Now for the fun part! We were so excited to finally put that first piling in the ground! It took a few months waiting for the piling company to fit us into their schedule, but we finally broke ground in July 2022. They put them 30 FEET under the ground to hit the bedrock! Talk about a solid foundation. The process is fascinating, but I will spare you the details. But look at all these things... this is the 20 feet of them sticking out of the ground after they are pounded in 30 feet!
Then they cut them all to the same height...
Then the framing....
We were already envisioning what that sunset view was going to be like from the porches.
While the guys were busy framing up the house, I was also busy picking out the fixtures and scouring my favorite websites for coastal designs. Wes and the team at Tradewinds allowed me tons of design freedom. I didn't have to pick anything from a particular store, so the whole wide world of choices (my bargain-loving heart was so happy) opened up ... and a little panic set in for someone who has a slight problem making decisions sometimes. I mean, I had YEARS of dreaming and picking out these things (and changing my mind a few times), so that helped. I could probably write 20 blog posts about all the decor choices I made, and then changed, and then finally decided upon (and I may do a few of my favorite features in a coming post), but I'll just say I had lots of Pinterest and Houzz boards to help me when I had to make decisions quickly for the building team. I'll share more of the specific choices on a future post about decor.
Okay, on to the next few building pics. Spanning the months from August- December the outside really took shape.
The inside became more of the focus once it was all dried in at the beginning of the year. There wasn't electricity so the pics are little dark, but you get the idea. It was so fun to see the progress made week to week!
One of my favorite decor features were the floors. I opted to make the entire house one type of flooring, mostly because I knew they needed to be durable and also because I really love the warm look of hardwood alongside the bright, airy, creamy coastal palette I chose for the walls and furniture. We chose to go with luxury vinyl plank since it is very water and scratch resistant. I found a great floor from Cali Flooring called Seaboard Oak Vinyl Longboards. WE LOVE THEM!! If you are in the market for a great floor with a coastal vibe, we highly recommend them. Link to the floor is here... https://www.califloors.com/product-longboard-seaboard-engineered-vinyl-flooring-7902500900
TIP: IF YOU CALL THEM OR GET IN TOUCH DIRECTLY WITH A SALES REP, YOU GET THE BEST DEAL AND THEY WILL SHIP YOU SAMPLES FOR FREE. I LOVE FREE.
Here's a pic of them done in the Magnolia Suite, but its hard to get a great idea of how really beautiful they are until you see them in person!
Sorry this is getting a little long, so I think I'll go into detail about the design of the kitchen and bathrooms in a separate post. But I have to say I learned a few things during this portion of the building process...
1. PATIENCE. There are set backs for very valid reasons, but I was on a timeline to get this house done and furnished because I also started accepting bookings based on the projected completion date. I appreciated my building team putting up with me always wanting updates and pictures. It is hard to live 8 hours away from your building project!
2. BE FLEXIBLE. We changed a few of the original layouts for some of the house, mostly the storage areas underneath and the step access to first level porches. I am so happy with how they turned out because I listened to my builder and when he made great suggestions for ways to improve upon the original design, I was flexible and we pivoted directions for the better.
3. KNOW WHAT YOU LOVE AND WHAT YOU CAN LIVE WITHOUT. Of course we all wish we had an unlimited budget, but prioritize and splurge on the things that you truly LOVE (like the "x" design on the front porch railings, I heart those).
Next up, Building the Haven (Part 2, Kitchen and Baths)!
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