Front

Left

Back (still needs landscaping)

Front porch

Front door

Back porch

View from the back porch

Entryway

Entryway (One of the things I'm not happy with is the view of the fridge from the front door)

Entryway

living room

living room

View from my living room window (Love this!)Dining room

Hallway

kitchen

kitchenBreakfast nook

powder room

laundry/mudroom

master bedroom

master bath

master bath

master shower

basement

basement (I still have some unpacking to do)guest room in basement

Another guest room

basement bathroomI splurged on the door knobsI love the rain chains

Oh suru, it's all just lovely. You and your husband should be so proud of yourselves, what a huge job and so well done.

I love the dining room, kitchen, living room view, and black and white guest room. It's such a fresh, welcoming house.

I also joke that my house is Home Depot built and Walmart decorated, so it's not in the same caliber of some of the homes on this site.

Nothing to be ashamed of. We're in rural Canada, and our house is Rona (which if I recall correctly was recently bought by Lowes), Home Depot, and local farm/construction supply store built : ) .

I hope you and your husband are taking time to enjoy your new house (those punch list items can keep you going for a long long time lol), and I hope you'll both be happy there for many, many years!

PS I forgot probably my favorite thing -- the laundry/mudroom floor tile. Is it from Home Depot? I've seen it online before and am so sad that it doesn't seem to be carried by Home Depot in Canada. It turns what could be a utilitarian space into such a pretty room.

It looks warm and inviting, and oh, that view! The brick you chose, and other colors around the house... feels like one can get right at home, fast!

Thanks for showing, it's great!

Congrats - it's super! Like becky, I love that tile. And the view is amazing!

What this goes to show is with some vision, it doesn't take lots of expense to create a beautiful and charming house.

I love your views. I love the antique light fixture in the front foyer. I love all the natural light in the house. I love the divider cabinets which help divide the spaces while keeping it open and light. I love your door knobs. I love your wide moldings around doors and windows. I love the paneling in the dining room (I so wanted to do that but it didn't work with my house.) I love the niche created for your dish cabinet. I love the tile on the back of your island. I love the picture rail and the colors in the master bedroom. I love the elegant fixture. I love the wallpaper in the guest bedroom and the beds in both.

I love the rain chains. Where did you get them?

And I love your planter boxes.

I love the views and the front of your house with the planter boxes and the rain chains. The detailing is lovely. And I really enjoy looking at pictures of houses that can be built on a Home Depot budget.

Thank you everyone, for the very nice comments :-)

Beckysharp - I did get that laundry room tile from Home Depot Online.

cpartist - I bought the rain chains from Amazon. They have a huge selection. My gutter guy actually suggested them and told me the ones with the cups work a little better in heavy rains than just a chain.

bpathome - yes they work great. We are in monsoon season right now, so lots of downpours recently and we haven't had a problem. During the winter the melting snow would freeze overnight and create some interesting "ice sculptures."

I designed my house 100%, my DH and I owner/built and did about 50% of the work ourselves

Your plan looks a whole lot better than most of the plans we see here!

Having done so much yourself, what are the three biggest pieces of advice you'd share with someone embarking on such a project?

I also joke that my house is Home Depot built and Walmart decorated, so it's not in the same caliber of some of the homes on this site.

Ha! I sleep in my grandparents' bed and eat at their dining room table. I also have my grandmother's coffee table/end tables, which are terribly out of style, but I love them. This very minute I'm using a metal lamp that was owned by my great-great-great aunt. I purchased the sofa (with two recliners) for my office for $100 at a tag sale, and it is flanked by two narrow mahogany end tables, which my grandfather made from crates that held his goods when he moved to America ... he was so cheap that he actually had mahogany crates made (no one charges you customs on the crates themselves ... he was always proud of that), then he disassembled them and made them into furniture. Some of my cousins are still using some of the other furniture that came from those crates. My husband is currently refinishing /painting end tables that were in my grandfather's motel in the 1960s. My husband purchased our breakfast table at a stain-it-yourself place when he was in college. He bought our three bar stools for $25 from a co-worker.

Do you think I look down on Walmart purchases?

Know how I can tell you've really thought about what you need in the house ... as opposed to going with all the "all nice houses have this feature"s? The tile on the back side of the island, where you know kids're going to kick. I don't know when we've seen this on this site ... even on much more expensive houses.

The small corner shelves above the kitchen sink--did you see the recent thread about that? One member affectionately called them "a kiss from the past".

Awww.

and the rain chain. Have you had a good downpour yet? Let us know how they work! I'm intrigued but just not sure...

I've been thinking about gutters this week, and I'm really interested in the rain chains. I've been looking at Craftsman /Bungalow rooflines ... and they tend not to have gutters. Only some have rain chains. I've been reading that you don't really need gutters IF you have deep overhangs and the ground is sloped away from your house so water won't pool against your foundation.

I don't know whether to believe it, but I'm interested.

What this goes to show is with some vision, it doesn't take lots of expense to create a beautiful and charming house.

Nicely put.

It's lovely! Your views are amazing too. Enjoy your new home!

Congratulations! Your home is lovely.

Enjoy it!

What a great job to be proud of! Lovely!

Love it!!!

