We've finally broken ground on our dream home! Can you believe it? (You can follow our construction progress here, along with lots of construction drama - the neighbors building their fence on our property, discovering we'd placed our house on a bunch of expensive rocks, our concrete footings being destroyed by a freak hail storm, etc.) Even more surprising than finally building the house we've dreamed of for years, we actually managed to work a good chunk of our ridiculous wish list into the actual design.
*Update*
Construction is finished! It took longer than expected and cost more too (that's how construction works, right?), but we are finally living in our mountain dream home and it's even better than I'd hoped! Here is a photo of our new kitchen and living room.
Original post from 2013:
Sexy Nerd wants to move up building our dream home to yesterday. I still don't know what I want though! Yes, it's difficult to decide on things like paint colors, flooring, and appliances. My problem is a bit worse.
Should we build one of those adorable 500 square feet mini houses? A (budget-friendly) mansion? A charming stone cottage?
Ultra-modern??
The internet makes it easy to find great design ideas for building our dream house. The downside is that all my favorite photos combine to make an overpriced, mismatched conglomeration.
According to my Pinterest account, my dream house has:
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*Update*
Construction is finished! It took longer than expected and cost more too (that's how construction works, right?), but we are finally living in our mountain dream home and it's even better than I'd hoped! Here is a photo of our new kitchen and living room.
Our Dream Home
Believe it or not, our budget was meager. Really! My husband built the coffee table from an olive trunk and did the thin brick backsplash himself. Eventually, he's going to take the brick all the way to the top of the ceiling. He also created the three-tier chandeliers (three chandeliers total - yeah, he's pretty great).
See that sad little doggy above? When we first moved in, poor Pica didn't understand that we were here to stay - she kept trying to jump in the car to go back home. Dogs will break your heart.
See that sad little doggy above? When we first moved in, poor Pica didn't understand that we were here to stay - she kept trying to jump in the car to go back home. Dogs will break your heart.
I was responsible for all of the shopping and decorating decisions and design details and layout. We had the tongue-and-groove installed upside down (rough-side down) with Sherwin Williams Hawthorne stain, which was the perfect choice. The wall color is Polite White from Sherwin Williams and the kitchen cabinets are just a pure white - no tint. I went high/low with the cabinet hardware, mixing pricey hammered pulls from Pottery Barn with $1 knobs from Amazon. Those gorgeous chairs with nailhead trim? They were only about $150 each through Wayfair! Pretty much everything else you see was an open-box clearance item that someone else had returned.
Well, maybe everything except Pica. All the construction and moving wore her out! Have you ever seen a Jack Russell stay so still?
Original post from 2013:
Sexy Nerd wants to move up building our dream home to yesterday. I still don't know what I want though! Yes, it's difficult to decide on things like paint colors, flooring, and appliances. My problem is a bit worse.
Should we build one of those adorable 500 square feet mini houses? A (budget-friendly) mansion? A charming stone cottage?
Ultra-modern??
The internet makes it easy to find great design ideas for building our dream house. The downside is that all my favorite photos combine to make an overpriced, mismatched conglomeration.
According to my Pinterest account, my dream house has:
...a dramatic front entrance...
6/25/17 Update: Our entrance is dramatic - and bright, sunshine yellow, much to my Nana's horror.
I think our yellow doors turned out nicely...though when we're enjoying a glass of wine by the fire pit, enjoying the New Mexico sunset, everything seems nice.
...this eye-catching wall of mirrors...
6/25/17 Update: We almost had a wall of mirrored cabinets in the kitchen, but Sexy Nerd and our builder and everyone else in the world talked me into only mirroring a few upper cabinets. The words "crazy" and "ugly" were thrown around more than I'd anticipated.
6/25/17 Update: We almost had a wall of mirrored cabinets in the kitchen, but Sexy Nerd and our builder and everyone else in the world talked me into only mirroring a few upper cabinets. The words "crazy" and "ugly" were thrown around more than I'd anticipated.
