That's All Folks...

Thank you all for following us on the journey of building our new home, we hope that you have enjoyed the up's and down's of building as much as we have. We have enjoyed everyone's comments and encouragement along the way, it really helped us to know that other people like what we were doing. We hope that you can all come and see our new home in persone one day, the door is always open, and the porch light is always on...unless Matt turns it off to save electricity...hehe. :)

dinning room artwork

welcome home

You are all welcome any time, and just to prove it to you we've put a mat at the front door that says so...

.....mat complements of Katie's brother Joseph!! :) Thanks bro!

Some other updates:

The brick is finished on the house and it looks great!! We hope to post more pictures soon.
The front and back porch beams are not done yet...but they should go up any day now!
We hung our first piece of art in the house! It is a large canvass photograph that we purchased at Ikea. I forgot to take a picture of it for posting tonight, but hope to have one up soon. The dining area and kitchen look fantastic!
We cleaned up the garage today and built a storage unit for all our tools and paint. We can hardly wait to park in the garage, we'll be sure to send you a picture when the joyous event occurs! :)

That's all for now, we hope you are all doing well, and want to thank you for visiting and keeping up with our progress!!

guest bedroom update

The bed suit is an antique which Katie's parents have graciously given to us for our guest bedroom...we love it!

Things are a bit messy, but at least there's some progress.

foyer/breakfast table and alcove

As you can see, things are in disarray, but we figured you'd want to see pictures of progress anyway, besides, you've probably all moved once or twice in your lives and understand the time it takes to get things organized and looking good. :)
The artwork was givin to Katie by a dear friend, Milan Jilka, who became an art teacher at the university.

katie's hobby room - moving TO MUCH STUFF in

matt's office and music room - moving stuff in

clean kitchen

brick around the house

Our trip to Ikea and some of the new stuff we got there!!

We drove this van down to the Ikea in Frisco Texas early on Saturday morning and as you can see we filled it up with new stuff!! It took us about 4.5 hours to get there and about 5 to get back, and we did it all in the same day!!! What a trip!

We absolutely love this table, it comes with two leafs that can be added to the center of the table making it seat 10 people comfortably!! Maybe one day you can all come up and have dinner with us!!


We were only able to take home part of our couch as they didn't have all the pieces in stock when we were there. The other pieces should be shipped out to us for arrival at the end of June. At least we can both fit on this one piece semi-comfortably.

appliance installation - complete!

Exterior Paint - complete!

May 16, 2006

We spent our first night in our new home!

starting to clean up and move in

That's right, we've started moving stuff in!! Here are some pictures taken late last night so you can see some of the progress that we're making. We're supposed to have the water and gas completely switched off at the trailer and turned on at the house tomorrow, which means it will be our new residence!!!

We've Got Carpet!!!

Other Great News.....the magic dish washing machine works!!! They installed it yesterday and ran a cycle to make sure that it worked, and it does!! Yeah, no more washing dishes by hand - unless of course I choose too! ;)

appliances and airconditioning

Take a look at our beautiful new range, it's a double oven, and it was given to us as a house warming present from J.J. and Janet, Katie's parents!!! It is a duel-fuel range, gas burners and electric ovens. Also, please notice the magic dishwashing machine....it actually washes the dishes for you - amazing!! We are still waiting for the refrigerator be be delivered, but it should be any time now.
We also got our heating and air units installed yesterday allong with all the air vents.
All that is left is trim touch up and carpet and we'll be ready to move in!!! Yeah!!

Garage Door & Appliances

We have a working garage door!
Also pictured are our appliances, the microwave, stove and dishwasher. The refrigerator is scheduled to arrive on Monday and all appliances will be installed then!!! Yeah!!
We are also expecting the heating and air units to be installed on Monday.
Our builder is supposed to come out and install the trim around the counter tops and fix a few things, then the trim guys are supposed to come out and fix the trim that was ripped up when they wood floors were installed.
After all that is done, then the painter will come back out and touch up and areas that need it along the trim.
Some of the cabinet doors have been damages by workers, so they are supposed to be replaced within the next few days as well.
Carpet will be installed either Thursday or Friday or next week, and then we will be able to move in!! How exciting! Of course everything has to be cleaned before we make the move....hopefully that won't take too long.

bamboo flooring!

door knobs

While my Mom and Dad were up visiting we got a lot done! It was a fabulous visit, they were both very helpful in cleaning and doing some of the final touch type things, like the door knobs.

the plumbing is in, and we have running water!!

