The Story of Cedar Ridge

and the story begins...

As I sit here writing this, it is almost unfathomable that the story I am about to share has become a reality.  The photo above is proof that the dream David and I have talked about for so long has finally begun.  This is the view from the ten acres that we officially purchased last Friday.  A place we now lovingly refer to as Cedar Ridge.

David and I have always wanted a large piece a property, something with plenty of room and large open spaces that we could call our own.  We have spent the last few years looking for the *perfect* house on the perfect lot, but could not find a package deal that met our expectations.  Then one day we stumbled upon the write-up for a ten acre lot in a fantastic location.  David called me from work to tell me about his find.  It had only been on the market for 5 days.  We drove up that afternoon after he got home and as soon as we pulled up and around the large hill that makes up the driveway, the views literally took my breath away.  I said to him...

"David, this is it.  This is the place we have been waiting for.  THIS is where we need to put down roots and spend the rest of our days."

We put our offer in within a few days, went back and forth with counter offers a few times and finally had an acceptance by the seller.  (As a side note, David I dealt with this entire offer process the week before CHA!)  I, however, managed to reserve my excitement a bit longer, because I knew that getting to the actual closing can sometimes be a bit rocky.

We hit a few bumps along the way, but officially closed on Friday, August 28th, 2009.  An anniversary that we will certainly celebrate every year with fanfare!  We have plans to build our own home here, hopefully breaking ground this spring, however we have vowed to take our time and try not to create too much stress for ourselves.  Just let everything play out according to it's own schedule.

A bit about our property.  It's a total of ten acres, most of which is grassy  pasture.  The driveway begins at an old barn (pictured above) which David and I love.  "Our" barn (I just got shivers from typing that!) is about 50 years old.  It's leaning a bit, but with some new tin on the roof and a few new supports inside, we hope to preserve this little piece of history.  There's just something about old barns, isn't there?

The 1,200 ft. driveway winds up a hill to our first pasture, then winds through a fence row of cedars.  This opening in the cedars that allows the road to pass through is one of my favorite details, and inspired the name Cedar Ridge.  There is a second pasture with a similar cedar lined opening that exposes some extraordinary views.  We just love this place.

The house we dream of will eventually be perched up on top of our hilltop lot.  Our Cedar Ridge.  David already has big plans for tree houses and walking paths that meander through *our* woods. A house that is positioned just right to take advantage of the panoramic views.  So many blessings are unfolding for us with this new & exciting twist in our lives. 

All three of the kids are in total awe of all the space, much bigger than the acre-and-a-half we live on now.  They still keep asking us "How far can we run?" and giggle with excitement when we tell them "As far as you can see"...

This blog will be dedicated to documenting our journey.  The story of Cedar Ridge and the steps we will take to make this our home.  I hope you will enjoy our stories along with the photos of our progress. 

and so the story begins....

 

In the Swing of Things

Spent some time up at the ridge a few weeks ago. It was the first real fall weather of the season here, which made it a picture perfect day.  The sun was shining and a light breeze was blowing which contributed to a completely enjoyable day in the outdoors.  We brought along Owen's best friend, Evan.  All of the kids had such a good time exploring together, climbing trees and everything in between.

David decided this would be the weekend for a tire swing.  We've wanted to put one up for the kids for a few years now but we have never had a tree large enough to support one.  Now we have plenty to choose from!

After waiting with baited breath, the much anticipated first ride.

How sweet it is!

The first step...

Let's see... how does the old saying go?  A journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step.

In January, work began on our driveway.  Probably trivial to most, but very exciting for us.  I mean, this is the beginning, the first step that we have been waiting for.  The first step with hundreds to go! Ten years in the making...

 

Visiting Cedar Ridge for the first time after this work had been done was a little surreal.  Are we really doing this?  It's so hard to believe that the dream is now becoming a reality.  (someone pinch me!) All the work with the driveway is still a bit rough around the edges, but it gives us a good idea of how things will be coming together.

 

This is the base of the driveway near the old barn.  I love how the path winds through the trees.  So peaceful, so beautiful.

