A Modern Blend

Builder Pics

2010-11-16T12:14:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics the builder's photographer took...

First Photo Tour

2010-09-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

So the house isnt completely finished decorating and what not but here is an initial tour! More pics of missing rooms to come....

here is the entrance. Welcome to our house! The grey door is the front door (the exterior side of it is orange) and this large orange barn door closes off the mess that the playroom turns into...

Here is the playroom thus far. I am holding out for losing that black storage unit and buying a white one with multiple cabinets/cubbies.

The next thing you come to after the playroom is the living room. We still have 2 more curtain rods to hang on the left back but its coming together. Need some art in there on the wall to the right but not sure what yet! The two orange chairs are recliners and are heavenly :) The screen porch is the huge glass doors to the left and is a favorite outdoor playroom currently since there is no furniture in there.

Carrying on down the hall you get to the kitchen (in this pic you can still see the front door). This pic is taken standing in the dining and looking back. I am loving spreading out and cooking in this kitchen!

Here is the view coming in from the living room. To the right is another entrance to the screen porch.

Going upstairs you hit the master bedroom. My fave part may be the floor mirror from IKEA (mongstad 79$:) Need some ideas of what to put over our bed...

Head on view of master

Master closet. Straight ahead is the vanity so all of my make up is out of john's way in the bathroom. Haha. Also a great addition is the "grundtal" towel bar from ikea for 4.99$ and i have all my necklaces hanging tangle free on it...love it!

The bookshelves on the left actually are the top of the stairs. So this loft office is open to the stairwell below. Its nice to have bills, computers, calendars, wires, files, books, all in one place!

Reese's room is to the right of the office if you are looking at it. She loves it!

Wheelers room is a work in progress. I have his big boy bedding and it'll be all done up once he gets in that. Its a bike them with grey, brown, lime green and orange. I have wheels to hang on the walls and we may paint a center stripe orange around his room. Don't know yet! For now his room is just a crib, rocker and train table and he loves the wide open space. he gets the biggest upgrade from a 4x3 closet with no windows ;)

More pics to come!

Get your suit on!

2010-08-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

Jump on in! The pool is finished! On the last pic you can see the hot tub (left rectangle) and sun ledge (far right semi circle). Its done! Just waiting on the firepit to be finished up.

its official

2010-08-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

the numbers are on..

Landscaping insanity

2010-08-03T11:57:00.000-07:00

John and our dear friend Thomas and his Brother in law and some sweet amigos John befriended at a gas station have been working overtime! I would say at least 50 hours has gone into this "budget saving" landscaping idea. DIYers we are not we have learned. John has been working all day then heading to the house or working at the house all day then heading to work for too many days! But mulch is in, rocks are in place, stone path is created, japanese maple in place, pine straw and hay layed, shrubs, dranes, etc. These guys are awesome! See below the stone path! I was impressed with those boys!

odds and ends

2010-07-28T17:19:00.000-07:00

The glass is on! Its hard to see in this picture but up top is screens and below is glass.

Storage galore! I have no idea what I am going to put in all of these boxes. But they are painted and touched up. In this pic I am standing at the fireplace. The screen porch is directly to the right the kitchen to the back right and the playroom and front door to the left.

Mirrors are in with a J molding i think is what they called it. they basically trimmed it with stainless steel if i understand correctly.

The hardwoods are sanded and sealed, white oak matte finish. Just need a good sweep down and mop. This is the playroom.

This is the master. Carpet is in and due for a good cleaning!

Driveway is finished! They still have to put some more wood slats on the stairwell now that the final grade is in.

Here is what is left:

Telephone/Power pole needs to be taken down and line buried outside, finishing up a fence on the backside of the property, stain deck/wood stairs, Deep Cleaning, Pool needs water, firepit going in, Paint touch up and punch list! At some point John will finish the mulch, shrubs, etc!

Concrete Jungle

2010-07-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

The long awaited, long delayed driveway is going in today! I was thinking the rain would delay us yet again, but NOPE! They are working in the rain! Who knew you could pour concrete in the rain but apparently so! Here is a pic standing at the front door and checking out the action! The kids were so pumped about the concrete trucks!
The microwave is in the basement kitchennette, just waiting on the mini fridge for the bottom right.

And the glass is going the the lower panel area on the screen porch! Hopefully it will finish up today!

Up to code...

2010-07-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

We are almost finally up to code and about to get our CO! Fence is finishing up around pool, all railings are in, and gutters went on today. Last part of fence goes in monday as well as the long awaited driveway! Woo hoo! August 30 final move in date!

30 days out!

2010-07-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

i believe we are finally 30 days out! Some pool/landscaping delayed the driveway pour which delays getting the Certificate of Occupancy (CO). But now we are back on go. The kitchen cabinets are all in and the pool only lacks the spray on coating. The rock wall is finished. John and a dear friend worked tirelessly on the grading, digging trenches, french drains, boulder placement, rock steps, etc. It saved us at least 10-15,000! Our landscaper friend told us he would typically charge 20,000$ for the job they did, and we squeaked out with just wholesale cost for trees/rocks. We owe him big! Our apartment is brimming with little things we need in order to move in... shower curtains, mats, curtain rods, curtains, rugs, etc. cant wait!

Orange you glad you're here?

2010-06-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our orange front door! It is a little bit different but I love it! Very non-traditional which would fit with us! It is "raucous orange" by sherwin williams and has a little reddish tint to it. These two colors in both pics are the same color, just the indoor and outdoor lighting on my phone turned them out differently. But the barn doors in the playroom and main entry are both orange as well as the front door. Its bold but i am loving it! It goes great with the greys in the house.
A funny tidbit from psychology today on colors "Orange calls to mind feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, and warmth."
Perfect....just what we are going for!

Kitchen finishes

2010-06-24T16:35:00.000-07:00

These are bad pics from my phone, a little blurry, but cabinet faces and pulls are going on! They are a grey stain over rift oak. I am so happy with how they turned out! The left picture is where the fridge will go. The pulls are haefla little recessed pulls. The pic on the right is basically a continuation of the first picture headed into the dining room. This will serve as extra cabinetry and a buffet area for serving (to the right of this is the door to the deck/grill).

what a deal!

