And We Have a House

With progress moving so swiftly, we were in fact able to walk upstairs this week. Being inside of something we'd been experiencing in two dimensional paper plans was very cool. I've seen many construction and remodeling blogs where looking at interior pictures of just framing can be very confusing. We can visually imagine everything, but I'm guessing it might be hard for anyone else. So we tried to pick some pictures where you weren't looking through too many walls! 

Given that it's Thanksgiving, there will be no work done today. A little birdie told me that windows are now in, the house has been wrapped and roofing has started. We'll have to take a break from cooking and eating for a brief tour. Happy Thanksgiving to you!

View of the front, you can see the iron beam holding the cantilevered roof. The welder was working on it while we were there. He'll return later to install the iron work for the railing along the stairs and loft.

We're proud to say we haven't built a house with one side void of windows. Almost half of the windows you see here were custom.

The view from the alley where they have started to work on the roof.

Now for those confusing inside shots! This is looking into the kitchen (see the island framed in) from the living room (see the metal sheeting for behind the fireplace). 

After walking upstairs you come to a hall. At each end are bedrooms with the laundry in the middle. We love the large windows running along the side filling it with light.

The future site of the steam shower in the master bathroom. The bench will be covered  with counter top material and tile with it all being enclosed by glass walls and door. 

A neat modern feature is a triangle cut-out where you'll be able to look down from the loft (TV room) to the living room.  The orange spray paint signals where iron railing will go creating an open feeling to both rooms. 

This is the same triangle cut-out viewed from the living room. It makes my head go swirly with all the lines, but you can get the idea.

The artsy shot of the day. We found the architectural plans rolled up by the fireplace. 

Watch here for the next step! - Lynne

The Walls are Rising

While away on vacation for a week, we kept wondering, How does the house look now? Well, we came home to the framing well under way. We took some pictures on Friday as the sun was setting and Saturday morning during a snowfall. Both times, our lot was buzzing with activity as it seems it's always a race against Mother Nature this time of year.

The walls for the first floor are nearly complete and the second floor is about half done. I like how they cut out the window holes which really helps give us a sense of the place. I can already imagine Astrid staring out the front windows at the people walking by. 

Yesterday we went to a furniture auction at a nearby model home. It was kind of weird to see a perfectly decorated house be stripped, even down to the towels in the bathroom! We walked away with a teak bench that we plan to put on the front stoop. It's been fun to think about how we'll refresh our furnishings. Onto the pictures...enjoy!

View of the front of the house, the five windows that wrap around the corner will be the living room. The other front room is the study.

This was taken Friday night when they had just started the second floor.

A pile of wood and rebar used in the foundation process. Two other foundations were dug on the block during the last week.

Saturday brought snow, but by the time we came by at around 11am all this progress had been made from the night before. The room above the living room with the four wrap around windows is the family room. Finally no more TV in the living room!

These beams will installed under the front roof canopy on the exterior. Our neighbor that is always one-step ahead of us gives us clues that these will go in after the framing is finished.

This giant hole is where the stairs will go. Apparently they slide those in because there is no exterior wall framed in on this side.

The view from the stairway hole into the small room which will be the wine cellar, yes, Matthew is excited!

The view into the house across the dining room to the large cut-out for the patio door. That will face east and flood the kitchen with morning light. 

Looking forward to being able to walk inside and up the stairs. Maybe another week? Until the next step - Lynne