Mission accomplished

First-a very big apology for taking this long to get more pictures of the finished product up. In our defense, it's been a very busy summer settling in and getting the landscaping done (yes, poor excuse) but the front was just finished a couple weeks back so here we are, finally ready to share. It feels pretty amazing having things complete and it's really sinking in that this is now home. We've gotten all sorts of fantastic reaction from those who have seen it so far and we're feeling a tremendous amount of pride. Especially the architect extraordinaire responsible for all of this.


 Exterior front views (and for those of you questioning, steps and driveway were done in concrete)

Some shots of the back (so very exciting to finally have a deck)

Back inside. Here's some shots of the finished front entrance and staircase. Our center display features river stones and a bamboo tree.

A view of the office which is off the front entrance.



And finally, the dining room. Thought the day would never come that we would get our table and it was in no thanks to the original store that we had ordered it from only to cancel the order and go elsewhere. All worked out as I love my table.

Unfortunately we do not have any pics to share of the rooftop patio as we haven't quite gotten to that yet-still trying to figure out how to pay for all of this other stuff first! It'll probably be quite some time before we get to that but it's ready and waiting to be an exciting future project.

Somehow we did it, don't ask me how but we "made a house" (and a pretty darn special one at that). May occasionally still wake up in a cold sweat from time to time but sure enough that feeling will pass and we can now truly enjoy our home.

Thanks for following and who knows, if this site is still around in the future maybe we can add any progress that was made, maybe even share that hot tub on the roof!

And fyi, I plan on staying away from any kind of home improvement store or anything even vaguely related for a very long time.

Home sweet (and we mean sweet) home

Well, we did it! And somehow still standing. We've been living here for 2 weeks now and what a roller coaster it's been. The move went really smoothly, the week before the move, not so much. All 3 of us got sick just in time for the move, as we frantically tried getting the place finished and ready to move in. Note-if ever you decide to build your own home, do not leave one day to do a post construction clean up. Not an easy feat. We've been working away getting settled in, still pretty overwhelmed that we're actually here. Still some minor aesthetic details to finish up inside and exterior landscaping to be completed as well which won't happen for another month or so. Everyone has been asking for pictures so here you go (finally). Been loving the reaction we've been getting from those who have seen the place so far, means alot after all the blood, sweat and tears. So you ask, was it worth it? Seeing and living the finished product (and after the appraisal we received) starting to truly believe it. Would we do it again? You kidding!! Here's some pics which to me don't entirely do justice to it all but hopefully it gives a good idea.

The view from the front entrance (still have to complete our center display box-waiting to put in our bamboo tree)

Another view of the front entrance looking up

Night shot of the staircase with LED lights going up the side

Powder room

The waterfall-everyone's favourite so far

View of the great room-fireplace done in cement board same as  thefront interior wall and same material as the exterior

The lonely dining room-still waiting for my table to be delivered-built a house faster than it took to order the table! Supposed to get it next week, fingers crossed.
And a shout out to Amanda's dad for the fabulous job on all the shades.

And ok, won't keep you waiting any longer as this is all everyone has been asking to see-here's our wonderful new kitchen

Front view

Inside of island looking out towards the great room and dining room to the right-take note of our great new wine fridge on the left-hint hint-wine makes a really nice housewarming gift

Night shot of inside of the island out to the great room

A shot of our just installed backsplash-one large panel of tempered glass.
And the induction touch panel cook top is really quite cool-boils water in like a couple minutes. Fascinating.

And they say that material things can't bring you happiness but my fridge makes me very happy

A few shots upstairs now. Here's one angle of Zara's bedroom-her wall to wall closet to the right.

Zara's bathroom

The mini waterfall-upstairs bath faucets

Master bedroom (sliding barn door to the walk in to the far left)

The ensuite

View of the shower

Still lots of work to be done believe it or not but we're almost there. Check in in a few weeks for some more final details that we'll post. And we'll get some exterior shots up of course once the landscaping is done (and the rooftop patio as well) Can't wait to sit back and enjoy the summer. Thanks for following!

