It's beautiful! I can't believe I didn't look in the gallery this weekend and see them. You must be so excited about moving in.

What are you kitchen cabs and flooring materials? I love them. Did you paint the powder room walls? Where did you get your vanity? I've searched high and low and haven't found what I wanted for the bathes (with the exception of powder room) so I'm ordering traditional cabs tomorrow for them. I ordered cabinetry from England for the kitchen (designer lives here/maker there).

Your house is so similar to mine...with the beams, limestone flooring, etc. Makes me wish I was moving next week! Allison

Hi Allison! Gee, thanks for your comments, and yours will be finished before you know it....and you won't be moving in the heat of summer like us! We're closing end of the month, but won't be moving in officially until mid June.

The powder room cabinet came from Harden....I put a link below. We added a travertine slab top, so I wouldn't have to worry about water damage. The powder room was hand-painted by a local artist. I copied a powder room from the "Unmistakably French" book.... it's not an exact copy so I should say "inspired by" ;-)

The cabinets are all knotty alder, but I forget the name of the stain. They came from Custom Cupboards out of Kansas. The galley floor is Noce travertine and is definitely rustic looking. The hardwood is heart pine, 9" widths, which came from Carlisle. They will get another top coat which will make them matte. He does an oil polly first, and then finishes with a water based polly. I didn't want shiny floors.

If you don't mind I'd love to know your source for the English made cabinets. That sounds very cool and I know they'll be very authentic looking. All our cabinetry was semi-custom, except for the theatre room which was custom. After seeing his work (it really does look better than the photos) I wish I had used him for the kitchen too. Oh well... I've decided there will never be the "perfect" house and I'm very excited and happy about what we have.

I hope yours is progressing smoothly too. And post those progress photos!

Here is a link that might be useful: Harden cabinet

I had looked at the new Mediterino Suite by Canac and liked the knotty white oak and the finished used, but the lady here was incompetent. I wasn't sure what I would have ended up with! Then my GC's cousin started carrying Jim Bishop Cabinets out of Alabama. They could give me the look I wanted with Rustic Cherry or Rustic Oak but not inset doors which I really, really wanted for the kitchen. I'm getting J.B. for the bathrooms.

There is a store here in Homewood, AL called The Cottage Shop. Doug and his wife own the store. He's always been interested in wood furniture. Going to England to look for things for the store, he's met a lot of interesting craftspeople. He started carrying furniture built with old wood, rustic paint finishes. Just beautiful. I could live in the store and be happy!

Women would go in and say "this is what I wish my kitchen looked like." So he found Geoff and Plain English was born.

The Cottage Shop doesn't have a website, but Geoff Chater does. He's also featured on several other English kitchen website in the UK.

My kitchen, breakfast room, sunroom, powder room, pantry, laundry and back hallway will have the similar flooring as your gallery as well as the two bathes on the main level.

Carlisle was way out of my price range! We're going with #2 3 1/4 inch red oak. With a darker stain, it will be a great look for the house.

Here's two more links:

http://www.kralle.co.uk/chater.html

http://www.sunninghillkitchencompany.co.uk/home.htm

We're using cabinets more along the lines of the Country Classic, English Country Colours and English Country Classic shown under "Products." They use Farrow & Ball paints. I've selected French Grey for the island and will use plain pine and New Cream in the kitchen too as well as on the walls of the main level along with Hay. The Fr. Grey is a gorgeous green, not grey at all. He has several pieces in his store in the colour.

Here is a link that might be useful: Geoff Chater Furniture Workshops

I enjoyed looking at all those links, Allison. Thanks! The cabinets are beautiful and I love the painted look in combination with pine. Will look awesome. Are you going with a range or built in ovens? I love the AGA ranges (would look great in your kitchen), but worried about the heat coming off of them, and also love the Lacanche and La Cornue (but way too pricey). At the time we selected, I had to make some quick decisions so went with a Viking, something I knew. I still wish I had taken the time to investigate more the Lacanche ranges. It was a little scary at the time to spend that much $ on something I knew nothing about, but it would have looked very cool.

I have several pieces of furniture that came from Englishman's, a company who imports furniture made in England. It's reproduction furniture using old wood, so it looks antique. I love the look. I ordered a piece from them for the new house, and it was delivered last week. Their website is www.englishmans.com They have some cool stuff.

I'll have to check the website out. I don't really need much furniture but it will be nice to get a few new pieces here and there.

I have 2 in out of state liberal art colleges so we're getting a GE Monogram 48" range (6 eyes and a griddle) at DH request. He likes to cook, I hate it. We don't have much wall space with the open floor plan and I didn't want a wall oven in the way or seen visually from the Great Room. Maybe when it breaks we'll get a Lacanche or La Cornue.

