Lights and Outlets

     Something to think about when building your home is where you may need additional lights and outlets. Think of it before it is too late, and you'll never be sorry.

Lights:

Do not take the standard kitchen lighting or basement lighting. You will be disappointed. Greatly. If you don't believe me check into it and make sure you know what you are getting. You really should go ahead and get the recessed lighting in these spaces.

We added light rough ins to each bedroom and each room which did not have lighting already, including the living room and office. 

We added recessed lights the alcove in the bonus room and in the large closets. The large utility closet on the 2nd floor got a recessed light. At some point it may serve as a small craft area or office area. (I wish I had also put an outlet in that closet). You may wish to ask for a recessed light toward the front of any large closet, including the pantry. 

And sincerely, as I sit here now I would definitely go back and put at least one outlet in every closet in the whole house, including the pantry. 

In the finished part of the basement we put in recessed lighting, but we also thought of the storage areas, how they would be utilized, and where we would need additional lights. 

We put in dedicated outlets for the freezers and the range in the basement. 

We added an outlet in the garage, and I wish I had added three more. two outlets on each side wall, in addition to the one which Ryan places near the light switches would have been perfect. At least one towards the front of the garage would be a help with Christmas lights, etc. As it is we are running an extension cord from the back wall. Not a huge issue, but it would be nice to have an outlet where the control for the driveway light is. 

In the master bedroom I would have added an outlet exact middle of the headboard, and also asked for a light switch for the big overhead light near the bed. 

We put a switched outlet above the mantel and above the kitchen cabinets. I wish I had added outlets at the bottom of the stairs and in the half wall for the purpose of Christmas lights. 

I also wish we had placed an outlet on the stair wall of the entry hall. It's the proper place for an entry console and there should be a lamp right there as well. It's also one of the largest blank walls in the place, and just ought to have an outlet. 

I would like one near French doors we had put in, to do decorations around them as well. Since they normally do not do French doors in the kitchen, for many people it may be a non-issue. 

If you have any other lighting/electrical ideas, feel free to leave them in the comments. It's great to see this stuff as you build!

  *To read more about our Ryan Homes Ravenna click the "Our House" button at the top of the page.    

The Things They Asked For And Got!

     We talk about non-standard requests all the time. For me, hardwood stairs were a non-standard request. For many of you, those are on the list. Here are a few notable non-standard items people were able to get in their homes:

                                                        BD got an awesome spa shower. 

      They also got a pot filler, got custom cabinet changes, a warming light over the stove top, special kitchen faucet with soap dispenser, wet bar in the basement, custom basement window trim with electric for backlighting, an insulated garage door,  etc. 

Mommy Esq. got an awesome double-decker deck! 

Guess what? It's a lot more difficult to find the blogs/posts showcasing all the great non-standard stuff people got. If you have some to add to this list share them and I'll add them to this post.

Make sure to read the comments to see what others have to add!

  *To read more about our Ryan Homes Ravenna click the "Our House" button at the top of the page.    

Dear Ryan Homes

Dear Ryan Homes,

  

     We recently bought a Ravenna model home in Northeast Ohio. We were very happy with most of the items you offer. There are a few options we think you could offer to make people even happier:

• Oil rubbed bronze kitchen faucet. There are ORB offerings for lighting, hardware and plumbing, excluding only this very important faucet. 
•  Different finish on the sink as an upgrade, too.
• A large island which is square or rectangular as an upgrade.  
• Upgraded shower heads
• Trim packages around the windows. 
• Upgraded mantle option:   Beefier mantle - without the twists in it.
• Steps from the back door. 
• Patio/Deck 
• Front porch options with each elevation. 
• Bathroom cabinet options. One sink and big counter or tall cabinet option.Double cabinets with one sink in the middle.
• Basement bath available in a bigger size to allow for a double sink. Luxury bath option.
• Extended garages for longer vehicles.
• Upgraded window options.
• Upgraded interior and exterior door options. 
• Pocket door options on first floor for dining & living room.
• vestibule options
• pot filler at the stove
• Ability to change out lower cabinet for a drawer stack.

     These things would be great options, and there are others, too. During our sales meetings our reps told us the more requests buyers make for things, the more likely they are to add them. What other things are easy to substitute and need to be added as options?

  *To read more about our Ryan Homes Ravenna click the "Our House" button at the top of the page.    

Make A List Like It's Christmas

     If you want it, write it down. Ask for it. Ask your sales rep. Don't wait until someone offers, because maybe they never will. I know I am being vague, but that's because it could be anything.

     Do you want a backsplash in your kitchen? A shelf in your shower? A seat in your shower? Reinforced walls in the laundry room so you can hang cabinets later? There are lots of things you may want. Make a list of those things and make sure to ask for them. Google spreadsheets are your friend. They're free and you can access them from any computer. 

