For those following, we're making slow and steady progress. Interior trimwork going slowly as our builder finishes up another home.

Loft railings are in

the kitchen island will be 4' x 8'

Kitchen cabinet boxes, waiting for door and drawer fronts

Slide-outs on either side of the range, left side for utensils, right side for spices

Cabinet pulls in the master bath

Loft view

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That's looking great!

Have you decided on a ceiling fan and/or chandelier? I'm undecided as to whether we need a fan near the windows and a chandelier in front of the FP- both? or just the fan in the middle? Planning a fan over loft railing area also? I'm drooling over this one...

88" Monte Carlo Matte Black Walnut

@Keepthefaith MIGirl that is a really cool looking fan! We decided to go with a chandelier in the family room, but it's wired for a fan should we choose to switch over to one. This is the chandelier we went with

https://www.wayfair.com/lighting/pdp/gracie-oaks-alfret-20-light-candle-style-wagon-wheel-chandelier-w002491977.html?piid=

@SBDRH very nice! I like the Gracie Oaks collection.. That's a great size for the fireplace too!! I had had my heart set on one from Savoy House SavoyHouse 12-light Matte Black Transitional but I sacrificed it for a fan due to heating in winter. Are you doing real beams up there or the shells/middle carved out kind?

@Keepthefaith MIGirl the beams are faux, using 1" thick cedar boards to make them. The cedar posts in the foyer, hallway and kitchen are solid 8" square cedar (and they are HEAVY!)

Slow progress over the past couple weeks, but we're hoping to see much more this week. All the trim is complete and the interior painting is underway. The stone fireplace is complete but we haven't been up to see the finished product. Master bath floor tile should be going in this week as well as the doors and drawer fronts on the kitchen cabinets.

The septic drainfield has been cleared and the drip tubing runs laid. Exciting ;) When we purchased the lot there was a septic permit and plan already complete, but we had to rework the layout to better work with the house and site. The lot doesn't perk well, so we had to go with an ex$pen$ive drip septic system.

Here's a view of the rear from the hillside leading to the septic field

And a view through the wooded area between the house and septic field.

Absolutely love all the windows, it’s a beautiful home!

What a beautiful setting and home. I really like all your choices.

Finally got to see a burst of activity when we delivered some items to the site yesterday. The countertops are installed, the interior is painted (SW Silvermist in main areas, SW Breezy in bedrooms). The stonework is complete on the fireplace and the electricians will begin their finish work Monday. Gutters and downspouts are on, and final grading should happen this week as well.

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Gorgeous!

Our weekly visit to the house was a bit of a letdown. All the subcontractors are having trouble getting enough crew. The electrician normally uses a 5 man crew to trim out and finish, but they are down to only a 2 man crew so it's taking way longer. Still there was good progress, all switches, receptacles, and most can LED lights are in. Almost of the plumbing is done except for what is waiting for flooring. The backsplash is up in the kitchen and we're really pleased with how it turned out. Side steps off the screened porch are done and rails and screen are almost ready to go in. Still hoping for a move-in at the end of October, but it's looking tight....

One of the pendant lights for above the island, Pottery Barn Flynn

Trimmed out the opening for the screen door from the kitchen side screened porch onto the center open porch.

Our most recent "mistake" was choosing to have the master bath painted the same color as the main rooms, SW Silvermist. Once it was done, it became clear that the color tone didn't work very well directly against the cabinets painted SW Stamped Concrete. So we paid the painters to repaint in SW Breezy, which is what we used in all the bedrooms. It was a really minor thing, and I was on the fence about just waiting and repainting it later ourselves, but I'm glad we bit the bullet and did it now.

We went to visit the house and attend our HOA meeting on Saturday. All the electrical trim-out is complete and the HVAC is installed. LVP and tile flooring is on-site and hopefully will go down this week. One minor snafu, the mirror we purchased for the powder room is WAY too large for the space. We have a plan to use it in another room, but now need to find another mirror quickly

I realize I've been neglecting to post updates here again.

After some debate on whether to try to cut some corners and save money, or “buy once, cry once”, we have revisited our landscaping plans for our sloping areas. Instead of rip rap we are grading and finishing the areas, planting over 300 creeping cedar and mulching around them. A crew of 10 will be working for 8 days to do all the work manually due to the steep hillsides and the lack of access for any machinery.

It‘s the right choice since any erosion in some areas could compromise the foundation, but it’s still hard to swallow. Let’s just say we could buy a Tesla model 3 or pay for the landscaping. Cry once.....

It's a rainy wet day here, we went up to drop off some shrubs for the landscapers to install. The guys were inside working on a coat of poly on the rails and stair treads, so we only walked the main floor. We are at the mercy of the weather gods so the landscaping can get completed.

Hardwoods in the family room against the back wall of windows

Planks cut and laid out in the master bedroom, just need to be nailed down

Master bathtub and shower enclosure are in

The rails and screens are up on the porches. The screens are very light and don't block much sunlight at all

One thing we're kind of unhappy about is the placement of the pedestal sink in the powder room. The plumber set it according to the plans, but we didn't realize how awkward it would feel jammed into the corner so tightly.

@SBDRH Everything is coming along beautifully. I've been saving a lot of your pictures as your style is very much what we want for our waterfront home. What finish and brand are the fixtures in your master bath?

@Tanya Shelly thanks for the compliment! The master bath fixtures are Delta Valdosta series in brushed nickel. https://www.deltafaucet.com/bathroom/collections/valdosta-bathroom-collection

The tub faucet is from Signature Hardware, the telephone tub faucet also in brushed nickel https://www.signaturehardware.com/freestanding-telephone-tub-faucet-supplies-valves-lever-handles.html

Another rainy Sunday trip to check on progress. All the flooring is (finally) down, and the painters are doing touchup work. The landscapers have been hard at work clearing the lakeside and the slopes, laying down rip-rap, etc. We got the change order for the landscaping work and they are estimating using 136 TONS of rip rap stone. Wow.

