5 on Friday: A Homebuild Closing in on the 11th Hour

I thought I'd make a random Five on Friday post about our home build.

1. Our possession date for our house has been moved back to April 11th from March 16. That's one month away!! We had to push back the move in date for financing and because Ls dad is going to help us out but won't be back from Mexico until the end of the month. I am so thankful for family. I'm very excited and ready to finally be in our new house. I feel like I'm over the home building process now and just want it to be ready. I'm not looking forward to packing and moving yet again. I am looking forward to finally decorating the baby's nursery! 

We had an offer on our other house but it was really disappointing as they offered $50,000 less than what we are currently asking and wouldn't move up when we counter offered plus they wanted possession in less than two weeks. Let's be reasonable here people! 

2. Remember when I said I'd post a picture of the 80s party door? The new door has not yet been installed. L had a picture of the new door on his phone but it was deleted when he updated his phone. The cost of the hardware on the door the builder quoted was to cost $250 just for a door handle/lock taking the total cost of the door upgrade to $1050.  We instead went to Lowes and found a similar handle for less than $100. Yay us!! 

Here was my door inspiration. 

What colour do you think I should paint my front door? 

3. We had a paint fiasco that left me very disappointed but I think I've let it go now.

First we were told we would have Benjamin Moore paint. BM is a favorite of mine. I visited the local BM store and was told to watch out for a painter named Josh who was telling people he was using BM but really using Dulux. I deliberated over paint samples forever and finally decided on Snowfall White as my colour. It is just beside Simply White, BM colour of the year, on the colour swatch.

I asked to confirm with the builder we were using BM paint. Instead of BM he said his painter switched from BM because he was having some challenges with the paint.  Instead we would now be using Sherwin Williams. I then asked who the painter was. Guess who? 

So I went and picked out a Sherwin Williams colour. 

Later that week L and I decided to pop by the place and while it was all locked up what did we see through the windows but Dulux paint cans. I was upset. 

We contacted the builder and got the run around, basically he is saying it was colour matched with a laser and that they are using top of the line Dulux paint. We went by and held up our sample and like I thought it is not a exact match. The SW swatch is much brighter and lighter as it reflects light differently. It's pretty --a pale yellow but not really the colour I was aiming for. He said if I was really unhappy I could have a top coat of General Paint. So ridiculous. 

I imagine Josh and the builder are in cahoots and so to bring him to task for this lack of integrity will get me nowhere. Likely end up costing us more money and set us back for our move I date. It was just such a disappointment because it made me question and wonder about the integrity behind some of the choices we have been given and other upgrades we have been charged for. Plus I really wanted Benjamin Moore paint all along.

4. I'm so excited to see the kitchen being installed in the next week or so.

Here was my inspiration. You will have seen some of these photos before.

The cabinetry will be dark on the bottom and white on top which I think will look gorgeous next to the Amaretto floors (similar to the bottom left inspiration picture above).

We had to reconfigure the kitchen from its original layout. What do you think of my nifty diagram I made to explain my thinking to the builder? Basically what happened was we moved the fridge and oven so that it was a wall combo, extended the island and walkway, and aligned the gas cooktop with the sink. Even though it says broom closet in my diagram that later got nixed.

Below is the diagram from the cabinet builder. And the picture below that is the window concept for the upper cabinets.

I really wanted a vent hood like pictured. I liked the look of having tile behind the vent hood to visually break up the cabinetry. Unfortunately the builder said that would not be possible and somehow the vent will be venting down and out. It's really confusing. L had to search for the right kind of vent and finally found a built in one that crazily will cost the same amount as the gas cook top.  The cabinet builder will be constructing me a hood similar to my inspiration photo. We will be using penny tile as the back splash. 

L picked out all our appliances. I know!! What??!! I was in the last stages of pregnancy/giving birth/having a new babe and really couldn't be bothered at that point. I'm excited to see what he picked. I mean he has good taste so I trust his picks plus he is really good with finding quality at a good price. He is one of those people who will read all the reviews. 

5. Today when we were at the house we saw that the fireplace had just been installed. It is similar to the top left picture below. 

I am wondering if we should have built ins on the side constructed for the components, or a version of the bottom constructed to hide the components or to go with wireless? What would you do?

When we were at the house today it seemed like there was so much yet to do but hopefully it is like my favorite home design shows and there is five minutes left in the show and before the final reveal. Somehow it all comes together in the eleventh hour.