 

The driveway is about 1,400 ft long (a few hundred feet longer than we originally intended), so it's a bit of hike.  It does, after all, take you all the way up to the ridge where the house will be built.  Shortly after passing the barn the hill gets quite steep.  I love how thickly wooded the property is on either side here.  We've never owned a single full-size tree and now we have acres of them.  It's almost overwhelming and awe-inspiring all at the same time.

 

Here's David at the top of the hill looking down the driveway and you can see how the road takes a turn to his left to continue up towards the house.  I love the view that peeks out between the trees when looking in this direction.

 

This is continuing to look to the left from David, up towards the actual house lot.  Some of the cedar trees were cleared in the fencerow to allow the driveway to pass through.

 

This is the same view towards the left, just a slightly different orientation.

 

This is looking down towards where David was, where there is a sharp bend in the road.  See the large tree straight ahead?  It is one of my favorites here and I am looking forward to creating a flower garden around it's base.  Perhaps a small bench for sitting & pondering will be necessary as well.

 

This is standing at the fencerow where I refered to some cedars being cleared, looking to the right of where David was earlier.  This pasture will be partially fenced for a few animals we are planning on getting as well as holding a small orchard.  I'm already beginning to plan which varieties of fruits I would like to grow and what orientation the orchard will have.  We've always, always wanted to have an orchard.  There's nothing more gratifying than being able to pick your own fruit from your very own property.  You know that they've only been sun-kissed and haven't been exposed to anything else but nature.  It's small thoughts like this that make me so happy...so excited to move up here and make it our own.

This is what you would see from the opening in the cedars if you turned around to face the actual house lot.  This, my friends, is exactly where the house will be going.  This is THE ridge, freshly cleared so we now have a better idea of how everything is going to come together.  The driveway doesn't continue all the way to the ridge as of yet because we don't know EXACTLY what angle the house will be turned or how we want the driveway to approach it.  So until we have the foundation marked and flagged, we'll wait a bit on making that decision.

Here we are, right on the cleared ridge.  There used to be dozens of cedars here that formed a fencerow, but they've been cleared to allow space for the house to be built.  This will be the view from the back of our house.  It's so hard to tell in winter, but there are rolling hills for miles.  Truly a breathtaking sight.  I like to close my eyes and imagine what it will be like to get up each morning and take in this view.  To sip my morning tea at the window and allow myself to absorb the beauty and the peace that can be found here.  Did I mention that I can hardly wait?  :)

 

If you turn directly around, this shows you the view from the front of our house, our second pasture area.  This area will eventually contain our barn and a little bit of fencing for animals, but not much else.  We want to keep it pristine so we can enjoy mother nature, just as she intended!

It was cold the day we went up for a visit, but all of the kids had a wonderful time poking around and exploring the freshly cleared areas of the ridge (here's Hannah, all giggles & smiles!).  All of the work that has been done so far has been such an amazing experience.  It just makes us so excited to get to the next steps of breaking ground and actually getting started on the house.

We met with a possible builder a few weeks ago.  They are currently working on modifying the floor plan that we hope to use.  Once all of that is finalized, I will be sure to share with you what we have decided on for the actual house.  It looks like everything is going according to plan an we'll be able to break ground in a few months, then I'll have something a bit more interesting to post as we document this journey!

Thank you for sharing in our joy! 

The Plan

After hours of analyzing, tweaking and rearranging, our draftsman has made our dream a reality on paper.  The blueprints have been finished for Cedar Ridge!  There is still a tiny bit of tweaking as far as window placement, but other than that it is absolutely PERFECT!

(note: you can click on any of the drawings below for a larger view)

We've opted for a rustic Craftsman-style home that will feature Cedar timber frame accents. There's lots of windows to let in light and allow us to enjoy the views.  A screen porch was a must.  This one will have removable glass inserts so we can use the room during all four seasons.  A deck will go the full length of the back, giving us plenty of room to relax and enjoy the outdoors.  There will be a flagstone patio off the lower basement level, under the deck.  It will provide a lot of shade in the summer months.

