The Story of Cedar Ridge

Country Fun: Run, Run Fast as You Can

As a new series, I thought I would start posting a few things we do for fun here at Cedar Ridge.  With all of this open space to explore, new little critters to discover and plenty of fresh air, we've been discovering all kinds of new things to help pass the time.

Last night in the early evening, we had the first annual Cedar Ridge Road Race.  Here's a rundown of the rules...

-inappropriate footwear required (this includes wellies, crocs and flip flops)

-starting point at the edge of the stone walkway, toes may not cross the line while in the starting position.

-the route continues around the loop of the driveway and back to the starting point.  It is the runner's choice to go around the loop clockwise or counter-clockwise.

-official running times will be recorded for each runner via Dad's iPhone.

-no cutting corners through the lawn or you will be disqualified!

Also in the rules...Dad has to participate in the last race of the day just before the sun goes down!

An update...

It has been a few months since we updated this blog.  Life has been extraordinarily busy for us these last few weeks as we have tried to carry on daily routines while fitting in all the extras that have been required of us. It's been a lot to balance but through it all, we are thoroughly enjoying our new home and thought we would stop in with a little update.  

We began moving in during the later part of February.  We still haven't completely finished the process of moving everything out of our old house, but we are getting closer to completing that as the weeks go on.  A lawn along with all of the landscaping that needs to be done is along some of the things that still need to be finished up, but the interior of the house is complete structurally.  Artwork still need to be hung here and there along with some new furniture found for particular areas, but we take each day as it comes and keep moving forward towards the goal of completing our dream home, our little retreat.

I have put a little video together for you.  I literally just pulled out our little Flip cam and walked around the yard and the first floor of the house.  It's a bit shaky and definitely no the most "professional" looking video ever, but it's a fun little visual for our dearest friends and family.  A little personal tour even though you all live so far away and may not be able to stop by in person.  Enjoy!

I have some still shots for you as well...

Thanks for allowing us to share this little piece of ourselves with us as we move forward with our new home.  We have been so blessed and we are truly thankful to call this place home.  There's still much that needs to be done, but we are really enjoying the journey so far!

Nearing completion...

With the holiday preparations, family in town and the kids home on vacation along with the constant trips back and forth from the property, I'm afraid we've been a little lax in updating you all with new photos! Although we weren't in the new house in time for Christmas, everything is buzzing along nicely and we hope to be in within a week or two.

They've completed more work on the siding, which has been one of the hold ups because of all the bad weather we've been having.

They have just begun painting all of the shingles on the house.  You can see the successful test swatch on the porch above.

The laundry room/mud area you first walk into through the garage entry is complete.

The tile work in the master bathroom is just about complete.  They just need to do a little cleanup and sealing.

I love the tub faucet because I was able to get the pull-out shower handle that I have always wanted.  No more using unconventional methods to rinse my hair while taking a bath!

We love this border mosaic tile we were able to find at Lowe's.  It goes around the top of the tub area as well as the interior of the shower.

The pedestal sinks in the half bath on the first floor and the guest bath in the basement have fully operational sinks and toilets.

The faucets are the same vintage style that we have used throughout the house.

I have a few weeks worth of pictures with the stairs, so I thought I would put them together so you can see the progress over time.  Here they are when they first were completed.

Then they removed all the balusters to complete the staining and sealing process for all the wood floors as well as the stairs.

Looking from the great room into the foyer.

Foyer/front doors closeup.

Looking into the kitchen from the great room.

They are just about done with the kitchen backsplash.  This is a closeup of the mosaic glass & travertine tiles we selected.  We both LOVE the way that this looks with the granite countertops.

 

The kitchen sink faucet.

The pot filler faucet behind the cooktop... one of the little luxuries in the new kitchen.

It can reach all four burners on the cooktop!

From the kitchen into the butler's pantry.

And I will leave you with a few parting shots taken in the great room during a night time visit last week.

Columns & Garage Doors...

Just a quick little update today!

They have begun the final details on the porch columns.  

Adding the tapered top portion really sets everything off I think!

The garage doors are in as well along with the garage door openers completely wired and installed.

We selected this beautiful carriage-style door which is so fitting fro the look of the rest of the house.

The cabinet installer was there finishing the interior shelves for the kitchen as well as the rest of the doors for the great room.  Painters were doing the final coats.  Plumbers will be there tomorrow to finish faucets and such!

More stone...

It was a busy weekend up here at The Ridge!

The stone installers finished up and the results are nothing short of stunning!  There's quite a bit of debris on the worksite, but if you look carefully, you can see some of the finished work!

This is the bump out on the garage.  Notice the "soldier" (vertical) stonework accent at the top edge of the window.

 

The front porch stone work has been completed as well.  

All that's left is some trim work and the addition of the white tapered columns that are added above the stone portion.

The built-in cabinets were added on either side of the fireplace.

They still need the doors and hardware, but it already makes everything look more finished!

After the cabinets were put in, they added the stone work to the fireplace.

Notice the "soldier" detail above the opening here.  And the impressive mantel is made from a slab of white cedar that my father cut from a tree up in Maine.