Countertops are done!

Katie's Grandma and Grandpa graciously gave us the tile they had left over from when they built there house over 30 years ago, which we decided to use as our countertop. The tile is beautiful terazo tile and very special to us.

Kitchen - sink side

Kitchen - bar side

Downstairs Bathroom

Upstairs Bathroom

more painting...almost done!

Dining Room Wall - complete!

Matt's Office - complete!

Katie's Hobby Room - complete!

Matt's Music Room - complete!


The only thing in the house that has not been painting is the foyer/entrance area, which should be done tonight if all goes well. We are going to paint it navy blue.

Matt's Office

And the painting continues...

...yet another painting update...

This painting thing sure is taking a while, but we are getting through it. This weekend Matt painting the entire downstairs ceiling again and I retaped all the downstairs area as well. We had an issue with the caulk that we used initially which caused the retape/repaint. We also finished painting all the downstairs closet, which was only accomplished through the help of our dear friend Terri Pesnell, who so graciously offered her help on Sunday afternoon. We started painting Matt's office as well as my hobby room. When all is said and done Matt's office is going to consist of 4 colors: green, blue, yellow and black, and my office will consist of 3 colors: red, khaki and chocolate. The only room that hasn't been painted at this point is Matt's music room, as we are having a hard time deciding on what color it should be....

Work that is 'supposed' to happen this week: installation of lights, counter tops, and sheet-rock in the garage.

Painted Pantry

Painted Alcove (in living room)

Finished Master bedroom

Katie's Hobby Room

painting update

We finished some additional rooms last night, including the upstairs bathroom, and both bedrooms. We started working on the Hobby Room as well, and we think it is going to look really good, we'll have a picture of that for everyone to see this weekend. Hope everyone is haveing a happy Friday!

the cabinets are here!!!!

Kitchen Cabinets:


Downstairs Bathroom and Laundry:



Upstairs Bathroom:

our biggest tree

Yesterday the electrician came out to dig a trench to lay the electrical line, little did we know that he would kill a tree in the process. We have called the city and everyone else that we could think of seeking ways to save the largest tree on our property. The solutions are not cheap, and there is no Garnett that the tree will even make it. We are very sad about the situation. :(
Picture of the tree from this past fall - alive and well.

Picture of roots ripped apart by the back-hoe.

Picture of the trench line from the electrical box.

siding on the garage

They finished siding the garage this past weekend, isn't it beautiful! The crew that worked on the garage is the same crew who did the soffit and facia on the main house, they did an awesome job then, and now!

another weekend of successful painting

We accomplished a lot this weekend: downstairs bathroom, both upstairs bedroooms, upstairs hall way and staircase, upstairs bathroom, and part of the hobby room. So what's left you ask....well, we have Matt's office and music room, all the insides of the closets and the pantry, as well as the foyer and dining room wall. The dining room wall will be painted in some accent color that has not yet been determined, probably red or blue, we'll see.

Weekend Painting

We finally started painting the walls!!! It was pretty cold outside, but we layered up and got down to business. We finished the living, dining, kitchen, upstairs bathroom, and most of the downstairs bath and luandry (we ran out of paint in this room). We hope you like the colors we've chosen!

We finally got the trim and doors painted, they are the Benjamin Moore 'mannequin cream' color. We really like it a lot and hope that you do too. Our bamboo floors were delivered yesterday, all 32 boxes, 780 sq. ft. of it, and trust me it is beautiful, we absolutely love it! The pictures are a little dark as they were taken last night and I had to dull the flash so you could see the color of the trim. ENJOY!

