Week 19: Full Steam Ahead

It was another productive week at the house as well as on the interior design front. We are pushing forward, full steam ahead. I feel like we are making big decisions left and right, as well as doing our own part to help out in order to save some cash. Life is busy! If all goes well, we're thinking we may be wrapped up (minus exterior work) by the end of March. March! Let's dive into some of the details...

Drywall work continued this week with mudding, taping and sanding. We had to make a few adjustments which slowed things down slightly, but we should be wrapped up with all drywall work by the end of this week. The entire space has really brightened up and actually feels a lot bigger - I anticipated the opposite.

Quick pro tip in case anyone is planning to build a house or do major renovations one day... construction drawing measurements RARELY equal actual measurements. We were "off" by an inch here and there on several key walls in which we had already planned (and purchased) our cabinetry. Instead of moving walls (expensive), we adjusted our cabinetry. It made for a stressful few days, but I'd highly recommend planning to adjust measurements or if you have the flexibility, wait to do any cabinetry purchases or measuring until the final space is ready.

Guess what else happened this week? Our slider was installed! Yes, the infamous 12' slider is officially in place and looking f-i-n-e. The entire first floor is now flooded with light and the view overlooking the back of the property is one for the books.

I'm already looking forward to the day we can relax with both doors wide open, a warm breeze wafting the sweet scent of summer throughout the house.

I think that's about it for big updates in regards to construction, but Tyler and I have been busy with a few other projects that will come to fruition in about a month - cabinets and paint! Believe it or not, I'm a little picky when it comes to design. I'm sure you're shocked. :)

In order to get just what we wanted without spending a fortune, Tyler and I decided to use IKEA cabinetry. We were able to use IKEA's planning tool (I'm fairly certain we are officially experts) to design every square inch of our kitchen, guest and master bathrooms. As I said above, things have had to change slightly, but Tyler and I agree it likely worked out for the best (despite the minor freak out at the time!).

To get a slightly more "custom" look, we purchased our cabinet fronts through Semihandmade. Semihandmade offers 3/4" doors (IKEA's are 1/2") in a wide range of colors and materials. We ultimately decided to go with their DIY Shaker and DIY Slab line which we can paint any color we wish - like I said, we're picky. :)

Since we're using IKEA, Tyler and I have been responsible for all design, purchase and transportation of the material. FYI - Yes, you can fit an entire kitchen and two bathrooms worth of cabinetry in two SUV's ; however, I would NOT recommend it. haha I'm fairly certain we were the entertainment of the day at IKEA... but we did it! Real-life Tetris at its finest.

Tyler and I are now also responsible for assembling all of the cabinetry. While it's been a little stressful and has taken up several weekends of travel, we are saving a lot of money. At the end of the day, we're expecting to spend less than $10,000 for all cabinetry, doors, drawers AND hardware for a kitchen, guest bathroom and master bathroom.

In addition to cabinetry, Tyler and I have also taken it upon ourselves to be in charge of paint. I fell in love with a paint company called Dunn-Edwards and have had my heart set on using their paint ever since we decided to build. They offer some wonderful zero VOC paint and have the BEST colors - extremely important when you're as picky about the "perfect white" as I am. The company is based in Arizona and only has retail stores as far east as Texas. In case you're wondering, Indiana is NOT close to Texas. :)

After some research and finger crossing, I stumbled upon a distributor in Louisville, KY, Honest Home, that was able to make my dreams come true. Tyler and I made the two-hour drive down and picked everything up this weekend (along with some new cabinetry at IKEA in Cincinnati) and are looking forward to seeing everything go on the walls in a few weeks! I've found that we've been able to make just about all of our wants come to life, it just takes some time and sweat on our part.

The house is really coming together, and it is feeling more and more like home every day. If all goes well, drywall work should be finished up this week followed by tile and hardwood flooring installation the following week. Stay tuned!