Last night we had my side of the family over for Christmas eve as we always do , I made Eddie's Pumpkin chipotle soup and easy enchilada's , you must try these recipes , no fail delish great meals. It is our last Christmas here and I couldn't help but think ahead to next year and how the new house will function even better , it has a very familiar layout with the kitchen and family room which we love but it is much more spacious which will be nice since everyone is growing up before our eyes.
It was tough to get out of bed this morning to our eager crew , but after a lot of nudging I managed to make it down to start our last Christmas morning here. The girls were very happy and thankful for their gifts. Mason is very much into music as all teenagers are so I got her a iPhone speaker system which she didn't ask for but phew she likes it , and Sophie got the acoustic guitar she was really hoping for , she's pretty good at it already and everything else was a big hit too.
She looks like a natural.
Moe is enjoying Mason's new cozy robe.
A couple of days ago I asked our builder if we could get into the house for a preview of how things were coming along and to take some progress photos and they were happy to let us take a look.
It was so nice to get in , its warm in there with the propane heater going in the basement , other than that heat it has no electricity or water quite yet, so it was nice to have a good sunny day to take a peek.
A nice surprise was that the fireplace had been installed and the mantel trimmed up beautifully , its just like the picture, well spent upgrade dollars . This is the family room . The TV will be mounted above , we have that set up now and just love it , it was nice to have the builder do the proper wiring for this set up , well worth the upgrade dollars.
Here is Mason's sunny window filled bedroom , it is West facing . Where can I find those paper blinds for when we move in ???
And Sophie's room , three windows again .
And the jewel of a dining room which was supposed to be a parlour or sitting room but I love the idea of a square dining room with a large round table with lots of chairs for great gatherings , so this is the dining room we think it will work very well for how we live.
The stairs and railing are all installed , I plan to beef up the newel post with trim. The spindles will be painted and the railings stained by us, I think the newel post painted with a stained topper and the risers painted and treads stained.This entrance corridor flooring will be herringbone brick veneer.
Family room looking into the kitchen, the ceilings are 9ft and the windows are tall it feels like they are soaring.All smooth ceilings both floors , this was a must , and they did a great job.
This is the view from the kitchen into the front living room , the beautiful afternoon west light flooding in , I love the light. I am so happy how the upgraded trim turned out with the nice back band casings and 5" baseboards.
This is the view out from the breakfast area to the front door , loving the center hall. So much work to do still on the builders part and then on my part , but I look forward to making it all happen.
This is the front of the house looking from the living room into the dining room. It can all start looking the same with all the similar windows and white paint , which I love . I think dark stained floor will really look amazing.
Here is a good photo of the master shower , lovely carara jams awaiting a seamless glass enclosure. I am so happy we kept the tile simple and chose white subway , not a huge upgrade but a classic choice I won't tire of. We left the shower floor the standard white 1"x1" ceramic. I was pleased to see a nice square drain. We think we should get a square shower head too.
This is a good shot of the double vanity location , two sinks , we have never had that , we will soon see who is the tidiest. I got Todd a light for Christmas one of the lights for this room , it is a Martha Stewart light its so nice. The standard lighting was one light for this vanity area , I thought it would be best to add a second , we girls need good light in a bathroom.
The other side of the bathroom , the TV wall ... now would you go for a white TV or black , I mean the screen is black right , of course white is more costly...the walls in here will be a water tone, one of the few places that will have painted walls. I will be tiling the front of the tub apron , what do you think marble ? and the surround around the tub should have been flooring tile but I scratched that , I am thinking beadboard.
The upper hall with linen closet , it looks great with this railing installed. We upgraded the railing to a thicker spindle and handrail and square posts , the spindles are paint grade. Looking so forward to painting that ??? this will be my third railing from raw, I am a glutton for punishment. When I see the railing like this I can't help but think of liming ??? crazy?
The girls baths got upgraded subway tile too , I tried to talk them into colors but they wanted white . Sophie's flooring is a faux carara marble ceramic and Mason's floor looks kind of like a stone paper look.
The girls hallway , I love this feature it feels so deliberate. I think it will keep their sounds more contained which is good because they can kick up a lot of noise. I love the doors we chose to upgrade too. I decided to stick with the standard door hardware though , shiny brass which I will change to either rubbed bronze levers or crystal ??? or maybe crystal just on the bathroom doors for fun , why not? Decorating should be fun and pleasing to the home owner right . Can I rub that brass with something to make it nicer and less bright brass??
Well there I leave you with a tour of the house , progress is good . The kitchen should be in in the new year .
I hope you are have a nice holiday season whatever your holiday is , have a happy New Year too.
Cheers!
