I want to swing from the chandelier...

 
Sia - Chandelier
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vjPBrBU-TM 

Our reactionary strategy has been when there are delays with the house to purchase things we want for the house to feel like we are in more control than we really are!

To that end, Alex and I have been scouring the internet for a chandelier that would be perfect for our dining room.  There are windows from the front into the dining room, so we wanted something sculptural or interesting.  Additionally, we did not want something that was so obtrusive that it would overtake this fairly small room.

Night after night we looked.  Every time we found something we liked, we would scroll down and see it was ridiculously expensive (the most expensive we found and liked was north of $10k).  Crazy right?  Then it happened... we found two we liked.  One was from an artist in Brooklyn without pricing, and the other was very affordable, but out of stock everywhere online.

I emailed the artist and came to find out her chandelier was as expensive as the most expensive we had found, sadly.  The other, which was unavailable online, was more of a challenge.  I called the manufacturer who referred me to their sales distribution rep.  I called him to find out who may have one in stock based on the stores he had sold them to in the past year.  Two calls later, and I had located one right here in Dallas.  A little finagling for holiday sale discounts, and Alex and I were picking up our new chandelier from the Nasher Sculpture Center gift shop.  Imagine an enormous box sticking out of the convertible from then back seat.  Voila.

And we're back...

I know it has been a while since my last post, and suffice it to say that the reason for that has been either a delay in work and/or interior wiring and plumbing work that is not of particular interest.  Also, I've been too busy with life and work to post.  Sorry.

Below are pictures of the first stage of drywall-ing.  We will take a break now to get some plumbing, electrical, security and HVAC items corrected and start back up after Jan 1.  I will post more this week on cabinetry, appliances and the master closet layout-- all of which are planned and sketched out.  We also made some lighting decisions with more to go.  Stay tuned.

Parlor (from great room).  Guest suite hall on right. 

Great Room Fireplace (awaiting design for the wall, mantle, shelving, etc.).

Great Room view and sliding glass doors to courtyard.

Front Door from great room (dining room on left, parlor on right).

Kitchen (refrigerator/freezer cabinet on right).

Kitchen (island will be where pipes are in floor - pantry is opening on left).

Dining room.

Kitchen and hallway to master bedroom, stairs, office, garage and utility room.

Office - doggie door to be added in right side corner for Caleb and Rhody.

Garage.

Hallway leading to master bedroom.  Mud area on left.

Hallway to master bedroom.  Lower cabinetry to be added on right side. 

Master bedroom.

Master Bedroom.

Master closet.

Master bathtub area.

Master shower (body jets, rain feature and shower head).

Hall to great room from master bedroom/garage.

Great Room.

Landing of stairs (halfway).

Second floor (guest rooms on left side (2) and loft area (game room) on right.

Loft area/game room.

First upstairs guest room (bathroom on left, closet not pictured).

Second upstairs guest room.  Closet on left, bathroom on right.

Balcony access from second upstairs guest room.

Construction Update

Things are really moving now-- electrical, plumbing and HVAC are nearly complete.  Windows come this week, bathtubs have arrived and we have made a ton of small, yet important decisions.  

Things you would never think about unless building a house: 
-vent size and number for AC
-number of recessed lights in each space
-electrical outlets installed horizontally instead of vertically
-where you want extra outlets and why
-what height light switches should be at (we stuck with the traditional chest area rather than lower by hand height when arms are down)

We chose hardwood floor material for next month (#1white oak quarter sawn) with what will be some variation on ebony stain.  

What added a cabinet and art focal area outside the master bedroom (Alex's brilliant idea for use of space).  Our builder is incredible agreeable to these kinds of mid-build changes.  We also extended out the wall for the parlor to make it more effective as a TV room.  

We have our first round of cabinet layout for the kitchen... imagine a kitchen island 110" long by 40" wide with a solid surface-- it's going to be amazing.  

Appliances are getting finalized by mid-week next week-- get ready for the announcement!  

Finally, some new pics below to show some of work.  Happy to answer questions or give tours-- it's getting fun now.

Front of House

View from Guest Bedroom to Courtyard (Margaret the Tree)

Guest Bedroom Bathroom with Transom Windows

Dining Room

Great Room with Windows and Sliding Glass Doors to Courtyard

Great Room with view towards Parlor and Front Door

Alex Climbing the Stairs

Kitchen with Transom Windows

Fireplace in Great Room 

Ceiling above Kitchen (tangled mess of HVAC and Electric)

Adding Italy to Domus Rex.

You may not have pieced together that "Domus" is Italian/Latin for a beautiful home. Yet, we have nothing Italian in the home (until now!). 

We have a Bontempi Casa furniture piece, that's removable. To show our commitment to excellent design and bring a piece of Italy into the house, we decided to take savings from well priced faucets in the full bathrooms and splurge on this beauty for the guest half bath that also serves as a cabana bath for the pool area. It is stunning, interesting and not gaudy like some other wall mounted faucets. What do you think?

Canali Faucet by Neve

We have walls and roof cover!

Things seem to be moving very nicely now.  The framing is essentially finished (more pics to come).  We did a walk through today for some minor changes in doors and to designate how doors will open, sliding glass door options and exterior materials.  Electrician, HVAC and plumbing all start in the coming week or so.  

Happy to give tours during construction.

View from the great room towards the parlor.

Stairs.

View from the balcony into the great room (guest suite adjacent to the right).

View of the front entry and parlor.

The kitchen (notice lower ceilings-- intentional and smart!).

Front of the house (dining room on right, front entry way and parlor window to the left).

View from the great room into the courtyard.  14' ceilings with windows above the sliding glass doors. Master suite in the distance across the courtyard.

We've Gone Vertical!

Some real movement now... While Alex and I were on a short vacation to New England, the framing got done.  It is a sight to see.  Happily surprising, the rooms do not feel small!  We have been warned that you cannot tell size from framing and that it will always look small.  Not so.

It looks great from the front, and a great decision to have the second story only above the back of the house to keep our house in good scale to the original feel of the neighborhood. 

Happy to give a tour to anyone.

Front of house.

View from balcony on second floor into great room.

Gatorade-- important to stay hydrated when working.

View from kitchen into great room, parlor and guest suite in the distance.

View from the great room into the courtyard.

A doorbell before the door...

So when only the foundation is done, you're approaching the one year anniversary on the start of the project and you lock down a wonderful professional opportunity, what do you do?  You treat yourself to a fun item for the house to be.  I have been eyeing the most wonderful doorbell for months, and finally got Alex to acquiesce to my desires.  It's damn cool.  Unfortunately, the only online videos of how it functions is crappy, but do watch it to get the full effect.

Click here to see the doorbell in action...