Love this picture of Kenny. He LIVES in that Charger shirt. I think I’ve washed it at least 72,854 times. At least. As you can tell from this picture, I decided to go with rock around and above the front door. Definitely the hardest decision for me this far in the process. I don’t know why this decision was so hard for me, but it was. I think more than anything I just hit a wall. Total building burn out! I love my house but I have to say that I am so excited for the day when I don’t have to think about it anymore. :)
Our finish carpenters have taken over the garage and are starting the wood work. I think this might be my favorite part of this process so far! I can tell it will also be a time consuming one. I have to be very involved in this stage so working this in with my schedule is going to be tricky. The girls might be doing their homework in sawdust for a bit. :)
My planter boxes just make me smile. I can’t wait to plant pretty flowers in them! Those corbels underneath were just re-done because the first ones I picked out were way too small. One of the many little mistakes I’ve made because I am picking things out with a 15 minute time limit and a squirmy toddler on my hip! And because I really have no clue what I’m doing and am just faking it half of the time. Don’t tell anyone though. I am getting really good at pretending.
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Your house is going to be beautiful!
As for the exterior color I have one advice: Wait until the stone’s grout is done and then choose your color as the stone will look a lot different. And if the windows/shutters are going to be in the lighter spectrum then I’d go for a lighter colored grout too
Hope I’ve helped
Ah! Also do consider black doors in the inside. They look fab in corridors and specific areas. Do check them out on pinterest
Oh, Erin, it’s gorgeous! I love the stone, when I was little and saw houses like that I always thought they looked like mini-castles. And the path is just heaven. Glad things are coming along so nicely for you!
Gorgeous!! Wow Erin. Its been so cool watching this all come together, I can just imagine how excited
(& tired)you must be . The outside fireplace is brilliant! How nice :) And the walkway for the kids to ride on in backyard is very cool !!
Thanks so much for sharing this process, I look forward to seeing the progress each time.
Oh Erin, you’re not just building your dream house, you’re building mine! Love the siding with all the trim work. I’ve seen your choices along the way, but it’s all coming together beautifully. I think the lightest gray is my favorite. And the interior doors- fabulous. Can’t wait to see the wood floors and base moldings that you choose. Smart ideas on the backyard path. Think of the prom pictures there down the road:) You must get all this into a Project Life album or bound into a hardcover Shutterfly album or something! Thanks for sharing it with all of us!
I am with you – where did the week go!? I am so happy for you as you are building your dream home! Sounds beautiful and is coming together so nicely.
Man Erin….it is going to be so beautiful!!!! It is coming along quickly now it seems:) My pick is for the lighter grey outside…but both will look great with the stone I think! Ps I love all the kids haircuts from the post the other day
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WOW! What a gorgeous home you’ll soon be living in!!! I love that path in the back yard and your kids definitely will too!
You’re doing a fabulous job designing this house, maybe you could come to MN and design one for me too! ;-). Of course, you will need to bring your snow boots if you come anytime soon because we are in the middle of an absolute BLIZZARD right now!
Enjoy the rest of your week!
I vote for the dark gray. It goes so well with the grout on your stone. Love seeing the progress! Living vicariously through you!!
loved the house pics!!!! :)
Oh my goodness I am so jealous of your outdoor fireplce! Such a beautiful addition! I would vote for the darker grey. My parents initially painted their house a lighter grey and not only did it look way lighter when it was on the whole house (and no longer next to dark samples) but it also faded quite a bit over time in the Buffalo “sun” so I imagine it would be much worse in San Diego. They repainted the house a darker grey a few years ago and it made a tremendous difference. Just my 2 cents.
Your new home is going to be lovely Erin. You can already tell how much love and attention you have put into every little aspect. I love the pathway in the backyard. Genius!!
Wow!! The house is gorgeous!! LOVE the path in the backyard.
Stunning!!! I love the outdoor fireplace! Unexpected! I’d be out there all of the time in the evenings!
Erin – your house is absolutely gorgeous! I agree with Audrey – it is my dream house, too!!!
It’s going to look amazing when it’s done! Also, that winding path is so dreamy.
I am soo jealous!! looks amazing!
Love it! When can my kids come over and play!
Oh you all are so kind! Thank you for such incredibly sweet comments this morning! So many great tips on the paint to consider too. Thank you thank you friends!
Gorgeous!!! My vote is for the darker gray at the bottom of your swatches. I think it will really accentuate all of that beautiful stonework.
Erin, your new home is beautiful! Absolutely breathtaking! I like either shade of grey for the exterior color. Your garage is nice and huge! Your interior doors will be so classy – I’m so anxious to see them. The ceiling treatments and wall panels will provide the finishing touches for those rooms! But you are ENTIRELY clever to have the landscapers pour the winding bicycle/walking pathway out in the backyard. That is a brilliant idea!! Have you seen that before, or did you think ot if yourself? You will be able to look out of your half-door (Dutch door??) and see the kids play all the time! I love that. Thank you for the update – it is all just wonderful!
