Final Photos...for now...

Coming out of the Master Bedroom OR looking down the hallway from the Entry area...

Going into the Guest Bedroom, loving called the Diamond Head Suite...note closet doors on left - different entry path from plans, and we feel much better use of space...

Now the bathroom with the curse on it...slowly lifting...our cabinet maker for the Kitchen, Laundry, and Bathrooms has been PD in FULL but not finished the job...our contractor is working on him...in the meantime, we changed the tile, tile trim and wall color and are pleased with the change; we changed the lighting fixture and love it and are looking for just the right mirror. Note: This is the bathroom that I would insist has a pocket door...the room is not very large and the door (ADA) takes up quite a bit of the space. To really use the sink and counter top you'd have to close the door fully.

Coming out of the Guest Bedroom or the Master Bedroom you enter the hall way back to the Kitchen/Entry/Living room. Note the two closet doors on the left. Our contractor took what wasn't much usable closet space because the sides were deep, divided it into two closets where the space was much more functional. We set one up as a coat closet and the other as a broom closet. First on the right side is the Half Bath. Walls have been painted in a metallic silver/blue grey to coordinate with the sink. We have the light fixtures from Pottery Barn and they will go up once we find a mirror. We are going to have some wall art on two of the walls...more on that later...Next on the right side of the hall way is the Library/Study which we are using as a TV Room and with the Murphy Bed and built in closets, could be used as a third bedroom. These cabinets were made by Lone Wolf Cabinetry and are beautifully crafted. Doors to the room are large pocket doors. They and the cabinets still need to be stained and hardware attached and that will happen later in the month.



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No home is ever really finished but for our blogging purposes it probably is. We hope that sharing our variation of the Tideland Haven plan helps you with your home project. Happy Building!

Moved In, Holiday Over, Not Quite Finished Yet..

We had a smooth move-in courtesy of the boys at Graebel Movers and all stored items arrived in one piece. Very nice work on the company's part at both ends of the move. Having said that, no move is easy and we continue to be somewhat fatigued from the move-in, prep for holidays, family here (LOVED IT!!!), clean up and settling in. Pictures are still not up in most rooms primarily because I'm not in a rush. Want to take my time seeing where items really should be placed. Some pieces of furniture are going to be shifted around and pieces added and possibly some sold or donated. We still have details around the house that won't be complete til mid-February so we're okay with being measured in our setting the house up to be a home. Shutters and blinds are on order and should be installed in February and we still have built-ins that need to be stained and in one case still built and added.

To those of you who may be contemplating building Tideland Haven, we hope our pics and commentary have been helpful in showing you what can be done with the plan. While our interpretation may not suit your exact style perhaps seeing ours will show you what you want to change and/or do not want. For us, we continue to delight in the flow of the floor plan, how comfortable the space is with others in the house, the amount of light from the more than ample windows and the expansive porch space - it is huge and begging for Spring and Summer to arrive so it can be used. For now the wood burning fire place is proving to be worth every penny! A note too about the roof...because it needed to be reconfigured we ended up with an attic that could be a room or two...it is quite spacious.

Enough chatter...photos will be posted starting with the exterior and then moving room to room...

Entry Way...note our neighbors practical and uniquely designed coat rack...and our daughter's artsy "kimono" painting on the spacious wall!

From the Entry Way into the Living Room, into the Dining Room - they all work together!

Laundry Room with pantry, on into the Sun/Sitting room and back porch...Sitting room flows into the Master Bedroom and Bathroom Suite or exit to hallway and Diamond Head Suite (Guest Bedroom) and Study/Library back into the Kitchen, Living Room, Entry area...one great big rectangle for ease of movement. A note: by building with wider door ways some of the doors interfere with room space i.e. Guest Bathroom and entry to Master Bath Suite...I would insist on pocket doors for those two spaces. Also we used swing doors between the kitchen/laundry room and laundry room/sun room. We generally keep them opened but have the ability to close them as barriers to noise...love them! Thank you cousin Joey for the idea!!!

Will post the remaining photos tomorrow as for some reason the pics are not transferring properly.

Countdown to Decembr 12, 2011...

Making progress every day. Since we last blogged the majority of our counter tops have been installed which has allowed our plumber to get faucets set in and appliances in place for the most part. One section of the kitchen counter top had to be re-ordered due to a problem at the shop. It should be here any day now and the tiler can finish up...

So a few pictures to illustrate the above and more...

Setback on tiling though...our guest bathroom shower tile looks one color that is lovely anywhere EXCEPT in the shower! For those of you familiar with the color of poi - mashed taro root - well that is the purplish/taupie color it assumes in the bathroom! I just wasn't getting anywhere with working around it and finally called in a Canasta Club gal friend who is an interior designer and between us I think we've got it spot on finally. However it will require the tiler ripping out the tile - fortunately not grouted yet. The truly sad part is (beyond the lost $$$) that the trim tile had been set and it was a custom made glass that we loved and stretched the budget to include. Taking it off the wall will destroy it so along with a different basic tile, we ordered something a little less striking but should look pretty darn good. Also had to change the shape of the bamboo sink in there as once the granite was set we realized the sink "got lost" in the granite. Very happy with the change and the new paint color selected.

Our half-bath has been a bit of a challenge all the way along as the vessel sink I purchased at Lowes is a hard-to-match/coordinate color. Leo, our painter, did a superior job matching cabinet color with the sink by bringing it in to the paint store so the vanity looks awesome. Then to figure out the wall colors - long story short - with the help of Kim B. and friends, and Andrea, the decorator, we selected a metallic paint which really sets the room off nicely. I want to have the silhouette of a leafless tree with one bird on a branch drawn on the wall covering part of one wall and going into and around the corner and onto the adjacent wall.

Master bathroom top and sinks...back splash tile not in yet...but will match the tub and steam shower back splash...

We have wood floors throughout the house except in the master bath suite. They have been covered up for awhile as the messy work has continued around the house. We took up the paper over the weekend to clean up some before the bid construction clean and they are just the look we wanted.

Living room...

Sun Room/sitting room off master bedroom...

And finally, in preparation for the gravel coming in the the drive way, Butch and I spent the morning in 26 degree weather cleaning up the wood/porch materials scrap pile so that it is clear and ready to go. As I type this, I am sore all over but feel so great that we are closer to our move in date of December 12th!