Hopefully all the work can wrap up this week and we could start moving stuff in the following week. Fingers crossed!

The LVP in the basement bedroom overlooking a muddy yard and the cove beyond

Dining area, you can see the mulched hillside through the screened porch

Master bedroom

Side entry mudroom.

A view from the adjacent dock

Despite being frustrated by continual delays getting the final survey and inspection, things are FINALLY getting close. Yesterday was productive and the finish line is in sight! The microwave and washer/dryer were delivered, and the propane tank was set and hooked up. The final as-built survey was approved by the county zoning office, and our final inspection is scheduled for tomorrow. Hoping we can be moving in next week!

I grabbed a couple pickup loads of stuff from our storage unit and worked on assembling furniture while I was up there yesterday. I assembled the Christmas tree and put lights on it as a surprise to my wife, who is a HUGE Christmas person.

Front of the house just before the driveway was poured.

I got the barstools set at the island, and put the espresso machine in the coffee station location

What a beautiful home! Just in time for the holidays!! Thanks for sharing your journey with us!

Oh my goodness, your home is stunningly beautiful! I love all your windows at the back of your home enabling you to have a beautiful view of the lake! All your colours and finishing throughout the home are gorgeous, did you design and pick all the finishes yourself, it’s all so nice and goes so well together! Is this your permanent residence or a vacation home, either way, you’ve done an amazing job, I hope you get to enjoy it for years to come! Stay safe! 💕🇨🇦

So beautiful!!!! What flooring did you use. Really love them!

hi @jandrews2012 thanks for the compliments! My wife and I made all the design choices, she had an overall idea of the feel and theme she wanted. We're referring to the house as our "pre-tirement" home. We'll spend long weekends there while the younger two kids are still in high school. Once they graduate we'll sell our current home and move to the lake permanently.

hi @New_to_this, the main floor is a solid Birch hardwood, Choice Heritage Plank in the Desert Sand finish

http://www.choicehardwoods.com/products.html#heritage_plank

We lucked into it through a local flooring supplier who got stuck with about 2500 sq ft of this flooring. We were initially looking at engineered wood due to budget, but this came in well under the cost of the engineered products we picked out. We're super happy with how it turned out.

You definitely chose the right things first-Christmas tree and Coffee machine/stools to enjoy them!! You're getting so close! I'll bet you're super excited!!!

@SBDRH - this house reminded me of yours...so beautiful! https://www.instagram.com/p/CIWcj4HpTSL/?igshid=prbe5haojtww

Foyer

Family room viewed from the foyer

Kitchen and dining as seen from the top of the stairs to the basement

Family room as seen from the corner of the kitchen

dining and kitchen seen from the rear of the family room

Family room and loft

dining side screened porch

mudroom (excuse my mess on the bench)

Loft from top of the stairs

Family room seen from the loft

right side upstairs bedroom

left side upstairs bedroom

master bedroom

master bedroom and bath

master shower

master vanity

stairway to basement

basement rec room

basement kids bedroom

Looks great! Congrats on moving in.

Yeah, you may have kind of lucked out on the plopping or more likely planned your plop a lot better than many people do. There have been A LOT of posts on here of people who have plopped a pre-plan down on a lake lot and then complained about poor views or no place for wet people coming in from the lake to go, etc. So I think the sentiment from whomever about that came from a genuine place.

Updates on how you like it as you spend time there and what you would change or am really glad you did would be appreciated.

Great looking place!

Looking fabulous @SBDRH hard work pays off. The landscaping looks well worth the money. You are going to enjoy this for many years!

Looks great! I hope our plopped house on a lake goes this well lol

Your home is beautiful & congrats on the move-in day!

Congratulations on moving in, it’s always exciting moving into a new home! My husband and I built 4 houses over the years, (although none were quite like yours) it’s a lot of work and it seems like moving day will never come, but when it does it’s so exciting and so worth the wait! Your home is absolutely beautiful, you and your wife did an amazing job, kudos to the both of you! Wishing you many years of happiness and memories with your family in your new home!

Oh, toooooo bad it's SO DARK inside that house that was just PLOPPED on the site.

Kidding. Seriously kidding. This build is PROOF POSITIVE that some people here have zero idea what something will look like when it's complete.

Your home is lovely - enjoy!

@SBDRH Your home is beautiful! may I ask the cost per sq ft for your retaining wall? I really like how yours looks- from the pics- is it cinderblock with veneer? The lot we are looking at has a slope in the direct front along the driveway. It has been my biggest hesitation about the lot. I cant sleep at night thinking about how much it cost LOL.

Very nice! I love the colors you've chosen, and what a perfect place for your Christmas tree. Well done!

@Monica the wall is concrete block which was then filled with poured concrete. It’s faced with Bucks County Ledgestone. I don’t know the exact square footage but I think it works out to roughly $60 per sq ft. I can get measurements and do the calculation for a more accurate cost if you’d like.

@SBDRH the rough estimate it fine for my purposes. I appreciate your pics, I was able to show my husband the interior construction. Your yard looks fantastic slopes can be tricky but yours give me hope.

Thanks @Monica, and I should also mention that the cap of the wall is Tennessee flagstone. Make sure to plan and budget for the costs of erosion control and grading on those slopes. That one was a real shock for us right at the end of construction. We could have purchased a new Tesla for what we spent on grading, landscaping, and rip-rap stone.....