2010-06-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

So i waited in line memorial day weekend for not only the 800$ off sale on the samsung steam washer dryer, but also for the 100$ energy star rebate, free delivery, and extra 10% off! We got them basically buy one get one free!

bumped back...

2010-06-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

well we got bumped out another 4 or 5 weeks. The pool guy isn't quite hitting the deadlines he said he would which has delayed driveway and fencing which has delayed final permits so they can start cleaning and punch lists. Bummer. But we will be in soon enough!!

Here are some updated pics...
1. Carpet is in, door knobs are on, alarm system is installed, mirrors are in, shower door is in. Its looking good in there!
2. as you can see in the distance (master closet) the door knobs are on!
3. J and a good friend who is an awesome landscaper worked tirelessly last week for 3 days putting in 10 trees (at cost yay) in the side yard. The rocks are what was broken up from under the foundation of the house. Bobcats, blisters, augers, and a little sweat equity goes a long way!
4. Pool concrete decking is being poured tomorrow so we can finally get things moving some more!

Lights, appliances, paint... oh my!

2010-05-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

The lights are in and appliances (all but fridge) are in as well. We may end up having the pendant lights moved, they are more over the sink than the bar, but we will see what that damage would be if so! Otherwise, i think they'll be fine where they are!

Barn doors are in the playroom. Yet to be painted orange though.. but looking awesome! Our architect and door guy did awesome creating a divot at the bottom of the door so it wont smash the baseboard or hit the wall. Good move with two little ones in there!Fans and can lights are in. We went with no light on the fan and 4 inch cans (also called 3 1/2's apparently) instead of the standard 6. I think due to our aversion to overhead lighting and not a huge need for it in this room as you can see!

The railings looks better than i had hoped! They are painted steel, a dark grey (cyberspace Sherwin williams) to match the interior doors.

Still dusty but the shower heads are in. J went a little overboard with the two back sprayers and two rain heads but after being in one at the house we rented this week at the beach, i am pretty excited to try it out!

Just missing mirrors in the master bath now! Love the lights and they look great with the vanity!

Our room is finished all but the carpet. Fan is in, speakers in place in the ceiling and can lights as well in the ceiling. Feels like you're in a tree house!

Should be in in a month or so possibly! Driveway, landscaping, carpet, mirrors, bath hardware, finish up pool... i think that is all that remains!

Indoor/Outdoor railings going in

2010-05-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

They are putting in the railings today. These are steel railings that a local guy does here. They are actually outdoor railings so they will be going on our front entry way as well but we are putting them inside too. It is way cheaper than doing that ultra modern rail system with cables that run instead of bars, but i like this just the same. They're looking good!

more finishing touches...

2010-05-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

A few more finishing touches are going in, plumbing fixtures are in, sinks, countertops in the office, kitchenette and laundry, and the whole house in painted inside and out. The first picture is the office area/loft. The countertop turned out better than i thought and I am so excited to have a space for our office stuff. It is currently split between the top of the fridge and laundry room shelf. :( The second picture is the side of the house, the wood area is for the outdoor shower headed out to the pool. Third picture is the mega sink and mega faucet. There's gonna be some serious dish washing going on in there. Fourth is the barn door in the playroom. Turned out really great. It is a huge door, still needs a coat of paint but looks good. There is another one near the front door I just didnt take a picture of it. Fifth is the kitchen counters and sink. Appliances were delivered today but not installed yet. Lastly the green dual flush toilet with the soft close feature J just had to have.. i admit, after trying it I was hooked. ;)

Exterior elements

2010-05-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

Lots of things are getting done. the exterior paint finished up this week with the window trim. It really makes the colors pop. Ignore the foggy windows, interior painting has started and they put some film on the windows. The interior baseboards and trim are painted and look good! The countertops are in and look amazing! Since we have been living in an apartment for the last month or so while the house is being finished and i have about 3 ft of counter space, when i saw the counters i about fell over! I am so excited. The island is about 10 ft long with the overhangs for bar seating. And i am so excited about the "buffet" cabinets in the dining room with countertops for serving or buffet lines. Can't wait to enjoy it with others!

In other news the pool is going in and there is some serious piping going on. The rectangle on the left is the hot tub that is set into the pool a bit. We are doing a "sport pool" which doesnt have the traditional deep end. Its like 3 1/2 ft 5 ft 3 1/2 feet so set up for the perfect volleyball game. We figured you cant really dive in 6 feet anyway so didnt know what we'd use a deep end for. There is a sun ledge on the other end of the pool which will be lots of fun. I really have no idea what this pool will end up looking like. I am so bad at visualizing plans! Just about a month and a half and we will be moving in! I can wait but I am looking forward to it!

living room furniture decisions to come...

2010-04-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

still deciding but leaning toward these so far...
1. The delaney sectional from crate and barrel in graphite
2. The tracy recliner chairs from crate and barrel in orange fabric
3. The orange branch pillow from a designer on etsy.com
4. The solid pillow with buttons from west elm and the orange side table in the picture

5. The natural stump side table from west elm

Interior Trim and modern trinkets...

2010-04-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of interior trim in this house! The boxes have gone in and the shiplap siding is finished on the columns, stairway and fireplace and its looking good! I am just hoping meditative blue from Sherwin williams is going to look good over it! I am pretty pumped about these boxes, which is surprising because we are not trinket people. So i am starting my brain on what is going to go in them.
Here are two things that we have so far to go in them :)
Love the bird from CB2.com. J and I call each other bird so this one has a sentimental meaning. The orange and blue vases from crate and barrel will be some colors we will be accenting with, mostly orange...

exterior colors in place

2010-04-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here is the backside of the house. They are finishing up painting the exterior (repose gray and grizzle grey sherwin williams). I am so excited with how it turned out, I had my doubts but it looks awesome! Today they are finishing up tile and the deck is getting some interesting touches to the bottom of it! Is it time to move in yet? :(

Playroom Planning...

2010-04-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

So I am not miss interior decorator, but I do my best with what I have! Here are some of our items going in the playroom....

1. The IKEA lusy rugs. 40$. Deciding between these two.I love Ikea.

2. The carolina Craft Table from Pottery barn kids. A Christmas gift from Mimi!

3. The cameron storage system from PBK as well..
The room will be gray (Online from sherwin williams) and I am thinking orange curtains or maybe the blue in the rug. I may not need curtains...we shall see. Hopefully it turns out well!

