Geothermal

We struggled with the decision of whether to use geothermal energy in our new home.  Although geothermal was on my husband's "must have" list, the price of it nearly took it off the list.  After careful consideration of the local rebates and federal tax credits and more calculations, we decided to go for it.  It will take many years to pay for geothermal, but we plan to be in our home long enough to see the benefits.  In the meantime, we'll have a cost-effective and environmentally friendly heating and cooling system.  

Digging of the well for the geothermal system is finally under way!

Front of the house

The siding is coming up in the front.  We decided on shaker shingles for the upper sections of the house.  The paint color is under consideration. 

Another week goes by...

Lots of activity at the house again.  I think the electricians are finishing up.  The siding is still going up.
  

We've picked out a design for the built-in for the great room.  We're also working on choosing bathroom fixtures and kitchen hardware.   We met with Brad from The Water Shop to pick out our water softener.  We are contemplating a reverse osmosis system.  (I'm embarrassed to say I buy bottled water because I can't stand the taste of the water from our faucet.  From my calculations, we'll break even in about three years and I won't be responsible for all that plastic.  It's definitely worth thinking about.  My husband is attempting to apply this same logic for a kegerator.  Such a chore to recycle those bottles...)  

We've been looking at stained sample boards for a few weeks to make a decision on the hardwood floors.  I've been researching finishes.  I've talked with the color expert at Sherwin Williams about a custom stain.  I'm still confused.  We're getting about 1600 square feet of hardwood in the house, so I want to make sure we pick the right color.   Our quest is ongoing.  

For the first time in nearly three months, I'm feeling exhausted from the decision-making.  

Moving right along

There's cement fiber board siding on the back of the house. We're painting the board, so I assume this is just a primer color.  It's not too bad, though.  Definitely better than the white paper!

The plumbers, electricians and heating/ac guys have been working hard. The shower and tub are in, and plumbing pipes are in place.  The duct work is in place.  The electrical wiring looks pretty close to being done.

The special items in the interior, including dining room columns and great room built-in, are framed out.  Moving right along!

Lights

I met with Kim at Light Expressions today.  While I originally had stated that I didn't want anything sparkly, I recently changed my mind.  I just wanted something a little glam, yet still modern.  We found some clear crystal pendant lights for the dining room, and will arrange six of them at staggered heights:   

There will be a clear crystal semi-flush mount fixture in the entry:

We will have three clear glass pendants for the kitchen:

There is a ginormous fixture for the living room, though I don't have a photo of that.  The bathrooms and bedrooms were fairly simple, though the master bath will get some pretty pendants:

The front exterior of the home will have modern, flush mount fixtures.  I think they will look great.

All in all, my husband agreed with my choices.  He did need a little bit of convincing, but I think he's going to let me keep the sparkle.

Black shingles

The shingles are going on!