I Love my Kitchen!

I hope it cooks as good as it looks! 

Here are the newest pictures (compliments of Rick Crowder!)

And I got my barn doors! 

Things are coming together. Still have the vanity counter in our bathroom, and the built in bed and shelves for Marley's room. We also have some built in book cases in the living room that will be added. We've picked out our plumbing fixtures, but they're not installed yet either. 

We are going to need a very comfortable couch!

Farewell Lake...Farewell House. 'Til Next Year.

A week ago we left Ashley Lake to start school and hockey season in California.  It was so hard to leave, especially before our home building project was complete.  Here is what was completed by the

time we left.

We went with hardwood oak flooring throughout the main parts of the house, and then tiling in the breezeway and bathrooms. The fireplace was built using DalTile stacked stone. The fireplace is one of my favorite new additions to the house.  

My other favorite new addition is our metal-art bear.  The Whitefish Huckleberry festival hosts many craftsman and artisans. There was a carved moose holding a lantern that I would have liked to put on our front step to greet guests--maybe next year.

Metal Art Bear

Like this!

 

The vanity will be like this only different.

 

I know Lyle, our contractor will keep us up to date with pictures, but I am really going to miss being in Montana and seeing each day's progress.

Lights, Beams, and More!

So, apparently more people are actually checking out this blog than I thought:)  I've gotten a few complaints from people who have noted that I haven't posted any new photos since August 8th.  I apologize. We've been too busy sitting out on our new deck gazing at the beautiful Montana view. Here are the newest photos.

We have some, but not all, of the outdoor lighting in. 

 

How about these beams?! They are from the Mare Island Naval Shipyard which was established in 1852. Roy is very excited because there is apparently a ghost of Mare Island. The history says that the island was named in 1835 by General Mariano Vallejo, the Mexican Commandant for Northern California. He named it "Isla de la Yegua," or Mare Island. According to legend, the general's white mare had fallen overboard from a barge during transport across the Carquinez Strait, only to reappear days later ashore. We thank Brian McDonough (and RC) for these fabulous beams:) For more details on the history of Mare Island check out: http://discovermareisland.com/history/

The rest of the interior lights should be added this week, but as you know, the most important part of the entire house is the deck.  You can see above that the tongue and groove ceiling has been completed on the covered deck.

   

And all of the Trex decking has been completed so that I can now have my Starbucks Via coffee with Cinnabon creamer on the deck each morning with my lovely husband, Roy.  It is going to be difficult to leave:(

Looking Like a House!

This week, I went off to California to meet my new district and take care of the paperwork that allows me to become a credentialed California teacher.  By some means, I have to prove that I am highly qualified...any suggestions? 

Courtyard:)

Anyway while I was away we acquired a new garage door and this fun new concrete leading up to the house and also in the courtyard between the original aparterage and new house. I hear that it is a seamless Italian slate stamp that is used to fancy up concrete.  I definitely love it. 



The drywallers are finished!  The basement/garage was primed and painted.  They texturized the walls upstairs and they should be painted this week.  

The siding is complete except for one wall out on the covered porch, and the decking has begun.  We used pebble grey Trex composite decking in the hopes that it will last forever like our siding. 



It was so nice to come back from California and see the house really looking like a house!

Outsiding and Insiding!

This past week there was lots of action on the house.  The crew started putting up our siding.  We went with James Hardie fiber cement siding.  It looks a lot like wood, but the number one reason for choosing this siding was durability and its non-combustible property. Glacier National Park, which is not far from us, had a forest fire this week, and was a scary reminder of the possibility for forest fires when you're living out in the woods. You can learn more about our siding on their website http://www.jameshardie.com/Why-Hardie/Superior-Siding.  

There is still a bit more siding to go, but there is noticeable progress every day.  

You may also note that many of the doors and windows have been installed. We had a little snafu with one door-the one going out to the covered porch--it did not open in the correct direction, so that one had to be re-ordered. Roy knows that I want this house to be super toasty in the winter, and I am very happy with the quality of these Anderson doors and windows. It'll be extra nice when the plastic is off!  

