Finished Fireplaces

Both fireplaces are now finished and the sandstone hearths have been installed. They turned out really nicely. Next they will be installing the insulation.

The little cottage that started it all...

I just came across these pictures of the old cottage so I thought I'd post them while we wait for some developments with the new place. The little cottage was cute but so little! I am so looking forward to staying at the new house and we are making plans for many long weekends throughout the year.

The winning light fixture!

More Lighting

I finally ordered the chandelier from Jim at Markland Forge. He made some pinecone prototypes with individual cone pieces instead of the solid cones in the picture and I think it is going to work out well. Jim is great to deal with and I can't wait to see how this fixture turns out.

I purchased two of these Hammerton sconces for inside the house.

Snowy November!

It's freezing!!!

Today we drove down to visit the house. It was 18 degrees in the afternoon at Deep Creek Lake! New things in the house include almost all of the wiring has been completed, the stone on the downstairs fireplace is up, and the new door for the laundry room has been delivered. My endless quest for the perfect chandelier is coming to a close as I have finally found the perfect fixture, a pinecone and branch chandelier made by Hammerton. This fixture is super expensive but I have found a blacksmith forge in Temecula, California that makes a really similar light. I'm going to order one of these soon...

Hammerton

Markland Forge

Foundation Finished!

After a shaky few days when we discovered that the stone corners had been forgotten, the stone on the foundation is now finished and it looks fabulous! We used Eldorado Stone in Orchard Cypress Ridge and we are really pleased with it. The coloring worked out really well with the stain on the logs. As always, the guys at Yellowstone Log Homes were great and had the stone corners fixed properly and quickly.

We also met with the electrician and walked through the whole plan with him. We met with the cabinet maker and are trying to decide what wood to go with in the kitchen. What do you think of cherry frames with spalted maple panel uppers?:

Lighting

These are the light fixtures for the lower exterior.

Railings and Rocks

This week they put up the deck railings and started the stone on the foundation. I am really happy with the way the stone looks so far. They also buried the propane tank and are running the water lines into the house. The weekend looks gorgeous for Autumn Glory. Too bad we can't stay there yet!

Color instead of plain wood!

This week the stain was started - Colonial Cherry Woodguard

A lot of activity has been going on at the house lately. Finish grading has been started and hopefully the area out in front of the house will be relatively level for a large parking area.

The ceilings, soffits and fascias have been finished on the porches. The board and batten siding has been installed in the gable ends. Mechanical work has started on the heating/AC and the steps are in to the basement. After the stain is finished it's time for stone. They are trying to wrap up the exterior work before it gets too cold.

I'm buying a ton of stuff for the house now which is totally fun. The Sub Zero was delivered to our office this week so it will have to patiently wait until it's ready to be installed.

Sam in the Sunlight

Time to take the boat home for the year. This is Sam meeting us at the State Park to load up the Master Craft.

Exterior Work

This week the guys have been busy working on soffits and putting up the planking on the porch ceiling. They also started the board and batten siding on the gable ends. The beautiful redwood shingles have been delivered for the big dormer and they add a wonderful scent to the house! They have started pressure washing the logs to prepare them for stain. The basement stairs have been delivered and they are building retaining walls around the basement windows. Many activities are going on in an attempt to get the house finished enough on the outside to have the stain applied. Other work soon to happen is exterior grading and application of the foundation stone. Art is hoping to have the outside finished up by Thanksgiving.

David and I went out for a great after-season shoreline exploration boat trip. We drove around the entire perimeter of the lake, stopping at Uno's for an early dinner. After visiting with our neighbor to view their spectacular new house, it was quite late when we returned to the dock. Too dark for pictures but I'll be back this weekend to help out with the Savageman Triathlon and hopefully I will get some photos to update the blog with.

Framing, Fireplaces and Windows

The game room downstairs with all of the bedroom framing completed

Windows installed on lake side

Great room with hearth framing, fireplace and chimneys

New windows from the inside

The mighty Mastercraft on a windy day

Finally, a week of big progress! All of the framing was completed in the basement, 8 windows and 2 doors were installed, and both fireplaces and some shower units are in place. Now that it is after Labor Day, we have made it through the summer without a house. Soon we will be pulling the boat and dock for the year. Hopefully construction continues to go smoothly and next summer will find us enjoying our new completed home!

