Under the Great Quilt!

One of our recent renters had this to say about our house:

It is a ministry of hospitality to open your home—the Great Room was perfect for 3 generations of storytelling under the Great Quilt! We appreciated the care, taste, comfort and beauty of your place-----and know your family and many other families will enjoy years of fellowship and renewal in Dream Come Blue! (November 2010 by S. G.)

Lake Junaluska - view from the cross

the Great Room

the "Great Quilt" sewn by our grandmother

Junaluska this Fall

Ready for Company!

Our house is finally ours and the finishing touches are all in place. We'll have our first big family gathering this weekend and then our first renters arrive Sunday.

If you are visiting this site and have rented our house, please post a comment and let us know how your stay was. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do and come again!

For now, enjoy our latest pics of our dream come blue!

Approaching Home

Here's a pictorial update of Dream Come Blue! Enjoy!

Guest bathroom shower

Garden tub in master bathroom

Master bedroom

Guest bedroom

Microwave and oven in kitchen

View of loft

View from Master bedroom

Main living area

Gas logs fireplace

View from kitchen

Rounding Third...Heading Home

Well, at least we hope we are that close! We have been remiss in posting updates but we are close to our final appraisal and moving in! Without further adieu, here are new pictures:

front door and entry hallway with finished beadboard

walnut cabinet in Master bathroom

mantle and rockwork still to be completed

exterior painting

view from corner of living area; staining still to be done and countertops & appliances to come

front door, to be stained "Chesnut"

window seat in study

pendant lights for eating area and island

looking up the stairs to landing

change of plan; originally the stairs were going to be carpeted, but we changed to stain only...staining in progress

our house as of March 25th

We have also been busy building and painting items for the house. We have built bunk beds and repainted old chairs that we've found second-hand. We sanded down and repainted a mirror frame for the upstairs bathroom and will be making curtains for the kitchen soon.

chairs "reclaimed" from Shackford Hall's dungeon by my dad; the "before" is on the right and the "after" is on the left...these chairs may be as old as me!

other chairs we found at Habitat or Goodwill

Lots of work still remains, but we are hopeful to stay on schedule and get our certificate of occupancy within the next week to ten days. Most of the interior staining is happening this week which will be "Armoire Hickory" and the front door will be stained "Chesnut" (slighter darker). The touch up painting will happen and the two biggest things are the countertops and the carpet, which are both scheduled for this week. Then, the electricians and plumbers finish up and it's time for HVAC and inspections. Hopefully our next post will be of moving day!

Floor and More

Nothing says romance on Valentine's Day like engineered hardwood, linoleum, and tile. The hardwood and linoleum have been installed, and the tile will be laid soon.

for the Master Bath

for the Guest Suite bath

for the entry, Kitchen, Powder Room and Great Room

Most of the walls have been painted a lovely shade of "Wool Skien." We think of it as a "muted khaki." It works!

When the painting is complete, then the cabinetry and fixtures will be installed.

Ceilings and Walls

During this week, the drywall crew finished the walls by painting a primer coat and sanding the walls smoothly. The crew also added a knock-down finish to the ceilings. It all looks terrific!

Our contractor's main workers also added the tongue-and-groove ceiling to the great room; see below.

Greg on the scaffolding waiting for some more pieces to be handed up to him

Taken from where the refrigerator will be, facing out toward the Great Room

Next week, the hardwood floors and master bathroom tile will be installed... Then the stairway rail... Then the cabinetry... Then the walls will be painted... Then the fixtures... Then doorways and closets will be finished... We're getting closer!

We Have Walls!

The walls are in! The drywall is completed and the painting and ceilings will be done next. Most of the house will be a "Wool Skein" color (beige-ish/light khaki...I'm not a fan of the word beige, but it is in that family). The master bedroom and bathroom will be a cool blue called "Take Five". It's a light gray-blue. The wood ceiling, beam and post will all be stained "Burnished Walnut." The colors are coming together and it feels like a house...like, well, a dream come blue!

view of the upstairs landing from top of steps (railings to be added)

view of kitchen and eating area

stained wood hanging out in the basement that will become the tongue & groove ceiling for living area on main level

view from master bathroom into master bedroom

living area looking toward back deck; the exposed insulation is what will be covered with T&G ceiling

view of window in front room (study/bedroom)

upstairs bedroom

guest bedroom

another view of master bedroom

Frozen Assets

We are having below normal winter temperatures this week, and here are some pictures to prove it! (Poor ducks!)

Here is the latest picture of the house with some snow. More of the hardi-plank is up and some is already painted. Hopefully that will be wrapped up in the next week or two so they can turn their attention to start insulation and drywall!