Preping the trim and doors (and staircase balusters)

The painters started priming everything and prepping the doors and trim for paint. They finally finished for the day today and we were able to get in a take some pictures for the blog so you could all see what was going on. The doors are everywhere and they have all the windows covered. They should start actually painting the color tomorrow and then we will be able to paint the walls maybe Monday. As you will notice, the stair balusters are finally finished, we think they look great! We are so excited, it won't be much longer now and we'll be able to move in (give or take 2 months...I think we are stuck on this time frame for a little longer). We hope everyone is doing well and out enjoying the weekend!

garage roof

New roof on the garage...

Katie and Matt standing in the newly roofed and electrified garage...

The roofers came out yesterday and roofed the garage and the electrician came out an ran all the necessary wires in the garage to have plenty of light and outlets. Today the painter is out at the house getting everything ready to paint the trim and doors. :) Everything is starting to move again and we should start seeing some progress come this weekend. Matt and I, along with any one who wants to help, will start painting the walls this weekend.

New Window Trim

Downstairs Windows in the dinning room, living room, and entry way.





Upstarirs Windown in the Hobby Room, guest bedroom, and master bedroom, as well as the newly installed pull down staircase in the hall way.

wintry view from the road

Garage Framing is Complete

Framing the Garage 360º

The framing should be done today. According to Matt, they were almost done with the roof this morning when he left for work.

Our Cabinets are here!!

The cabinets were delivered last Thursday/Friday! They are piled high in the kitchen for now, and I don't know when they are scheduled to actually be installed, but we are very happy to have them! :)

The trim guys were supposed to work all day yesterday, but no one showed up....I will say that is was mighty cold, I think the High for yesterday was in the 20's, so I don't blame them. They will hopefully come out soon this week and finish up, I hope to talk to our builder to confirm.

The framing materials for the garage were also delivered on Friday, so they should start working on that pretty soon.

Garage Slab Poured

The slab was poured Yesterday, so I bet they are going to let it dry a few days before they start the framing. The connections that are sticking out the side of the house are for the upstairs and downstairs air conditioning units.

Nothing has happened inside the house for a few weeks now, but the trim guys are scheduled to come back on Sunday to finish up. I am not sure if they can do it all in a day, but we'll see. Once the trim is complete, then they are going to come out and paint the trim. After that Matt and I are going to paint the walls. We have picked out some fun colors and are excited about getting them up on the wall.

I bet it will be at least two months before we get to move in...we'll see...

Garage Update

Pictures taken this morning of the progress on the garage. They are scheduled to pour the slab on Saturday, then it won't be long after that and we'll have a new garage to park our cars in!! :)

More Trim and a new Pantry door

They put the wrong pantry door in, so I had them replace it with a door that swings out instead of in to the pantry. It has not been replaced yet, as you can see below, but it has been delivered.....at least we're taking baby steps.

They are going to be removing the trim currently on the window seal, as they did it incorrectly. They are going to then run all the newly delivered trim, shown on the floor, all the way around the windows giving them a finished look.

Master Closet Layout

Looking straight into the master closet. This closet is actually located downstairs in what will be Matt's Music Room...

These are the shelves located to the right once you walk into the closet...

These are the shelves located to the left once you walk into the closet...

This picture is taken standing within Matt's Music Room looking into Matt's Office...

Kitchen Trim and Pantry Shelves

View of the kitchen from within the entry way...

View of the kitchen bar/dining area windows when standing in the middle of the kitchen...

This is the alcove closet as well as the door to the water heater closet located under the stairs...

This is our panty shelving, which we could store enough food in to feed an army...perfect!

This pictue is taken from within the kitchen looking into the downstairs bathroom, bedroom and office area...

This is the shelving for the hallway linen closet, which will hold linens and towels for the downstairs bedroom and bathroom...

They Started Working on the GARAGE!!

The tile has been laid.

Downstairs Bathroom and Laundry Room

Tile within the Pantry

Upstairs Bathroom

Master Bedroom with Vaulted Ceiling

This is a picture of the Master bedroom vaulted ceiling and the His and Her closets that are along the right hand wall when you walk in the room. You can't tell, but the texture has been sprayed on the walls. The texture looks good, you're gonna have to trust me on this one. :)

Counter Top and Tile Flooring

The multi-colored tile on the left will be used as our counter top in the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room. The basic tile on the right will be used as flooring in the bathrooms and laundry room.