Tile going in! Plus garage door and kitchen updated.

2010-04-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

Tile is going in this week, it is looking good! Better than i imagined. The first picture is what the kids bathrooms look like. White subway tile with gray glass mosaic border. They have gray "wood look" tiles on the floor. The next picture is the dusty laundry room. Not the best picture because there is dust all over the place but you get the idea. Third picture is our master bath. The rocks are more of a statement than I thought they would be...ha but they look good. I think theyll blend in more once they're grouted. The next two pictures are of the kitchen. From the first i was standing in the dining and the second kitchen pic i was standing at the entry to the kitchen outside of the living room. They grey cabinets look amazing! Exactly how we hoped they wood. Bo Taylor woodworking (a local shop here in raleigh) did an amazing job (on the bathroom cabs and office cabs too!). Lastly the garage door just arrived yesterday. I haven't seen it yet, J just texted me this pic today, but it looks pretty good i think! I hope it looks good with the overall feel of the house! 2 more months and we will be in! This apartment living is quite cozy so we will really appreciate this house after this! So so thankful for the blessing of this home!

Modern Shed-Just dreaming out loud....

2010-04-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

So this is not in the budget but I would LOVE to get this down the road. When we started out on this project and saw the forest on the property, my immediate thought was tree house for the kids. Modern shed has made this awesome playroom for the outdoors for kids. What a fun area! Definitely not doable for us for now, but pretty incredible. Plus this may help my anal tendencies of keeping the indoor playroom perfectly neat... but probably not.

Riverwood Mantle with a story...

2010-04-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

So i was looking for reclaimed beams online to buy for the mantle and came across capefearriverwood.com. They harvest wood that had been dumped in the cape fear river almost a century ago. I know this is a little more "rustic" but we are going with a natural modern theme and i think this is an awesome piece that is really a piece of history. We are going to go see them when we head to the beach next month. I hope it works out because i think it is amazing!

These are a few of my favorite things...

2010-04-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of my favorite things so far about the house...

1. An exterior door in a spare bedroom. I know for me, there have been times when people have let J and I stay at their house and saved us lots of money or really helped us out in time of need. This was one of our specifications if we were going to build a house. It doesnt make sense to build a house if we can't share it. Plus, have you ever been a guest and its that awkward moment of should you go into the kitchen or not get home too late? We wanted to make this house a comfortable place for people to stay...a while if they need to. So we solved that problem with an exterior door to the basement and a little kitchenette down there as well. That was our ultimate vision for this house was how we can share it with others.

2. the deck- I am so excited about this deck! I love sitting out on the deck, grilling out, and having people over. It is such a great view of the woods as well. I can't wait to cook and entertain out there!

3.The shower- this is definitely J's favorite thing. Two shower heads and two body sprays. Hopefully it will make me enjoy showers even more!

4. A built in bookcase and built in file drawers in office- Our "office" has always been in several different locations in previous houses. We have our huge file box out in the garage, we have our bills in an organizer on the counter, we have our books in the guest room on shelves, and we have our computer under the couch- yep. I am so excited about having a place where it will all be together! I think it will make me more productive and organized...may be wishful thinking!

5. The Le Mans- I cant tell you how many times i have caught my hand or finger in those lazy suzan things in the awkward corner cabinets. Praise the Lord for no weird corner cabinet, and for easy pull out trays in the shape of a race track somewhere...i think it is what grabbed J's attention! Lots of storage and way more can fit and be accessed than in the regular ones!

6. All of the siding inside of the house! I love texture in houses and I am so pumped about all the wood on the walls in the home. This will be painted Meditative blue (a steel blue/gray) by Sherwin williams. It is at the entry, stairwells, hearth, and columns in living room.

7. The colors- I am hoping i am going to love it when its on all the walls instead of just in little squares! It makes me a little nervous and excited though! Online gray for walls, site white for trim/ceilings, meditative blue for wood walls and master, and orange for a front door that will pop and a barn door inside.

Trim, Cabinets, and Doors... OH my!

2010-03-31T12:31:00.000-07:00

It is really going fast! I have no idea why we don't move in until june, It looks about ready to me! ha. This week a lot is going on, baseboards, window trim, hardwoods are finished, tile is going in i believe, cabinets, and interior doors! Here are a few updated shots!
1. Guest room and spare bath cabinets in bamboo.
2. Interior flush doors
3. Kitchen cabinets going in, You can see the gray on the sides but it isnt a great picture, all on my phone!
4.Laundry room cabinets in
5. Downstairs kitchennette cabinets in flush maple.
6. Railings and beams on screen porch in. Below the railing will be glass, above will be screen.
We are so excited about moving in! Especially now that we are all 4 in our cozy little two bedroom apartment in a holding pattern until the house is ready!

Hardwoods going in...

2010-03-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

So the hardwoods were one of our toughest decisions. We went back and forth between the ultra modern clear maple, the rustic modern hickory and then the most durable and lasting and budget friendly white oak. With lots of deliberation, we landed on the white oak. Hardwoods are such an investment and something we don't want to replace in the next 10 years so we figured this would be something that is not as modern but hopefully will be offset with other finishes and fixtures. We have so much light pouring in, we needed durable hardwoods. So here is the beginning of it! And a few more updated pictures. The next to last picture is the ceiling of the screen porch and the last is heading out the door to the back and if you look closely, youll see what this house is all about.

Front Door Color Vote

2010-03-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

The front door has arrived! It is HUGE! 9ft by 5 1/2. So here is a picture of the house on the left. The flush wood on the left side of the house will stay that stained gray color. The right siding will be painted a dark gray. What is your vote on front door color options. So far J votes red, I vote navy and of course we have had votes for Carolina Blue! Any ideas or votes on these colors??

Updated interior

2010-03-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

The first picture shows the entry with the flush wood ceiling which will stay that natural color on the ceiling. The second picture is the stairwell viewed from the master bedroom door. There will be a bookcase that makes the half wall on the right side of the stairs which will enclose the loft/office. The third picture is the master bedroom. I accidentally cut out the exposed beams from the picture but there are 4 beams i think. The fourth pic is of the living room.

It is coming along! We are so excited to move in!

Upstairs Drywall: Check

2010-03-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

So the drywall is going in quick. I won't be surprised if it is finished in the whole house by tomorrow. All ceilings are done, just not main floor or basement walls yet. But here are the kid's rooms. Lights have arrived, tile is on its way, this thing is moving!

