After two years of not having the room or resources to decorate for fall, I have been absolutely beside myself with all this space. Please enjoy the end result of me going absolutely buck wild in Target, Michaels, and Rite Aid (of all places).
Actually, let’s start with Rite Aid: I got six of the CUTEST lil wooden pumpkins there and decided that they’d be great in the bathrooms.
Orange & white
White & blue
White & teal
So the thing about above-cabinet decor is that it doesn’t look like that much from the ground even though I literally filled my cart at Michaels with fake pumpkins and leaves. Filled it.
I also did a little “crafting” AKA buying some stuff and then adding it to stuff I already owned to make new stuff. I just like stuff, okay?
This is a cake stand from Target, garland from Michaels, candles from our wedding, and some vase filler.
This is a ceramic pumpkin that used to hold a live flower arrangement that I filled with fake flowers when those died.
In looking at these pics, it’s not super obvious just how much of this stuff is for fall/Halloween, but there is a pumpkin, skull, leaf, or fall candle on every surface in the living room, the kitchen, and the dining room. lol Next year I think I’m going to lean harder into garland and maybe snag some fall blankets and pillows because 1) it’s fun, 2) it’s easy, and 3) I have already maxed out my shelf and table spaces. Oopsie.
You best believe this hand-me-down dining set was one of the first things we brought across the street.
We’ve been bringing them down for porch hangz so long they thought we were going out. They stood by the door for a bit before realizing we weren’t going out and they could explore the whole house.
As I type this on October 12, I’m reflecting on the month-plus that’s gone by in what feels like mere seconds. We’ve done so much and I haven’t had any time to myself, but I’m going to attempt to walk you through our first few magical nights in our dream house…
True to every promise I’ve made since we started building, I made Mike help me drag the guest bed and some other miscellaneous furniture down on THE VERY FIRST NIGHT we were “allowed” to be in the house. That was Thursday, August 31. Technically the house wasn’t even done. We had to frantically gather the dogs and a few items and haul ass outta here Friday morning so the crew could finish the screen porch and a few odds and ends.
Sans screens and a panel of balusters, but you get the drift.
We dropped the dogs off at the kennel and busied ourselves with cleaning and other background activities that kept us out of the building crew’s way.
They were somehow able to knock out their entire list on Friday and we were good to move in for real on Saturday.
We had a big group of people help us schlep everything from our storage unit in Latrobe back to the house. Oh, and from the trailer down to the big house. And then also assemble and rearrange furniture.
It was a long day, but at least we had plenty of refreshments…
Sunday and Monday were largely spent unpacking and cleaning. Just over and over. Nonstop. I swear we cleaned everything at least twice. We got the dogs a de-shed bath prior to bringing them home and that lasted about a full 48 hours before our two dingleberries were making everything dirty and smelly. LOL
They slept on the same pillow the first night in our master bedroom and I think it’s so unbearably adorable. Yes, they were tired, and yes, Kona often makes a bee-line right for the big bed. But the fact that they opted to snuggle in a new environment was stupid-cute.
Also, peep those sweet temporary curtains in the background. Don’t sleep on floor-to-ceiling tension rods. They’re a game changer, and they’re way better than regular tension rods—especially if you have wide windows.
Okay, NOW we’re in the final stretch. I think. Maybe. We probably have less than a month to go?
It’s been a busy, busy few weeks… in a good way. The outside of the house is almost totally done. We just need to have the back porch screened in. Otherwise, the siding and trim are finished. The exterior lights are all done, except for the driveway lights. Those likely won’t go up until we’re done getting major deliveries by massive trucks.
We have a few rooms that are totally finished at this point: the guest bedroom, both offices, and the dining room. We’ve had can lights throughout the house for months, and now we’re starting to get the fixtures installed.
Nothing like standing on a step ladder to hand-hang 61 individual strands of crystals.
The fan-light in Mike’s office needed a 72″ downrod, which is absolutely bonkers.
The stairwell light: Featuring the coolest “warm” light bulbs I’ve ever seen.
