East Gable, almost.
South elevation, almost.
November 12, 2007
Seeing our family wandering the house, my parents, Laura, Henning, & Sig is a great thing. I feel like we're laying claim to a space that's been our contractor's for the past 5 months. Moving tools out, pulling up the cardboard that's hidden our floor for a month's time, this past weekend marked the transition phase where our house becomes a home. My parents arrived last Wednesday evening and stayed through the weekend. Their visit proved immensely helpful and equally tiring for them I'm sure. Watching the boys, cleaning, cooking, assembling cabinetry, painting, doing our neglected household chores...did I mention watching the boys?
The big task this weekend was assembling the 1300 different boxes of cabinets, door panels, slides, bumpers, and nibs. If I see another IKEA pictogram I'll put a hammer through my skull. Less than useful at times the IKEA assembly instructions bordered on ridiculous...after taking about a half hour trying to add adjustable legs to the first base cabinet things went more smoothly and by the end of the day Saturday my father & I had assembled all of the cabinetry for the kitchen and pantry area. Thankfully my father's well of patience is much deeper than mine.
Dad, fixing my mistakes
Quality control
Island cabinetry in place
Vent hood + Laura pining for her range
Island palette, gray surround, white cabs, butcherblockOn Sunday Laura & I worked together to grout the mudroom and bathroom which was a smashing success and left us still speaking at the end of the day...remarkable progress. Thanks to Lester our general contractor for encouraging words and some helpful tips regarding sponge-work. Other progress...the woodstove was installed, the island completed and countertop installed, undermount sink today. Most of the doors are in place, drywall base detail is complete, the basement stair is ready for our code inspection, the heating system is functioning properly, dryer hooked up, vent hood installed, recessed cabinetry in place, everything ready for a final coat of paint, the electrical devices and plumbing fixtures. The outside is becoming a career for at least two people. Detail shots when things get more interesting.
Sore knees
Eric...repeating "It only looks like cinder block in photos"
Wash me.
2 comments:
I just happened on your blog and what a treat to be able to view almost the entirety of your process. What a wonderful result. Graceful proportions, impressive/smart layout, design, siting, and use of materials. Such spaciousness and abundant light. It seems beautifully designed for young children - lots of windows to easily look out of, wonderful expanses of floor for a Skuut bike or plasma car. My twin 4-year old boys would revel in this space. We're hoping to make some, renovations, long overdue, to make our petite 1880's farmhouse more kid friendly, but, as you know, it's tricky to get much done with little ones.
Thanks for the inspiration and all the great information and tips. Looking forward to your Top 10 lists. Wishing you and your family lots of great times in your long-awaited longhouse.
Alison,
Thanks so much, I love this kind of feedback as blogging can sometimes feel like such a solitary effort. The goal of our project was to inspire, educate and give specifics on how it's actually possible with a modicum of thought to build affordably. I'm tallying the specifics but we're around $110 a square foot on the building (including all site costs, excluding land of course).
Thanks for reading...
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