Kitchen Area

Pictured above is the kitchen area viewed standing from within the living room.
We have been working with the cabinet people and are getting everything solidified, so we should be ordering cabinets soon. I don't anticipate them being in for at least 3-4 more weeks, but you never know.
The next step inside the house is the spraying of texture on the walls, and hopefully they'll get the floors cleaned up.

The door has been moved...

Update

I wanted to let everyone know that not much has been happening lately at the home front. The mudding crew has finished mudding, now all that's left is sanding. Once the sanding is complete, then they will spray texture.
There is one flaw we found that might set us back a few days, and that is the front door. Apparently when the framers framed out the house they framed the door about 6 inches too far to the inside of the kitchen, so now they have to move it. This might seem like a big deal (as it did to me), but apparently it's not that much trouble. The door has to be moved so that the refrigerator, dishwasher and sink can all remain in their intended locations.
We are currently looking for tile to go on the bathroom/laundry-room floors, as well as carpet for the second level, stairwell, and downstairs bedroom.
I hope to have more pictures for you all soon, maybe I will get a picture of the door being moved over.
Please feel free to make requests if you want to see something that maybe hasn't been updated lately, we love getting your comments.

The Rockin' is done, now on to Muddin'

(The pictures above are taken from within the kitchen, looking (left) into the living/dining area and then (right) into the front entrance/bathroom/office/bedroom area)

The muddin' crew was out all day yesterday and into the night. They have completed the first round of mudding (taping all of the cracks and mudding the seams). They have several more rounds to go, but should be finished soon.
After the mudding crew is done, then they will spray texture on the wall. Matt and I have decided to apply and Orange Peel texture to our wall, which is a light, non obtrusive texture.

It is looking more like a house every day so make sure to come back and check it out when you get a chance.

They're Rockin the house!

Sheet Rocking that is....
They started on the upstairs first are almost done. They are out again today finishing the upstairs portion now and have started on the down stairs. Its starting to look more and more like our home!
Pictured above is the upstairs bathroom and guest bedroom.

The siding is complete

The siding is finally done and the yard has been picked up. It looks better and better every day!

Black Trim

Siding and Insulation Update

The Insulation crew came out yesterday and got all of the insulation done on the exterior walls and in between the floors (for sound absorbancy). The Siding guys were also out yesterday and got more of the siding completed. They may be finishng up today, but I doubt that will happen as they weren't there when I left for work this morning, and they usually are there by 7 am.


The dry wall crew is supposed to come out and start hanging dry wall after Christmas. Of course, we will be out of town that week, which will make for a nice surprise when we return home.
I hope everyone has gotten all their Christmas shopping done, I haven't, but there are still a few days left.
We wish everyone safe travels over the holiday, Merry Christmas!!

More Progress...

They did a fine job yesterday, completing about half of the siding on the house. The plumbers and electricians were also out yesterday finishing up their portion of the rough in.


This is a picture of the downstairs bathroom. The tub/shower is on the right and the counter, sink and toilet will be on the left. In the back portion of this picture the washer and dryer will be on the left and there will be a sink and storage on the right. This entry is facing the back of the house (pictured above) and will more than likely be our main entrance from the garage.

We have some Siding

They started putting up the siding on Friday, and this is what they've completed:




The guys were back out this morning working hard at 7:00 am listening to loud music and banging their hammers. There was quite a crew, so I bet they've gotten a lot more done today. I will send more pictures of the progress tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Thanks again to everyone who has visited and left us posts, we appreciate you stopping in to check out our new home. We really enjoy hearing from you!!

Dining Room and Electrical

Above are two pictures that were taken this morning. The one with the windows is taken within the dining room looking out into the yard. The other is taken the opposite way, and shows some of the electrical and heating & air that is now installed. The electrician was out again this morning to finish up the downstairs tweaks that needed to be made, his name is Kyle and he is really nice.
The siding is being put up as I am writing this message, so I should have more pictures for you soon showing more visible progress being made.
Thanks for taking the time to visit us and our house today, we really like sharing this event with you and hope that one day you can all come up to see us when it is finished.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!

