Love the kitchen granite!! Could you go through and rotate the pictures though, it's kindof hard to look at. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Rachelh, I love it too! Also thanks for telling me about the rotating, it is all fixed now.

I love your granite too, but your hood is perfect!

There is so much to say about your new home. I don't know why I am speechless.

That's not a house, it's a castle!!

Absolutely stunning! Just love your kitchen, shower, and granite! Thanks for sharing

I agree...stunning.
Please though, you have to tell us what the name of your granite is. It's beyond perfect!

Would you mind sharing the name of the paint you used for your pink, green, and blue? Thanks.

Gorgeous! Your house is fabulous!! Can you share where you purchased your furniture style bath vanities? They are exactly what I want to use in our upstairs baths! THANKS!

Flippin' Awesome! ;c)

I love all the crown and woodworking! Very nice job!

Lindy

CN, what country did you say was moving in with you? :)

I can't even believe it is a house. It is massive, resort like. I'm amazed! Congratulations! Very nice!

How long was your process and if you don't mind me asking what is your sq. footage? I'm sure what we want to build could fit into your entire right wing of your house LOL! We can't even get a stupid driveway dug or find a builder that we like...sigh! Enjoy!

Thank you so so much... this is so exciting and a blessing to see it all come to fruition.

kats...the name of the granite is cloudy yellow and it is not easy to find, I will ask my granite guy if there is an industry name for it because I think they named it themselves

kcthatsme...the pink is pink peony, ocean breeze and celery ice. They are all Benjamin Moore colos and my daughters picked them out themselves...I am glad you like it :) My husband thinks they are too bright, but I wanted them to be a part of the process and let them choose on their own

dixiedoodle..We had the vanities in my master made by a local woodworking shop, I couldn't find them to purchase either.

eventhecatisaboy..my process began in the design stage in the fall of 2005. The building process has been going on for 12 months and I manage the process like you would not believe. We have 8000 sq ft, not including the basement. We are not finishing the basement right now...so I will leave that off

Thanks again, and I cannot wait to show you more pictures!!!!

That's not a house, that's a city!! Beautiful. I love your kitchen granite also. Do try to find out if there is another name for it. It's the best I've seen in that color range.

Your home presents as much larger than the approximate 5,500 sf. abovegrade. I count that as a major accomplishment! From the pic, I would have guessd 8,000-10,000 sf.

My only quibble is the front entry. I would have preferred higher doors or a more custom look. Otherwise, wonderful stone detailing inside. (Paint colours can be easily cured.)

Hopefully, you'll post some of the finished pics around the forums.

Worthy you are right, in my posting I said it is 8000 excluding the basement. It is not 5500 abovegrade, it is a little over 8k above grade. Sorry about the front entry...and as soon as everything is done, i will definitely post.

absolutely gorgeous! Love the center island/table look!

I will be the nit picky one :-). Keep in mind, these are all subjective on my part and not a shortcoming per se but choices one make.

-For your arched garage, would have gotten a door with arched top panels which they make. Would look more 'finished' rather than the panels in corner being cut off.

-I think their are too many windows in the turret. Would have spaced them out a bit but that may have required the turrets to be proportionally larger.

-Front door scale is a bit out of whack(agree with above poster there) On a large house should be much grander, not just door but entire entranceway. With the symmetry you have and wide expanse, you wouldn't want people to think it was a multi-dwelling unit/townhome and if you had one grandiose entranceway it ties it together. Not saying people would from actually seeing it, but from pictures you don't see surrounding houses/neighborhood, etc that would place it. Right now, it gets lost between the two turrets and its size.

-I prefer true recessed panel vs applied moulding for wainscot, but thats minor.

-Would have gone with much larger door casings and window casings. Large house, large interior trim

-Same with crown/trimwork. Would have really gone out and made it much larger/grander. Me personally, I believe if you build a grander than others, make the inside fit as well. I don't believe the inside of a 8k house should be the same as the inside of a 4k house.

-Would have put all the outlets in baseboard to give a much cleaner looking walls.

-patio's on side are a bit small

-What is the height of the floors ? might have gone for higher floors to give you more room. Would have helped with exterior trim as well. Looks like casing and keys are butting(very very close) up to exterior cornice.

-Cant really see the gutters from front but probably very visible from front door. With the changes in surface that you have, would have gone with ground gutters rather than real gutters.

-like the stonework, but would have done more(all of it) or less of it. Amount of windows competes with the stone in what you look at first.

Other than that, my only real issue is that its typical of many houses built - that its 'kitchen centric'. A lot of money is/was spent on the kitchen but not on the rest of the interior of the house. Granted that this is especially true of smaller houses, with many larger houses you aren't building strictly for resale and you hope that it gets better balance. But unfortunately this still happens in the big houses we see today.

