Models

I was snooping through some old photos on my phone and stumbled across these. Back in February I printed out the elevation drawings of the house and folded them into small models.  It was a crude way to get a peak at the house.  Now that it is under construction it doesn't look too far off from the these...

Sunday Check-In

More soccer games this past weekend, but after Addie's Sunday game we grabbed lunch and snuck out to the Hideout to see the latest.  Electricians and Plumbers had left their mark.  The plumbing rough in was complete and electrical was about half way there.  The framing crew was onsite (on a Sunday!) wrapping up the exterior and getting ready for the roof install.  The back of the house is finally covered.

 



Alex finishing off a sandwich on the back porch.

Roberta providing a sense of scale next to the south wall. 

Forgive me if I sound like an ignorant dolt, but I am loving this PEX plumbing system.  I have no idea how long this has been a standard building material/process but it's absolutely brilliant.  The hot and cold water line for every tap, toilet, and shower in the house ties into a single manifold.  From there we can control water shut-off to the entire house.

 Addie and I had a laugh as I explained how she could sneak down to the command center and turn off the hot water while Gavin was taking a shower and give him a dose of cold water.  I saw the sparkle in her eye - this will become a war...

The plumbing to the kids bathroom sink.

Stackable Washer & Dryer belong here.



 

 Here is the stub-out for the out door shower.  You can see the small curb on the right side where a 6' CMU wall will be installed for a touch of privacy.

The best framers in Austin putting the finishing touches on the breezeway.

 

 River has been a lot of fun (and work) around the house, but she is 100% part of the family.  We let her have some time off the leash at the Hideout and she did well.  Alex did a good job keeping a close eye on her...

PAINT: root word, PAIN

I've been wanting to write about paint color for a while but haven't had the nerve to sit down and really get into it.  I mean, everyone has their own tastes when it comes to paint color.  But let me tell ya, you think you know what you want until the time comes to commit and cover the house with it.  When that time comes you begin second guessing, and third guessing.  And then you look to others for inspiration. And once you do this you have invited madness.  And by madness I mean HOUZZ.

HOUZZ, if you aren't familiar with the site, is a website and online community devoted to architecture and interior design.  It is a massive source of reference material one can use to find solutions to problems, inspiration for remodels and designs, and ideas for things that you had no intention of doing anyway.  The downside is it is almost a bottomless pit of distractions.  Once you feel settled on an idea HOUZZ comes along and offers one more thing you didn't consider.

I could devote endless posts on how HOUZZ has provided insight, and turmoil, to our process but I'll focus here on paint color.  Since our design is modern by most standards we new that traditional neutral colors  (like beige) with darker trim would no work for us.  We definitely wanted a color that conveyed simplicity, and clean lines.

If you browse HOUZZ for modern home color schemes you will find the full spectrum of the rainbow is employed.  Initially we saw our home in earth tones similar to stone, slate, or gray.  This Austin home below is painted in Sherwin Williams Peppercorn and we love the look.

Contemporary Exterior by Austin Architects &
Designers Stuart Sampley Architect

But the more homes we saw in this color we noticed blue tints and we didn't feel it was a good fit. The color Iron Ore grabbed our attention because it fell more towards the gray side.  Here it is on the horizontal plank (below, with Hardie panel adjacent!).  But our home has a large front elevation and having a giant slab of gray seemed like it would be a bit depressing.  So we have decided to use the Iron Ore on the front bump-outs, and possibly the rear bumps.

(Iron Ore) Modern Patio by Vancouver Architects & Designers Portal Design Inc

Next we pointed our browser to HOUZZ and began studying White as an option.  And we then learned that White is a tough, take-no-prisoners, color.  Who knew there were hundreds of shades of white! There are endless article available guiding you on the nuances of white which were helpful, but in the end we just looked at every picture we could find of white houses.  When the house color wasn't listed we sent an email inquiring for paint details.  Thanks goodness for this internet thing when it comes to these matters because our experience in brick & mortar paint stores has not been good when it comes to guideance on color selection.  The internet, on the other hand, is trodden with people with experience - the good, the bad, and ugly.  We read cautionary tales of endless repaints, tips on sampling and matching, and other general paint advice.  But in the end you've got to make the choice on your own.

We like the clean simplicity of white paint.

A long story short: we have decided to use Eider White by Sherwin Williams for the majority of the house.  We were looking for a white that was not blindingly bright like fresh snow on a sunny day, and we did not want a creamy tint either.  Here were some homes we found that seemed to have the right vibe:

Contemporary Exterior by Houston Architects & Designers RD Architecture, LLC

Traditional Exterior by Davidson General Contractors Artisan Custom Homes

Modern Exterior by Cabin John Design-Build Firms Anthony Wilder Design/Build, Inc.

And like each of these examples we will paint all of the trim in Eider White, too.  We have more adventurous plans for the entry door color and I'll detail that in another post.  Thanks for reading. 

A Quick Update

Sign in the terminal
at the Grand Rapids Airport.

It has been a busy October for all of us.  Kids are heavily into their soccer season, and Roberta continues to build her legacy as a soccer coach.  The weather has finally yielded to Autumn temperatures, and some heavy rains have fallen in the area (finally).

3 Cedars Cider Mill

My cousin, who is an expert on
the region's cider mill donuts, rates
these among the best.

This past week I made a work trip up to Grand Haven, MI to tour a Herman Miller production facility.  It was excellent, of course. In addition to making some of the finest furniture in the world they can boast having a truly wonderful staff.  And from there I met my brother mid-state in Grand Rapids.  My best friend from college is the head brewer at Founder's Brewing so we dropped in for some excellent food, beer, and a tour of the facility.  It was excellent! From there we made the trip east to visit my parents, and nieces and nephews.  Mix in a visit to a Cider Mill, and the Greenfield Village Halloween event and it was a perfect weekend.

Since the last post the Hardie panel issues have been corrected and a lot of progress has been made. There were some delays due to the rain mentioned above, but we are moving forward.  And we still have hit a few bumps with material delivery, but we've settled into a mode where we accept (try to accept) this is going to be part of the process.   I don't have time to add more commentary but did want to get some updated photos posted before I get too far behind!