A 2-car garage that will hopefully actually hold cars now that we will have a barn! I don't think I've EVER been able to park in the garage we have now!  Here's to wishful thinking!!! :)

 

This photo is obviously NOT of our house, but it does showcase the exterior finishing we have selected.  Shakes & stacked stone.  I have always loved cedar shakes, mostly because that is what is used on a lot of the houses in New England where I grew up.  But we found out that you can't affordably have them here, down south, because of woodpeckers.  A very expensive, special-order stain containing pepper to deter them would have to be applied every other year!  Too high maintenance (and expensive) for us!  So we have opted for a high quality vinyl version of shakes, from CertainTeed.  We haven't nailed down a color yet, but we are currently leaning towards the lighter color in the photo above that is at either end of the sample house.  We will be doing stacked stone at the foundation line, also just like the photo above.  The stacked stone will cover the exterior back wall of the walk-out basement, which I think will add a lot of character to that level.  Stacked stone will also be used on the bottom portion of the front porch columns, which is a detail I have always dreamed of having.

This is the first floor.  We wanted a very open floor plan, allowing there to be literally a "living" room...a place where we will do ALL of our living!  Kitchen/dining/great room all connected and open to one another.  The great room will feature a stacked stone fireplace, using the same stone as the exterior of the house, and bookshelves on either side of it.  David is going to build a long window seat to go along the entire back window wall int he great room, which will be one of my favorite places to curl up and read a book!  The kitchen has a large walk-in pantry, which is one of the MOST exciting aspects of this house for me.  I think I will be a little lost at first, not knowing what to do with that much space!

This is the second floor.  It's nice and simple, which is exactly the way we like it!  Three bedrooms, one for each of the kids as well as a shared bathroom.  The stairway being open to the great room should be a nice feature.  I am looking forward to seeing it in person once it is completed.

The daylight basement (or the finished lower level as our contractor calls it) will not be finished our from the get-go.  David & I will be doing it ourselves as we save up our pennies for it.  However, my office/studio is down here and it will be one of the first projects we dig into as soon as we move in. I will have a large walk-in closet, which will be such a treat.  I've never had a closet like this in any of my studios, so that will give me lots more storage space than I am accustomed to.  

The Rec Area is David's baby.  He's always wanted a pool table, so it will eventually reside here.  The sitting area will have a TV to be used exclusively with the Wii and other gaming systems we have (and all the paraphernalia that goes with them can be corralled in there as well!!!)

Since all of this is finalized now, we are just waiting for all of the paperwork to process at the bank and we hope to be able to break ground within the next few months!  It's hard to believe that that monumental day may be here very soon!  We will be sure to keep you posted with any official start date that might be established!  

It all starts with a hole in the ground...

After a few months of contract negotiations & finalizations with our contractor, mountains of financing forms and loan paperwork with the bank, thorough final material selections, house placement surveying, sticky permit situations & regulations, work has finally begun on our dream home.

These photos were taken nearly two-weeks ago, on Wednesday, July 21st. But with the limited time surrounding CHA preparations, we are just now able to scrape aside a little time to update everyone with our progress.

Of course, a journey like this begins with a hole in the ground.  The hole for our daylight basement to be exact.

David and I surely had eyes as big as saucers when we first pulled up to the top of the ridge to see all of this.  We were beginning to wonder if this day would ever arrive, and here it is!

 

These shots were taken from the "back" of the house, looking towards the front.   

The daylight portion of the basement will be facing towards the view.  This here at the right is the side of the house where my office will be located.  I think I'll be able to see a tiny piece of those Tennessee rolling hills while designing on the ol' iMac!

This is looking towards the driveway, where people will pull up to the house.

 

Seeing David & Ethan in "the hole" gives you a bit more perspective! 

The large area of dirt that was left untouched in the left-front of the house will be where the garage goes.

The very front line of the hole will be where the large front porch is located.

This is the basement as would be seen when pulling up the driveway.

Now, this photo may not look like much, but this right here is a newfound piece of heaven up on Cedar Ridge.  A little something that our contractor doctored up and prepared for us and exceeded our expectations.