 

It's a little over 4" thick and we were able to keep the beautiful live edge.  I love the thought of looking at this mantel everyday knowing that it is a little piece of home made with love from my dad.

as well as where the fireplace meets the beams.  Upon a suggestion from our stone manufacturer, we planned for two eyeball lights to shine down onto the fireplace from the ceiling to help highlight it.

And then there is the kitchen...

the granite has officially arrived!  Here the granite installers are hauling in the huge impressive slab for the island.

They said it weighed over 700 lbs., so I was impressed that two men carried it in by themselves!

And the finished product!

The butler's pantry...

The master bathroom vanity...

Next week will hold the heat being connected and turned on, plumbing fixtures and carpet as well as a final coat of paint!

 

Granite & stone...

Progress is coming along here in small leaps and bounds...today & Friday are supposed to be busy, busy days with lots of things scheduled to be installed, so I will be sure to update you all this weekend.

Last week we selected the granite for the countertops.  Here is the little sample we picked up to see how it looked with the cabinets.  It's a beautiful cream colored stone with small flecks of caramel and chocolate.

The ceiling fan has been installed on the screen porch.  I love the lantern look that it has.  Ceiling fans are a must in a screen porch here in the south to help battle the humid summer days!

And last, the stone work has finally begun!  

It looks so nice with the stain they used on the cement front porch and walkway...

and really complements the green of the siding!

When we stopped by they had the foundation level done on the front and the side of the house.  The entire stone project should be finished for our next visit.

A few more finishing details...

We had to meet with the contractor yesterday to select the carpet that will go in all the bedrooms & theater room, so we got to check on the latest progress at the house.

They finished the shingles on the front porch.  (Keep in mind that these still need to be painted to match the green siding.)

I love how the shingles make the porch feel so homey and cozy.

The final trim on the windows really helps to make them pop as well.

The lantern were installed on either side of the front door.

I had admired some lantern style lights from a Vermont based metalworks company that were WAY out of our price range, and ran across these at Lowe's for a tenth of the price!  I love the seeded glass that they have, making them seem a bit more traditional and "old".

The tile has begun to be laid in the mud area/laundry room.

It has turned out so well and we can hardly wait to see the finished product.

When I introduced the kitchen in my last post, I forgot to take a photograph of the pull-out shelves under the cooktop that will be used for our pots and pans, so here they are.

And here is the cabinet closed.

Friends and family have let me know that they wanted to see more of the great room ceiling.  They have installed the fans now along with the recessed lighting, so we took lots of pictures to document the finished product.

This week they will be finishing up all the tile, laying the carpet as well as laying rock inside & out.  The countdown has begun to moving day!

 

Cabinets, Beams & Basement Floors...

It was a very exciting time here this week, because we are one step closer to a completed kitchen.  The cabinets have been delivered and installed!

I will never, ever forget the moment that I walked in to see the kitchen for the first time.  I was instantly overwhelmed with happiness, so much so that a few tears managed to sneak their way out of the corner of my eye.  After all the planning, all the decisions and selections that went into my favorite room in the house, it was finally real.  I had previously only seen drawings on paper, and to walk in and be able to touch it, explore it, was an experience that I will not soon forget.

This little piece of countertop will house the coffee maker. 

The fridge will go in the large opening.

This is the back wall of the kitchen.

This large opening is for a double oven (goodness, how I could have used this yesterday when I was trying to cook my sweet potato casserole at the same time as my rolls!)

A hood will go in the next slot, over the gas cooktop.

I forgot to photograph these cabinets under the cooktop open, but the set of double-doors reveals two HUGE pull-out shelves that will hold all my pots and pans.  Notice the furniture detailing at the bottom?  I just adore it!

To the left of my cooktop is a knife drawer.

Below the knife drawer is a breadbox, with space to the side for the boxes of sandwich bags I use to pack lunches everyday!

All of the cabinets go all the way to the ceiling.  I've always hated the dust & grease that can accumulate on top of cabinets in the kitchen.  Plus, it provides so much extra storage space for entertaining pieces with the smaller cabinets at the top like this.

A double tiered silverware drawer to the left of the sink.

The two faux drawer fronts under the sink have finger pulls routed into the top edge...

and they open to reveal storage for sponges, scrubbers and scrapers.

The island has lots of storage as well.  The back side, across from the cooktop, has two cabinets and two wide drawers.

The side across from the fridge has a single standard drawer plus these special basket drawers.  The baskets have plastic liners so they are easy to clean and keep little bits and pieces from falling through the cracks.

One will hold potatoes and the other onions.  

The end of the island has a small ledge where we will put stools for the kids.  There will be large chunky table-style legs being added after the floors have been stained.  

There are recessed lights all around the kitchen so there will be adequate lighting throughout.

You can barely make it out here, but the fourth side of the island, facing the sink, features another lower single drawer and space for the microwave.

One last view of the kitchen as it appears from the great room.

This is the cabinetry that was installed in the butler's pantry area between the kitchen and the study.  A wine fridge will be installed next to the lower cabinet.

Stemware will be stored underneath the cabinet in stemware holders that still need to be installed and the actual cabinet can hold other miscellaneous glasses and entertainment pieces.