Tile decisions done!

2010-03-11T11:52:00.000-08:00

These two are for the master. The first textured wood look tile will be the bathroom floor and shower walls. The pebbles will be the shower floor.

This Grey wood look and textured tile will be the floor of the guest bath and kids baths. The kids will have large white matte subway tile surrounds and the guest bath will have this same tile but in white as surround.

And for the laundry room floor is this concrete look alike with a little texture. Surprisingly cheap! My vote was cork but John liked this and i think it will turn out way better this way! He is a wise man! ;)

Siding is DONE

2010-02-27T20:01:00.000-08:00

That didnt take long... It is all finished. Just not painted. If you notice in the first two pictures, there is flush stained cedar and 4" hardie board. The 4" siding will be painted dark grey. The flush stained wood, will be pretty much the same color, it is stained a light grey. Also, if you see in the second picture (the first picture is a parapit wall too), this is one of three "parapit" walls, which means the roof is behind the peak of the wall. It is tucked back in there and the top is flashed with Aluminum. It looks pretty good! This week is insulation and drywall being delivered. Ready for our June move in I hope! The security system, speakers, lighting, electrical is all wired. Ready to see this thing come together even more!

siding going on

2010-02-11T19:32:00.000-08:00

So Siding is going on! We are doing 4 inch siding instead of 6, which is a modern spin on a traditional material. On the front parapit wall and the jut out in the first pic and the back and side parapits it will be flush siding. You can see it just barely in the first pic. It looks way better than i thought it would! The 4 inch siding will be a dark gray (sherwin williams grizzle gray) and the flush wood will be a light gray (repose gray).

updated pictures

2010-01-21T15:50:00.000-08:00

These are from about a week ago. Windows/doors are in (from Integrity). It is starting to come together! Since then, the fireplace box is in, hvac going in, shower valves going in, wires being run.

1st pic is from the creek looking up at the back of the house.

2. Kitchen/dining

3. Living from hall, sliding door to left going out to porch.

4. In hall at top of stairs on 3rd floor, office to right.

5. View from fireplace in living room of stairs, playroom to left, kitchen to right

master bath: closer to decisions...

2010-01-18T11:33:00.001-08:00

So i found this tile at Porcelanosa and LOVE IT! I think we may have landed on our master bath tile decision, which i thought would take forever! This tile is supposed to look like bleached wood but it is porcelain and it is 7 inches by 47 inches!! I am pretty excited about it! Hope it works in our bath!

interior barn doors

2010-01-14T11:48:00.000-08:00

I may have posted on this before but decision time is coming! Here are some of the pics I have found on the internet I like, but basically we are doing a track system barn door to close off the playroom which is on your left upon entry to house. It will be a large door, at least 2 panels with another barn door sliding into it to make a corner. It is going to be pretty tricky but awesome if it pulls off! I have no idea where you find this stuff in Chapel Hill/Raleigh NC but hopefully our builder will know.

Appliance decisions here we come...

2010-01-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

a quick update ont he house.... it is framed, roofed, windows and doors are in (including the massive sliding ones!) tubs are going in, electrical is being done and plumbing is in process. Cabinet Decision has been made, we are going with Bo the local shop owner who is office is literally a woodshop. I am so pumped about that!! One siding color has been nailed down- Repose grey a sherwin williams color. Leaning towards Grizzle grey as the other. So now it gets nit picky. We have to finalize our kitchen design thus being driven by some appliance decisions. Now yes it would be nice to just put the nicest highest end WOlf/Viking stuff in there, but for one we are on a budget and two, i have read some not so great reviews about both as well as spoken to some owners who aren't thrilled with them. So here is where we are as of now....

Kitchenaid architect series combo oven/microwave convection.

We decided against the bosch dishwasher and are sticking with Kitchenaid, doing their new dishwasher that is quieter and has a 3rd drawer that is really shallow up top for silverware and chef's tools!

Cooktop we are going to go for the Viking designer range.

Fridge will be a samsung counter depth french door unit.

Doing a kitchenaid architect II hood.

We had kitchenaid in our last house and loved it. Stretching on the Viking range so I hope it is a good one!

framing almost finished!

2009-12-22T11:32:00.000-08:00

here is the current tour of the home! A little wet from the rain/snow we just got but here it is still!

Pic 1 is the living room on the right moving into the screen/glass porch on the left. That entire opening in between will be a glass door. Pic 2 is the view from our master currently :). The ceiling will be left vaulted with exposed beams..but not this exposed. Pic 3 is walking up the stair well from the basement to main floor. It juts out about a foot from the rest of the house elevation which is pretty awesome and makes for an open stairway with lots of light! Pic 4 is the

living room from view of kitchen. In between the seriously large windows will be the fireplace. Pic 5 is the screen porch. Below the railing will be tempered glass and above will be screen. What a view! This is shaping up to be one of my favorite rooms in the house. This view is from the living room and you can also enter on the left through the kitch/dining through a sliding glass door as well. Pic 6 is standing on the screen porch looking through the sliding glass opening into the kitch and dining. Dining extends out to right and kitchen extends left.

Enjoy! We are so excited as it gets closer to us being able to be in it and share it with others!

Weighing in on Island Pendants...

2009-12-21T11:22:00.000-08:00

Ok so we need a vote going on here.... I am looking at island pendants...keeping in mind my previous post or two ago that the random light by Moooi will be in the dining here are my pendant light choices for the kitchen island (which is 9 feet long, will probably hang 3 of them). Leave a comment with your vote!

1. Conic Pendant 83$ from Eurway. It is a knock off of the FLOS pendant which is over 300$ each!

2. Burst pendant 95$ from Eurway.

3. Ball pendant from One stop modern 125$. Also Robert sonneman globe pendants at ylighting for 100 which look similar

4. ET2 caps mini pendant 56$ allmodernlighting.com

5. Et2 mini pendant in white 46$ from allmodernlighting.com

what a wall

2009-12-19T17:50:00.000-08:00

So framing is almost totally done with the exception of the master bathroom and one wall on the 3rd floor and the stair bump out (seen here). It looks ginormous to me! The only room that seems small to me so far is the playroom but that's ok. Snow has now fallen on the house and J spent the day today renting a chainsaw and cutting down half fallen trees in the back. Saved a whopping 1000$ we were quoted and just spent 50 on the rental of the chainsaw. Hopefully this thing will be roofed in a little after Christmas! The next challenge will be pouring concrete over the garage for the floor of the screened/glassed in porch on the main floor. Our builder is up for it so we are moving forward, it is going to be awesome! Can't wait to see a roof and some drywall and siding on this bad boy!

a framing we will go...