My husband and I will be doing the same in a few years when we retire and like you will be doing most the work ourselves. Thanks for sharing your beautiful home and congrats to you and hubby!

Cute as can be. Love your tub, your shower and your dark colored basement guest room. I could be a very happy guest there!

what is your granite on the powder room vanity? Love that too.

Congrats! Looks very inviting and restful. I love love love all the pops of colour.

Well done. You ceiling heights make your home so gracious. You should be very proud. Congratulations. Love your bedroom colors and the master bath, especially.

That laundry room sink :)

Okay, I guess I’LL be the one who rains on the parade—purely out of concern for your safety, though—by pointing out these two things in your master bath:

1. It appears from your photo that the light fixture over the tub has been hung too low:

If it was, depending on your ceiling height (and the height of the fixture), you might still be able use that fixture but you'd have to substantially shorten the chain. Another option would be swapping it out for a flush- or semi-flush mount.

2. Does the door on the master shower stall swing in AND out?

Again, these are both (potential) safety-related issues. Otherwise, well done! And what a view that cat has!!

You and your husband should be very proud - you have a lovely home!!

What color paint is that on your entryway walls?

Oh suru I'm so happy for you! I know the ups and downs of owner builder all too well and from our experience if you come out the other side without an ulcer and still married everything else is gravy! Your house is beautiful and personal and I love the views. I have a big spot in my heart for southern UT (Cedar City). You are way more settled and decorated than we are and we've been in our house 16 months!

The tile on the back side of the island, where you know kids're going to kick. I don't know when we've seen this on this site ... even on much more expensive houses.

Seriously!!!

My husband and I bought tile for the back of our island last month (maybe even the month before), because I looked at him one day and said, pointing to the black marks on the stool-side, "Hey, Honey, you'll probably think I'm nuts, but what do you think about doing *tile* here?"

I hadn't seen it done before, and then, lo and behold, I'm watching old episodes of Full House, and the back of their island was tiled! Ha! So I'm not *that* weird!

Okay, maybe I am. But still.

Ooooh, and Suru, where did you get the white filigree/swirly-gig corner shelving unit in your master bath?

Your house looks great. Congratulations. I hope you love it for many years.

I Love Red - I believe the counter in the powder room is a rough cut soapstone. My husband used to do subcontractor work for Flipper contractors and he came home with it one day.

Sammy - thank you for your concern, but the bottom of the light fixture is 8 feet above finished floor (our ceilings are high) and the shower door swings both ways :-)

One Devoted Dame - I can't remember where I saw tile on the back of an island, but when I did I knew I had to do it! Also, I got the shelf on ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=7+tier+white+corner+shelf&_sacat=0

DLM - I'm in Cedar City, we just might be neighbors :-)

Mrs. Pete - 3 pieces of advice, hmmm. I think the most important thing is to decide early on exactly what you want and how you want it and then don't change your mind mid-build. Trust your first instinct. Write everything down so you don't forget, or in my case, I drew lots and lots of sketches for ourselves and our subs.

Another thing I would suggest is purchase your materials early so you have them on hand when you need them. I had two storage units full of cabinets, tile, flooring, appliances, insulation, brick, and all kinds of things. It was nice to have our materials readily available. I also was able to shop around for better prices and sales since I started early.

Lastly, do not cheap out on tools and get everything you think you could possible need. Since my husband was in construction we had a lot of good tools, but when we did have to buy something, we bought the best (sometimes new, sometimes used). There is nothing worse than being right in the middle of something and your tool quits working. I can't tell you how many times we loaned our tools to our subs because their's broke or they didn't have what they needed LOL.

Thanks again for all the nice comments.

I've been thinking about gutters this week, and I'm really interested in the rain chains. I've been looking at Craftsman /Bungalow rooflines ... and they tend not to have gutters. Only some have rain chains. I've been reading that you don't really need gutters IF you have deep overhangs and the ground is sloped away from your house so water won't pool against your foundation.

I don't know whether to believe it, but I'm interested.

That's what I originally thought. Maybe in CA or AZ where it doesn't rain much, but here in FL, I need gutters. Sigh.

You must be so proud! You have a lovely home...and those views! Well done!

I love your powder room floor, and the rain chains!

Sammy - thank you for your concern, but the bottom of the light fixture is 8 feet above finished floor (our ceilings are high) and the shower door swings both ways :-)

Phew!

I Love Red - I was wrong about the counter top. My husband said it is a rough cut granite and the color is "Thunder Black."

I'm so impressed with your perfectly square corners and level floors! Funny that that should leap out at me; I must not be seeing such craftsmanship day to day.

Could you add a long cabinet/broom closet to the left of the fridge to 'build it in' more? Could the doors still swing wide if it backed to the side wall and had a panel on its left side?

Suru I'm not in Cedar City but spent some time there years ago. My son worked at Brian Head as a snowboard instructor for a time.

What a lovely home! It's welcoming and homey. And the views!

Since you're not pleased with the prominence of the fridge, perhaps you could put a broom closet beside it and get a panel-ready fridge to match the rest of the cabinetry. It's a little out of the "Walmart" realm. But it may be worth the expense if it's the only fly in your ointment.

Nice job!

Suru, thanks for sharing this build. I love the can do diy atttitude