Great Room Doors to Deck and Mega Windows

Master Bedroom Doors to Deck and Corner Windows

You can also see that they have started the drywalling.  

Hopefully that will be done by the end of this week.  That has seemed to be the slowest piece of the house-building puzzle. 

Roy and I have been looking in stores and online for indoor and outdoor light fixtures.  A bunch of these outdoor wall hanging lights for the deck came today!  

Kitchen Counter Top

We also picked out the granite for the kitchen counters.  The picture was taken on an angle so it is kind of hard to see.  I liked it because it reminds me of a river bottom. 

                                               

Next Week: Decking!

Insulation Installation

This week, I stayed out of the way as much as possible. There were men in masks, and big tubes running from trucks into the house, and everything making lots of noise. Roy said that's the sound of progress:) We have a couple types of insulation.  First they blew in this foam stuff, I think mostly on the outside walls.  Then they put the cushy, scratchy rolls of insulation on top of the foam and everywhere else.  Because the foam must be bad to inhale, we all stayed away and the builders mostly worked outside on the deck railing.  

500 Year Old Railing for Deck--Who knew? I thought it was just wood!

We looked at some light fixtures this week, but did not select anything yet.  We did order all of our bathroom tiling, the stone for the fireplace, and we decided to go with an oak hardwood floor for all the non-bathroom spaces. 

Oak with a nice warm finish.

This time I am serious--Next week we will have the windows, doors and more!

Pipes and Plugs

Today's update is the last for this week.  The electrician came and wired us for sound and lights, and all kinds of important creature comforts.  I liked the electrician.  

I can see why our contractor, Lyle, chose him. Yes, that says INTEGRITY!

He's been here all day and all week.  He asked me lots of questions to make sure we were considering all of those things that I never would have thought of without him.  

The plumber was also here a bit this week.  While we still have to pick out fixtures next week, he was able to get us plumbed for our future sinks, tubs, toilets, and dishwasher.  This team really works well together!

                                                    I finally got a glimpse of the flooring that is on the covered part of the deck, and you'll see in the following video that that's as far as I can go today, since the beams holding up the deck have been stained to protect them from the elements. 

Next week the team will blow in a ton of insulation, install our doors and windows, and start siding the house.  Roy will be back and we will go pick out those plumbing fixtures, and look into some flooring options recommended by Mark the Floor Guy and his lovely wife, Janet:) 

Inside and Out

Today, the team here was working inside and out. Electrical boxes were added and wire run throughout. They have begun to frame in the gas fireplace and hearth, and the closet in the master bedroom was moved and enlarged.                                        

The most noticeable difference  for me was the addition of trim to  the outside of the house. 

BEFORE

AFTER
Next up, decisions about flooring. Could really use expert, Mark the Floor Guy's, and Janet's thoughts here. I'm looking for durable, and a nice warm lighter color. Wood? or something engineered?

At Long Last We are Building our House in Montana

I have never had to make these kinds of decisions before. In the past, I have had about 24 hours to view houses and pick one as our newest location. Now I am being asked things like how thick would you like your deck railing, and and where would you like your light switches. It is exciting and scary all at once.                                                                                                                                                 

I have an image in my mind of what I would like this living place to look like, but I feel completely inept at conveying the pictures in my mind to our wonderful and patient contractor.       

Here is what has been done before I have ever even seen it for myself.  The plans were largely composed by my husband and his best friend (best friend is an amazing contractor in the bay area) on a cocktail napkin.  They were cleaned up to a single sheet of paper later, but our current contractor Lyle, of Stringline Construction has had to interpret a lot.      

I wish my friends were here to help me, but they are all back in Mass, or in California, or Virginia, or a million other places.  I am hoping this Blog gives them a chance to give me their 2 cents.                                                                                                                                                       
In case you want to know some of what I am   thinking for this place, here is my "Cabin Ideas" Pinterest.  It has some pictures of things I like. I am not sure that they can all be incorporated   or that they should all be incorporated, but at     least you'll get a sense of what I like-sort of.

Follow Melissa's board Cabin Ideas on Pinterest.