2009-12-14T11:48:00.000-08:00

FINALLY! Walls are up in the basement and framed in and the first floor/main floor is framed as well! It passed the flooring inspection for the floor over the basement and the playroom/kitch/living/dining is all framed (or lack there of). It is so open which is nice. Not a lot of interior walls on the main floor which i love. I learned a lot of things about the house now that it is actually 3D or 4D or whatever you call it now. THE WINDOWS ARE HUGE! Which is great... The playroom is not as big as it was in my imagination but they don't need a lot of space. The living room is wayyy bigger than I imagined and the Kitchen Dining is going to be my favorite place in the house for sure. Pretty pumped about the mudroom too. The screened in porch is going to be awesome. Hopefully the 2nd floor (3rd sort of if you count the basement) Will be going up tomorrow or Wednesday. This is the first week in 3 months that we have no forecast of rain for the weekdays. I don't have pics of the 2nd floor yet so I'll post soon. There were so many workers around today and i am sure they think i am Loco with my huge camera out there all the time, so I will wait until theyre gone today ;)

So pumped this thing is taking shape!

light decisions still in process....

2009-12-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

so i think we have decided to do 4 inch cans instead of six. The six inch ones jump off the ceiling a little too much for us.... I LOVE this Moooi Random light in white for over our dining room table. I think it is very "modern natural" ish and a conversation piece for sure. I think it won't distract from the glass wall behind it and the view, so it would look awesome i think! I've included a pic of the dining room table I will get from Crate and Barrel (the Big Sur) but I would love to find a woodworker in the area to make something like this, so if you know anyone in NC let me know! Otherwise I'll suck it up and not buy locally...

fixture decisions

2009-11-10T11:52:00.001-08:00

AHH it makes me nervous that we have started deciding things! We went to the plumber today and selected our fixtures. Here is what we came away with

Moen 6100 Level for the sinks (which we will attach to a basin). Toto dual flush Aquia with soft close feature and with removable lid and seat (WOW) for easy cleaning! Only 300$ which was surprising! We went with the Danze Parma commercial looking faucet for the kitchen sink with the pull down handle which i am so pumped about! It was also under 300$. We went with the Artisan sink basin shown here in the chef pro series, undermount with a single HUGE basin, 30x17 i believe which was WAY cheaper almost 1/3 cheaper than going with the awesome Blanco sink which is basically identical. For our master shower we got a 7" rainhead ceiling mount and a handheld showerhead on a bar that can double as a body spray if you lower the bar. I don't remember the manufacturer of those. It is coming together and I hope all of our selections work together! Doing a fiberglass basin and standard faucet in the laundry and just a single basin and standard faucet in the basement. It is scary making these final decisions but lots of fun. Our 3 year old did great in the 3 hour meeting and thanks be to the iPhone with movies and games that kept her happy as could be!

here we go

2009-11-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

SO the forms are off and the concrete is looking goooood on the basement walls which is good because they will be exposed! The door that the bulldozer is in front of, I didnt realize how huge it is until you see the opening for it! 8 feet of a glass door is going to be nice! I know the garage is going to turn out cool but I just learned how it works (didn't i tell you plans make no sense to me?) There is an overhang which is what the rectangular opening to the right is but that is not where the garage door will go, it is set back a few feet! I had no idea, but i am pumped to see how it turns out. We are going to put some recessed lighting in between the opening and the garage door so that will look cool.

Hmm... i am ready for framing :)

Taking shape

2009-10-29T11:24:00.001-07:00

Finally! A footprint of our house is in the ground and starting to take shape. The forms are up and as you can see in the first picture, the concrete is pouring in as we speak! I am so so excited! Even though it looks like a bunker at the moment, it helps me (the non visual one of the two of us) see what it is going to look like a little more than the 2d plans! J and I actually braved the red mud last night and walked all around in it and outside of it! I cannot wait!

On another note, the windows and slider doors are ordered! We went with casements from Integrity by Martin and Sliders by weathershield. We came in about a penny under budget so that is good too! That is my goal in this project. I have watched so many HGTV home reno's where they go 10, 20 50K$ over budget! Are you crazy? Not this project! can't wait to see the framing start!

Front Door

2009-10-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

So I really want a cool front door, it is the first experience of the home moving from the outside in so it should make a statement I think. Now, we don't want to go with the cold/modern/steel doors like the gorgeous ones from Neoporte. They are a little tooo modern for me, and not to mention almost $10K!! Here are some pics of ones I like. What do you think? How do you go about getting doors like these???

The Glass house

2009-10-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

So until I met with the window guy I didn't quite grasp the amount of windows in this house! In our current rental home, I am sitting on the couch (there are some windows behind me) but from where i sit right now I can see NO windows looking into the foyer or kitchen. It is going to be culture shock when we move in. There is pretty much windows on most walls in the home. And I am not just talking windows, I am talking 6 foot windows, 9 foot windows, and 1 foot sliding glass doors. I might have to start calling it the glass house! That is J's dream, I am adjusting to it! Ha. I always tell J that I am not good at looking at 2D plans, I need 3 d pictures, well it appeared so when the window guy was like ok and for these 9 foot windows? I was like wait, 9 feet of windows? WOW! So I learned a few things, 1. I am about to live in a fishbowl 2. we will have great views of the trees. 3. I cannot understand scale in regards to plans. 4. I need to start saving for blinds :)

In other news, the house is totally gone, it is a huge dirt hole that is all leveled out at the bottom. The well is being dug this week and several trees were taken down and it really opens up things a lot (while still keeping a 360degree view of trees.

and the walls came tumbling down....

