hello windows!

So I received a lovely text last evening from Florida...... "the windows are in"..... why from Florida?  Well apparently JTB needed some warm weather :)  Can't say I blame him- the weather has been brutal.  BTW - jtb (joe the builder or Mr. Fahey) should not be confused with jth (joe the husband.)

Those who know me, know that I am not a very patient person- so I decided I had to go and check it out myself- TODAY.   JTH took the older kids to VT this weekend, but I stayed home with Will since he is not feeling so hot.  Sorry Will, I packed you up with your fever and cold and made the trip. Pretzels, juice and a movie kept you very happy.

The windows were indeed in, and the house is really taking shape.

Here are some updated pics of the house with the windows installed. I am glad that I made the last minute change to 4 over 1 instead of 6 over 1.  The 4 is for the amount of grids on the top of the window and the 1 means just one open glass on the bottom.  Still waiting for the sliders and the round window to go in to the back of the house facing the water.


Here are  pictures facing out from the family/great room.  Cant wait for the deck to be done!

Here is the view of the back of the house- still waiting on top and bottom decks and large round window to be installed on top floor.

starting to look like the inspiration house-  that sounds very HGTV, doesn't it?

Moving along

The latest pic from JTB......aka joe the builder :)

                                                       looks good- love the trim!

And- love the sign.

Maybe Modern

So I have been filling folders with beach house pictures for..... oh about 5 years (not kidding)-
it is fun to look back on what I thought I loved.  Sort of like the Queen Anne dining room set that I just had to have when first married.  Oh boy, did I love a whole set of furniture.  Needless to say, that set is long gone -much to husband's dismay.  Anyway.... for some reason,  the older I get, the more I am drawn to modern interiors.  Perhaps, it's because the modern aesthetic is so clean.  It is without clutter, without busy, complicated materials.  Lets face it, in a house with three kids, there just is a lot of clutter. No way around it.  Not that I don't love 3rd grade self portraits or the obligatory kindergarden cut out snowflake, but sometimes (yes, I am admitting this) I feel like I am drowning in paper and school folder castaways.
So, I think that a beach house, an escape house,  should be serene, different and yes, whimsical.  I realize that whimsical can be scary. Not lighthouse shower curtain whimsical, but fun (in a chic way.)  I promise not to have seashells and seahorses in every single room- not one "life is better at the beach" sign. The trick will be to incorporate a modern look that is family friendly-  and not so modern as to fight the look of the exterior.
Below are some photos that inspire me....what do you think?

The above photo is from Meg Ryan's Martha's Vineyard house- LOVE

 Above- fun kitchen photo- love the blue and green together.

Above- from the portfolio of Molly Frey - she is a fantastic designer. I think that is a fabulous Anne Packard painting in the hallway....I can dream, right?

 OK, so maybe not totally modern, but so clean and uncluttered. I love the contrast  of the warm wood table with the slipcovered couches.

Above- A design by Frank Roop- he blends modern and colorful with perfection!

Taking Shape

We headed down to see the progress today.  It really feels like a house now.  Starting to get into the details like where we want lights, sconces etc......the children were excited to see where their rooms will be.  I still have to pinch myself-  I just want to go straight to picking out paint colors.....but that will be awhile.

This is the view from the window over the kitchen sink.....I don't think I will ever get tired of it :)

How about a roof?

The latest pictures show the roof trusses being installed!  Looks like a house- and more importantly....the deck is going on :)

What will it look like?

So a few people have asked...what will it look like?  Well,  this is the home that I found on the web and fell in love with.  We have a very (extremely) narrow lot so this home fit the bill. The original home was 1 foot from the lot line, really. So, we did not have a lot of room to work with.  The neighbors are quite close....lets hope they like dogs.   

Our architect, Joel Silverwatch (Salem, NH) made some great changes and designed the interior to be an upside down floor plan. Joel's design really captured the look and feel of this home.   He was able to fit in all of our requests in not a lot of square footage. Btw, I highly recommend him.  Joe Fahey referred us to him.  He was so easy to work with, really listened to us and was super quick.

Our home will have round white columns instead of the stone (basically a budget choice- although I do love the stone) and  white railings.  Yes, there will be cocktails on the porch.

Point of View

  

So maybe it's just because I've been trapped in the house way too much lately, but it occurred to me today that building a house is a lot like raising a family. It starts out as a very romantic dream, with visions of perfection and order. You quickly realize that in life, like any construction project, there are a lot of unromantic and not so fun parts. You know what I am  talking about - fevers, teething, middle of the night wake ups, unpredictable tantrums and  pure exhaustion caused directly from the one million times a day that I have to say, "stop touching your brother." 


 My close friend Jonna and I have this joke that we want to create a reality show where we kidnap a new bride right before she goes on her honeymoon and gently explain to her that she has no bloody idea what she has gotten herself into. The show, like the movie "Christmas Carol"  would show her what her life will truly be like in the future.  Ahhh, the possibilities. I think if you really knew what your were getting yourself into when building a home, you might think twice.


 Like life, the construction project continues,  we are picking out tile and faucets  and trying to stay on budget.  At home, we  arrange playdates and after school activities in a way that keeps everyone happy, healthy and well rounded.  There are snowstorms, snowdays and school delays.  The construction crew misses days due to bad weather, and sometimes moms miss an entire week of "life" staying home with sick kids. Along the way we question ourselves......"Did they get enough vegatables? Was I yelling too much today?"  How about the guilt from the the youngest eating way too many gummies.  Or my personal favorite-  maybe I need to play more board games with the middle one..... After spending 2 hours picking out my appliances , I spent another 2 hours  re-researching (yes, re- researching) the Bosch fridge after reading some silly review on some web site stating that the ice maker was problematic and noisy.  Ah yes, Im the mother who googled (to death) pre- packaged snacks  after hearing some tidbit of news that they contain unhealthy chemicals. Yes, I know, redundant.    I wonder ....will the kitchen be too white?  Should I add more color in the master bathroom? Oh god, did I make the kids bunk room too small for well....bunkbeds?   But just as we forget how long it took to find the perfect (backordered and over budget) sink as soon as the UPS driver delivers it,  we forget almost instantaneously about the whopper of a tantrum our 5 year old had yesterday when he stumbles sweetly down the stairs in his feety pajamas with "blankie" trailing behind him. 


 It goes like that, doesn't it?  I know I'm far from perfect, whether it is rennovator or mother. But still I put my heart into it, making mistakes along the way. Like the time I completely forgot to pick up one of my children at preschool.  They called me wondering where I was, and I did what every self-respecting mother would do.......blamed the father.  Sorry Joe :)  When we were looking at the final plans for the house, I realized  that we completely forgot the outside shower.  Lucky for me, my husband, builder and preschool director have a sense of humor.  I'm sure I will make plenty of mistakes during this building process, but either way, I hope the outcome to be the same - that at the end of the day, we create a mostly happy house- not without imperfections or chaos, but a house that will be filled with memories. I have come to  realize that it is about the journey.  It's about the times you stumble, and the times you succeed. I try not to take it for granted. I am incredibly lucky. I get to be a part of building something beautiful.  Life is what you make of it, how you see it.  After all, it's really about the "view"-  right?