This area wasn't always a tidy little clearing.  It was a wooded area with a 15 ft. deep 50+ year old sink hole that had large trees growing up and out of it.  Our contractor had the foresight to clear some of the area and fill-in the sink hole, which has provided us with one of the most picturesque sitting areas on the property.

Several large trees create a perfect semi-circle around the cleared area, reaching their branches skyward, making a perfectly dense canopy of shade.  In this hot southern heat, this heavily shaded spot has proven to be at least 15-degrees cooler than the rest of our yard.

The contractor has begun the preliminary work to inlay a set of stone steps, through this cluster of trees and up to the driveway and garage of the house.  David  I have already spent several hours dreaming big about how this little spot will be turned into a quiet sanctuary at the side of the house.  

It feels so good to finally begin, to see something taking shape.  Everything will be moving a long quite quickly, as our contractor expects to have us in the house by Halloween or Thanksgiving of this year.  Nonetheless, it is a whirlwind of a ride that we are happy to be on!

All blocked in...

These are photos that we took on Monday, August 1st, the morning after we had returned from Chicago at nearly midnight the night before!  We had to rush up to the lot because the plumber was there roughing in all of the water lines and I needed to pick out where the sink was going in my studio.

When we pulled up to the building site we were absolutely delighted to see that the basement's block walls had been completed while we were away!  The house is actually taking form and we can see how the perimeter walls will fit into the landscape!  The large narrow area at the front is going to be the front porch.  David had the foresight to dig out & block the walls of the front porch instead of having a slab underneath it so that we can use it as a storm shelter.  As many of you know, the tornados have been bad in this area of the country over the last few years.  It will be very secure with 12" thick walls, floor & ceiling.

 

In case the layout looks a bit backwards compared to floor plans I showed earlier this year, we ended up "reversing" the whole house so the garage is on the other side.  Speaking of garage, here David is, standing at the corner of it near the doors where we will pull in.

 

It appears that our carefully laid plans for house placement are paying off ten-fold.  The house is facing the view of the hills perfectly, just like we wanted.

 

Here is the left side of the house where the garage entrance will be.  

 

this is the view of the house from the new shaded clearing I spoke about in my last post.  You can't see much yet, but  thought it would be fun to document how the house "sprouts" into view from this vantage point.

 

This is the back of the house, where the plumber and his crew are busy at work laying the water lines. They are the last crew that needs to come in before they put the rest of the gravel down and pour the concrete floors for both the basement & garage.

Every little bit of progress gets us more and more excited for the final move-in day!
 
 
 
 

And the framing has begun...

David and I visited the building site today to go over a few things with the contractor and take a look at the progress.  Framing has officially begun at the basement level and it is so incredibly exciting to see some of the rooms begin to take shape.

 

Several bundles of lumber had been dropped off at the site between Friday and Monday so just about everything is there to complete the framing of the entire house by the end of the week.

There was an entire framing team assembled to keep the momentum going and complete the basement walls and joists by the end of the day today.

 

David and I have been saying all along that it would be very exciting when wood was actually present on site and being added to the house, and we were right.  This just marks the next step towards completion!

 

I just love this shot.  This is a common sight whenever we visit Cedar Ridge.  David touring the progress with our contractor.  And having the presence of all those joists ready to go into place provided the perfect foreground for this happy memory.

 

Here's a bird's eye view of the framing that was completed while we were there.  The angled "hallway" area you see towards the front is where the stairway to the basement will eventually go.  The room to the furthest right-back is my office/studio.  The center is David's pool table area.

 

The windows you can now see on the left belong to a small sitting area off the pool table room that we will be using as a gaming area for the kids.  The Wii and other gaming systems/equipment will be housed here and provide a separate area dedicated to these activities so I don't have to try to compete with all of it in my living room any longer!

 

It's a little difficult to see here, but there is an additional room to the left of the gaming area which will be our dedicated guest room.  

 

This photo shows two additional areas that you couldn't see in the previous photos.  A walk-in closet at the back of the guest room and a full bathroom off of the pool table room/gaming area.

 

You can also see that the garage floor has been poured and sealed.