Speaking of lights. I’m pretty adept at picking things out and making decisions, but I struggled with fixture selection. If I found something I liked, it was expensive or didn’t match the other fixtures in the room. Likewise, if something matched and was within budget, I hated it. To further complicate things, several of the lights I wanted were sold out by the time I was ready to buy them. Add into that the stress of trying to find wall lamps that could be hardwired in the master bedroom, fan-lights with the proper damp ratings for both outside porches, and getting two lights that could be hung in areas with 16′ ceilings? It was a lot. Even for someone as Type A as I am. But it’s done. I never have to do it again if I don’t want to.
One thing I wish I’d been more intentional about is the temperature of the lighting. I went with cool for the can lights and then warm for the fixtures. The thought process being that the can lights are for when you really need to see what you’re doing (cleaning, decorating, frantically scouring the floor for an earring back before the dog can eat it, etc.) and the fixtures are more everyday lights when you don’t need “task lighting.” But I’m realizing now that when they’re both on together, it looks pretty bizarre.
On the other hand, there are rooms/areas where warm lighting changes the color of the paint too much for my liking. For example, having warm light in the guest bath isn’t really working for me.
So I have a long road ahead figuring out which areas get what bulbs. Yay.
Another thing that’s really picked up steam since the last post is all the built-ins. You can see the guest bathroom one up there, but we’ve made progress in the laundry room, water closet, basement bathroom, and—my favorite—the master bathroom.
ISN’T SHE LOOOOVELYYYYYY? ISN’T SHE BEAU-TI-FUL?
Funny story about the backlit mirrors: The ones I originally wanted were stupid-expensive, albeit a bit nicer. However, the entire Lowe’s network apparently only had one in stock. So I found this perfectly delightful replacement and saved a couple hundred bucks to boot. And I hesitate to even say this because I know once Mike reads it, I’ll never have a quiet moment in the bathroom again, but they have Bluetooth speakers in them. The pricier ones did not.
We’re (hopefully) in the final stretch! We’re also in a sort-of liminal space in that we have a ton of projects going on simultaneously so it’s been hard to gauge where we are on the timeline because it feels like everything is happening, yet almost nothing is technically “finished.”
The biggest project we’ve made tremendous progress on is the flooring. And right behind that is the tilework. Both of which look absolutely fantastic.
All the vinyl plank flooring is down!
The mudroom floor is in progress.
The guest bathroom tilework just needs grout.
The master shower shelves are looking great.
Super stoked I let the builder talk me into a bench.
This will easily feel like the longest one to two months of my life because 1) my excitement has reached critical mass, and 2) the trailer is hot and damp this time of year. We have three floor AC units and five dehumidifiers running almost nonstop and it still feels muggy inside. All. The. Time.
It took two months, but she’s finally dressed for the ball! We went with a fancy-pants composite siding and, unfortunately for our builder, that siding was difficult to work with. So it took longer than expected to get the house fully covered.
Shoo, it was worth the wait though! My original desire was to go as dark as possible (duh) with a vibrant green, red, or charcoal-verging-on-black, but even the highest-quality siding will fade eventually. So we went with a medium sage green, which has the added bonus of helping it blend in a bit.
I have to apologize. I haven’t been fully throwing myself into this blog. Building a house is a lot. I knew that going in, so this is absolutely not a pity party for one. I’m just sort of giving myself public permission to feel a little overwhelmed by Doing All the Things.
I write all day for work, so my creativity is often tapped by the time I want to blog. I’m trying to stay on top of what feels like 6,742 things for the build. I’m also trying desperately to keep up with my regular responsibilities (groceries, cooking, the dogs, cleaning, etc., etc., etc.). When I sit down to write a post it’s usually A) weeks after The Thing in the Post has been done, and B) just whatever quick rundown I can hammer out before hitting publish.
All that to say… IT’S OFFICIALLY OPINION O’CLOCK, BABY! Time to finally put a little hyperbole into the House of Hypberbole.
Understatement of the year: I have not taken building our dream home lightly. I’ve been reading endless blogs and articles for literal years. I follow a ton of “influencers” on various socials. I’ve been a stiff, crunchy sponge desperate to soak up any and all ideas. As I absorbed this flood of content, one thing really started to stick out to me: These people are afraid of color. Like, terrified-bordering-on-phobic levels of afraid.