The beams in the great room have also been erected.  They are just fabulous!  They make the room just come to life!  This is the way they look when you first walk into the room from the foyer.

Here is the way they look from the upstairs landing.  They are made from rough-sawn cedar boards that have character and personality, just the way we wanted them.

A little peek at the transition of the beams into the upstairs landing as well as how big & substantial they are when you get a peek closeup!

Here is the master bathroom vanity...

featuring a double sink as well as an opening for me to have a small stool and a place to put on make-up.

Pergo laminate wood floors have been laid down in the basement level.  They are a nice wide plank with a warm brown finish.  These floors go throughout the sitting area and pool table room as well as my studio...

Speaking of studio, here are the finished floors in there.

I have recessed lights around this room as well so there will be plenty of lighting.

There is also a ceiling fan to help circulate the air.

The big closet that I'll have to myself in there has lights now so I can finally start planning the interior and how all the shelving & storage  will be designed.

This past weekend we took on a family project and created the tiered floors for the seating in our theater room.

Each tier was insulated so that there wouldn't be any echo from the surround sound system.

It was a fun little project to tackle ourselves.

The tiers, along with the rest of the house, should be carpeted next week!  We are looking at a definite move-in before Christmas, December 15th most likely at the latest!  We are ALL getting so excited, the anticipation is just about all we talk about at the dinner table these days!

Lights, please!

These photos are from the week of November 15th-19th, we've just been so busy, we are just now getting the opportunity to share the photos with all of you!  They have made a little more progress with the siding, but not much.  With quite a few rainy days, they have been concentrating mostly on the inside of the house.

The font porch and walk have been poured. 

Stamped & stained just like the back patio.  It is still curing, so the color isn't accurate, but I love how it turned out.

All of the hardwood floor have been installed.  They will be doing the final sanding and staining as one of the last tasks to avoid any risk of damage while sub-contractors are coming in and out.

Almost all of the windows have been trimmed, making everything seem even closer to final completion.

This is the little bit of hall just off the foyer on the way to master bedroom.

There is a coat closet here, now completed with doors in place.  Just awaiting the knobs!

Many of the lights have been hung.  This is chandelier that will hang over the dining table.  It is a handmade piece from Hubberton Forge that David and I just adore.

It is centered in front of the french doors going out to the screen porch.

The island lights have also been hung.

We had admired some from Pottery Barn that were similar to this, but pleased that we found these gems at home depot for half the price.

A fun photo of the light switched being prepared for installation in the kitchen.

The door to the basement off the kitchen has been installed as well as most of the interior doors.

Most of the recessed lighting has been finished; this is the ceiling in the study.

And the finished floor and baseboard in the study.

The stair landings have been completed along with the rest of the wood flooring.

It is so incredibly amazing to see final details like this falling into place.

The landing/hall in the upstairs, from Hannah's doorway.

Another shot of the upstairs from the bathroom.

All of the exterior lights are stacked up in the laundry room, waiting to be installed as soon as the siding is complete.

David and I picked up over 3,000 lbs. of Travertine tile to be used in the bathrooms and mud area of the house.  The pallets have now been placed in the garage, waiting for installation.

It is a soft muted tile that has a wonderfully natural look & feel.  We got it at a discount tile warehouse for a steal, which makes it even more special!

Floors & More

Last week was a bit slow here at the building site, but this week has really picked up.  The house is buzzing with activity as we near the home stretch.

They have been concentrating more on the interior, so not a whole lot of additional siding has been installed.  

they completed this corner so that all of the final electrical panels, cable & phone connections, etc.. can be finalized.

The concrete forms for the front porch, front steps and path have been put into place.  The concrete should be poured in a few days.

They finished with the shingle siding on the dormer over the garage.

It still needs to be painted green, but we think it looks fantastic.

Retaining walls have been added on either side of the house.  They still need to have the top stone caps installed and they will be stained to match the stone on the house after it has been installed (which should be sometime next week).

Here's the wall on the garage side of the house.

The patio at the back of the house under the screen porch has been pored, stamped & stained.  It will turn more of a soft gray as it dries. 

 It is amazing what they can do with concrete nowadays.  It looks very close to the slate tile that is going in the screen porch above.

Now that this has been poured, they will be able to finish all of the cedar beam work on the underside of the porch.  We love how everything is coming together!  

The mesh has been put down for the tile on the floor of the screen porch.

The tile has arrived as well, a special slate from India.

I just love how raw and "earthy" it looks and can't wait to see how the completed floor looks on the porch.

They have also started on the wood floors inside the house.  They are an unfinished hardwood red oak

They will install all of it then complete and extensive sanding process, followed by the stain and three coats of sealer.

It is amazing how much more finished the house looks with this progress inside.

 

Trim around the top of the stairs.

Looking from the great room into the kitchen.

More of the kitchen.

Looking towards the butler's pantry, where the floor will continue all the way into the study.

The kitchen into the great room.

And lastly, all of the interior doors have arrived.  We selected this simple craftsman style wooden door. They will all be painted white to coordinate with the trim.