Ya, I hear you. We have a college aged son, too. Graduating next year, we hope. I think you'll like the GE Monogram. We had the GE Monogram 48" gas cooktop in our last house and it was great. Never had a moment's trouble with it. I wish my DH cooked! Not one of my favorite things.

Oh Cate!

Where do I start...

I'll start by saying your home is beautiful and my heart skipped a beat when I saw your Carlile flooring.

Where did you find your island/potrack and georgous chandeliers in LR, DR, and room off of kitchen?

What wood is your front door and whom is the manufacturer?

How was the finish done on your walls in the entry...plaster or faux?

How about your iron stair balisters?

Bar area...Tell me about your copper sinks, tile and inset tile?

You must really be getting settled now and I'm sure enjoying your new home.

Terry

Hi Terry, and thanks so much for your kind comments! It was such a fun house to build, and we actually we're a little sad when the process was over. We'd do it again in a heartbeat because our builder was wonderful. We're still in the process of moving in, and won't actually have our furniture moved until Monday. So, to answer your questions,

We used Carlisle premium heart pine, and I really love it. The installer did a great job and distressed it just enough for us.

The kitchen pot rack and the chandelier in the nook off the kitchen both came from 2nd Avenue Designs. I know the nook one is called The Kenneth Chandelier. Most lighting companies carry this brand I think.

The chandeliers in the dining room and living room both came from Arte de Mexico. They're made upon order, so it takes a long time, but we really do love them and it was worth the wait.

The front door was made locally and is made of knotty alder, and all the cabinetry in the house is knotty alder too. The leaded glass was added by a local art glass company.

We did a hand-troweled finish on the walls on the main level, except the study (that will be upholstered in cloth) and two bedrooms. A glaze was added over the paint of the textured finish. The base color was BM blanched almond, but not sure about the glaze color.

The ballisters, again, were made by a local man we call "Iron Mike". The nicest guy. We showed him a picture from a magazine and he duplicated it almost exactly.

All the copper sinks, the kitchen farmhouse, and two bar sinks, came from Linkasink (www.linkasink.com) and I think most plumbing companies carry the brand. You can't order from them directly. They're very heavy and made of 10 gauge copper. The lower the gauge number indicates the thickness of the copper. They have a beautiful finish and since they're hammered, they don't show water spots.

Most of the tile came from Capco, but I do know the little metal inserts came from Materials Marketing (www.materials-marketing.com). The fireplace in the living room and the stone surround over the range came from them too.

I hope this was helpful. Are you just beginning to build? I hope you have a wonderful experience with it too. It's so much fun, really!

I was thinking about you yesterday and was going to email you today. Your finally moving in furniture tomorrow...HOW exciting!

They finished hanging our sheetrock on Thursday. Mud guys started Friday. It's rained here every day for 15 days...hope the mud doesn't take extra time to dry. We were lucky that they were even able to deliver the sheetrock due to all the rain/mud.

Since we've changed our kitchen sink when ordering the cabinets, I was thinking about getting the Rohl faucet you have. Did you buy locally? I thought I'd check the internet first. I like the copper one I purchased but will use in the laundry with the copper sink. The prep sink/faucet (also copper) is out of view from the kitchen, so I was thinking of using ORB at the main sink now. Plus, the copper one I have (which I could order another one) doesn't have a sprayer and I'm beginning to second guess myself on not having one.

I've also just about decided not to order/purchase any new furniture (sofas mainly for the Great Room) until after we move. I think I want to put what we have in first, then after living there decide exactly what I want/need. I will order us a new bed next week though. Not going to wait on it. I'm more of the visual person who knows/can find exactly what I want for a space. I just don't want to end up buying something too large/small. Our ceilings peak at 22' and now that the sheetrock is up, they look SO far up!

Congrats again on finishing your project. Can't wait to see more photos. Allison

Hi Allison! I'm slowing recovering from the move. It's so tiring and we're both exhausted. But, looking on the bright side, things are mostly unpacked and put away. Our garage is full of left over's and we've got to decide what to do with it all.

I do have the Rohl faucet and really like it so far. It came with a bottle of Bruno's faucet wax which is supposed to protect the Tuscan Brass finish. I was told to only use mild soap and water to clean them, and never anything abrasive. They have a very smooth operating touch. I like the copper farmhouse sink, too. Haven't damaged the finish... so far anyway. I was told to use brown shoe polish to touch it up.

Sounds like your project is coming along! You'll enjoy those tall ceilings, especially with the beautiful beams.

Our puppy took off after a deer this morning and we had to spend the morning looking for her. I think she was as relieved to see us as we were her. Time to look into the underground fence I think.

Absolutely gorgeous!!! Thanks for sharing your pics!

Tigerlily