The Beginning of the Finishing Touches....

Things are moving along.  All the major building is done and now the beginning of the finishing touches are being started.  After several attempts at cabinet stain, we finally found the wow factor we were looking for.  I think we are 6 weeks out but definitely looking at just before Thanksgiving for completion.  We plan on slowly moving in over a month or so.  Looks like Christmas will be at our place this year! 

The front is taking shape.  A lot of the stucco is in place.
 Some detail work and paint still needs to be done to spice it up a bit.

A look at the stucco and stone combo.

Garage doors are in. 
The faux wood metal doors look great and will not fade or need refinishing!

The Mud Room entry built-in is here. 
Will be painted white to match the trim. 
Now Abby has a place to throw her stuff when she comes in from school

Great Room built-ins before stain

The Great Room after the first coat of stain. 
We even have a model to show it off!

They did a great job on the Study built-ins.

Again or model shows off the cabinetry stain in the Study!

The Kitchen is taking shape.

Abby shows off the stain in the Kitchen.

The back of the Kitchen. 
The hood cover is in place. 
The two small vertical openings on each side will be sliding spice racks.

The master closet still needs quite a bit of work but is coming along.

The trim stain is shown off best in the Game Room. 
Has a more rustic look than the cabinets but goes together nicely.

The stone work on the pool is nearing completion.

The hot tub stone is finished and the overflow has a waterfall appearance.

At the back, the rock waterfall is complete.
 It will come out the top and flow down both sides of that middle rock.
The diving rock is in place as well.

More cabinetry and stone....

Here is another update on the house.  Things are slowing somewhat as far as recognizable change as the details are starting to be put into place.  I was gone to the Aggie game this weekend and some big changes appeared.  Below are pictures from tonight.

The stone was placed on the kitchen bar. 
Brings in some of the exterior detail and ties it in with the interior.
Abby is modeling for this picture.

A look into the developing kitchen.  More of the cabinets are in place. 
The counters have been measured and are ready for the granite.

The fireplace and hearth are complete in one weekend.
Also, the built-ins were set up this weekend.

The built-in shelves and cerdenza in the study have appeared.

The foyer lattice floor is ready for tile placement.
The stone guys have some cleaning up to do!

These are the cabinet side of the pantry.
The food shelves are to come next on the other side.

More details of the master closet are emerging.
The built-in dressers are here.

A glimpse at the stucco. 
This is what it all will actually look like.  The lighter color is called Birch and is the main stucco color. 
The darker color around the windows will be the exterior accent color which complements the stone and will also be the siding shingle color.

The wood floor and more....

I was surprised to see the wood flooring delivered Friday and now they are almost completely in place.  They still need to be sanded and stained but, wow, they move fast!  The pool was poured Friday.  Still on track for 8 week completion.  Some additional trim has been finished.  Below are pictures of several rooms.  I met with an interior decorator Friday to get measurements and quotes for shutters for the interior.  We are not going with any curtains or blinds.  Even some kitchen cabinet shells are in place.

Right Front Exterior
Shows the eclectic mixture of stone, shingle, and stucco.  Stucco should go up this next week in a color called Birch.  We have to pick stain color for shingles.  The far left overhang will have a colored metal roof.

Front Porch

Pet Room
The doggie door was installed this weekend.  Now if we can only get the dogs to use it.

Guest Bedroom #1
You can see the wood floor is installed here.  Next will come sanding and hand scraping. Then staining.

Guest bedroom # 2

Game Room
Lots done here.  Wood floor done.  Wainscoat done.  Swinging door seen in the back as a pasage from the bar to the wine room beyond.

Breakfast Nook
Will have 4.5in stained wood shutters here.

Great Room
The wood floor is down.  The hearth needs installed and then stone from floor to ceiling in the fireplace.

Back Entrance to the Pool
Stained Wood Shutter will go here.

Dining Room

Study Ceiling
Wood beams complete on the ceiling awaiting stain

Study
This view shows the wainscoat and ceiling beams together which will look wesome when stained.  Stained wood shutters will go on the window

Master Bedroom
Wood flooring down and double crown molding up.  The top moulding will have rope lights hidden behind.

Abby's Room

Pool
The pool was poured Friday.  Next comes tile and decking.

Catching up on the progress...

Has been two weeks since my last post.  Been out of town and busy.  A lot has happened.  I will catch you up on the progress.  The drywall is near completion except some touchup areas.  The texture is on the walls.  The pool has been dug and awaiting gunnite pour.  The outside of the house has been started.  The trim and doors have been delivered and installation begun.  The pictures below are of today and the past week.  I will actually update the blog again later this week because the trim guys are working hard and there are lots of changes even from the morning to evening.  They are doing baseboards and shelves today.  As of today, James anticipates 8 weeks before completion!!!! OK, its getting serious.  Have to start purchasing furniture, window treatments, etc.  The worst part is cleaning up the old house to get it ready to sell.  Goes on the market at the end of the month.  Watch for a huge garage/yard sale coming this fall!

The drywall is in and textured. This is the great room ceiling.  Awesome!

This is the base coat for the stucco that will come later

The trim package has arrived and is being installed

These are the French Doors in the Game room.  Awaiting staining.

These are the French Doors in the Study.

Hall closet doors. One coat closet and one linen closet.

The pipes have been insulated and the wall is up in the outdoor kitchen ready for cabinets.

The pool has been dug and framed for pouring.  7.5 ft deep in the deep end

A look at the pool from shallow to deep

The built in hot tub in the pool. Nice and big.