So they’re building these multimillion-dollar McMansions and making every room ivory or taupe—walls, flooring, trim, cabinetry, furniture, window coverings… And then they have the audacity to put a dusty rose pillow on the couch and squeal, “I just LOVE how this pop of color brings the whole room together.” I have bad news for you, Brantleigh, a solitary pink throw pillow is not enough to infuse personality into the 500-square-foot, oatmeal-colored void you’re calling a great room.
Maybe everyone was planning for an eventual resale, I don’t know, but I can’t imagine LIVING in a house that’s 50 Shades of Beige just so it’ll be more appealing to strangers later. Fortunately, we’ll be in this house until we retire so we can do whatever the hell we want with total disregard for the next owners. Anyway…
Master bedroom: Royal Pine
In a move that will surprise absolutely no one, I was intensely drawn to something that feels teal. It’s slightly greener in person and when we add the dark oaky flooring, it’s going to feel like a forest oasis.
Flash on: Velvet Beret
Flash off: still Velvet Beret, but darker
This is actually the color I wanted my office to be in Baltimore, but everyone talked me out of it for resale reasons. And that made sense in a house we didn’t intend to stay in beyond 10 years. So I relented and got a dusty grape that was less dark (and less fun). But this Grimace-adjacent hue is going to be a marvelous little surprise peeking out from the main hallway.
Kitchen-dining room: Jazzy Red
I love a red kitchen SO much, and it was a struggle to find a red that wasn’t too “hot” for our palette. My main rule of thumb when picking colors was to keep them all cool tones so nothing feels too jarring, even when transitioning between very different hues (like we have here with the gray living room walls butting up against the red). This isn’t even as wild as this room will get: We’re getting black cabinets and a glorious black-and-white quartz countertop with lots of lil sparkles in it. Be still my emo heart!
Living room: Voyage
This gray is the color we chose to be our neutral (aka break for your eyes) throughout the rest of the house. We mulled over something lighter, but we have tons of natural light and we need something A) that won’t look washed out in all that light, and B) that’ll create a vivid contrast with the white trim and doors. All the hallways, spare rooms/offices, closets, etc. are gray. White was briefly on the table, but it seemed like a risky choice for a home with two clumsy humans and two absolutely disgusting dogs.
Speaking of our nearly feral furballs: We went with Valspar Signature paint in a satin finish, which is a middle-of-the-road option. It’s more expensive than the basic formula, but it’s supposed to be stain-, scuff-, and fade-resistant. With two dogs roughhousing and shaking slobber all over the place, it’s an investment we’ll (hopefully) be glad we made on a daily basis. Hilo literally shattered one of our outlet plates with his tail in the last house. Nothing is safe.
I will never stop referring to this as my corner office. Sorry not sorry.
Apparently, we did something unusual in that we had our builder paint for us. Typically, builders come in and spray everything flat white (see my previous paragraph about our dogs for why this was the worst possible option for us). Then the homeowners roll on whatever they want later. We had a very, VERY brief conversation about painting the walls ourselves whereupon we remembered that we both hate painting with the fire of a thousand suns. We actually needed a multi-year break between painting rooms in our last house.
So we opted to spend extra to have the builder paint for us. We kept it simple and only went with four colors total, which I’m telling myself kept the cost down a little. But the thought of cutting in and rolling paint across nearly 2,500 square feet that include a cathedral living room-kitchen ceiling, a 16′ office ceiling, and a two-story stairwell… that’s a hard pass. Did I mention the kitchen and dining room required a THIRD coat? Triple nope.
There have been several milestones in this build that made it feel like a real house, but this one might be the most significant. With four walls and a ceiling, there’s no more imagining how big or small the rooms will feel. It’s. GLORIOUS.
You might be saying, “Hey, that looks like the same old wrong door to the screen room.” You’d be right. Nobody has any idea when the right door will arrive. The drywall guy had to just leave extra so our builder can eventually fit the new door in the hole.
We got our driveway apron poured and that was a pretty big deal. Also, I had no idea that the apron was more than just the bit that transitions from the driveway to the interior of the garage. What I was calling a parking pad is apparently an apron. Who knew?
