Holy beautifulness brendamc! It's going to be tough to follow behind your post. The outside is like a magazine. That is what I call character! The view and pool are a dream. Can't wait to see the interior, are you sharing? I will post as soon as the monsoon stops and the exterior is completely painted hopefully within the next week! We are currently finishing up on insulation, painting exterior and finishing stone work. Also finishing up on hanging of Nichiha and starting to hang cypress on ceiling of covered patio. Drywall guys setting up tomorrow. I am nervous because the condo we are currently renting is being shown to a potential buyer tomorrow. Would it be rude to leave dirty clothes scattered about? Kidding of course! Pics soon.

Wow brenda, some house you have there. Can't wait to see the interior. Beautiful!!

Thank you - slides might be boring, but good luck with everything! We had to spend December & Christmas in a hotel, as our tenants had moved in to our old house & this wasn't finished yet. Here are the pics post-move-in. I've got a ton during construction, but that might be way too much. And having to re-live it all...never again! Worth it now, but I'd never ever do this again.

Here is a link that might be useful: House - Move-In til Present

WOW Brendamc. What a house! Extremely gorgeous. I'll bet you feel quite royal living there. Thanks for sharing. I love your wall colors and finishes and the dark woodwork against the lighter walls.

We are about nine months into the physical construction of the house (started Nov. 2008). The driveway went in just about a year before that, then needed to be "fixed" by someone else. I don't even want to think about that episode, but its amazing how quickly you forget those daily dramas, usually because a new one takes its place. Ah, the joys of building. Like Brendamc said, and some others, too, I wouldn't want to do this again. Sure there are things I would change but nothing is so major that I'd go back to square one again. I hope this is where we live forever. Things are shaping up. We are (hopefully) moving in in about 2 weeks. These pics are about two months old. I will post more updated ones soon.

Disregard the date on the pics (year). Day and month are correct but all were taken in June 2009.

View of house coming up driveway:

Foyer Closet and Door to Powder Room:

Main Level Fireplace:

Lower Level Fireplace:

Bar:

Fleur de Lis marble inlay tile I had made to go in the entryway medallion and in the master bath. I had to search literally for two months to find someone to make these. If anyone needs info I found a great place and a good deal. Mine are 12 x 12 and I had them waterjetted and fabricated for something like $119 each.

Back Deck and Exterior of Great Room:

Back Deck and Exterior of Sunroom:

Back Deck:

Septic - Peat System - Lower Part:

Septic - Peat System - Upper Part:

Front of house:

Comet Granite - Going in Kitchen:

Front Porch Ceiling:

LOL, mamabear - Royally Broke! Your house is fabulous - I can't believe how neat & clean DURING the build it all is. And,that forest that surrounds you looks so peaceful. As you can tell, I love Fleur de Lys too! Mine were mainly painted & not inlaid - yours are gorgeous! Looks like you're very close - hopefully you will be enjoying it soon!

Royally Broke - I can relate! Everything just takes longer and costs more than even my "padded" estimates. We found ourselves wanting to upgrade some things along the way as well, like more stone on the main level fireplace, etc.

Thanks--the forest is peaceful. We are on 80 acres, so its very quiet. I actually saw a moose in the back a few months ago. I've seen a wolf as well. Lots of wildlife.

I love the Fleur de Lis symbol. It has become a major design element in the house. I just don't want to over do it. I looked for someone to paint my tiles, but didn't have much luck. I found a few places in the internet and emailed them but got no response. My stone guy suggested sandblasting a piece of granite, and then filling the sandblasted Fleur de Lis shape with some type of epoxy or grout, but he wouldn't guarantee how long it would hold up. That didn't sit well with me, so I persevered and found inlays.com. Or maybe its just inlay.com. The Fleur de Lis tile in the master shower and tub surround are from Daltile. I'll post pics of them soon.

Brendamc- I love your paint and finishes. How did you go about selecting a look for that? Fab house all the way around! Please keep posting pics!

Thanks brenda for the photo's, they are beautiful.

mamabear, looking beautiful.

Wow! All of your houses are gorgeous!

I'm new posting here, so I will introduce myself a little first... my husband and I (and our 21 month old son) are building our first and forever home on his family's ranch in the mountains of Montana.

We broke ground on Father's Day and currently have the basement walls poured, the exterior walls all framed and sheated and are now at a stand-still because the trusses didn't show up when they were supposed to. AAAGGGH! We are being the GC but have hired a builder to help us.

I haven't figured out how to post pictures yet but will when I figure out how to.

