Becoming a Home! - Ryan Homes Build

I'm so excited to show you guys the PAINTED walls and the newest interior installations! :) It's really starting to look like a home. Obviously it's dirty because it's in the middle of construction, but I can't tell you how much I secretly just want to start cleaning it. I've missed owning my own home for so long! I'm sure I won't be eagerly wanting to clean it for long though. ;) 

The laundry room with optional cabinets. The interesting part to this space is that since our washer and dryer are both white and the cabinets are white, we are going to have to add a pop of color to the space for sure. We are thinking we'd like to do a coral color. Can't believe my husband is agreeing to that... Also, they have moved our cabinets up about two inches to accommodate the stands. :)

Panorama of our son's room. 

Panorama of the new baby's room.

The soon-to-be sidewalk in front of our home. Not much space at ALL in front of our home! No surprise though, just finally put into perspective. :) 

Pretty poured cement porch. I'm assuming they have to install railings - that's pretty high up there! They initially said we wouldn't need them, so we will see. 

Didn't realize I took so many "front" views! 

A better picture of the trim work in the dining room. Optional and level 2. Left side is not completely finished. I'm curious and we have to clarify this part - if crown moulding goes in the foyer and the 2nd floor or not. I believe I remember being told that it does, but I also don't remember hearing that shadow boxes were part of level 2. Therefore, I don't know what to expect, but I love what I see. Also, per our PM the carpenter and electrician coordinated to fit the addition of rope lights in the tray so that they would fit appropriately. Mostly, these guys on on point. Especially with some of the various random things we ask of them. We are grateful! :) 

A view of the moulding seen from the side. The windows pictured are optional in the dining room. 

The metal balusters! Can't wait to see these stained gray. Misty Gray hardwood flooring to be seen throughout the floors and on the stairs. 

The dinette and bonus room stairs view. 

View from the dinette. Hey pretty white cabinets with trim! :) 

View of the kitchen/stairs/family room from the bonus room stairs.

View from the dining room, visualizing the hall, living room (optional windows) and main stairs. 

View from the family room looking through the hall to the front of the home. 

Panorama from the family room.

Attic view. If the door were not open, behind it you would see the closet and bathroom. 

Attic view from the other way. 

Pretty metal balusters coming from the 2nd floor. 

Master bedroom with tray ceiling and dropped down moulding to accommodate outlet. Window on left side is optional. 

Master bathroom Sonoma Square and Santa Cecilia Light granite. That big mirror is going to be replaced with 2 individual gray mirrors. The tile in the room will eventually be gray.

Looking directly from the master bedroom into the master bathroom without the drop down ceiling. Still love that we deleted that feature. Such a tiny bathroom though, but I think it will be just useful enough. :) We never felt the model bathroom was too tiny, so we will see! I only wish there was more light in this bathroom. Such an incredible difference from the Oberlin bathroom we had. That one felt like it was another room by itself! Such a glorious bathroom.. but again, it was so much space. As we've always said with these neo-traditional floor plans, they make use of every inch of space. 

View of the stairs from the 2nd floor. Can't wait to see the chandelier hanging here! 

2nd floor hall bath with Sonoma Square cabinets and Uba Tuba granite. Our son is crazy about his bathroom. It will have gray flooring and white around the shower. 

That's all for now guys! :) Can't wait to see what the next week brings. It looks like we have some trim still left in the garage along with the columns for the front two rooms. Nothing else is out there at this time, but I'm guessing that flooring is next? I'm not sure, but so ready to see!

PS. today they are currently installing our siding! 

Hello more gray!!!!!

SO. MUCH. PROGRESS! - Ryan Homes Build

If I don't update this now, I will fall way too far behind. These tradesmen are moving at lightning speed! I cannot keep up! Between my husband going out Monday evening while I was still at work compared to today (two days later..) there is such a huge difference. Unbelievable!

Monday night he showed me pictures of the first layer of pavement which alone looks great. There was gravel poured for the sidewalk to be poured in front of the model and moulding ready for our concrete to be poured for our porch. They were still working inside, so he didn't venture in, nonetheless..