It’s a lot of concrete but it’ll be nice to have a level surface to wash the cars, set up the tailgate tent for parties, etc.
We went with this length of apron for a couple reasons. One, to have ample room for activities. Two, for extra parking when folks visit. And three, to provide a level, smooth surface on which to get some traction prior to ascent because our driveway is going to be gravel and it’s a doozy of a hill to climb.
The picture doesn’t quite do it justice (probably because I’m even farther downhill). It’s very steep and there’s also a hump in it that makes it even worse. The plan is to at least shave the hump down, but this is still going to be INTERESTING in the winter.
We ordered our garage door in December. That’s how absolutely bonkers supply reliability has been. I really wanted windows that went down the right side, but Mike convinced me that would look dated so I acquiesced.
Not only did we get the garage and man doors, we also got a lovely concrete floor! (Not pictured because I forgot to snap a pic before they installed the door and I’m afraid to open it because I don’t know what it’s anchored to. lol)
This round of work included can light installation in addition to fixture and fan boxes. They also started putting up the insulation.
Can lights and insulation and the wrong screen room door—oh my!
And we got our furnaces (yes, plural, because we’re apparently building a palace—lol) hooked up.
Boy howdy has it been a busy month-ish since my last post. When we last left off, we were waiting for the basement floor to be poured. That happened!
It took THREE cement trucks, but we go ‘er done.
Then we got into a ton more digging. We had three separate trenches dug for water, gas, and electric. So that was fun. I think water and gas are all buttoned up, but our electric provider won’t hire enough people to support the demands of their outdated system (that they refuse to maintain or upgrade) that keeps getting absolutely wrecked by every storm that passes through. We’ve had two or three tie-in dates so far and every time it’s been pushed because of a storm. The last storm was so bad that we were without power for somewhere between 36 and 48 hours. Mercifully, the dogs were at camp and we were staying elsewhere for most of it.
Next up was one of the milestones I’ve been dying to reach: WINDOWS! One of the things I absolutely adore about this house is the massive windows the plan calls for.
Fun fact: There was supposed to be a second front door on the far left. W H Y Y Y ? ? ? I have no idea. We nixed it with no plans to do anything with the space. I started to have some regrets, but we accidentally ordered an extra window, so we get a ton of natural light in the mudroom now. Not mad at it.
While windows were being installed, they also started roughing in the HVAC, plumbing, and wiring. I’ll spare you photos of that because there are so many pipes, wires, and vents that it makes me go cross-eyed whenever I look at it. Why not enjoy some more window/natural light porn instead?
Master bed and bath before.
Master bed and bath after.
Even the garage gets in on the window action.
Dinner with a view.
Entryway before.
Entryway after and I’m OBSESSED with this door and sidelights!
I was so busy watching the roof go up that I didn’t even realize the interior was getting framed out. Seriously. I normally go over every day and see what’s new, but I didn’t check inside for a couple of days because I thought they were just doing roof stuff. Then one day—bam! Wall studs are up.
View from the front door (that big opening straight ahead is where the triple sliding door will go.)
View of the front door if you’re standing in front of the triple slider.
Kitchen and dining room bump-out.
Here’s something fun: Cathedral ceilings were NOT included in the plans for the kitchen/living room area at the center of the home. The roofline was practically made for a cathedral ceiling, but we had to ask for it or we would’ve gotten straight ceilings. Considering we opted for eight-foot ceilings elsewhere in the house, these extra three feet in the main area will keep it from feeling like a hobbit hovel.
Master bed leading into the master bath. I’m fairly certain this bedroom is bigger than our current living room in the trailer.
Nothing makes me feel fancier than this skylight. It was also not included in the original plans. Apparently, we have to think of everything.
Mudroom. I kinda like the bathtub here. Maybe we’ll keep it there and start a new trend. lol
Thank the old gods and the new for all this progress. Even at this break-neck pace, I think we’re running about two months behind thanks to the truss drama, a temporary gravel shortage, and uncooperative weather. Now that we’re under roof, though, we can mostly take weather delays off the table because so much of the upcoming work is indoors. In fact, they’re already prepping the basement floor for concrete!
House of Hyperbole 