Hi mamabear - I tore a whole lot of pictures out of books & magazines! Went through 3 designers - 1st one had 'personal problems,' 2nd caused us disaster after disaster (ie. came home from my FIL's funeral to an entire house with cabinets built-in & made out of particle board that all had to be ripped out as contract stated 'solid wood construction' - that was a year ago last June & still fixing things - I have workmen here as we speak), the 3rd was lovely, but just didn't understand the word 'budget;' an architect who had great overall & concept & WOW! factor ideas, but the little things... like front doors opening onto the stairway, not executed so well... um, I got talked into a $350/hr 'color coach,' by #3, for whom I actually felt was money well spent - well, all except for the baby poop khaki shade chosen for our bathroom that got painted over immediately! I picked out all the fixtures, lighting, hardware, tile, etc. Oh, tile - the tile saleswoman & I hit it off & although she wasn't supposed to work with me directly, she did after #2 got fired & she helped me immensely with design, etc. So, combination of many things, but if you look at my original 'tear-outs,' the house looks pretty much the same, so I'll take some credit!

wow! there's a lot of progress going on and i'm so thrilled to report our windows are finally going in. i'm in NC now, shopping furniture and when i get back i have to put the orders in for our cabinetry. so nothing inside yet, just some nichiha and our prairie style windows. i'm glad i went with them over the colonial style. there are just too many to have all that grille work! there are 92 windows all together.
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We are almost done with our build. Everything is in, including light fixtures - all we have left is interior paint, staining hardwoods, and carpeting. They are working on the driveway and walkways now. I know I've been very delinquent in posting pictures of progress, but at this point I will just hold out until it's all finished (if I am still semi-sane at that point).

Thanks brutuses, mthouse, & brendamc for the nice comments.

Brendamc- sounds like you have met almost every kind of designer there is. Its amazing how hands-on one still has to be, even with someone helping guide the way. We have two coordinators that help with decisions, but most of the things I end up liking the best are the things that I personally research and educate myself about. They seem to mean more. I'll bet the color coach was a great investment! Your colors are gorgeous! On Ralph Lauren's paint website they have instructions for a "denim" finish that I absolutely love. They make it seem so easy as a DIY project, but I'm afraid to tackle that myself. My builder does one or two colors per room, eggshell finish. I didn't even allow myself to search for someone in my area to do faux finishes, as it just isn't in the budget. I would like to do murals in my kids rooms. One thing I have been looking at is having custom vinyl decals done to make a mural. It would be movable. I'd feel like I could never paint over an expensive painted mural in a kids bedroom.

Kateskouros: The windows are just beautiful!

Buildinginva: Good luck! Hope it all goes well!

Today I went out to the house and the gutters were going up! YAY!

We have finally broke ground! They poured the footings yesterday ! Woo hoo!!

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Cant wait to see how it all comes together
Kitchen materials:
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Masterbath Materials
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Laundry Room Tile (will be different sizes) up against wood floor for foyer/dining/living
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....just some nichiha and our prairie style windows.

We went with the prairie grids, too. The dark green makes them hard to see in anything but close up photos, but they look great in person.

The front view. We still have a long way to go.

suzienj, your taste could be my own. Great choices you've made.

creek, you're really coming along. Look great.

Thanks Brutuses I cant even begin to tell you how many hours i have spent with materials, book stores (magazines) etc...(its actually embarrasing when i think of all the times i changed things lol). down to the knobs! -- all we have left is lighting and furniture! woo hoo...

Susie, it's so funny because I spent hours and days and months, looking at things, but when it came down to a decision, it was made at the very last minute. Couldn't decide till I was put under the gun so to speak. Not for everything, but for most. The lighting was something I took my time with and bought fixtures as I found them.

Chosing paint was the worst. I looked at over 300 chips, every web page and brand of paint known to man. Bought tons of those little bottles and quarts of samples. Again, still hadn't made any decisions after a year of looking, till DH says to me, painter starts in 2 days. Yikes, then I rushed and found my colors. All I'm very happy with.

Then there's the budget for some things that dictated the decisions making. My kitchen and master bath are completely not as I had planned them in my mind. Money ran out, plans changed. LOL

It's taxing and stressful, but fun too. I know what you're going through at this stage. I had finished picking out all the paint, everything was painted and then when DH put up our kitchen cabinets we realized they were almost the identical color as the walls and we didn't want them to fade into the wall, so another paint color had to be chosen. Tired and sick of even thinking about paint I told him to put the ceiling color from the foyer on the kitchen walls. Great choice and it ties the rooms together. A designer trick created by accident.