The house sees its first snow

We got a light dusting of snow yesterday morning and it made the house look so pretty so I thought I would share. Also pictured is the Master Bedroom which has a vaulted ceiling, this picture is taken from within the stair well.
The Heating and Air is in place and the electrician is wiring the house. We are going to do a walk through with the electrician next week to confirm all the lighting. Our siding should go up next week as well. The house is moving along, we see something new almost every day. We hope you all have a Happy Friday, and thanks for visiting!

Black Roof

The roofers showed up Sunday afternoon and worked well past sundown to finish the roof! The roof is complete and looks great! The Electrician and Heating and Air guys are supposed to be back out today to continue installation of their appropriate systems. The cabinetry guys are also supposed to come out today to measure and provide a quote for cabinets. We are so excited to see the progress, and are glad to share the fun with you! Thanks for visiting!

Windows and Wrap!

We have windows and doors! Our front door will be painted...but we don't know what color yet, probably either a green or red color. Not all the windows are in yet, but they are moving right along. The heating and air guys as well as the electricians are out today installing all of the guts that go in betwewn the walls.
We are very pleased with the way the house is shaping up, we hope you are too.

From Within

This picture is taken as you walk in the front door looking into the kitchen, dining, and living areas.

The Framing has started!! Yeah!

LUMBER YARD!

We have a SLAB!!

Preparing for the Slab

The workers were out bright and early this morning at 6:23am to start working on the house. They had cut all the wire and laid down the plastic before 7:30am! I have high hopes that by this evening we'll have a slab!!

Plumbing Installed

This picture is taken from within the kitchen. The kitchen sink will go here as well as the dishwasher!! The house should really start taking off here in the next two weeks, the foundation will probably be done tomorrow, and then they have to let it dry for a day. Then up goes the framing. If they don't start the framing this week, it will be started next week. Our builder said the framing will go up fast, so stay tuned!!

footing filled with rocks...

Foundation Walls

CONCRETE

Footings in Place

They're Diggin' it at 3185!

MOVEMENT!
I knew that they would come back and bring more machinery! This time they brought a digger thing (that's what I call it)!
The portion of the footing that was doug today is the at the back of the house, and I hope that tomorrow they will dig out the rest of the footing completing the footprint! Creating a two foot trench that we could hide in, in the case that an attack from the neighbors broke out, hehehehe, just kidding, the attack would more than likely come from the Ninjas hiding in the trees.
Once again, stay tuned, more to come this month, Matt and I are hopeful that we will have the house dried in by the end of this month...before winter hits. Keep your fingers crossed for us. :)

Footprint Drawn

They came out and staked off the footprint yesterday, so now I can stand in my house, which looks small, but I think everyone says that when there are no walls. The crew is supposed to be back on Monday for more fun, so stay tuned for updates!

We now have a level lot!

The bulldozer finally came out to the property and leveled the land!!
The next step is to set the footing for the house.
It should start picking up here pretty soon, so keep your eyes peeled for updates!

THE RED DIRT OF ARKANSAS

You would never have thought that some one could get as excited over dirt as I did. I was at work the day the dirt arrived, and the whole drive home I anticipated the site and how cool it was going to be to finally see a change on our lot. As I approached home and turned the final corner in front of the house, there it sat in all its red glory!! Matt wasn't home yet, so I went out an explored our new purchase of fine red clay dirt without him. I counted 10 mounds, so I assume 10 dump trucks made the journey that day to bring life to our land. Thank you Mr. Truck drivers if you ever read this, we really appreciate you getting us started!

THE PLAN...

In case you haven't seen the house plan, this is it. Matt and I really like the floor plan, and know that it will look beautiful on the land. If you want to see more pictures and details regarding the plan you can visit www.rosschapin.com. This plan is called SWEDE HILL.

The lay of the land!

Before construction lay this peaceful plot of land, join us as we destroy it to build our house, and then put it all back together in the end to create our home.