 

Here's another shot of all the stacks of lumber patiently waiting to be used in the framing.  It is somewhat amazing to look at these boards now, knowing that they will be turned into our dream house.  They will make up the walls that will soon hold all of those memories that we will be making here in the future.  

 

the daylight basement exterior wall is almost completely lined with windows and french doors to allow lots of natural light to flood in and allow the entire area to feel like a natural additional story of the house, not just the "basement". 

 

Three sets of double windows along with a set of french doors flanked by two single windows.

These are the openings in the pool table area that will eventually house the french doors and two single windows.  You can get a little glimpse of what the view will be like through them as well.

 

This is the double window opening in my office/studio.  I'll be shopping around for a big comfy chair to set near them!  We will be moving a bit more of the dirt that you can currently see through the window to allow more of the view to be visible from here.

 

This shot was taken standing near the edge of the basement wall right next to my office/studio.  You can subsequently see the pool table area, the sitting area and the guest room.

It's so exciting to see all of this progress.  We have a scheduled meeting with the contractor later this week to hopefully do a full walk through of the framed house to make sure everything is as it should be before they start closing everything in with plywood.  David and I are thrilled with the idea of pulling up the driveway and actually seeing a "house" in place beyond the basement level the next time we visit!

The first floor...

David ran up to the building site today while I was working and took these shots.

 

Since yesterday they finished getting all of the first floor joists into place as well as all the plywood decking.

So David & Ethan got to be the very first Heady family members to stand in the future living room and see how the view is.

 

David says that he took this shot standing approximately where the front door will open into the house.  The large window wall in the living room would be the first room you see as you walk in, so a piece of the view will most likely be visible as soon as you walk in the front door.

Another shot of of the view standing from the first floor of the house.

 
 Here's how the house looks so far from the garage.  You can just barely see the hole in the sub-floor where the stairwell to the basement will eventually go.

All of this means that the basement level is officially framed, every wall in place.  I'm looking forward to going up there myself later this week so I can get an even better feel for my office as well as the rest of the house. 

 

Getting closer to home....

We checked in on the house and were so pleased that practically the entire first floor was framed, and a bit of work had been started on the second.  Things are definitely moving right along! 

This is the front of the house.  The cement blocked area is the circumference of the front porch that hasn't been decked over yet.  You can see the headers for the two front windows and the opening for the front door.  The dormer in Hannah's room on the second floor is also taking shape.

The garage is almost completely erect with just a few roof rafters to go.

This si the side of the house looking at the garage door openings.

Towards the back of the house looking at the garage again.

The next few photos are the back of the house.  You can see all the openings for the basement windows and doors more clearly then before.

The window wall in living room is now partially erect as well.

It is so surreal to see our drawings on paper become 3D.

Everything is definitely coming along nicely (and fast!).

I know we are just going to love this place when it's done!

Here's a shot inside the basement standing in the guest room looking towards the game room.

This was taken in my studio, looking down the length of the back wall of windows.

Here is the studio specifically.

The wall has been closed in now so I can get a better idea of what the room will really be like.

I got to explore the walk-in closet off of the studio as well which was very exciting.  It will definitely have plenty of storage space.

This is the game room, with the late afternoon sun pouring in.

This is the guest room window.

We have official "temporary' stairs to the first floor now.

So exciting!

I love the way they turn on the way up to the first floor.

As I was reaching the top of the stairs, I saw David deep in concentration as he was checking measurements. 

I love the angle at which I was able to take these shots with the camera on the floor.  It even captured the bits of sawdust on the floor.

They are in the beginning stages of framing out the fireplace in the living room.  We will be adding a ventless gas log system with a full-face stacked stone fireplace all the way up (20ft.) to the second story.  Now that we've *seen* the living room, I think it is going to look so great!

The windows in the living room have been partially framed out.

As I've stated before, the view is going to work out perfectly.

Opposite the windows in the living room is the entry foyer.

The music room is off to the right of the foyer.

This is looking into the kitchen/dining area from the living room.  They haven't finished with window/door openings in here yet so it's a bit dark.

This may not look like much, but this is the big walk-in pantry off the kitchen.