I look forward to seeing your home progress. It took us 6 years as DH built it himself, but now we're 2 months away from moving in and it's almost like a dream.

Brutuses-- do you have any pictures to share?? i would love to see! Congrats for getting this far

Well, we're about 30 days from finishing. Hardwood floors and tile are going in this week. The builder is doing a wonderful job - as well as ALL of his subs. I wish I could say the same about his daughter -- who works for him. That's a touchy situation. I came close to a complete meltdown this week. Nothing's wrong with the house, but I'm so fed up with people/companies that can't seem to get it right without at least 5-10 phone calls. I can't wait to get this finished!!! We have locked in and need to close by the end of September, but I don't think it will take that long at all. This house has been built at an incredible speed (2 1/2 months so far). I'll post some pics someday when I have time to get them uploaded.

Moving quickly! But flooring, that's a different story. It's going to be a while before it gets here. I am ready to try choosing something else altogether! Installers are asking when, I hope they don't give up.

susienj, here are some photo's. Excuse that they have building materials still in the shots. We havent' yet cleaned out the "stuff" to get clean pictures. I had to leave to go to the new house. I'll be back to post the remainder of the photo's.

Backporch - Has since been finished

Master bath

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Guest bath
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Foyer ceiling/crown

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Foyer/wainscotiong
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Foyer flooring - porcelain tile flooring

Laundry

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Kitchen

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I can't remember where we were when I posted in July but most recently they have put the Pastelcote buff on the brick. They finished the insulation and started drywall last Saturday. By this Saturday, 1 week later, all drywall is hung in basement, 1st and 2nd floor and they've applied 1 coat of compound-moving quickly! The cyprus tongue and groove is being put up on the back patio. All Nichiha shake is hung and painted. We put one column up today on the front porch stone bases, no pics yet of that. All paint colors and lighting ordered and ready!

stacey, I love the color of your stone work, very pretty.

OK, continuation of photo's for Suzie:
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Office - this ceiling fixture moved to closet

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Guest bedroom

Guest bath
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Back of great room leading to back porch

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Master bedroom

Dinette area
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Interior knobs
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Dinette fixture

Floor plan - Kitchen counter is not accurate and other minor changes like a door in the Master instead of 2 windows, 3 windows in office instead of 2, 1 window in kitchen added

Brutus
Now i remember your house- i have seen some progress pics along the way- I ABSOLUTLY Love your taste-- your fixtures, and cabinets, and paint colors are flawless. i love love love it!! Love your front doors... so beautiful.

Your kitchen makes me nervous for ours. B'c DH really wanted the dark brown caesarstone on our cherry island b/c we have a big kitchen with a lot of white light cabinets and granite is similiar to yours. He thought the contrast would be good. But i love light and bright so i'm super nervous about that 1 decision. I absolutly love your kitchen.

Beautiful job. Pat yourself on the back, take a deep breath and enjoy your hard work!!

brutuses - Gorgeous & obviously a whole lot of work has gone into it. Love the top lit kitchen cabinets - wish I'd thought of that, or someone would have suggested. Your house is wonderful - you must be so proud!

Thanks Suzie and Brenda. Suzie I wouldn't worry about your kitchen, I'm sure it's going to be beautiful. Can't wait to see the photo's.

Easy for me to give that advice. Can't tell you how many times I had that "blood draining out of me scared feeling" on some decisions I made, knowing they couldn't be changed. I know there are things I could have done better and others I wish I had, but at some point you have to just say, that's it, I'm done, done, done!!! LOL

I'm glad this is my first and last house build. I don't think I could live through another one.

As excited as i am to see the house and live there- i will NEVER build new again !! lol

Brutuses- "blood draining out of me feeling"! Thanks! I needed to hear something familiar this morning! LOL I can totally relate. With me, every decision felt like the biggest decision in the world. I think I read one of your posts before that said basicaly you researched every subject ad naseum and in the end just had to pick something. Same here, girl!! I personally and gladly took on the task of educating myself on every selection, only to be armed with too much info, and just feeling pressure to choose. I think our method makes for some good decision making however. Your home is just stunning. The level of meticulous detail, in my opinion, is what makes your home. Great job, Brutuses!

Suzie: I'm sure your kitchen will be beautiful!

Missstacey: absolutely gorgeous stone and brick choice! I love the arched openings. Is that a porch? Will they remain open? Very, very pretty and adds a lot of interest!

