Design meeting number two started off better than I predicted. Before going inside, Austin informs me I should pick most everything because I can see the whole picture and he can’t. He trusts my opinions. I could kiss him…and I do. I tell him I want him to like it, too. I sincerely do. I can’t imagine him disliking his own home. That would break my heart. But after that brief feeling of sympathy passed, I jetted inside to finally meet Dana and pick out the other goodies. Austin returned to his orange shag carpet swatch as a sort of soothing mechanism. After being granted decision-making privileges, the orange carpet isn’t looking so bad, but he’s still not getting it. After finalizing some previously made decisions, including a GORGEOUS brown glass tile backsplash (upgrade), we finally agree on granite, bathroom tile, wall paint, and crown molding colors. Then, I get to deliver the joyous news that my antique white cabinets are a go (yet another upgrade - quadruple damn!). Excitement doesn’t begin to describe it. Austin, of course, has no clue what in the world could make cabinets so thrilling. Typical man. He did, however, understand the kitchen is my favorite room and something I have had a vision about for quite some time, so he humored me. Bless his soul. (And yes, the orange carpet is STILL out of the question even at the stage of elation I am currently experiencing.) We choose wood flooring for the kitchen and entry, which Austin picked out and did a rather excellent job if I do say so myself. Yay for small victories!
We left design meeting #2 in much higher spirits (and with fewer murderous thoughts) than meeting #1. The next time we met it would be to pick out brick, appliances, exterior paint, and shutters. When that day finally arrived a week later, we were starting to form a picture of our new home as it would look finished inside. The night before our pre-construction meeting, we had gone to a gated neighborhood with a list of addresses in hand to look at brick colors. Upon entering courtesy of a resident who knew the gate code, we were stared at like dryer fuzz on a black sport coat – definitely unwanted. Eventually, we saw every color there was and settled on an entirely different one 5 minutes before our meeting the next day. And the saga continues. Thrilled with our choice, we found shutters and paint that tied everything together. And by some miracle of the home building heavens, we actually agreed. On everything. Can I get a hallelujah?!
Tom, our builder, is a grey-haired man of few words with half an index finger on his left hand. We go through a checklist of framing, bracing, sheetrocking, electrical, wiring, freezer plugs, yada yada yada. I lose track of details after hearing we don’t get a garage door opener for our third car garage despite its absolutely unfathomable cost. I quickly remedy that situation and inform him I don’t see what’s so difficult about handing me a $200 opener when I have spent many times that in upgrades. Dropping my boss’s name didn’t hurt either, considering my boss is Tom’s as well. I don’t typically play that game, but made an exception for this situation. He quickly says he will check on it after seeing sparks nearly fly from my head. I am not fully satisfied, but he has placated me for now. He then informs me we should be finished sometime in September, which means I am counting on Thanksgiving. It’s always longer than you think. I proceed to inform him that I would be on site every single day and that I spoke Spanish and would be talking to his workers. This is half true. I WILL be on site every day, but my mother is the one who speaks Spanish. She will be acting as my translator for the duration of this process. Should be interesting.
Dana steps in next and we finalize the elevation (exterior) of the house. It has come a LONG way from the beginning. Sparing the boring details, we completely changed the entire look. Anyone surprised? Didn’t think so. In the end, it turned out far more fabulous and expensive looking after adding nothing more than some garage door iron hardware at a whopping $67. I think I need another hallelujah. The hubs and I are agreeing, the house is taking shape, and there is no orange shag carpet in sight. AMEN.
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