Anything new???

Yes, you will notice that I haven't updated this blog in quite some time. The truth is that the house doesn't look much different! They spent most of their work time this month laying out the tubing for the radiant heat and then pouring the concrete last week. The rest of the windows are in and are waiting to be installed. We'll go down one day this Labor Day weekend to see what else is new. Can't wait to see the framing done in the lower level.

I have been working with an interior designer to clarify my goals for the decor of the house. He really helped with the furniture layout and defining just what I'm looking for in the way of style, color and design. I have now ordered and purchased many different pieces and Hannah Fay is thrilled that I just keep bringing more pieces to store in her basement. I'm definitely not into the typical antler and bear decor that many DCL houses have. I want it to feel like it belonged to my grandparents. So far I've accumulated a cool mix of furniture and tomorrow I am going to VA to meet with the Hancock & Moore dealer that I ordered the sofa and loveseat from. I need two more chairs from him, then I think I'm done for a while. If you are in need of any leather or period furniture, I highly recommend Duane Collie of The Keeping Room. He's great to work with and his prices are worth the drive.

The frustrating thing about spending all of this time on the interior design is that when I visit the house I see that it is NO WHERE near needing all of the furniture that I'm buying! While I'm in PA I'm merrily picturing the house finished, then I show up and I don't even have windows and electricity!

Finished Front Facade

 

Covered Porch Framing

 

Deck and Covered Porch

 

Eaton side with windows

 

Windows, Shingles and Covered Porch

Laurie and I had a beautiful drive to the lake yesterday where I was surprised to find so much progress on the house in the past 3 days! The excavators were there putting stone into the basement to prepare for concrete. The roofers were working on the shingles, several of the windows and doors have been installed, and the framing contractors were putting up the lakeside covered porch. I was excited to see the house with the front porch roof on so that we now have the entire frame of the house finished! Laurie and I had a great lunch at Uno's and we hung out on the dock all day. By the time we left the porch was ready for shingles. The rest of the windows will be here in a few weeks. The stain will be put on in the next week or two. It is so much fun to see all this progress!

Second Story...Going Up!

The great room
The kitchen and entry The loft!
The lake facade

This was an absolutely gorgeous weekend at the lake. We were the guests of the Kaplan Family and they have been extremely kind to let us stay with them several times this year. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed hanging out on the dock. There was also a lot of skiing and surfing.

The roof is almost finished although my camera battery died before I got to take an exterior picture from the front. I will be back on Thursday so I will definitely be ready for an exterior shot. The loft is HUGE! It felt very exciting to stand up on the second floor and look out the framed window spaces.

The living room will be a challenge to arrange furniture in but the rest of the house all feels pretty easy to work with. Thursday I will meet with Mike and Art for a final window walk-through and to plan the electrical rough-in. My oldest friend Laurie will accompany me. The last time we were at the lake together was in 1985!

Big Big Steps!

Oh my god you guys! While Isabel and I are in New York City enjoying Legally Blonde: The Musical, A Chorus Line, shopping, sightseeing and just generally loving The Big Apple, the house is actually turning into a real house! It’s really exciting to see something that we’ve only seen as line drawings come to life in 3-D. Isabel and I took the train from Pittsburgh into New York City. It was a great way to get to the city.
This week the construction took giant leaps forward with the roof framing on each wing and interior framing of the bathrooms, closets and the master bedroom. While Art was figuring the order for the trusses, he decided to configure the upstairs so that we have two giant storage areas. Shout out to Art!
You’ll notice that there is a giant tree in the middle of the house. This is the signature style of Yellowstone Log Homes and it’s a really cool look. In fact in the lower level of the house the bottom half of the same tree will help support the house.
This week’s pictures were taken with David’s cell phone since I have the camera here in NYC with me. I can’t wait to see it in person!

WTC Sphere

This giant sphere stood between the two towers at the World Trade Center site. It is currently located in Battery Park.