BrendaMC: how are you? Hope all is going well. I've enjoyed looking at your pics!

Well, today is supposed to be my builder's last day! I gave him his requested punch list yesterday, and I don't think he can get it all done by today. He said, and I quote, that my punch list was "a mile long". Well, call me thorough. It's 9 pages long. I don't think it's excessive considering I have logged every single paint chip or ding. Most of it's that. And we're talking 10,000 sq feet of heated space I covered on 9 pages. Wish me luck on my walkthrough today!

Melinda

mamabearpapabear- thanks for the nice words. The arched brick openings are on the back side of our house and that is the covered patio. It will remain open in the arches but will have some iron railing due to code.
You have a 9 page punch list? YIKES! Must be a big one, have you posted any pictures yet?

Brutuses beautiful home. I was laughing when I saw all of your photos. I have seen most of them scattered throughout gardenweb and didn't realize they were all yours! What a lovely ending to a beautiful home.

We just started month 3 of our DIY build. We are general contracting this home ourselves and enjoying every minute of it. It is 2466 sq feet and our monster garage is 1116 sq feet. (So compared to many of your homes it is on the smaller side). Our lot is 1.55 acres in size and situated on the outskirts of a town that enables us to enjoy a beautiful country lifestyle. We have a nature reserve across the street which is the view from my front door and dining room. We designed this home ourselves and so far we are pleased and blessed that we are able to enjoy this step in our lives. I am a stay at home mom of 3 girls (all under the age of 6) and running the whole show from our new apartment while my DH is working hard every evening after work until 9pm and on weekends keeping us on schedule. He did the entire roof himself, and the retaining wall over 1650 blocks the two of us did in 2 weeks. Wow this is a project! We are excepted to move in next March and we broke ground on June 2nd.

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dreamywhite, thanks for the compliment.

Your house is really moving along. It is beautiful and all that gorgeous scenery. Love that wooden porch ceiling too. I envy you folks who live out in the big open spaces. Me, that's where I'd live, but DH is more of a city boy.

Your garage is as big as my current home. LOL

Thanks Brutuses - your home decorating is everything I love and more. I am happy with our home and sometimes I think it is a little "boring" in style on the front but when we designed our home I cared more about the layout inside since that is really what matters the most since you have to live in that space. Though the good part about our home being just a normal ranch is that this particular neighborhood is really nothing over the top so I feel we fit in perfectly. How big is your home anyway? It seems huge because you really have everything packed in there so perfectly. Can I ask what kind of interior doors you chose? We are doing doors similar only in the 2 panel square. Those windows on the tops of your interior doors are amazing, you really got everything you wanted what a great build!

dreamy, thank you. Our new home is 1900 sq. feet. I gave up a lot of living area for porches and closets. I definitely wanted a lot of closet space. So tired of not being able to store things properly in the rooms they are intended. For instance in my current home, the extra toilet tissue has to be stored in the bedroom closet. When you have to store items where they don't belong, it makes it difficult to remember "where you put them." At least for me. I have a pair of brand new pinking sheers somewhere in this house, but cannot find them and had to resort to buying a new pair. I know I'll find them when I'm packing up to move. I'm not a hoarder or collector of objects, but these closets are so small, I have to pile my necessities even on top of each other and that's such a hassle to find or pull out anything. When I have to pull out the sewing box for a needle and thread, I curse. LOL

We special ordered our doors from Lowe's. They are solid wood. They cames already primed. We fell across a special they had of buy 2, get 1 free, so that was a great surprise to save some money.

Yes, my DH built those transoms and we love them.

I am so glad DH could build the house because if I would have had to deal with a stranger I would have gone crazy. When I hear the horror stories people write about, I cringe and my heart goes out to them.

We did decide to hire a painter to float and paint. He did a horrible job and then we couldn't get him back to fix it. So DH has to refloat and paint almost the entire bedroom, half the office and the entire master bath.

The only other contractor we had to hire to work on the house was the man who did the framing. I didn't want DH to kill himself with that kind of work so I insisted we hire that out. DH did his research and found an awesome framing contractor who had been in business for 20 years and he was perfect for the job. He was a real blessing.

Missstaceyh: Well, the punch list was received by my builder with mixed results, but he did do the work on it. Most of it was paint dings, presumably from trim going up. However, its all done now, well 99% of it. I am doing my final walkthrough with him tomorrow, and all the major subcontractors (plumbing, geothermal, well, electrical, etc) on Friday. We will begin moving on the weekend! YAY! I will post some pics from today below.

dreamywhite: Your build is looking great! Extra kudos for it being DIY. You should be really proud. I love your exterior color! It really looks nice with your scenery.

