House Update #6

Framing has begun!

We were very excited to see that the frame had been started yesterday (Monday) when we drove by to look.

This house plan is based off of another house in this neighborhood, but scaled down in places.  The master bedroom came in one foot.  We chopped off the office a bit.  The upstairs media room took a cut.  We didn't need all the space that the other house provided - as long as it was an open floor plan, which it still is.

One place we scaled down, and I am regretting it, is the main living room.  We took out some square footage to keep costs down, but unfortunately, the hopes and dreams I had for the furniture to go in there may not come to fruition.  I was still picturing the footage provided in the original plans (the 3,700 sq. ft. plans - not our scaled down version).

When Jonathan and I went out last night to look at the progress, we started to walk the house, the rooms, where the walls, doors, and major areas were.  To my disappointment, the living room seemed so small - not what I had remembered.  How was I ever going to fit the masses of people I was planning to entertain in there?  I needed a sofa to fit 16 people at least!  With chairs, and stools, and still manage to move!

But that is my own fault.  For allowing what I remembered get in the way of what we actually have.

Since yesterday, I have perused a few options for furniture and have found that even in our smaller space, I can still get a lot of what I want.  I have a renewed excitement for what this house will be, both big and small, contemporary and warm, open and cozy.

As my ever-optimistic husband reminds me: It's going to be EPIC.  It really will be.

Here's to learning experiences!
Cheers -
Caroline

House Update #5

Despite our rainy weather last week, the sun shone bright enough to dry out our lot this week.  Concrete was poured and the slab is ready for framing.  There are bundles of lumber stacked around the perimeter, just waiting to be made into the frame of our new home.

The garage slab is 6 inches lower than the rest of the house for spill/rain/water reasons.  A garage will never be as water tight as the rest of the home, so our builder takes precautions by lowering the slab to prevent any water that gets into the garage from getting into the house.

As you can see, Curtis has also found us some more dirt.  We will need this to continue to level out our lot and make a great big, and FLAT, backyard. Framing should begin next week!

Cheers -
Caroline

TIMBER!

Part of what Jonathan and I fell in love with about this particular lot was its trees.  Beautiful, beautiful trees.  Being from Montana, I feel less and less at home the flatter my landscape gets.  So if I can't have mountains (and don't try to tell me about the Wichitas - those aren't mountains; those are hills with foliage), I'm damn-well gonna have some trees.

Only one problem: Most new (after 2000) housing additions in Oklahoma clear the land to put up row upon row of cookie cutter houses, wiping out all the trees in the process.  When Jonathan and I stumbled upon the lot we are now cultivating, we were THRILLED to see the lush green belt that lined the lots hadn't been tampered with.  Part of what made us fall so hard for it.

However, as we have found, that luscious green belt has provided a few hiccups in our development process.  I don't begrudge the trees at all, but the issue did have to be dealt with.  If Jonathan and I wanted a large, flat area of land for a yard, two trees would have to go.  Granted, they were dead anyway - so I didn't feel too bad taking them down.

So we called on some friends, Ken Parker and his son, Leo, both pros at wilderness/farming/ranching/chainsaw stuff, to help us take the trees down.  A fair trade as Ken and Leo would have taken the wood for firewood this winter.  An excellent bargain!

What we weren't prepared for was what the trees were: Walnut. Black Walnut, also known as American Walnut, is one of the finest North American lumber species. Along with mahogany and cherry, walnut set the standard for American furniture.  A gorgeous milky brown wood that is prized among lumber producers and woodworkers.  When Ken and Leo started taking the trees down, they realized the trees' value as a decorative wood, and couldn't bring themselves to burn it.

So now what do we do with a bunch of walnut logs sitting at the edge of our lot?

DECOR!

I have contacted a gentleman in Tulsa who thinks he'll be able to turn the wood into some centerpiece bowls and artwork for us.  The trick is just getting the wood to him.  It's a dense, heavy wood and it's sitting at the bottom of a slope.  We're very excited to have someone who can work the wood into something beautiful and unique for our new home.

Now we just need to find a friend with a back hoe that can pull them out for us.

Any takers?

Cheers -
Caroline

House Update #4

Our foundation is taking longer than most would because our heating and air is going into the slab instead of through the ceiling.

More expensive, but much more efficient.

They have prepped our stem wall for concrete and the slab should be poured soon - though we received a much-needed downpour today (with rain in the forecast through the weekend) which prevents our contractors from pouring concrete.

I want our house done, but I am thrilled to have some rain.  The slab can wait.

Cheers -
Caroline