Traditional Kitchen

As the builder said, the 2 most important parts of the house are getting the kitchen and living room area designed how you want, and then work the rest of the house in. 

I pinned and saved picture after picture of different kitchens. One of the first ones I liked was this one:

Courtesy of eplans.com

Jason doesn't like the open floor plan, but I kind of do. So, a short wall I thought would work well.

Then, I stared at this kitchen for a long time. I dont really like the layout, but there is more in this picture of the things I like: beams, travertine floor, dark cabinets, and granite countertops. Which Jason quickly informed that this kitchen was HUGE, and to quit looking at it. :)

Courtesy of houzz.com

Finally, I was looking on the Thermador website at appliances, and I came across this picture, and my heart skipped a beat, like it did back in the day when Jason would pick me up to go out. Anyways, it could have been the layout that drew me in, or the floors, beams, and cabinets, or maybe the beautiful chandelier that drew me in.

Courtesy of Thermador

This was the picture that I showed to VR that he gave to the architect to finish our house plans with plus a few changes to it.  There will be no door opening on the right side of the photo to go to the Living Room. The stove top and the countertop space across from each other will be switched. There will be a raised island with stools on one side and the sink, dishwasher on the other side in the middle of the kitchen like this, and there will still be a walkway out the back of the kitchen to the pantry to the left and the formal dining room towards the right. 

I really like this blue pantry, and Jason even said I could paint the pantry any color.  What do you think??? Would you paint a bold color like this in a closed off room that won't be seen a lot?? Or you could just paint the walls a bold color?? What do you think?

Courtesy of houzz.com

I love these Fiesta dishes Pier1, and I'm thinking a blue pantry would go great with them!!

I want to be brave and do a blue pantry, but I think when it comes time I'm going to chicken out.  Oh well.

Elevation

We got our plans back on Friday, but I had the stomach bug.  Jason was eager to talk and look at them all day; I managed to get myself together by 4.  They look really great.  We had asked to make the living room bigger, and in so doing, it made the entry way bigger, so we are changing that wall a little bit, and he added a craft room (YEAH!!), but I didn't like the way it was really arranged, and so after staring at the floor plans all day Saturday, Jason came up with a room scenario that I really like. So, he is fixing that.  

So, now we are starting on the elevation of the house.  Just so you know, I have no clue what any of these things mean.  EVERYTHING must be explained!! :)  Elevation consists of a lot of things I think: ceiling height, slope of roof, steepness of roof, gables, columns, stone, stucco  or brick basically what it will look like on the outside view. 

He thinks by Friday we might get to see the first run through on elevation!! Yeah!!

My Recent Searches

In between getting to see house plans, Jason and I pretty much just search through photos on Houzz, or Pinterest (sometimes for me). 

I think I know what I want, but then when VR starts asking us details, I go, "umm....I don't know."  There are still decisions that need to be decided on. This time in between may actually be good in the end because I'm trying to get more things settled, so hopefully I won't just have to make a last minute decision that I will regret for the rest of my life. :)

Things that we think we like, and have been searching on Houzz:

trade ceilings (didn't know what those were til recently)

Beams

Wood Stain Doors

Travertine Tile

Antique Yellow Walls

Outdoor

Knotty Wood

Stone Range

Brick

Brick and Stone

Engineered Wood Floors

Jewelry Drawer (Which Brianne says I must have) :)

A Stick in the Mud

Last week, when it was muddy, we had to go put a stick down where the Millersview Doole water line and the well water line will have to go under the road to get to our house.  So, this is basically were our house will be I think. All around us will still be farm land, that Jason's dad farms. Out the back of the house, there are a few mesquite trees and an old house a few hundred feet away, and out the front of the house, we will see Jason's parents across the road. And it will still be just a few short miles from my parents as well. 

I've been trying to not be a stick in the mud lately. I'm just so ready to get it going. He still thinks we will break ground (whatever that means) in February. We'll see.  I'm a little leery of that. 

FINALLY

We finally got our plans back from the architect on Wednesday.  Basically, Wednesday evening, and Thursday morning, we changed, scratched, erased, drew, and changed it all again trying to figure out how to make everything fit. I was pretty pessimistic and frustrated, but then I remembered, "this is why we are paying these people, they can figure it out. " 

We met with our builder on Thursday afternoon to go over the changes to send back to the architect, which could take a week to get back.  I felt pleased and optimistic again after leaving his office. 

It's kind of bad luck for us because the architect he uses lives in LUBBOCK, and is SUPER busy with all the new houses going up there from the oil boom.

So, we wait again.  I am thinking this time we get them back, they could be good to go, with maybe a few minor changes. 

Impatience is a Bad Thing

Gosh, I am learning so much about this house building stuff. 

At this moment, we have one house plan, but are waiting to see the changes.  

Waiting, and waiting, and more waiting. 

It's like when you are pregnant, and you are in the final weeks, and you feel like you are the biggest you could ever get, and you hurt so bad all over, and it's at this point, you realize you still have to go ANOTHER WEEK feeling this miserable. 

So, here I am waiting, and still waiting, but I think I am going to have to wait some more!! :(

Why in the world does it take so long to get things done? First, let me say, we started this process at the WORST time possible, right before Christmas, and New Years. Which means NOBODY is working for 2 weeks. 

With that being said, I have learned some very bad qualities about myself. I am very impatient, which makes me grouchy. I really considered myself to be a patient person, but I'm not, and I'm really not that grouchy, I'm just anxious. Another, bad quality. I don't know what it is about this.  I think I am so excited, I just want to move forward and make progress, even if it's slow progress.....

H2O, A Deciding Factor

The exact location of where to actually build our house has a lot to do with water. There are several pieces of land that we have the option of building on around the community.  We've actually discussed places off and on for about a year, so this really hasn't sneaked up on us. Both of us agree, we want to be pretty much where we live now, just down the road a little, and near Jason's parents for work purposes and having his farm equipment close.  And staying close to where we are, keeps us close to my parents as well.  

So, we are happy with around here, but then it comes back to WHERE around here? Finding the EXACT location comes into play when trying to find a water well. For the past couple of weeks, the drilling guys have been around, and hit  a well with GOOD Water.  This water will be only for the yard and watering outside.  But, Praise the Lord for the water, I am excited about a nice yard!! :)

I plan to take a picture of the land where the house will go!! I'll post soon!