2009-10-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

the long awaited demo! We went out to the property today hoping to see them widening the drive so that the trucks could start coming in but we found this! Within about 30 minutes most of the top floor of the split level and kitch/dining/living was in a heap. Pretty awesome to watch!

natural modern: tree project

2009-09-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

So our theme for the house is natural modern. We want to blend elements of modern but not the all concrete steel modern, but a warmer modern. Also due to the lot style and "tree house" feel, we want to bring outside elements in. So we have to cut a few trees down to work with the house. One HUGE tree is a three pronged tree that is leaning so it will have to go but it is HUGE, i mean HUGE. So we wanted to do something cool instead of just have it hauled off. We would love some outdoor benches made and possibly even some cool side tables/short stools made out of it for outdoor or indoor use. Check out the pics. Anyone know anybody in NC that could do something like these pics from a big hunk of tree?

case closed!

2009-09-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

long awaited closing at 9am tomorrow. FINALLY. I am ready to get this thing rolling!

the day of cabinets....

2009-09-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

WOW. 9am - 3pm. 2 cabinet distributors and 1 woodworker. I am pretty pumped because we are narrowing it down and have decided on the dark grey like before but with a woodgrain showing. We are going to do an oak (veneer) with a dark gray stain with a vertical grain, i think it is called a rift. So it is not the swirly wood grain look but a linear grain, similar to the picture. I AM PUMPED! Waiting on quotes from 3 people and i hope the little woodworking shop we visited works out. I am all about helping the local guy who is literally cutting our cabinets 20 miles from our house! Love it.

got mail?

2009-08-31T18:50:00.000-07:00

So I know this decision is way far out, but I found myself looking for mailboxes tonight and landed on the jackpot of coolness. Our house is on a curve of a residential street so we need something that stands out a little bit. As well as the fact that the mailbox is essentially the first thing you see about the house, so why not make it cool? Here are a few mailboxes i found. You pretty much have to go to New Zealand to find the modern ones, but luckily they are cheap comparitively and they ship to US :)

http://www.mailboxes.co.nz/ Check it out. The solar one is at Chiasso.com, we would just have to get that guy on a post, but that would help night visibility of the drive with the glowing numbers. Just thought you might want to see. The ones from new zealand are under 200$ surprisingly and you pick out of several colors the accent color.

schooled in pools

2009-08-27T17:45:00.000-07:00

Wow, we have 3 days to finalize our pool bids. We have 3 on the table, 2 we are waiting for finalized specific price. We have been seriously schooled in pools. Here is some of the cool advice we got that is definitely being considered

Don't do a dark bottomed pool in the woods, you want to be able to see the snakes if one gets in there (point well taken by me).
Why do a 3-6 ft depth pool? What can you do in 6 ft deep other than tread water? You have to have 8 feet pretty much to dive which our space doesn't really allow, so who has ever heard of a sport pool? Well that is what we are shooting for. It goes from the sun ledge to 3 ft to 4 1/2 feet then the center of the pool is 5-51/2 feet and the other end of the pool goes back up to 41/2 feet. Perfect for volleyball, basket ball and minimal water treading.
These 1ft deep areas of a pool everyone has a different name for: sun ledge, tanning ledge, mommy ledge, sun deck, lounge area, etc. Whatever it is called, we like it and it is going in! (4th picture is an example)
Ever heard of scuppers? not me. Basically small shooting off fountains off the raised wall of the pool. Have to decide on scuppers vs/ water trickling down stone veneer wall. (third picture)
You can add underwater stools, umbrella holders in the sun ledge, volleyball net anchors, and all sorts of craziness to your pool.
Firepits are really inexpensive for pool guys to do and easy to "trick out" because they are already there with the material and a gas line running near the pool. YAY. I may be more excited about that than the pool.
Lots more about salt vs. low chlorinated and heaters and lighting etc.

Second picture is a typical modern pool. We are trying to yet again blend modern and functional/natural. This picture although very clean and nice, it is not family functional or fun for entertaining. Plus for our space, it is very natural. So we don't want to overdo it in the sense of huge rocks everywhere and waterfalls but we want to blend clean design with functionality and a modern natural look. (first pic is pool design)

When it all comes down to it, we are super excited about the pool. We feel like this is going to be such a neat place to entertain and raise the kids and them enjoy having friends over. I think it will be a neat element that we can really share with others!

Now just to decide! There is only about a million ways you can go with even the same design!

First signs of progress...

2009-08-27T17:39:00.000-07:00

House is GUTTED! seriously gutted. Apparently the 50 year old hardwoods in the house were oh so desirable and Habitat 4 humanity said if that is all they got out of the house the day would have been worth it! So H4H comes with a team of about 20. I would say a good 3/4 of these people were closer to the seniors population, which is awesome. From 8am-4pm they removed all appliances, all cabinetry, countertops, hardwood flooring which was through out the main and top floor, mirrors, toilets, doors, a few windows, fixtures, bathroom cabinetry, washer dryer, etc! I was impressed for sure! There were decades of wall paper behind the newer cabinetry. You could see as the decades progressed; 60's 70's and stopping in the 80's :) love it.

John and I have thought from the beginning of the project that we would like to use something from the old house in the new one. I think we have landed on the brick. It is pretty easy to get out (maybe since it is so old) but we considered where to use it; options were outdoor firepit surround, interior exposed brick wall, etc. I think we have landed on the entrance to the driveway to be a strip of brick from the house. We have not run this by our builder yet ;) but we think that would be a neat piece of old as you transition into the new.

Either way, I am glad things are starting to move. Demo permit CHECK. waiting on building and well permit. Hopefully demo in T minus 1 1/2 weeks!

roof dilemma

2009-08-24T11:18:00.001-07:00

So john and I have been going back and forth over the roof. When the project began, we were going metal roof all the way. Then when we got into budget, we nixed it to spend that additional cost elsewhere. After seeing some pretty awesome houses with it on, it is back on the table. We go back and forth about it. My thought beyond that its gorgeous, is that since we are in such a wooded lot, would it help the leaves/sticks to slide right on off instead of stick right on the shingles and collect (which is what the current shingled room looks like-covered in leaves/pine straw/sticks). Also I think it lasts longer and is more durable. We are still going back and forth though...Do people other than us even notice roofs? Is the money more well spent on the interior? Any thoughts? Sadly, this decision has to be made sooner than later...

waiting game: OVER

2009-08-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

Seriously I was getting done with the waiting game. Getting a construction loan was slightly painful after going through the whole process with one bank and finishing that process one week before demo date only to discover they decided not to do construction loans any more due to the market. UGH! So FINALLY process completed with bank #2, approved and start this week! Habitat for humanity will come Wednesday and take anything that is salvageable from the house. They take anything from doors, cabinets, windows, fixtures, appliances, etc. I am so glad it will be reused. Some of the stuff is in very good shape too! Sadly, the orange shag carpet in the basement that smells like 50 year old mildew will not be reused ;).