Probably al lot of this falls under "there is always more", and of course more $$$. Don't take it the wrong way - congrats on finishing up the house. Looks good and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Junior..thanks for the compliment

Anthem...wow sorry it is not your taste. Everyone is completely entitled too their opinion. I do disagree with a few of the comments in regards to molding. All f the molding is much larger than normal, and maybe because there are no closeups you can't see it. As fas as the house being kitchencentric, it is a matter of choice, there was money spent everywhere in the house. I in no way am building for resale, I am building a home not a house for my family to enjooy for years to come. I guess if I was building for resale then I would have made my moldings 15 inches instead of the 12 they are. You did have a question about the ceiling height, basement 10, first floor 10 and second 9. Due to town roof height restrictions, it could not be any higher even if you wanted to be. Thanks for your nitpicking, and I will definitely enjoy it as soon as I can get in :)

Don't let the nitpicking get you down, Cnproject! It's a gorgeous home, and I imagine I'd feel like a princess living there! Enjoy your new home!

This isn't a "give me your opinion" kind of thread and posting them was completely inappropriate. Cnproject simply wanted to share her accomplishment and joy.

It's a beautiful home, enjoy it for many years to come!

As I said, it isn't meant to knock it and congrats on finishing it. Everyone has their own opinions and those were just my thoughts on it. My thoughts on building are a bit different than others and I freely admit that.

I did see the other moulding the 2nd time. I think you had two different mouldings running through (perhaps one for less formal or 2nd floor) and I was probably making a comment on the smaller one.

Actually if you were building for resale, you would probably put less moulding in, as excessive trim rarely recoups its value back.

Yeah, you're probably pushing the limtis with town height with 10/10/9. I like the size of exterior window casings - was just commenting on their relationship with the rest of the exterior.

KellyEng, please read the OP. I think it said "Please share your comments, thoughts, opinions..." - quite explicit. This board is rife with enough people people not having opinions that it gets bland and boring. Perhaps if you add more colorful opinion it would make a more interesting forum. If you want unwavering support - go to church.

Sorry Anthem, I did miss that last sentence. Opinions were asked for and opinions is what she received. However, occasional unwavering support is very helpful to ones psyche, albeit boring.

Your house indeed is an architectural wonder be sure to enjoy it!

My opinion? There is a movement in America that seems to be picking up steam when it comes to building houses that asks us to think beyond size and more towards the way we actually live. If five years from now you are having any doubts you might want to read one of Sarah Susanka's books which has inspired millions of new home builders and renovators.

Your house is quite oversized for my taste, but again that's just my taste. I don't know a damned thing about you, your family or your lifestyle and it is not my place to judge. Personally though I wouldn't know what to do with all that space. I compliment you however on how well you and your architects still kept focus on all the details that truly make a house a home- regardless of size. In the day of starter castles, McMansions, and mini- Taj Mahal's its nice to know that some people understand that its the details that count not just quantity. If you could find a way to build a house that truly reflects the way YOU live and it requires 8000 sq feet of living space then more power to you!

"Underlying all of the chapters of this book is a request that we look more closely at ourselves, at how we want to live, at what inspires us, and at what our planet needs to return to balance. If we can start reflecting these values in what we build to house ourselves, we will be making a small but significant incremental step in helping humanity to truly live the extraordinary spirit that we are born with. Our senses are finely attuned to perceive beauty and to taste delight in every birdsong and every unfurling leaf. Over time we can too easily become jaundiced to these simple pleasures of existence, and our homes become just one more chore to maintain. What if instead they daily inspired us to be all that we can be, filled us with feelings of appreciation for the richness that always surrounds us if we will only look?"

--from The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka

Hoosiergirl- I have posted about how much I love your home and i would feel like a princess in your home as well..it is marvelous.

Kellyeng- Thank you for your kind words

Andyk - that was pretty awesome and I do appreciate your post. I think Sarah Susanka is fantastic and I took a lot of her approaches. After I told my architect everything I desired we came up with this. My girlfriend was walking through the house with me the other day who happens to be a realtor and we she was commenting on the livability of the house. She has been to houses twice my size but what she loved the most about my house was just the thought we put into living in every room.

I am in total agreement with Susanka and I put so much thought into my children, my husband and myself living there until at least every one was out of college. I had to switch schools a lot growing up, so I am one of those who like to be planted now :) The funniest thing is that in my everyday life, our living requires space. However when we are away just the five of us, we have a small carriage house that is near the beach and we wouldn't add on, renovate, or do anything too it because we each love it in our own special way. You have confirmed for me that the extra effort I gave to making sure I put love into making it a home was all worthwhile!

To everyone who asked about the granite, the true name is Cloudy Yellow..it is not an exotic and it is from Brazil.

cnproject,

You have clearly put a great deal of thought into every room, and it shows. Your home is beautiful, with exquisite detailing. Enjoy it, the end/beginning is very near! Congratulations...

Amy

Hey cnproject - which architects did you work with ? Just curious - was construction under architect control (AIA) or was the architect only involved in the design phase ? Basically did the GC report to the architect or GC reported to you ?

This is a beautiful home.

Good job and enjoy.