7/15/18 Update: My wall of mirrored cabinets would have bounced the natural light around and looked amazing. When building your own dream home, stick to your guns! Next house, I guess.
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...stone accents like these...
6/25/17 Update: We did not build a beach house.
6/25/17 Update: We did not build a beach house.
....a copper apron sink...
6/25/17 Update: I got my hammered copper apron sink. It's my favorite part of our new kitchen.
6/25/17 Update: I got my hammered copper apron sink. It's my favorite part of our new kitchen.
...a charming brick fireplace...
6/25/17 Update: The fireplace is stone, but it's very charming. We do have a brick wall in the guest bathroom, all the way to the 16' ceiling.
Photos of our real-life fireplace.
Photos of our real-life red brick bathroom.
6/25/17 Update: The fireplace is stone, but it's very charming. We do have a brick wall in the guest bathroom, all the way to the 16' ceiling.
Photos of our real-life fireplace.
Photos of our real-life red brick bathroom.
...a floor-to-ceiling window...
(Though perhaps the bathroom isn't the most appropriate place for this.)
6/25/17 Update: None of the windows are entirely floor-to-ceiling, but we sure came close. We could even have gotten away with this in our master bathroom, as it's completely private. There is a large window inside the guest bathroom shower, which is not completely private. We want our guests to be comfortable, but not so comfortable that they move in.
6/25/17 Update: None of the windows are entirely floor-to-ceiling, but we sure came close. We could even have gotten away with this in our master bathroom, as it's completely private. There is a large window inside the guest bathroom shower, which is not completely private. We want our guests to be comfortable, but not so comfortable that they move in.
...a quatrefoil ceiling in the master bedroom...
6/25/17 Update: After going around and around with our builder, there isn't a single quatrefoil in the entire house. We do have a double tray ceiling in the master bedroom though.
6/25/17 Update: After going around and around with our builder, there isn't a single quatrefoil in the entire house. We do have a double tray ceiling in the master bedroom though.
...a brick ceiling inside the kitchen...
6/25/17 Update: The ceiling is stained wood and the red brick is going on the kitchen wall as a countertop-to-ceiling backsplash. Sexy Nerd is going to install it because our tile guy charges $11/sq ft (!!!) to install brick, not including materials. And that's thin, lightweight, fake brick.
7/15/18 Update: I just re-read that last part and I'm still mad. $11/sq ft?! That's obscene.
6/25/17 Update: The ceiling is stained wood and the red brick is going on the kitchen wall as a countertop-to-ceiling backsplash. Sexy Nerd is going to install it because our tile guy charges $11/sq ft (!!!) to install brick, not including materials. And that's thin, lightweight, fake brick.
7/15/18 Update: I just re-read that last part and I'm still mad. $11/sq ft?! That's obscene.
...a curved floor in the guest bathroom...
(But with shorter cabinets and different tile that continues all the way to the door.)
6/25/17 Update: Our new house has EXACTLY this. See our curved bathroom floor here. Betcha didn't see that one coming, did you?
6/25/17 Update: Our new house has EXACTLY this. See our curved bathroom floor here. Betcha didn't see that one coming, did you?
...the cutest little writer's nook...
(Lack of a writer's nook must be why I haven't finished my novel yet. Stupid current house, stifling my creativity.)
6/25/17 Update: The cozy writing nook is tucked into a closet behind a charming glass door. Still no novel though.
(Lack of a writer's nook must be why I haven't finished my novel yet. Stupid current house, stifling my creativity.)
6/25/17 Update: The cozy writing nook is tucked into a closet behind a charming glass door. Still no novel though.
...this ceiling...
(How did they even create this?)
6/25/17 Update: It has been 4 years since I wrote this blog post. I still have no idea how this ceiling was created.
6/25/17 Update: It has been 4 years since I wrote this blog post. I still have no idea how this ceiling was created.
