We recently had our very first official site visit for our new house. We were delighted to find out that construction was well ahead of schedule, and progressed much quicker than we had anticipated. As you can see from the pictures, the house is pretty well built already. All cabling, HVAC, rough-ins, framing, walls, roof, windows and doors are completed already. They even have most of the drywalling done. Very impressive! Looks like all is on schedule for a December 8th closing as expected.

It was interesting to see the house so bare without any of our design decisions in place yet. But you might be wondering what design decisions we made? Well here’s the list of upgrades and colour choices we made.

Our design center meetings and choices have been completed for some time now, and due to how fast it all took place, I didn’t have the time to discuss any of it on this site. I’ve been meaning to write something about it to start a discussion on our choices, so here it is!

First, it’s important to explain that the floor plan is very open concept. That’s specifically what drew me to our model of home in the first place. I really like having modular open areas that can be sectioned off without the use of walls. As such, the entrance from the front door immediately opens up into our full main floor, including the kitchen, dining room, and living room, with no walls. An island will separate the kitchen and dining room. We will be placing an airy open shelving unit (square stacked cubes) between the living and dining room. The entrance and powder room will have a rustic (rough and unevely cut) medium grey tile on the floor. The rest of the first floor will be a seemless hardwood floor (all the way into the kitchen too), finished in a slightly faded medium red oak. The modern (square) styled stair railing will be finished in the same way.

The kitchen is where most of the upgrades came in because it is one of the most important areas for me. You all know I love to cook, so I wanted this to be a dream kitchen. The cupboards and pantry are going to be finished in a flat biscuit (off-white) laminate with straight and simple stainless steel handles. This is complimented with the upgraded black Quartz countertop. The Quartz countertop in black will provide a deep rich shine and gloss, as well as a unique modern squared edge. The sink will also be clad in black, and undermounted with a single-hole faucet to compliment the simple and elegant look. The backsplash has been completely removed so we can paint it a deep red. The island, also finished with the Quartz countertop, has large pot drawers, and is flanked by speakers built into the ceiling. Finally, the crowning jewel are the Floating Glass appliances from Jenn-Air; The appliances (fridge, stove, dishwasher) are black, with a full slightly curved tempered glass covering the entire front. This creates a stunning deep gloss and mirror-like finish. The side-by-side fridge features a water and ice dispenser. The dishwasher features a dirt-sensing mechanism that automatically sets the appropriate cleaning options. And the piece-de-resistance, the slide-in dual-fuel range, features a gas cooktop with built in grill for indoor BBQ year round.

Upstairs, the master bedroom also has speakers in the ceiling. It also has an ensuite with clear glass shower, and a roman tub surrounded by an earthy rustic tile. The counter is white with black flakes, and the doors are a flat medium brown wood. The main bathroom has a dark blue countertop and the shower is surrounded by a very light blue tile with a bamboo texture.

That just about describes all the main design decisions to date. It will be really interesting to see all these choices come together in real life. Have any comments? Let me know.

A7

(bonus picture… the inside of the house under construction)

UPDATE (Sept 29):

Here’s the latest picture of the house.

Tags: a7, art, design, house

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 19th, 2008 at 2:41 pm and is filed under IxD & DES. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.