So take a good look, this lovely, 1950 split level will hopefully lord willing, not be there in one week!

Backsplash help!

2009-08-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, so i have posted the kitchen inspiration pictures so keep the grey cabinets and white solid countertops in mind... We are totally torn when it comes to the backsplash, and by totally i mean totally. So please cast your vote, add your input and give us some advice!

1st pic is a grey glass mosaic from bourgetbros.com

2nd is a light blue liner glass mosaic from costco!

3rd is a grey subway tile that we could do in white or light blue

4th is a porcelain tile mimicing glass from Best Tile in the porcelainosa line.

Last pic is a soft blue tempered glass solid piece.

HELP!

playroom ideas

2009-08-05T11:53:00.001-07:00

Now the playroom is one of the rooms I am most excited
about. It is about time to get all of these toys out of our living area!! Plus it will be fun for the kids to have a place where they can play together, create and enjoy. Now the playroom is currently set for hardwoods since it is on the main level and a future office type of room but I don't want the hardwoods destroyed by trucks, paint, sliding chairs, whatever. Any ideas for how to protect? I thought FLOR tiles which are a little pricey to do across the whole room, but may be worth it. Otherwise i guess just rugs. I love doing this square painting idea on the large wall. Love these colors too, very unisex for boy and girl! The next pic is the storage system I am looking at. Lastly, my only worry about how it will work in the house is the modern sliding "barn door" at the playroom. It is two barn doors sliding together for closure perpendicular, not parallel. I am just hoping the kids don't destroy it. But David- the architect- said we can put a lower track on it and make sure it doesnt slam together when it closes and it should work! Maybe we could even mount a chalkboard on the back of it for inside the playroom, or just paint a wall in that chalkboard paint which is pretty awesome! Should turn out to be lots of fun. Taking our kids into consideration, we may do half of the room in those foam blocks and mats! That would be pure heaven for them, now I just have to locate those!

Light up the place

2009-08-04T16:33:00.001-07:00

Light fixtures is a thing i don't totally feel qualified to pick. I know for the screened porch we will do this pharos fan from modern fan, we may also do it in the master bedroom (1st pic). For the dining I am deciding between the next two pics. They are both from eurostylelighting.com. Then for Reese's room I am pretty set on this pendant from CB2.com the oversized equator pendant (4th picture). For bathrooms and the playroom and downstairs rooms I am thinking something simple and budget friendly like the last picture also from euro style lighting The disc light under 100$. Lots to choose from! If you have any modern budget friendly close to ceiling lights you like, send a link in the comment section!

Plans: Basement

2009-08-04T12:52:00.001-07:00

So you can enter downstairs off the garage or on the main where a circular drive will put you out near the front door. Bedroom 4 is going to be our spare bedroom/guest/nanny suite. There is an exterior entrance in case a college student or nanny lives with us. The floors down here will all be stained concrete. We have not chosen the stain yet. The room labeled playroom with either be another spare bedroom for now and maybe a future media room. It has a kitchennette to accommodate our guests in case we have someone with an extended stay, they can have their own space. Or a drink and popcorn station for a future media room. Whichever! At the entrance from the garage there will be a mudroom with a bench and cubbies/hooks for shoes and coats and beyond that is all storage and mechanical.

Plans: Top Floor

2009-08-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

So the top floor is where all of the bedrooms are. I like keeping the living and entertaining area separate so I knew I didnt want a bedroom on the main floor. Eventually the playroom could be a bedroom or office if we need to accommodate someone who can't climb stairs or something. Anyways, the stairs come up into a hardwood landing and office area. This will have built in cabinetry and a half wall bookshelf to the left near the stairwell. (the bookshelf and exposed beams upstairs are both something that I didnt notice in the plans until way down the road and I was exstatic! David likes to surprise us with these awesome little details!) This will be nice because currently our "office/bills" area is on our countertop in one section of our kitchen. It will be nice to get the clutter out of the kitchen! The bedrooms are pretty self explanatory. One will be for Reese (our daughter) and one for Wheeler (our son). Each bedroom will be vaulted with exposed stained beams. The rooms will be carpeted. John nixed on our initial plans the balcony off the master (saying we would never use it :( ) and moved the closet across the room to attach to our bathroom. He likes getting ready in one area and not having to walk across the room back and forth from bath to closet. John doesnt like my hair dryer and make up out on the bathroom counter so he had a vanity area put by the window in our closet that i am pretty excited about. We are not doing a tub, contrary to real estate advice. We are not tub people and we would rather have a double shower with a built in seat rather than a smaller shower and separate tub. I think I have talked John out of the steam shower, which he initially wanted. We have a strict budget here John! Casement windows are all upstairs as well.

Of course, these plans in case you are just tuning in are by David Kenoyer, architect http://www.kdkdesigngroup.com/

Plans: Main Floor

2009-08-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

So these are the nearly final plans to the main floor. I wanted a playroom on the main level so that I could hear the kids but still be cooking/cleaning on the main floor. The wall upon entry will be same flush wood material used outside and it will wrap in to the stairwell and end in the kitchen at the pantry and be also on the fireplace. The dashed lines outside of the playroom will be a barndoor that will slide both ways to close off the room with the option of closing off the entire powder/closet area as well. The powder bath will have an exterior door outside to head out to the pool area. The whole main floor is hardwood, we are thinking a natural/matte beech wood. There is a step down into the family room with two square columns wrapped in wood as you go down in. There is an 18ft by 8 feet tall wall of modern sliding glass doors out to a screened porch with a concrete floor. We are excited about the potential to also entertain outside, taking advantage of the great view, but not the mosquitoes! That will be one of our favorite rooms I think. The kitchen will blend into the dining which will also have a door to the screen porch as well as a door out to the back deck. All of the windows are casement (crank open with no center pane) so it will be an unobstructed view all around. The stairs will have a steel rail and be hardwoods as well. The dining will have built in low cabinets on the wall as well.