Tuesday evening we dropped by because he wanted to show me the pavement. We went in after the tradesmen started packing up and were shocked to see that primer had been sprayed on all of the walls. What a difference! It really opened up the space. It was so exciting it looked like a home! :)

And that leads us to tonight! Holy cannoli, guys. What a difference! The walls are painted an off-white from what I could see. There are now cabinets in the kitchen, banisters and balusters, crown moulding/chair rail moulding/shadow boxes in the dining room, cabinets/sinks/granite in the bathrooms and doors throughout. Plus we have a poured concrete porch and back walkout! It was so late this evening that I barely got pictures that are identifiable, but I cannot wait to head out either Friday night or sometime this weekend and get the real deal! I'll chat more about the findings when there are pictures. :)

Hello pretty back porch-thing. Looks like great cement work and is really a large area. Cannot wait to make use of it. Curious to see if the steps lead directly to grass or what they actually have in mind to finish it off. Eventually we will be placing a patio in this area. 

Hello pretty moulding! Our tray moulding is dropped because we placed an outlet on the inner portion of the tray so that we can have rope lights in place. We are just hoping that the plug to the rope lights will have enough room to fit into the outlet. This is level 2 trim.. didn't realize it came with the shadow boxes, but it looks lovely in person! So I'm very excited. Looks like we may be modeling after this dining room after all! ;) 

And an extremely grainy version of our cabinets in the kitchen! Hello pretty white! These guys definitely need knobs & pulls. We are already researching what kind we want. ;) That is going to have to be an initial task when we move in because they are hard to open without. I thought the kitchen space may feel narrow, but quite the opposite. I don't feel as if we lost any kitchen space. Even walking in from the garage the area still felt open - whether the white cabinets kept the light/airy feeling or it really is more room than I realized, I'm not complaining! :) Although this area is going to need paint ASAP because there is SO. MUCH. WHITE. except when we put in the dark wood floors and the dark granite it's probably going to change that feeling. Time will tell! :) 

Also, they started the home directly next to us by framing it in - it's a Robert Frost model. It's so lovely! It's the smaller house plan than ours with such a neat layout. I really was entertaining that model until we were told that model was not going to be a rear-load when we signed. Turns out it surely was offered later on down the road a couple months after we signed. ;) Oh well! At least I can enjoy it from the outside. :)

We really only have minor concerns at this point after what we saw tonight. First, like I mentioned above about the plug for the rope lights in the tray fitting the outlet and second, our laundry room cabinets seemed too low for our washer & dryer that have stands. We ran out to our storage unit tonight and got measurements and will coordinate with our PM tomorrow to see what the cabinets are placed at. They have about a foot to be raised if necessary. I LOVE my washer and dryer and miss it dearly! It's been in storage two years and I'm hoping it still works as it did because that thing was a champ! :) Although, the top control panel has yellowed.. so we are going to have to see if there are techniques for whitening it again. Oh google... p.s. I'll see you soon my little washer & dryer. We will be busy again soon enough! ;) 

Lastly, I didn't get the email, and we're going to blame my husband at slacking on communication (just kidding!), that our walk-through is roughly scheduled for April 22nd now, with closing being the following week. That still puts closing approximately 4 weeks away. Guys, I can totally live with that. Eeeek! :) At the rate they are going is it really going to take 4 weeks? I mean seriously.. they are just so speedy! But again, the quality does not seem compromised either. It's impressive. 

Oh! How could I forget?! Our community has electric! It was very pretty to see this evening with all the townhouses lit up inside and the single-family model home as well. Cannot wait to see more progress with this community! :) 

Walled in! - Ryan Homes Build

The drywall is up, taped and skimmed for one coat. What a difference it makes! So, as far as next week goes, a little more drywall work, painting, and then installing all the goodies we found in our garage! :) 

We haven't locked in our interest rate yet nor had a final confirmation of our closing date, but the last we knew it was going to be April 21st. Well, that is exactly a month away, folks. Four weeks. 31 days. YAY! :) Time will tell though. Of course, getting all the closing paperwork together is the least fun part of all but we are almost done with that as well. We are currently looking into homeowners insurance quotes. SO. MUCH. FUN. But I digress..

I also have to mention that our 4-year old son took my parents through the home yesterday and was ecstatic. He just had to show them his room and bathroom and the look on his face when he saw the drywall was priceless. Just as him dragging his papa through the house was. This little guy is STOKED! :) It was precious. 

