Ever wanted to build a real, custom dream home? We did, twice. And we learned an awful lot in the process. Follow along with the major ups and downs of custom home building in the posts below.
The rock wall is no more! Just before the driveway was poured, we discussed possibly sharing a fence with our soon-to-be neighbor. Since they were just contemplating digging their foundation, he didn’t know how he wanted to manage it. But we were left with the problem of having the west side of our backyard several [...]
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Recently I told you that after a year of living in the house, we finally got our mailbox finished. I simply posted to find a mason, and within a few days, it was being completed. Now, every time I back out of the driveway, I feel good. And so does Sam. For 12 months, approaching [...]
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A have a new friend and neighbor down the street named Kim. She lives in another custom home — her husband is a contractor. Her home is another version of the modern craftsman. When we were building and trying to decide on some of the subcontractors, she invited us over to look at some of [...]
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If you’re looking for a seriously modern punch for your custom home, think about adding a vessel sink or two. What is a vessel sink? It’s a free-standing sink that that is placed directly on top of a counter. They are most often used in bathrooms. Vessel sinks come in a wide variety of materials: [...]
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Our tile installer, as I’ve told you before, was fabulous to work with. We used lots of tile in the house, even though we have all cement flooring. We used tile for showers, tub surrounds, and back splashes. I’ve told you how much I love the glass tile in our kitchen. I found variegated subway [...]
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A year after the completion of our home, we still have a couple of minor projects left undone. One of those is completing our custom mailbox enclosure. The physical enclose was finished last fall, the mailbox securely embedded in the weatherproof material. But the cultured stone and cement number block are still waiting to be [...]
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When we moved from Florida to Utah, we had the grand idea that we were going to be gentleman farmers. We had purchased five acres of land with animal rights and were getting ready to make our way on our ranchette. We planned for horses, mini-cows, chickens, and goats. We’d also have a large vegetable [...]
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I realize I stil haven’t completed my final post on the landscape. With the end of summer and the cooler weather closing in, we’re trying to wrap up all the final issues, replace plants that didn’t survive the year (or the deer!) and get everything ready to sleep for the winter. We love the yard [...]
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Chaotic surroundings are stressful. Ordered surroundings allow peace, creativity, and all manner of good stuff to flow. For years I’ve collected brochures showing fabulous garage storage systems and steel storage cabinets. Although I don’t spend much time in the garage, my penchant for organizing means that I’d love to step out of the car to [...]
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A brand new home often calls for brand new furniture. Your new home will have it’s own color palette, new room sizes and configurations, and different purposes. The furniture should match the new rooms. Yesterday I had a couple of friends over and they asked where I got the latest additions to our slowly-but-surely-furnishing-the-home collection. [...]
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We spent the bulk of our Labor Day holiday, laboring over furniture choices. When we finally went home, we ended up with less cash in our wallets, but some great furniture bargains: 2 tan swivel gliders for the library 2 fabulous brown pillows for the library 1 leather cocktail ottoman with storage for the family [...]
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Every time Sam and I went to a home show (and we went to far more than he’d care to remember!), I looked at a booth displaying copper rain gutters and accessories. Watching rain run down a verdigrised chain, draping from the roof to the ground, was far more romantic than a rusty old downspout. [...]
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Leaving your door unlocked at night — or even during the day — has become a thing of the past in most places in the country. Unfortunately, the general cultural understanding of respect for others’ property has been largely replaced by a take-what-you-can-get mindset. While I’d love to return to many of the valued of [...]
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When you design your own home, you can customize not just the placement of rooms and look of the architecture, but also the function of the home. Custom homes that are well-designed not only look good, but make your life more comfortable and productive due to the built-in efficiencies. One of the things we did [...]
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This post is far too late — as are a number of other posts reporting on the final steps of the build of our home. Our months-late move in was preceded by our daughter’s engagement — both of which left us with too much to do and too little time. To top it off I [...]
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When people visit our new home, they are often surprised that we have concrete floors throughout the house. The main floor has polished concrete and the basement has acid washed concrete (the upstairs has dragon board (another post all together) and the stairs are stained/sealed wood). Given the popularity of wood, carpet, and tile, we [...]
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Back in the day when the Farrah Fawcett hairdo was the only hair worth doing, it was imperative to have an unimpeded view of the entire back of head. If you can’t see the back of your head, how can you be perfectly coifed? I grew up in a home that was built in 1968. [...]
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In order to meet code, we had to screw straps through the base floor and into the floor trusses with the end attached to the cement wall panels. This was completed today.
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In our last home all our sinks (with the exception of the laundry room) were either integrated or undermount. In the new house, there won’t be any exceptions. Undermount sinks don’t have nasty lips that trap gunk and debris. When you have food and liquid on the counter, wiping them directly into the sink is [...]
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Custom building is a nightmare. We’ve been through that. Building a tract home that a crew has built over and over will still have mistakes and miscommunication. But building a custom home is just asking for trouble because the general contractor and subcontractors have no experience with your design. It’s a first-time-only-time build. No chance [...]
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