For my friends and family who have been in my current kitchen, you know how *desperately* I am looking forward to this little room!  It has been decided that it's getting a window after much debate.  I'm excited to see what it looks like one that feature has been added.

Another shot of the kitchen/pantry overall.

This is where the french doors will go off the master bedroom.

It will be such a pretty view to wake up to in the morning.

This is the corner of the master bedroom closet.  There will eventually be a window here as well.

 

This is the future shower.

 

and the tub will be going beside it, directly under the window opening you see.

 

The master bedroom has two windows besides the french doors.

 

The bed will be going right between the two of them eventually!

 

a shot of the rafters over the master.

 

again at a different angle.

As a parting shot, I will leave you with David, barely visible, studying the plans in our master bedroom as I am shooting photos around the outside of the house.  So fun, so exciting, SO can't wait to move in!
 
 
 
 
 
    

Second Story and Stone...

We checked in on the progress and despite some rain delays, they have completed many of the roof rafters and the final shape of the house is coming together more and more each day.

 

You can now see the beginning of the main roof line.

 

Here is the start of the peak at the garage end of the house.

 

I got a chance to walk around the second story of the hose for the first time since they have almost all of the floors completed.  This is looking down into the great room from there.

 

Another view of the great room.

 

The peak of the roof over the hallway area upstairs.

 

The corner of the house from Hannah's bedroom.

 

It won't be too much longer until we can no longer see the blue sky overhead!

 

The bonus space above the garage.

 

looking out towards the great room from the hallway upstairs.

 

Hannah's bedroom & dormer area, where she will eventually have a built-in window seat.

 

David going over everything with our contractor, Dwight, near the upstairs bathroom.

 

The view through the living room windows from the upstairs hall.

 

Looking down into the music room.

 

This is going to be the view from Owen's upstairs window.  The contractor agreed with us that he is going to have the best view in the entire house!

 

And lastly, another shot across the bonus area in the garage.

   

We went to pick out the stacked stone that will be used on both the foundation level of the house and the fireplace.  We decided to go with a manufactured stone rather than the real thing since the cost difference is very substantial for the quantity we need.  Besides which, the manufactured stone now is SO realistic looking, you can hardly notice the difference between it an the real thing.

 

Ed from Centurion Stone was the gentleman that our contractor likes to work with and who we met with there.  Here's David talking over all the details with him.

 

There were SO many more options than I was anticipating at the showroom.

 

Even though we had a very good idea of what we wanted, it was still hard to decide.

 

Little Ethan has done such a wonderful job of attending appointments and meetings with us now that school has started for the other two.

 

Here is the stone we ended up selecting.  It is a dry stacked Kentucky Ledge.  It looks very native to the area and the colors in it will go really well with the mossy green color we have selected for the siding.  I love that it looks like it has some age on it as well, which is the whole goal with Cedar Ridge.

 

This isn't the Kentucky Ledge specifically, but this is how the stone is being used along the bottom of the house.  The stone will be stacked approximately a foot to a foot and a half from the ground level with a stone water drip edge around the top.  Above that will be our vinyl siding, just like this example demonstrates.

 

Again, this isn't the Kentucky Ledge specifically, but we are also going to have two stone posts, like this one, created on either side of the end of our driveway entrance.

 

We are also in the beginning stages of making final choices for the kitchen.  We have selected the cabinet style & color.  

 

They are a simple mission style with a small peg joinery detail in each corner.  The wood we settled on was cherry stained this exact color.

 

The knobs are a antique oil-rubbed bronze, whcih we are using throughout the house.

 

We aren't using any glass in the doors like this example, but it gives you a better idea of how everything will look together.  The molding around the top of the cabinets will be a bit different on our finished product as well.

There are some special cabinets being added to the butler's pantry area off the kitchen.  The overhead cabinets there might possibly have some glass insets, we haven't officially decided about that area yet.  However, if we do opt for glass it will be this Antiquity style that looks old and rustic, which carries over well into the rest of the house.  We are meeting with a kitchen designer later and I will be sure to update all of you on what kinds of decisions we make there...