OK...here are some pics, mainly of my kitchen. There needs to be some tile work done behind the stove, but that is being done tomorrow. My floors are Brazilian Walnut, granite is Comet, double thickness on the islands, and full granite backsplash. Disregard the date on my pictures. My year is goofed up on my camera and I thought it was changed, but I guess not.

Overcabinet lighting will be done on Friday!
Enjoy!

Mudroom Lockers:

Dining Room Desk:

Dining Room:

Fireplace in Great Room:

Brutuses - wow to you both. I didn't know you literally built your house too! We are doing about 50% of the work, just hired out all the big stuff in the beginning to get going.

Mamabear - holy wow on your kitchen and fireplace. That is like seeing a model home in my area. Total inspiration and the woodwork is just beautiful. Is that a BIS Tradition CE fireplace unit? It looks just like ours and it's a beauty in real life. Ours is still sitting in the box waiting to go in.

dreamywhite: Thanks so much for your nice comments! The woodwork in the kitchen is Knotty Birch with a maple stain on it. The darker woodwork is Knotty Alder with a Cherrywood stain on it from Gemini, although it doesn't look cherry at all in person. Its a warm medium brown. The fireplaces are Fireplacextroadinair 44" Elite Artisan series. There is one just below the one shown in the photos in the lower level that is just like it, stone is similar, just truncated on a 9' ceiling, instead of the 26' on the main level, and the mantel is a bit different. The woodwork is custom alder from my builder on the trim, built-ins, pantry, closets, beams, doors, etc. My cabinet maker worked with alder and birch on the kitchen (birch), baths, dining room desk, laundry room, linen closets, over-the-john cabinets, tub surround panels, bar (birch), china cabinet built ins, etc.

I have posted a link at the bottom of this posting to fireplacextroadinair's Design Ideas page.

Here is a link that might be useful: fireplacextroadinair design ideas

mamabear: your home is wonderful! I could move right in!

We also have an Extroadinair fireplace. Well. actually it's a gas insert with the Artisan face in antique satin nickel. It looks awesome in our 100 year old fireplace. And we were lucky that the curve of the brick matched the curve of the insert exactly. It heats up our 30' X 20' living room easily. We've only had on small issue with it in the almost 9 years we've had it, and the company took care of it promptly and without question. We will definitely be using Extroadinair in our new home as well, probably wood burning this time. Your stone is just beautiful!

Enjoy your new home!!

I love looking at all the pictures! I can't wait to get started on our build- hopefully some time in 2010.

brutuses- I don't think I've ever seen all of the pictures of your house- I love it! You have a lot of tastes in common with us.

I've been lurking around GW for a few months now, but I'm so excited that our house is almost finished and I want to share my excitement. We've taken TONS of pictures - I really need to create a "highlights" album or something (hmm, maybe I'll work on that tonight). I am so thankful for everyone around here - we've gotten some great hints and tips and learned to ask some questions we hadn't thought of before.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our new house

Brutus-- where did you get your ceiling fan with lights? Brand? Do you like it? I need to tackle ceiling fans next. I know the family room will be "nicer" than the guest bedrooms..maybe hunter?

By the way we are Framing starting tomorrow!!!! Soooo excited. I think i'm dreaming

suzie, DH bought it at HD and thinks it's a Harbor Breeze, but is going to call me back after he checks it out. He wasn't at the house when I called him.

Congrat's on the framing. That is so exciting. You'll finally feel like you have a house being built. I looked at the landing pad, is what I referred to it as, for so long, I never thought I'd ever see an actual house. HA! It really did look like a helicopter landing pad, this raised structure, just sitting there by itself. All we needed was a bullseye!!

purple, I'm going check out your house right now. Should have done that before I started typing this post. Ugh!!

Ok, I created an album of the "highlights" of our house. It's crazy looking back at the pictures from just 2 or 3 months ago - it's wasn't much of a house then! Anyway, here are a few photos to grab your attention:

Front
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And the view when you walk in the front door:
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And my kitchen (which I can't wait to see finished!):
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Here is a link that might be useful: The highlights

Brendamac - Beautiful house you have there! I noticed your contractor's sign in one of the pictures and I am about to sign them on to do the build. Can you e-mail me as I would like to discuss any issues you had with them before I commit to them.

Brutues- thank you so much for fan info- will check it out-
Started Framing today- OH MY GOD- soooooo exciting!

