Tuesday morning I walked into my dream mudroom to find the installers putting in the wrong granite. Actually, it's the right granite -- just the wrong finish. The paperwork was clear; I just didn't catch the mistake and am still pondering what to do. While many, many women around the world still wash clothes on a rock in a stream, I was holding back tears of disappointment over the granite countertops in my laundry room. It's really a shameful problem to have and illustrates a question that has been my constant companion during this experience: Why us? My only answer to this question comes from Luke 12:48b: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

For this reason, my daily visits to the house are becoming more emotional. I'm nervous about getting the details right, and at the same time, I am overwhelmed that this beautiful house is soon to become our home, that we will soon awake to the sound of mullets splashing in the water and sailboats passing by.

Randy, in the meantime, has diligently been building the closet built-ins, and he is almost finished -- just a bit of trim here and a few more shelves there. His designs have made excellent use of the space, and his work has impressed the painters, who are adding the finishing touches.


This week has brought much progress, as seen in the latest photos.

Homework/entertainment center in kids' loft

Bunk room with first coat of paint

Entertainment center in great room

Painted bead board ceiling in kitchen

Inside & Out

During the last half of December, our crews have been tripping over each other inside and outside of the house and are heading into the final stretch to complete this project. I've heard an old adage spoken two different ways, and whether God is in the details or if it's the devil, certainly the challenge now is to get those details right. A quarter-inch here and a color choice there has a chain reaction that is often unforeseen when the decision first presents itself.

For one, the biscuit-colored farmhouse sink that I picked out last spring from a square-inch sample will not work with the white cabinets. Anyone in the market for a farmhouse sink? It's going on Craig's List. A new white sink has already arrived, and this mistake is one that I accept but certainly hope is isolated. It was an expensive one.

When we returned after our Christmas travels, we were pleased to find the progress made on the home, but much work has yet to be done. Most of the trim carpentry is completed, the pavers are in, and countertops have been installed in the bathrooms. Our project manager  returns to the job site today, and the goal is now to keep the crews working toward a February completion. In the meantime, we are working to get our current home ready to list, and Randy is diligently building and installing the closet shelving. In all of the busyness of our lives right now, though, we do have to stop and pinch ourselves that we are going to live in this house. It's surreal to us. I have lots of new photos to share.

Fireplace in sitting room

Shelving by Randy in my closet

Tub in master bath

Stained bead board in Randy's office

Stairs, notice the not-yet "secret door" on the right

Staircase

Stained bead board in great room coffers

Marble countertop on a master bath vanity

Dining room

Bunk room

Wainscoting panels in foyer

Paver sidewalk

Driveway

Getting There

Barring any unforeseen problems, we are approximately two months away from moving into our new home. Target: early to mid-February.  In these final weeks, Randy is busy building the closet shelving, I have finalized lighting choices, and we have a pretty good start to a landscaping plan.

The hardwood floors are in -- although they will need to be finished when we get a little further along. The cabinet maker is installing the cabinets, the stair carpenter is working to get the stairs completed, the trim carpenter continues to plug along, and the tile work continues inside and out. The painters have returned to start caulking the trim so they can resume working inside.

In the meantime, I've learned why special touches like sconces and bead board are so disdained by builders and that my husband and my project manager -- brothers, mind you -- have very different opinions about the most comfortable height for televisions.

Admittedly, we are a little nervous leaving this project for our Christmas trip. Every day raises questions about more details, and the details are now going to be visible for a long time to come. But we are grateful we have a good crew of guys out there. Here are some of the  latest photos:

Front porch

Kitchen, sink side

Kitchen, cooktop side

Randy's office

Back side of house -- finally completed!

Bonus room

Mudroom, sink side

Mudroom, cubby side

staircase

Almost Home

Yesterday, we took our Christmas card pictures out at the new house. Not the most idyllic holiday setting, but the backdrop says everything about what we've been doing this year, and it's one step closer for us to claim it as our new home. We included our project manager this year because he's been so key in our getting to this point. Here's a sneak peek: