...it's a... growth industry...

There will be a den in the house.  A place for books, a desk, an easy chair.  A place to relax and be alone with your thoughts as much as you can with a 12 and 9 year old boy in the house.  Dens conjure up images of golden retrievers, floor to ceiling book cases, big leather chairs, pipe tobacco and scotch.  We already have a dog but he's a black lab and a part of the family so no getting rid of him.  Also, we don't drink alcohol or smoke so book cases and chairs will have to suffice.

Since the wood floor is darker than the current furniture we'll have to get new items.  Here's what is being considered from Ikea.

Glass Door Cabinet

 Bookcase

Tabletop for the Desk

 And table for the TV - we'll have to get a new TV also - oye! This is getting expensive!

So we'll start saving now and get these one at a time.  Come back in 5 years and hopefully we'll have it all matching and complete.

And in case you're wondering, the title of this post comes from the movie "Grosse Point Blank". While picking up Debi for the reunion Marty is visiting with Mr. Newberry in his den while he reads a book. The conversation goes like this.

Mr. Newberry: What have you been doing with your life?
Marty: Uh... professional killer.
Mr. Newberry: Oh! Good for you, it's a... growth industry.

The dark humor in that movie is irresistible.

It's starting to come together.

The first coat of stucco is on.

Sheetrock is hung and taped.

Before the sheet rock was hung, we did a walk-through with the project manager.  It's impressive the details they cover.  The walls were checked for straightness and either shaved or shimmed to compensate for inconsistencies.  There's a whole house pest treatment system.

Running through the exterior walls of the house are small tubes.  From the exterior of the home the pest control company can come and inject the pesticide and it circulates through then entire home creating a "ring of defense".  I've read up on it and some naysayers allege that it not only keeps the bugs out but also keeps them in.  Hmmm.  Well, the fact that the company has to be paid to do this eliminates the option.  Alas, we are cheap in that area.  What is cool is the smart box in the master closet.

All things tech go into this box including phone, satellite and the DSL.  We have satellite but that's never been a problem.  Phone, nope - we're 100 percent cellular.  DSL - a distinct advantage due to the fact that no modem is required.  The router plugged directly into the wall is our onramp to the information superhighway! The mortgage company also let us know today that "now is the time to lock-in our rate".  There's nothing like a Christmas move!

It's so small, they recently had the whole country carpeted.

The title to this post comes from the movie Arthur.



In past houses, we've had cheaper carpet and the wear paths come too quickly.  Once those paths appear they serve as a constant reminder of the future need to pay a lot of money on flooring and frankly, wouldn't we all want to spend our money on something other than carpeting?  So this time we decided to put all our extra budgeted money into carpeting. 

At Legacy Books we quickly fell in love with their sisal carpeting.  We went for a similar look.  I came across a post at The Newlywed Diaries which had a carpet very similar if not identical to what we chose. 

So here's hoping this carpet will last like we were told it would.  No wear marks for at least 7 years.  Wouldn't that be great?!

Sheet rocking started today.  The entire upstairs is hung and 75 percent of downstairs is complete.  Tape and texture should be complete by next week.  Onward and upward!

Work Continues

Wow, it's been too long. Work continues on the house. It's ready for stucco. The electrical, phone, cable etc are all in. Insulation appears to be substantially complete. Tomorrow they're supposed to begin hanging the sheet rock. Things are moving along and we look forward to getting out of the rental into a place where we can hang our photos.

Have I mentioned that Andrew Wythe is a favorite? To this day, Christina's World stops me in my tracks.  I remember as a little child staring at my mother's print of the painting and being impressed that the girl is crippled, perhaps with polio.  I wondered how she got out into that field.  Was she waiting for someone to get her?  Perhaps she was left alone and stranded there with no way to return to the protection of her home.  I remember how I'd stay in my great-grandmother's farm house in Kansas.  This scene reminded me of summer vacations there.  This is the only painting that really moves me the way art is supposed to.

But alas, I digress.  Adieu.

A Brazilian Beauty

On Saturday we went and picked out the granite for the kitchen counters.  Here is the main slab that we chose.

We decided to go with a Brazilian granite.  Sounds exotic eh?  We thought so also until we were told that roughly 80% of granite comes from Brazil.  So that's like saying we went with a "German Volkswagen" just to sound posh.  On our way home we worked on channeling our New Englander snob - "Yes, but is your granite from Brazil?"  Think of Louis Winthorpe III when saying it and you'll get it just right.

 

We're happy with the choice.  It's a neutral color and provides for flexibility with the accent colors.  So now we're done with selections and await the house to be completed.  The plumbing is in right now and we're expecting electrical soon.  Then we sign off on the electrical before the sheet rock is hung.  This should all happen by the end of the month.

The roof is also on for the most part.  This is good since there is a storm forecast for early this coming week.  Having the roof on will hopefully prevent loss of work days.  I was very pleased to see them working on Saturday to get the roof on.  Here's a photo from earlier in the week of the tiles getting loaded to the roof.

We hope to close before the end of the year and realize it will be close. We have nothing but good to say so far about the builder and the process.  This is our 2nd home we built and the 5th one we've bought and it's been the best experience - from the realtors to the construction crews to the suppliers. As things progress we get more excited to move in.

Watching Paint Dry

We haven't posted for some time.  Life has been busy.  There was a family reunion in Arizona.  Business trip to Chicago.  Conference and friends in Utah.

As for the title of the post - it appears that right now watching the house be built is like watching paint dry.  Very subtle changes week by week.  We're told that once the exterior is done, sheet rock is hung and cabinets are in then things move quickly.  We hope so as the goal is to close and move in by the end of the year.

During all this time we managed to make it to the design center and had a productive morning with Troy picking out tile, paint color and carpet.  Here's a photo of our final choices.

We're happy with the choices and think it will go well with our existing furniture.  There's a couple of pieces that will need to be replaced but those are minor.  During our time at the center, we were looking to upgrade tile in the heavy traffic areas downstairs.  Then Troy threw a "wrench in the gears" by saying that we could go with wood and also save some money.  We jumped at that suggestion and substituted wood floors for tile.  The wood should make for a great entry into the home.

 

The roof is decked and appears to be ready for the tile.  Sheet rock is sitting in the garage.  And there appear to be boxes ready for the lights on the front of the house.

So that's the update - and more design and decorating inspiration to come this week - we promise!