Hi Erin! Your house looks gorgeous, and I love the way the dark paint looks with the stone. But, like others have said, it may look different once all the grout is done.
Oh my god it’s GORGEOUS! Very jealous of the outdoor fireplace and pathway, what a great idea. Do you have an extra bedroom so I can move in? ;)
Everything is looking so wonderful! And you are so right, paint colors can be SO tricky!
It is all coming together so nicely Erin. LOVE IT. That outdoor firplace is so perfect for California nights.
So…I can’t wait to come over and sit with you. ;) LOL
Have a great weekend
xo
Love the house! And the little pathway is so fun!
Oh my word! I absolutely love it! It looks great! Yes, grays are definitely hard to choose. Sometimes they can be too blue or too green or too beige all mixed in with the gray. :) Can’t wait for more updates!
These updates are my favorite! I like the bottom darker gray but whatever you choose will be beautiful!!
So beautiful! Is that an outdoor fireplace? How fun will that be! And i love that path too, you have some lucky kids!!
Your house is amazing Erin!
I vote darker grey…more contrast with the white trim and richer looking, imo. I LOVE your house! I’d be jealous except you are so likable that I’m just happy :)
The house is looking great! Why is it that guys wear the same shirt over and over when they have a closet full of shirts?! My hubby’s does the same thing! My pick for exterior color is the lighter paint since you have dark mortar, I think the dark gray might be too dark..I live in a gray house with gray interior walls too, and it is HARD to choose the right shade!! I try to stay away from grays with greenish or purple tints to them, and go with cooler grays…two of my favs are repose gray and Dorian gray from sherwin Williams. Although our master is painted meditative gray and it looks exactly like the inside of restoration hardware (greenish tint)…I couldn’t handle that shade everywhere but it work for the master…we just finished building an adorable craftsman cottage spec house and used sw perfect greige on the interior walls and its a great color as well! So many choices! You’re doing great! And I LOVE the path in the backyard..genius :)
Your blog is so cute! I just featured you on my latest post. Check it out here: http://twentysomethingbows.blogspot.com
Love it all! Grays can be tough but it will all absolutely come together. Such fun to see all the progress.
Erin, I just adore your house! It is going to be amazing, it already looks amazing!!! We are in the process if selling our house & buying etc.. Now. What.a.headache!! I am struggling with the stress of it all & I’ve only got 2 kids & we are looking for an already established house. I think you are amazing for being able to design and choose things for your whole house! Looks like progress is coming along quickly! You will be in before you know it!
Love your blog, from Nelle from Australia :)
We have a cement path just like that all the way around our backyard — it has been WONDERFUL. Yes, a total babysitter, LOL My kids learned to roller skate and ride their bikes on that path. My landscapers thought I was crazy for wanting a cement path around our yard — but it was the smartest thing we ever did. Now that my kids are getting older (the youngest will be 5 this summer and the older ones ages 6,8,10, 12, 13, 17, 20 and 21) we’ve decided to put in a pool. The path isn’t used as much as it used to be, and a pool would be used more. BUT… there goes my babysitter! Boo-hoo!! Plus, new baby coming in May, and he will never know the joys of the cement path, which makes me a bit sad. But, the majority rules. And the 9 older kids all want a pool. Ah well :)
Ashley and Cathy – you are welcome to come over anytime! :)
Jane – thank you! You are such a sweetheart! I haven’t seen a bike path before, but I doubt I’m the first person to think of it! Our current yard is so small and for years I’ve wished my kids had a place to ride their bikes/scooters without always having to take them to the park. I’ve dreamed about that path for a long time now! :)
Meg – guest room with your name on it! ;) Thank you!
Shivaun – what a nice thing to say! Thank you so much.
Danielle – the lighter grey is SW Dorian Grey! And we are considering Repose Grey for the interior! So glad to hear you like those colors! Your house sounds CUTE!
Thanks Ashlee! I’m excited to check it out!
Thanks Nelle! Good luck with everything. I know how stressful it can all be!
Thanks for the fun comments today everyone. So sweet of you all!
Hi Erin! your house is looking gorgeous!! So exciting! We used some greys in our interior and the only problem we had was combining them with the right white – black whites were the go. My pick for your exterior would be the lighter grey… but then I don’t live in the US! Our sun is very harsh down here though, so we have to keep fading in mind. Love your path…but it might be a few thousand miles too far to bring my girls over for a playdate ;) xx
Erin!! Omg, I love it…its absolutley gorgeous. It is exactly my style of home, its kinda strange. There isnt one thing I would change, you have done a fab job picking out the details. I like the bottom grey, the darker one. I think it will give more contrast. Also, consider painting your doors inside too…we did on our last house build and I ended up loving it, I did a soft brown and it was great contrast against my maple woodwork. Enjoy the end if this process…you will be in it so soon!!!
I love love love new house updates! Erin, your house is coming together beautifully. I cannot imagine the opportunity to design every inch of my house – I think it would start nice, and very soon I would be overwhelmed. So, bravo, girl! :) And that path – aaah!!