The final countdown

2 weeks til we move in!!! So I'm sure you're wondering, is it actually ready? Doing quite good but still a few details to get done. Waiting for our glass handrails, which are expected this week and those are necessary to get the occupancy permit by the city so fingers are crossed that it goes off without any glitches. Also still waiting for our 2nd level bathroom vanity counters so our bathroom sinks are not hooked up as well. Other than that, some trim, paint touch ups, the fireplace, some kitchen details and small details with the electrical and plumbing are to be completed (that's all). Hoping to have most of it done this week in order to get this place cleaned up before moving in. Not losing sleep at all over the mess by the way. A lot of you have been asking for more pictures so here's some updates. Most of the finishes are covered due to all the work going on so it's hard to give pictures of the total room. Once it's complete and cleaned up, we plan on posting as much as we can get on camera to share. It's starting to sink in that we really did this. Kinda unbelievable and have I mentioned kinda exhausted?

Some exterior pictures now that it's almost totally complete, just some minor finishing touches are to be done, including the exterior wood screen on the long front window and of course the landscaping which will be done in the spring.

And had to share a pic of the mailbox

Of course we had to share some of Zara's room. Here's her bright wall-she actually picked the colour. Keeping green.

And every girl needs a great closet-especially mine!! Here she is with her new wall to wall Pax system from Ikea.

Ok, I guess mommy needed a closet too. Here's a view from the inside (it's not quite complete yet) This is one third of it from one angle.

Let there be light. It was really exicting seeing the lights go up (and on) Here's a few of the fixtures.
The front entrance globes by day.

And by night

The pendants over the kitchen island

One of the bathroom vanity lights

The hardware.
I love my door handles.

Not just any toilet.

Here's the Bernini dual flush system (keeping green to save water)

The ensuite shower.
Once this is all done I may just stand in those jets for an hour.

Powder room faucet.

Of course our guests deserve nothing less than to wash their hands in a waterfall.

And last but definetely not least, my new baby. The Grohe kitchen faucet. I know alot of you have been asking for pictures of the kitchen and I'll be happy to share the pics once it's complete but here's another little peak at one of the highlights including a piece of the quartz counters (on the island overlooking the great room)

Stay tuned for the finished photos to come!!

Sneak peeks

Yes, still alive (and still building). Things have been a little hectic for the past month so I realize I've been neglecting the blog. Big update is we sold our current home (thanks Grapevine-did it in 6 days-and over asking-how about that!!) And we've been moving along with the finishes as we've set our move in date for March 26th-no pressure, really. Even little Z is getting excited now although she has stated that we can't live there yet cause "it's still too scary" since we keep bringing her in the evening with no lights yet. Sprinting to the finish line.
Most of the kitchen cabinets are in (just the cabinets at this point), big portion of the flooring and trim is done and next will be finishing the trim and getting the painters back to do the final coats. It really is a mess in there because there's so much going on at the same time (totally losing sleep) From there, it will be fixtures, closets, bathrooms and lighting left. We are also waiting for our counters, went with the quartz so it takes a month to order. Can we do it??

Because it is such a mess here's some shots of some bits and pieces for now, will have some better ones once it all comes together as the photos truly don't do it justice at this point.

We had our steel stairs fixed so here's a look. The treads will be done in bamboo like the rest of the flooring and the handrail will be glass. The wall to the right is our "great wall". It's done in cement board like the exterior (bringing the outside in) and goes from down in the basement all the way up to the top level. We have it covered to protect it from all the work going on.

Here's a glance at the private roof top patio. Everyone has been asking about it so this is just a little peek-blurry as I took the pic from the inside of the window and obviously lots of snow up there right now. It sits above the great room to the back of the house.

A look at the tile in the ensuite shower

The bamboo flooring going in as we speak

Can't wait to sit back (no really, we can't wait to like sit again) and listen to our surround sound in the great room-had ceiling speakers put in.

A look out towards the front from the upstairs hallway. All sorts of light. Love it.

And just a little preview of the kitchen as we really want to wait to show the finished product. This just gives an idea of the colours and my new toy (our Fisher and Paykel fridge) is covered up to protect it from all the mess. Most of the appliances have been delivered already and are just waiting to be put in place. Very excited.

Almost there. Will try to update some more finished looks soon!