Monday, December 19, 2011

A Walk Through

I finally got to do a quick walk-through of the house. It was pretty overwhelming to actually be inside something that I've seen drawn on paper and mocked up on computer screens for so many months. The size of the house feels really good. Not too big or too small. It only gets more exciting from here on.

New House

All three stories are now built and the roof is on!

New House

This is the view from what will be the kitchen/dining area, into the living room.

New House

A temporary staircase.

New House

Second story balcony. Where the container garden will be.

New House

View from the third floor.

New House

Third floor beams are close together to support the solar panels that will be on the roof.

J.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

There's an Appliance For That

catalog stove

In our old, falling down, moldy, no-heat house, we tried to put off purchasing anything new or fixing anything unnecessary because we knew we were going to be starting this project and a whole new home would be in our future. One of the things we avoided fixing was the stove. It was a brown and avocado-green model that came with the house. It had one working burner and an oven that heated about 25 degrees off what the readout said. Still, I cooked dinner every night for years on that stove. I wrote a cooking blog based on my recipes. I used that stove to illustrate my belief that anyone, fancy kitchen or not, could make nice meals every night of the week.

catalog stove

But I'm not crazy. I never LIKED the stove. I felt no pangs of emotion when I bid it, and our other sub-standard appliances, goodbye. Before we even moved out I was starting to research what kind of stove I would have in the new house. And all roads led to Wolf. Everything I read said that Wolf stoves were the best. People loved cooking on them. Whenever I read an article featuring a house tour where there was a Wolf stove, it was always listed as "best splurge." Consumer reporty-type sites and home design blogs and people's personal accounts all lined up. These stoves are awesome. They never break. They are a pleasure to cook on. And they are nice to look at, as well. The same kind of accolades applied to their fridge line, Subzero, which also looked great. And buying both got us a rebate. Sold.

catalog fridge

Well, "sold" didn't actually come that easy. My husband ended up on a self-directed crash course in Wolf/Subzero Appliance Acquisition. Who had the best prices? Everyone's prices were basically the same. Who could offer financing? Almost no one, except The Bay. Why were the appliances significantly cheaper in the United States? A combination of the bad economy and NAFTA. Would it be cheaper to just drive to the USA and buy the appliances there? Not when you factor in truck rental, movers (because these things are HEAVY!) storage etc.

So, off we went to The Bay last weekend. After a few hours of phone calls to their credit department and dealings with a somewhat keyed up salesman, we'd purchased our fridge and stove and hood fan. Sold! Finally. I can't wait to get cooking.

J.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

First Floor

first floor

We've got wallllllllls, they're multiplyin'....

first floor

We stopped by the house yesterday so I could get a look at the walls that have gone up on the first floor. It sure is amazing to see so many versions of plans for a building and then see that building start to appear in real life.

J.