...a cobblestone floor like this for the patio...
(And maybe inside the house too?)
6/25/17 Update: No cobblestones, but we nailed the indoor-outdoor vibe with Villa Medici tile extending from the front patio to the foyer to the back patio.
(And maybe inside the house too?)
6/25/17 Update: No cobblestones, but we nailed the indoor-outdoor vibe with Villa Medici tile extending from the front patio to the foyer to the back patio.
...one of these rooftop tower dealies...
(Rooftop tower dealies is so much more fun to say than cupola. Try it.)
6/25/17 Update: We were (are) overbudget enough without a rooftop tower dealie.
(Rooftop tower dealies is so much more fun to say than cupola. Try it.)
6/25/17 Update: We were (are) overbudget enough without a rooftop tower dealie.
...a fountain on our rooftop deck...
(Can't have a fountain on the ground with the bears and mountain lions, after all.)
6/25/17 Update: We were confident we'd rarely trudge up the stairs to a rooftop deck. OH MY GOD THE FOUNTAIN IS DOWN ON THE GROUND AND THE BEARS AND MOUNTAIN LIONS ARE GOING TO DEVOUR US AND EVERYONE WE HOLD DEAR. Look out, Pica and Biscuit.
6/25/17 Update: We were confident we'd rarely trudge up the stairs to a rooftop deck. OH MY GOD THE FOUNTAIN IS DOWN ON THE GROUND AND THE BEARS AND MOUNTAIN LIONS ARE GOING TO DEVOUR US AND EVERYONE WE HOLD DEAR. Look out, Pica and Biscuit.
...this brick barrel ceiling inside the dining nook...
6/25/17 Update: The dining nook has a groin vault and Sexy Nerd plans to cover it in something someday. One of the hallways has a barrel vault ceiling and that needs to be covered too. I'd be fine wallpapering both. (Translation: I'd be fine shopping for wallpaper and doing anything else while SN struggles to install it on a curved ceiling.)
6/25/17 Update: The dining nook has a groin vault and Sexy Nerd plans to cover it in something someday. One of the hallways has a barrel vault ceiling and that needs to be covered too. I'd be fine wallpapering both. (Translation: I'd be fine shopping for wallpaper and doing anything else while SN struggles to install it on a curved ceiling.)
...a view straight into the backyard when you step through the front door...
6/25/17 Update: See "cobblestone", above. Nailed it!
6/25/17 Update: See "cobblestone", above. Nailed it!
...acid stained concrete floors in a shade like this...
6/25/17 Update: Apparently, way back in 2013, I was planning to build a modern house.
6/25/17 Update: Apparently, way back in 2013, I was planning to build a modern house.
...metal accents like this...
(But with nice crisp corners.)
6/25/17 Update: Shoot, I forgot all about this. It's never too late, right?
("Yes, it is too late," says my husband, who lost patience with the construction process 10 months ago.)
6/25/17 Update: Shoot, I forgot all about this. It's never too late, right?
("Yes, it is too late," says my husband, who lost patience with the construction process 10 months ago.)
...these windows!
6/25/17 Update: We have these exact windows, only with plus signs instead of plus signs with diamonds. So, the exact same but not the exact same.
6/25/17 Update: We have these exact windows, only with plus signs instead of plus signs with diamonds. So, the exact same but not the exact same.
What do you think? Can all my photos be merged into just 1 house? Are the design gods going to strike me down?
Sexy Nerd is ready to build, but based on my saved photos, our house fund is going to need at least a couple (dozen) more years of padding.
Disclaimer: Many of these photos are from Pinterest and I'm unsure of their original source. If a photo belongs to you, please let me know and I will be happy to add a link to your site or remove the photo from this post.
Disclaimer: Many of these photos are from Pinterest and I'm unsure of their original source. If a photo belongs to you, please let me know and I will be happy to add a link to your site or remove the photo from this post.