Erin, all I can say is LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your house! You have such a great eye for detail and design. I really like the stone around the front door and around the garage. And the path in the backyard…would never have thought of that. Such a wonderful idea! You are never going to want to leave the house :) Thanks for sharing this journey with all of us…your blog friends! Oh, and my opinion on the house color is the bottom grey one. It just adds a bit of a ‘pop’, and would look nice with the stone.
Ok, I normally read your posts from my blog reader & don’t click over to your site unless I want to comment. So I come over to say I think the darker siding makes a nice contrast with the light stone work. But when I got here, I covered the siding picture with my hand, seeing each one alone w/the rock & I’ve changed my opinion. I like the lighter colored siding best, but that’s just a gut reaction, no explaination. Whatever you decide, I’m sure it will be beautiful!
I’m sure either will be gorgeous, but from the picture you posted I really think the dark gray is what I like best : )
I’m sure everyone and their dog has an opinion. I will add mine :). A house in my town is a darker gray with white trim/windows and it is stunning. It’s a show stopper. Based on their gorgeous house I’d do the darker color. You can’t go wrong with either choice. Beautiful home!
We are currently feeling your pain!!! Ok, maybe a quarter of your pain since it’s about the quarter size of yours!! =) We are using a lot of grey in our new build too and YES they are very tricky! We used Functional Grey in our room and music room and I swear it looks more brown. We used Agreeable grey in the hallway, stairwell, office and boys rooms and upstairs I love it but downstairs it looks totally different… This process is about to do my head in!
So did you originally choose yellow and now it doesn’t go with the rock so you are painting grey? We did our outside dark grey with white trim and I loved it.. then they put the rock up and heaven help us.. It’s still trying to grow on me…
We did the beams in the ceiling in the music room and love that.. We did Vgroove in the great room and master bedroom and wainscot in the dining and master and love all of that… When will you be done? We have a closing date of May 28th.. still a ways out there! It’s been fun watching your progress… Oh btw I think with that much grey you should do the lighter one.. Just my opinion of course!!!
Erin I love the bike path!! And yes aside from yellow, gray is the hardest color to pick just right!! I wanted both in our new house so we hired an interior decorator because I had NO idea in that department:). It was great, I ave her my color schemes and she picked out the perfect shade for every room in my house!!! Loved it!! I even showed her some Pinterest inspired pictures and she made them happen in my house:). Your house is gorgeous! And I love the stone everywhere so pretty! I enjoy looking at your pictures:). Please keep posting progress!!
Your house is looking so beautiful! I love the interior doors! I wanted that style for our home, but it would’ve taken too long. :(
Absolutely gorgeous!!
Thank you so much everyone! I have doubted some of my decisions so you are all making me feel much better! :)
Jamie – I will think about that with the doors! I have thought about painting some of them grey…
Deena – I didn’t know you were building! So exciting! And NO! We never painted the house yellow. :) That is just the color of the siding. I can’t wait to paint over it! I’m jealous you are closing in May! We are hoping for July but I have a feeling it will be August. My fingers are crossed we are in before the kids start school!
Thanks Kristy! So excited that you will be in your new house soon!
Hi Erin,
Your house is a testament to your hard work, creativity and planning for the future. As someone who has renovated before and said “never again!” due to the stress, I sympathise. It is really hard work having every decision hang on what you think will work in the future as the kids grow and their needs change. There are many things we wish we had changed now that we are in the house but the biggest one we needed was extra space around our dining table and living areas and I think you will be fine in that department. On the other hand, think positively about this stage…what a blessing to have a lovely house to design. This stressful time will end. I look back now and wonder how I did it….so exhausting and mentally draining. You are doing a great job!! Love Kim from Australia.
Thank you Kim! Sounds like you completely understand how mentally draining it can be! But yes. Such a blessing to have the opportunity to do it. I’m sure there are a lot of things I will wish I would have done differently, but I know that no house is perfect (even one you design yourself!). Thanks for your encouraging comment! :)
I’m impressed!!!
You have to tell us the story behind the path! Seriously, what made you think of that? Have you seen that done before? I love it! I must say, my very fav part of your new home is the fireplace on the patio! Keep sharing!
I’m in love with it all! One day I will hire you to design our next house! :)
Hi Erin, what is the brand and color of the lighter gray? I would love to pick up a sample to see if it would work on my house! Thanks!
Love the colors! Could you tell me what the bottom gray color is?
Gorgeous home! What are all 3 colors? Can we see final pics?
Hey! Did you use vinyl or wood windows? Looks great!
Thank you! Wood. :)
What is the bottom darker color called?
Hi Erin! Do you remember what brand interior doors you used? In our last custom home we used 5 panel Masonite. Looking at them again for our new build, but also looking at Reeb 5 panel. I’d love any other suggestions. Also, what brand Dutch door did you use? Thank you!
Hi Natalia! Our doors were all custom made! Sorry that’s not more help! xo