Like everything in my life right now, this house update blog is WAY behind schedule, but since I’m six months pregnant, chasing a busy toddler around, building a house and still working and traveling a lot, I am giving myself a bit of grace and living by the “better late than never” motto these days. So here we go!

A LOT has been happening at our build site and it’s really starting to take shape and look like a real home. It still hasn’t quite clicked that we actually get to LIVE here eventually, but other than a few hiccups, it’s been a surprisingly fun process (despite all the warnings that building a custom home is the worst thing ever and causes marriages to fall apart hah). Tim and I have definitely had a few minor disagreements about house-related things (mostly when I go over budget or change my mind after a deadline…whoops) but for the most part, we have very similar taste and also both have our strengths in different areas of the build: Tim is the numbers guy and understands more about building materials and blueprints and the rest of that man-stuff, while I love the design and planning aspect–from the floor plan to the decor, trim, colors, materials, space planning, finishes etc. We’ve become pretty efficient at divvying up the responsibilities to whoever is better equipped and so far it’s been fairly seamless.

Since my last home build update, we’ve added some SUPER cool elements to the house that I’m so excited to share with y’all!

One thing that comes straight out of my farmhouse dreams is our Panoramic Doors that lead from our open-plan kitchen/dining area out to the covered porch. As you probably know, we LOVE all things outdoors and one of our main goals was to make our home feel like we are “bringing the outside in” by having a ton of natural light, big windows and outdoor space. So these sliding glass doors are 16 feet wide (we have four doors that are 4 feet each) and you can open one individually or they slide and stack on top of each other and fold back against the wall so we can have the entire 16 foot opening WIDE OPEN. Yes, wiiiiiiide open. Fresh air errrrrrwhere. It’s honestly the greatest invention and when Tim discovered Panoramic Doors, we knew it would be perfect for us.

To sweeten the “outdoor living” element even more, we’re installing Phantom Screens on our porch which are floor-to-ceiling screens that retract into the ceiling and leave the space wide open so we can essentially feel like we’re outside, when we’re sitting in the kitchen! Once those get installed, I’ll take some photos and give you the full rundown because the whole set-up is going to be A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Another element that has made the exterior of the house dreamy, are the wooden beams from Caribou Creek out of Idaho. If Tim had his way, our entire house would be made of logs but my home style is a bit less rustic but I still LOVE wood elements so we found the perfect balance with these beauts. We used Douglas Fir wood and added them to the exterior gables, including our porte-cochère (aka drive-through carport) which makes the front of the house the perfect combination of country and elegance. Caribou Creek is a family business, which I love, and their log-homes are honestly incredible. I’ve seen their work for years and finally got a chance to incorporate it into our home and couldn’t be happier! We are putting a clear coat on the exterior beams because we love their warm color against the white board and batten and dark grey roof (which are both in progress!). Caribou Creek also made the ceiling beams that will be going up in our great room and we’re trying to decide whether we want to stain them or leave them natural… the jury is still out!

 

 

Our cedar shake just got added to the dormers, which is a third wood species (in addition to our Douglas Fir exterior beams and our Mahogany exterior doors) and I was nervous it would look like a modge-podge of different wood shades but they all go really well together, thank goodness. We’re clear-coating the shake too because we LOVE the natural cedar color and want it to stay.

Those are the major updates I wanted to share. The exterior is actually already completely painted, but these photos were taken right before that happened so you can’t see it here, but we used Alabaster White from Sherwin Williams and I LOVE IT. I went back and forth on which shade of 203920932 white options I wanted to use and finally chose one and it’s beyond perfect. Next up is insulation (we’re using the experts at Prime Energy Group), drywall and shiplap, shiplap, shiplap!! My childhood home is full of shiplap (before Joanna Gaines made shiplap cool) and I’ve always loved it.  Then it’s time for the cabinets to be delivered and installed followed by the tiles and countertops and BOOM! We’re basically done!!! Minus lighting and flooring and trim and landscaping and about 29033 other things that need to get completed too – ha.

Our builder, Clifton Hicks, told me at the very beginning of the build that “if you aren’t having fun during the build, I’m not doing my job right”, and that has really stuck with me because whenever things get a little hectic and crazy, I remind myself that I am SO LUCKY to build a home in the country and I should re-focus the stress into an attitude of gratitude. So in saying that, I am SO grateful to be moving out to the country and building this forever home with Tim for our little family. I CAN NOT WAIT TO LIVE THERE!!!!!!!

Thanks so much for following along!!! I’m always amazed how many people love getting house updates, so if that’s you, this blog is for YOU! If you have any advice or suggestions, please comment below!!! We’ve never built before so by the time we’re finished, I KNOW that there will be plentyyyyy of things we miss or wish we had known, so I’m always up for ideas from anyone who’s done this before!

Be back next week with a new blog! Make sure you’re subscribed so you get the newest posts straight to your inbox before everyone else!

Here’s a quick recap of the absolutely amazinggggg vendors we’re working with on the things I’ve mentioned in this blog–they’re seriously the BEST in all things quality, customer service, and efficiency:

• Fir Beams: Caribou Creek
• Retractable Screens: Phantom Screens
• Sliding Glass Doors: Panoramic Doors
• Insulation: Prime Energy Group
• Builder: Clifton Hicks

 

And as always, photos by my beautiful friend, Jennifer Wilson Photography!

Keep everyone in the loop by sharing this post: