# 524 - Country Home Construction - Sneak-Peek Preview of Exterior!

Well, here is the house that we will have built...with some tweaks.

It will not have the log-cabin siding, but will have hardy-plank that will be painted white, with a dark grey metal roof for contrast.

Sgt. Dave used an ap that kind of gave the house the look it would have with our supplies, colors and trim. I'm standing on the front porch of this picture, texting someone.

Our look will be more in keeping with a Colonial Farmhouse style.

The main living room and formal dining, well, the only dining room, will have vaulted ceilings and lots of natural light. You can catch a peek in the photos I am sharing.

Upstairs, there is a small loft area, a bathroom, a bedroom with nice sized walk-in closet and a functional hallway that will have bookshelving and room for storage and a second bedroom that will only have enough space for a twin size bed, but it will provide extra bunk space.

The builder is standing in the photo below with Sgt. Dave --- they are standing in space that will become our master bathroom. It is roomy and will be full of natural light.

Normally, I do not like staircases, unless there is a landing, at least one, to help break any fall that might occur. However, this stair will have sturdy railing at the side of banisters and probably a wall rail for additional safety. I think it will be okay. At the bottom of the staircase, it will be blocked by a custom-made gate to prevent any people or pets from going upstairs without us knowing.

In the shot below, Sgt. Dave is standing inside our Master Bedroom. I like the location. We have a lot of sound buffering because our bathroom and master closet seem to encase us into that corner of the bedroom. But, we might add a door from the master bedroom to lead us to the screen-in back porch. That would be enjoyable.

 

The ceilings in the master are not too high, they are just right. I don't want that window on the backwall where Sgt. Dave is standing---it has to go. In fact, that is the headboard wall and I don't want any solar heat coming through that wall, so it will likely be windowless and the other wall will have the beautiful outdoors coming indoors through a pair of great French Doors.

The room below...well...that's our master closet! Isn't it awesome? It's about the same size as the closet in our last home. It will have some built-ins to make it for efficient and to glamorize it a tad so that my country life will not dictate my wardrobe.

Here's another shot of the master closet.

The photo below is looking through the kitchen area to the large Mud Room with the backdoor. It is great and will also be tweaked, until just right for our needs.

We will need to re-configure the current plan for the A/C ducts, etc., as ours will be much higher on the wall so that we can use that space underneath as a hallway to walk to another room upstairs at the end of the house that would have been closed up as wasted space. We are using creative construction so that we can utilize every spare bit of living space this house has to offer.

The other home-owner has their house designed with the kitchen separated from the rest of the house, but that wont work for me. I must have my kitchen be part of the flow of traffic through the house - it's a critical room toward making things happen for every event. We all want to be together. So, I am moving the kitchen to where the kitchen has a straight line of vision all the way through the dining room and to the end of the living room. My sink will position me so that I am able to overlook everything while washing dishes.

Our house has ample architectural drama that will make the best of our natural light and the vaulted ceilings.

 

I love the openness of the house.

 The porches, we might do a tad different, but these are eight feet wide across the front of the house. Plenty of room for porch swings and hammocks.

 Our own view across our acreage will be very similar to what you see in the photo below.

 Very nice porch - the main porch across the front of the house.

Eight foot wide porches across front of house. Plenty of front porch moments will be seen across that space over the coming years.

 

 We will definitely have a covered carpet built with a drop-down-ladder for accessing the carport attic. Our wish list had been that we make that vaulted space an additional hang-out/living space for kids and company. So, we will see how it goes and how much more money it will cost to make this happen, if so, we will build the lower part of the garage with walls to enclose the space and build a true staircase to access the vaulted room. Perhaps we will build a safe walkway coming from the garage vaulted space to the upstairs loft in the main house. We shall see. I would like for the floors of the garage to be concrete, but we will probably do these after market to save money and to keep taxes down.

 

  
With hard work, we can build our dream home. It will take time and lots of careful planning, but I am now working on making the floorplan suit our lifestyle. At least we have the main parts of the construction process decided upon.

Our builder is easy to work with. He goes fast. He is a true custom builder and will move walls, ceilings, and do whatever you would like for him to do. For now, I am just thankful that we found a house that speaks to me...I BELONG TO YOU!

As I go along, I will share the changes we are making to the floorplan. Some of them will be unique. Some will be functional. Some will increase our storage and others will make our house a true home to enjoy.

I feel very fortunate that we are able to build a home that we both will love. Sgt. Dave and I look forward to enjoying our first candle-light dinner in this house....the celebrating of this milestone is important to us.

And then, we invite all the family for the best family gathering ever! In fact, we've already been stocking up on some AMAZING fireworks and we will have the first gathering begin with a really big bang and sparkling lights along with great food and a lot of laughs.

Closer and closer, every day. I am happy and grateful!