we went parade of homing again. granted, it was two weeks ago and i'm just now getting to it, but i've been a little busy. today? i started painting brick. i painted brick for three hours. i got about 1/8th of our brick done.
painting mortar sucks.
anyway, to pry myself away from a paintbrush for a little bit and get to something i've put off for two weeks seemed like a good idea.
the builder we plan to use has a parade home in the new neighborhood. i got a call from our rep, inviting us to come check it out. the parade house was built for a buyer so it is their aesthetic, but she said i might want to see some of their choices. she also recommended two others houses, and said one in particular sounds very similar to what i have in mind.
so two weeks ago we again loaded the kids in the car with their gameboys and headed out.
since we got to the neighborhood a little bit early to head to the house, we left the kids at the park and marc and i walked to the far cul-du-sac and back, keeping an eye on the playground and our happy kiddos the whole time. it was so quiet and breezy and peaceful ... it was nice to think of taking family walks out there. when we got back to the park, harper was playing with a little girl from down the street who was the same age, and as we talked to her dad i realized just how nice it will be for both kids to have friends in the neighborhood and kids with whom they can ride the bus to school. (one of henry's classmates just moved into the neighborhood as well.)
on the way to the parade home we grabbed the kids and headed over to our dirt. we waved at our former/future neighbor who was in the backyard talking to another neighbor who was building a raised bed garden. then marc took off down our side yard hill while harper and henry looked for dragonflies and woolly worms. (found both.)
(can you see the bits of lake down the hill?! i'm so excited about that!)
marc explored our yard and checked out the grading of the lot next to ours, then started the hike back up our side yard hill. that side yard is going to be crazy steep.
another fact about a yard that steep? makes our lot seem huge. and i can't wait to sled down it.
another thing i noticed while standing there? there is a crapload of brown in the neighborhood. the vast majority of the houses are some shade of brown or "dark and earthy." hope our white farmhouse/medium gray new england style considerations won't look too out of place. but i will make one declaration right now:
there will be no brown/beige in my house. none. every house we go through or see online tends to be full of wood and browns, which i know is a way to feel warm and cozy during the winter months, but i just can't do that. i need light. and color. our house will not be an oak-and-brown mcbuilder house. the tile in my bathrooms will not be mcbeige. the tile in my mudroom will not be mcbeige. the carpets on my floors will not be mckhaki. the wood on my trim and doors and floors and cupboards and stairway and fireplace will not be mcoak. it will not. no brown. no.
and no granite. hgtv has killed granite for me.
but i digress.
we rounded up the kiddos and walked over to the model house.
i have to say that every time i see a house by this builder, i feel so much better about our decision. the workmanship seems quality, and every house we've seen has been just enough different from the others to make me think that we truly will get the house we want. we won't be forced into a mcbox.
here's the kitchen:
the backsplash is truly yummy. there was a huge double fridge/freezer combo that i don't totally get, but i guess if you have lots of kids or like to cook eight-course meals every day, it's a good thing ... ?
one thing marc and i both loved: the floors and the sliding doors.
the floors were scraped something ... very dark and textural and pretty. i asked our rep if there was such a thing as scraped bamboo and - yay! there is! there are cons to scraped, so we'll have to think it over. but they were gorgeous floors. and the sliding doors ... see them by the dining table? they look like french doors but they slide. beautiful.
after we finished up at this house, we headed to a different suburb to see the next model. when marc and i pulled up we both gave a little gasp: it was so, so cute! then we realized: it looks almost exactly like the plan we went through last year and really liked.
i think the gray is a bit lighter than what we're considering, but the fact that marc and i both liked it shows me that we're on the right track with gray. (and ... wait ... didn't we just paint our house gray last week? oh yeah ... we did.)
walking in the door, i could immediately see why our rep wanted us to see it: the style is so very much in line with options i've discussed with her for our build.
the kitchen?
gorgeous. and look: carrera marble with white and gray granite and shiny nickle hardware and lighting. so pretty. (oh ... and there's that full-sized fridge/freezer thing again. am i the weird one who doesn't like that? all i can see is how much storage space it eats up.)
love the drawer/door hardware.
and the great room had great style ... love the fireplace/surround, though i'm not in love with the arch above it.
but it's pretty darn close to what's in my head, except i'd love to use 1x3 glass subway tiles as the surround, and have open shelves on both sides in lieu of a tv cabinet.
we went home that day feeling even more sure about our choices and options, and totally giddy about getting this show on the road. then four days later we went through a house from a builder about whom i'd been reading and really love their philosophy on space and resourcefulness, and this house made us momentarily doubt ourselves.
the reality smack that brought us back? this house was smaller than the one we'll build, and cost more than twice as much. granted, much of that price was the lot and where it's located, but dollars-per-square-foot was much higher. so even though style-wise it's practically the perfect house, we might have to find a way to bring elements of this house into the plan we've picked when it comes time to start building.
take a gander:
this stairway? this stairway is perfection. it's exactly what i want. is there a way to maneuver our floor plan to make ours like this? hmm ... and the styling here? minimal, industrial, yet with elements of cottage brought in with all the white ... it's exactly what i have in my notes for when we design: "industrial farmhouse." gorgeous.
that back splash? omg. gorgeous.
little baby hexes? omg. yum.
beautiful.
the kitchen?
stunning. though i learned something from the sink: it's a deep farmhouse-style single bowl sink, set in a quartz counter top, with about 4-5" of counter space in front of the sink. that won't work for me. by the time i lean over to get around that 4-5" barrier, then reach down into that deep sink to wash dishes, my back would be killing me. i think this solidifies my idea of an apron-front farmhouse sink, not too deep, with a gooseneck faucet. ease of use.
but one thing about this kitchen i loved so much that i've already made inquiries?
these pendant light. these. pendant. lights. omg. angels sang when i saw these.
speaking of lights ...
halloooo, gorgeous.
let's see ... what else ...
love this concept: instead of double full-sized windows, a horizontal row of smaller profile windows. lots of light, but added wall space for furniture.
and the master bathroom?
pretty.
pretty pretty.
i'm glad we went through this house. it showed me and marc that we're on the same page about the style we're leaning toward, and what we're willing to put a bit more money into and what can be simplified. and really, all in all, the basic bones of each house - our plans/builder and this crazy-expensive, crazy-gorgeous one - are very similar. we can bring over some of the more sleek, contemporary elements, and bring in some green and vintage elements, and make our place something that we both will feel completely satisfied with in the end.