Su, the fan is a Hampton Bay brand. Very inexpensive. Just our style. Another one of those things we don't like to spend a lot of money on.

mamabear, your house is so pretty. Love the fireplace.

purple, I like that green paint. That's a great color that goes with almost anything.

your washer dryer are soooo pretty - i think it says LG?? What type are they? Are you happy with them? We still have to look for new ones... I was thinking toploader Bravo... I'm not sure about frontloader b/c i hear about the "smell" they can leave on your clothes if you forget to take them out (which i always seem to do since i have two little kids!) Also some of the front loaders seem to have really long cycles for washing??

thoughts...

su, yes they are LG's. Can't tell you about them yet, haven't used them. We aren't moved in yet.

I have Sears Kenmore front loaders at this house and I will never go back to a top loader.

Yes, they can get a musty smell if you leave the clothes, but as soon as you put them in the dryer, the smell disapates. It's important to leave the washer door open between washings so it can dry out properly.

I've found using Persil laundry detergent is the best. It's a detergent from Germany and the people who buy the German made machines get a sample or box with their machine. That's how I learned about it. I have to get it online, but some appliance stores do carry it. It's more expensive than store bought detergent but the benefits are worth the cost as far as I'm concerned. I don't have to use any bleach in any of my clothes, even my whites. I do animal rescue work and the outside cats can really stink up their bedding when some "mark" others. Anyway, cat urine is the most difficult smell to get out of anything and especially fabric. With the Persil I don't need bleach or anything else to have all their bedding come out clean and fresh smelling. It's amzing. I love not having 3 different detergents and 4 or 5 different additives to "boost" my detergent and my favorite thing is that I don't need to use chlorine bleach anymore. Hate that stuff. Of course now I wash all my whites and the animal's linens in hot water, so that makes a difference also.

As far as long cycles on the front loaders, that's only if you want a long cycle. I have 10 different cycles, and some are only 10 minutes long. So you set it for the cycle you want. Plenty of flexibility there.

I also rinse all my laundry with vinegar in the rinse. Takes any soap that is in the fabric, out and softens all the clothes, leaving them smelling fresh and clean.

I'll be taking my Kenmore pair to put in the garage to wash all the animal bedding and won't have to put it in my new LG machine.

I can't believe its really happening- (PINCH ME!) we signed off on plumbing today- yeah! They are starting to frame this week.

Concrete floor
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Back of House view (our old house had no back yard- this one is huge in comparison!)
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Wing Wall IN progress will have a light fixture
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some of my picks -- that i can't wait to see in my house:
Masterbath Shower- Grohe Rainshower
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Onyx accents in shower and around tub
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3 rows of the onyx
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Soaking tub- ITS HUGE!!! lol
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Laundry room tile and foyer wood
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Foyer lights
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Kitchen
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Kitchen Tile
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Backsplash inspiration- ours wil be similiar
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Hanging over the island- 2 of these
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Over kitchen table
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Faucet ORB
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nobs/handles/granite
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Kids bath fixture- will be in chrome
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Bought this today (ahhhh- we have 6 months until completion- store is holding it for 6 months lol) i have to stop going into furniture stores... but we want to hang the TV over this...
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Then we saw a room for my little girl. The bed was gorgous and how could i turn down this vanity area... i did not buy it- i restrained-- but i will!! Just need to see some house going up -lol!!

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Princess/guest Bathroom faucet BN
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Brick and Shutters
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Siding

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Roof
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LOL will i ever sleep again!!! Only 6 months (whose counting?) thanks for checking it out...

Su, I love all your selections. I know your anticipation, believe me.

Will look forward to each and every update.

Stay out of the furniture stores and instead visit Craigs list, consignment, flea market and antique shops.

Here is the dining room table I purchsed off of Craig's from an antique dealer for $325 and the chairs I purchased from a consignment shop for $40 each. This curio cabinet is one DH gave me for our 2nd. wedding anniversary and the only thing to survive Katrina. The little washstand I purchased from an antique shop for $225.

After going into sticker shock with the purchase of the new sofa, I won't be buying any other "new" furniture. LOL I love antiques so that is fine with me.

DH is building the entertainment center. I've included a photo of my inspiration. Mine will be very similar, but without the doors.

Before
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After

I don't have a photo of the legs cleaned up, just this one on the day we received it.

Inspiration

Beginning of the build, waiting to see what size TV we need to accomodate before finishing

Brut - gorgous- i wish we were "handy" lol-- keep me posted on your hosue- love your house- !