It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...A House!

 Roof trusses going on

More roof trusses

 

Front porch roof being framed

It's getting there!  I'll be planting myself in a chair on that front porch once this project is done.

Framing Con't

The front porch is started!  The roof trusses go on tomorrow and then they will start "drying in" our house.  We've gotten lucky with weather so far but I'm glad this house is going to be fully enclosed in a few days.  You never know when a Denver snowstorm is going to hit.

 

 Front porch framing -

 

Garage framing - I had no idea the Great Wall was the view my neighbors would now have.  Oh well - it's better than what was there before! 

Visual Progress

I've realized that visual progress makes all the difference in the world when building a house.  You plan for a long time with no real physical action so it starts to feel like this house is a figment of your imagination.

It's a figment no more.  It's happening and it's happening fast!  These pictures also give a glimpse into Brian and my personalities.  I drove by Tuesday, parked, got out of the car, made sure there was no dumpster in the picture....Brian does a drive by picture shooting on Wednesday of the exterior but then gets out of the car and takes tons of interior pictures.  

I think he's more interested in seeing where the wires for his surround sound are going to go than what the outside looks like.  Boys and their toys, right?

 Tuesday

 

Wednesday

The Top: Officially Popped

We {almost} have a 2nd story!

Things are going pretty quickly with the construction so I'm going to post a before and after picture every few days to show the progress as it's taking place.  Brian and I both drive by the new house on our way to and home from work, so we stalk any new construction.

Crew chief Ernesto.  Boss.  He calls Brian "that white boy".

Getting ready to frame the side addition.  Hello neighbors.

 She's taking shape.

 

We have liftoff, people!  2nd story being framed.  That window cutout is right above our soaker tub in the master bathroom.  I will spend much-needed quality time in that little piece of heaven.

Topless!

The roof is off!  

Fun little fact - the skylights on the back part of our neighbors house offer a direct view into their master bath shower.  Lovely.

Ripping the Roof Off

It's happening!  Building is actually moving forward now that we officially have our permit...we were about to tell the city where to go and start building anyways when we got word that we finally had approval.  

 

So....the foundation for the new garage and mudroom were poured along with the addition to the living room....

 

Then the backfilling happened....yes, our yard is the size of a postage stamp.  We are very glad that Wash Park and it's 165 acres of gorgeousness are 3 blocks away.

And now...ripping the roof off.  I definitely thought this would be more exciting...like a lobster-claw-like-machinery would be used and would just grab, squash and pull the roof off but I was totally wrong and slightly disappointed.  Oh well.  It should be completely off tomorrow and then the framing of the 2nd story can start!

Kitchen Dreamland

Nothing makes me more excited than this new kitchen, which means I am officially old.  But seriously....how could I not get excited?  I had 22 feet x 23 feet to do whatever my little heart desired in what is essentially going to be the heart of our home.  Well, not exactly whatever I wanted, since kitchens are expensive, but I could dream.  Since it was such a big space, we are incorporating a sitting area - Brian thinks he's also putting a 42 inch flat screen on the wall.  

Now he's the one dreaming.

Most of the inspiration came from pictures like these - and funny enough, our interior designer labeled them all coastal casual, which pretty much describes me.  Stuck in a landlocked state.  Oh well.  At least my kitchen will be reminiscent of the water.

The farmhouse apron sink was the first thing picked out

 The blue-ish turquoise island was the next must do

White perimeter cabinets and glass-front uppers came from this

Gray/white subway tile for the backsplash

And this is the last decision - super white granite for easy clean-up even though I don't love granite, or carrera marble because it's fantastically beautiful but stains?  Still thinking on that one.  Either way it will be white.

An amazing perk of working with a kitchen designer are the visuals that they can create for you - this is what our kitchen layout will actually look like.  The doorway on the left is a walk-in pantry and the all-freezer and all-refrigerator are on opposite sides of the back wall. 

Visual from behind the island

Behind the island looking out.  Many family dinners to come!