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I can’t tell you how many folks have told us that once the exterior work on a house build is done, the interior work goes very slowly. Nay, Nay! Our builder, Terry, and his subs are moving so quickly, there’s a real possibility of moving in by October!
OK, before I get to the nuts and bolts of the build, I want to say thank you. Last week I put out a call for help with editing Mr. Groovy’s book, The Groovy Guide to Financial Independence, and I received numerous responses from some awesome folks—including bloggers already contributing material to the book and readers whom we didn’t know prior to this call for help. Y’all give new meaning to the word crowdsourcing, and I thank you all. As Mr. Groovy would say, you gave me a huge CMLT.
Now, on to the build!
The Walls are Going In!
The crew began putting up drywall on Monday. We thought maybe they’d finish the ceilings on the first day, but by the time we reached Groovy Ranch late in the afternoon, the ceilings were completed and the walls of the front bedroom were almost done!
Know What you Want but Remain Flexible
Interior Cabinets
We were certain we wanted all-white kitchen cabinets. White cabinets with stainless steel appliances look very sharp. On Tuesday, however, we met with Jeremy to choose cabinets and counter tops, and he threw a curve ball at us. He asked if we had ever considered going with white uppers and gray lowers. We hadn’t. Mr. Groovy was familiar with this look, but I never came across it in photos—until now.
Jeremy feels that gray lower cabinets would wear better than white and provide a nice contrast. I must admit I really love this idea. And Mr. Groovy does too. We’re going with the above two-toned cabinet look in our kitchen!
Exterior Paint
Mr. Groovy and I always envisioned living in a white farmhouse. The painters are coming next week to paint the exterior of the house and Terry isn’t crazy about our choice. He likes white for the trim but thinks the house would look better painted gray or green. We very much respect Terry’s opinion and understand the power of contrast. But we spent several hours looking at gray and green farmhouses on Houzz, Better Homes and Gardens, and Southern Living, and nothing got us going. Sorry, Terry, we’re sticking with white.
After the conversation, I emailed him and wrote, “Knowing you, you’re still thinking about the posts. We’re fine with 8 inch, but do what you think is right.” Haha! When we met up with him this week, the first words out of his mouth were, “I’m so glad you sent me that email.” He ordered the 10 inch posts. I guess this is one situation where bigger IS better.
It’s a Tie (a Rafter Tie)
Mr. Groovy and I are fans of exposed wood beams, or rafter ties. Given our large cathedral ceilings, we like the idea of creating a little architectural interest with rafter ties running across. Although exposed rafter ties were not in our design, Terry said he could easily add them.
The image below is what we’re going for.
All told, we’ll have six rafter ties gracing our cathedral ceiling. The game plan right now is to stain them the same color as the floors. But we’re open to painting them white.
It may be a bit difficult to detect from this next photo, but if you look closely at the ceiling, you might notice some square pieces of wood between some of the rafters. Terry’s going to use those square pieces for securing the rafter ties.
Other Exterior Updates
The black metal garage roofing material has been ordered. And a meter box was installed.
Isn’t that meter box pretty?
What’s Up Next?
We need to set up a meeting with the gal from our local lighting store to choose our island pendants, ceiling fans, and various exterior and interior lighting fixtures. Soon we’ll be choosing the stain for the floor and the paint for the rooms.
Mr. Groovy likes to end his posts with his infamous catchphrase, “that’s all I got.” But since the construction of Groovy Ranch is going so swiftly, I decided to go a different route.
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