Onward to pictures! 

Doors, cabinets, trim, banisters, and so much more to be unveiled! :) Pretty cool to see all that stuff. I just wasn't ready for it. I cannot believe it is that time already. 

Didn't realize this is how the sinks came. This is either the bonus room sink or the hall bath sink. Hello pretty Uba-tuba granite! :) Not sure why it says "do not lay flat" because it's laid flat.. oops! :) 

Hello pretty metal balusters! :) I am curious to see how these look installed! I fell in love with them when I initially saw them, but that was also with a home that had a large open staircase. We will see though. I definitely don't think there is anyway I could regret them. Maybe just wish there were more open areas on the stairs to place them. ;) I also can't wait to see how they look with grey stain. 

Bonus room drywalled! This room looked great! What a difference seeing it drywalled in. When we were going over lighting options, I went back and forth between recessed lights and the fan/light selection. We ultimately just chose the fan/light option. I have barely thought about buying fans yet and I was thinking there will be no way to light this room unless I set a lamp somewhere. Oh well, it's just a little thing.. but definitely crossed my mind. ;) I'm going to have to get stocked up on either lamps or fans with lights! 

Another view of the bonus room looking from the windows towards the stairs, closet, and bathroom. 

The "hall" of the bonus room. Straight ahead is the closet, the first piece of wood seen leads towards the stairs to go back to the kitchen/dinette, the second piece of wood seen walks into the bathroom.

Standing at the stairs coming from the bonus room. You all have seen this view countless times. :) I'm going to have to do a progression set of pictures after all of this is done just to see what it comes from. Straight ahead: kitchen, middle right: family room, far right: dinette area. 

Family room with fireplace & two optional recessed lights above fireplace. 

Hall leading to the dining room and living room. First wooden piece seen on the left is the half-bath, second wooden piece is the closet. 

Dining room with optional tray ceiling. In love with the tray ceiling! It has come along perfectly. I can't imagine not putting it in. We did see it in another home without it and it still looks great (and actually makes the ceiling higher without because they had to drop it down to place the tray due to beams/framework). Windows seen are optional. 

From the hall looking into the living room. Windows seen straight ahead are optional. Again, we did not choose the study feature. If you do, the left wall extends to the middle a little more and french doors are placed. Our next-door neighbor has the study feature. I'm sure the french doors are going to look GREAT! But, I'm still please with this room without. It will still be a study/office for us as well. :) 

Another view of the living room. The little "nook" to the middle/right is where I'm thinking a desk, or now that I think of it, tall bookshelf will fit perfectly. The wall has to be divided due to the return duct being placed on the right side. 

BIG difference being walled in on the stairs. With the 4-bedroom layout it's like you almost walk right into the wall at the top of the stairs. From the looks of the 3-bedroom layout you gain probably a foot or more at the landing of the stairs than with this layout. But nonetheless, I don't remember minding this walking through the two EH models we saw. :) Perfect place for a good picture or framed quote at the top of the stairs though! The ceilings in this area make you dizzy they are so high when you look up! :)

Our master bathroom with the change that we requested involving the removal of that dropped down frame between the sinks/closets & toilet/shower. HUGE DIFFERENCE, FRIENDS! Oh my goodness, I am completely glad it is just smooth across now. It looks lovely and feels so much more open. 

Master bedroom with the optional window on the very left. Love this extra window! :) And that tray is LOVELY! We will be placing a fan/light in the middle of the tray. We also have an outlet included in the tray to place rope lights later. I can't wait to see this room completed! :) 

We walked through the model for the first time yesterday. It is coming along nicely! It's the John Steinbeck model that I absolutely LOVE. The first floor is just so open and glorious. I really, really hesitated on which home to choose, although in the end we chose the EH because we could get at least 30k more in upgrades with this home. I still love this home and can't wait to see our touches personalize it, but if you can afford it and/or are willing to update later, the Steinbeck really is LOVELY! :) The goal of the model was to portray it as "affordable" versus top-of-the-line-make-you want-everything-in-it but can't-get-it. It's going to be very appealing when completed, I think. 

The model home and the home to the very right of our home now both have siding. The model being red & the other home being "granite grey" like ours will be. It's a darker grey like we were hoping. So it was nice to see! :)