I think that is about all we have on the main floor nailed down. Still working through backsplash ideas and lighting...

Plans of course, courtesy of our amazing architect, David Kenoyer http://www.kdkdesigngroup.com/

Kitchen-the heart of the home

2009-08-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Well, my biggest excitement lies in the kitchen i believe. That is where everyone ends up hanging out and so may as well make it large and functional. We have never had an island that was super conducive to eating dinner at, entertaining around etc. So that was our first hope. Beyond that, we knew we didnt want same old same old cabinets and speckled countertops (nothing wrong with them, just not our style). So we landed on grey cabinets and a white solid quartz countertop from Caesarstone. The color scheme will be like that of this first picture yet we arent sure on upper cabinets if they will as well be grey or similar to picture with aluminum and frosted glass or even a bamboo type color. Our meeting with the cabinet people is in a few weeks so that will be nailed down soon. Feel free to post your thoughts!

The island will be similar to that of this first picture with the sink in the island (and dishwasher) but we are working on an idea to either just simply extend the counters out to accomodate barstools or to add some sort of floating wood L shaped piece that will sit on top of the island to accent the eating area similar to the picture, but instead it would be parallel and resting on top of part of the island instead of perpendicular. Also still out for vote on that on.

Garage door

2009-08-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with this garage door seen on a Dwell home from Clopay-avante series. I love the glass and just the uniqueness of it. I like the idea of letting a lot of light in the garage interior as well. Plus, due to our lot slope, the garage needs to be on the front of the house, so if it is gonna be front and center it may as well have some pop! I may regret it later when someone hits a ball into it and breaks a pane but they put some film on it to make it hurricane proof for this area. Hopefully hurricane proof = kid proof. :)

Some exterior elements...

2009-08-04T11:53:00.000-07:00

Then we came to the exterior decisions... Still some have yet to be made, but our architect suggested doing cement siding (still considered a "traditional" element" but doing it 4 inches apart instead of the 6 or whatever on a typical home. As well we will be mixing in flush wood siding on the exterior (no overlap) which is a more modern way of using wood siding. This will as well give it a natural/modern blend for the exterior and won't compete with the nature around. *In the picture, notice the dark grey siding which is 4 inch lap instead of larger. Above and right is flush cedar siding.*

We will probably stick to a dark grey/light grey color scheme on the exterior (much like that in this picture) although that is still up for debate.

Builder and Initial decisions...

2009-08-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

So we started the search for a builder and eventually found the one! John Hart with Hart Construction has a great reputation of quality as well as a relationship with our architect and a great execution of more contemporary elements in homes. We hit it off from the get go and he is excited to get this house off the ground and do some cool stuff to it along the way! He pays attention to detail and budget which is excellent! He has been on top of things and takes everything off our plates which is nice. He definitely takes the stress out of it so we can just enjoy the ride. I can't wait to see what he does with the vision! Check him out at http://johnharthomes.com/ and if you are building in the NC area my referral goes to John Hart!

As we started dreaming of what this house could be, our desire settles around family and entertaining as well. One idea we started entertaining was that of a pool. Nothing extremely huge or decked out, but a simple pool to entertain John's employees, friends and the kids. A pool is definitely something we can't come back and do later on our lot so it was one of our first big decisions. I was neither 100% either way on the decision so i left that one up to John and we landed on doing a pool if it would fit in our budget. After looking into it, we could definitely do it for a reasonable cost. John's final decision landed on the fact that he wants our house to be the hang out in the future for our kids, better to have them here and have friends over and we know what they are getting into! :) So builder down and pool it is....

Settled... a foreign concept thus far.

2009-08-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

So we started thinking. With great job security, we are definitely here for 15 years at least. That will get our 3 year old and 1 year old through high school. We are ready to settle. The first 5 years of marriage have been house hopping from atlanta to here. We have lived in 3 houses so far. We are ready to stay in one place long term now! So the idea of building seemed very practical. Plus with the market, you can build a home with instant equity due to the low labor/materials cost. So we started the hunt for an architect. We first found a modern architect and visited some of his properties that were incredible!! With some real estate advice from a few people, we decided, as much as we love the ultra-modern design, it may not be best for resale down the road. It would really narrow our buying pool in the future. So we decided on "a modern blend" being the best fit for us. We then were referred to our incredible architect, David Kenoyer, out of Raleigh. He pushes the envelope way beyond cookie cutter and really uses some clean lines, unique materials, and does things with a modern flare while still appealing to the "masses". (www.kdkdesigngroup.com). He was thrilled about the project having a little more modern element to it and immediately cranked out the first design. It was a perfect fit from the get go. We may have changed little things here and there but he really nailed what we wanted the first time. An open concept floor plan, "nanny suite" with downstairs kitchennette, wide open views, tons of windows, and a warm modern feel. He had great suggestions of using "traditional " elements in modern way and bringing the outdoors in with flush wood texture on the walls and walls of windows. From the outside it may not look ultra modern, but we are using some pretty awesome materials, doing things a little different, and doing a more modern feel inside. The idea was not to detract a more traditional buyer while still appealing to a modern taste. A challenging task but I think it is accomplished! David has been great to work with and I would suggest him to anyone with a variety of styles, he is a master of his trade! (plans courtesy of David Kenoyer- http://www.kdkdesigngroup.com/)

So, I am ready to get going! The idea of living in a house for over a decade is amazing! I cannot wait to get started!

We're here!

2009-08-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

Since moving to the Durham/Chapel Hill area in 2007, we have been renting to decide what part of town we would like to settle in. As much as I personally LOVE being 1.9 miles from the mall, target, and shops galore, we weren't sold on the school district we are in. Our dream has never been to live in a cookie cutter community. We both love modern design. If we could do it without regard to resale we would live in a modern box for sure! We started to think that our dream house would have woods/trees all around. I love the feeling of the woods- peaceful, natural and you feel like you are far out of the city. As we hunted for school districts and areas we like, we narrowed to Chapel Hill. We love the college town, great resaurants and closeness to shopping still. We found an amazing lot about a year ago with a 1950's split level on it that was falling apart. It was the perfect lot! 2 acres of woods with protected woods behind neighboring a million$ plus home development. With some research we put an offer on it and it was declined. 6 months later, still renting we went back to the property, gave the same offer (lowball) and it was accepted. This started the journey of the house!