     We don't have a backsplash in the kitchen, because at no point in the buying process did anyone offer any options for it. I think we should have asked at Rite Rug. Actually, I think they should have asked us at our Rite Rug appointment. But they did not, and we did not, so we have no backsplash. Ditto shelving in the shower. We wanted a seat, but were talked out of it, but we couldn't even get any shelves. I even asked the tile guys when they were here, but they weren't allowed to go off plan. Your mileage may vary (and it will) - I know some people who dealt directly with the guys in the house doing their tile. 

     I know they give you a list of options which is about 90 miles long. By the time you have decided on all of that stuff your brain is turned to mush and all you want to do is eat, sleep, and cry. But think about it... what's not on the list? Some people get patios and/or decks, lay their tile at different angles, have extra driveway added, they get blinds for the windows, etc. Think beyond the overwhelming list. Your list will be different than mine, since it seems to be regional. 

     Also, things vary depending on which model you choose. I wanted transom windows - big fat no. They don't do them. But? My cousin has them. She lives across the street. They were standard on her house. We got the door with the built in fake transom window. I wanted a single back door. My house had a slider. I upgraded to french doors, but to 'upgrade' to a single door would have been even more costly. Strange, but true. Same cousin? Has a single door - standard issue. In our development they don't do decks or patios. They even say "Ryan Homes doesn't do decks or patios because they can't warranty them." There were quite a few houses built in a row after ours - all of them got decks. I'm not sure if it was Ryan Homes or if they all just happened to build decks immediately? But I know this: Ryan Homes does decks and patios. Some of you already know it, too. Because you bought a Ryan Home with a deck or patio - or both. 

     I think a lot of what you can get will depend on your PM. My hardwood stairs? I would not have them without my PM. Sales rep said they don't do them, but put in a non-standard request. We got a no back on it. We pushed some more, offered up other blogs as a guide, and our sales rep took it to our PM, who dealt with the factory on it. Our PM could have just offhandedly turned down the request, but he put in the time and effort to help us get what we wanted. The more I read the blogs the more I realize how much the PM has to do with what you, as a homeowner, will be able to get. He's the one who can do the research, talk to the mystery people at Ryan, and get things done.

     I've seen people get double-decker decks with intricate staircases- the idea of their PM. Access to the jetted tub put in closets to pretty up the bathroom, because the PM thought of it. My cousin got a much better driveway than expected because their PM thought it would look better this way. We got a usable space in our basement for food storage because our PM made sure the utility room in the basement was done in a way which made sense - everything in one area, instead of spread out across the span of the room.  

     So, take nothing for granted. Ask questions, and ask for what you want. Maybe you can get it! 

What Did You Give Up? What Are You Going To Do About It?

     I studied realtor.com so much for so many years that I knew what houses were newly listed, which ones had changed price, which ones had been dropped for a while then listed again so they showed as a 'new listing', etc. I had a bunch of wishes floating around in my head. Some of them we were able to meet or exceed, but some of those wishes fell by the wayside, even in building our dream house. What things did you give up during the process? What are you going to do about it?

Big front porch or wrap around porch: The builder only offered a porch like mine is now (miniscule) with a roof over it or a sort of half a porch. I want something much bigger and deeper. I am also more than a little nuts meticulous and I needed my roof line to be the way it is. Then my husband insisted on stone and the way they lay out the stone on different options left this elevation as the only one I could live with. Maybe later I will petition the HOA to allow me to build a gorgeous front porch. In the meantime, we plan on doing some great landscaping in the back to make it a great sit.

Maximum privacy: We have a small conservation area on one side of the house and pastures in the back. I guess we'll all find out once the leaves are full on the trees how much privacy the green-space allows. We can definitely see everything other people do in their backyard. We'll try to adjust, I guess.

Big mudroom: Nothing to be done about this one but whine constantly get over it. We have a garage, so in some ways I guess we have a giant mudroom.

Architectural character: I wanted interesting doorways, pocket doors, full hardwood floors downstairs and in the upstairs hall, hardwood stairs, crown molding, chair rail, board and batten, built in bookshelves, etc. We got hardwoods everywhere except the bedrooms, full bathrooms, and basement. I insisted on the hardwood stairs during the building process. Everything else will be a series of DIY projects. I will turn this house into something lovely and interesting. Thank God for bloggers who are willing to share their expertise.

Great Big Kitchen Island: The builder refused my reasonable request to have a big kitchen island with cabinets on both sides. They offered me three foot square islands for my great big kitchen. I will be doing this myself and loving it!

No HOA: I always swore I would never live in a neighborhood with cookie cutter houses and an HOA where the space between houses wasn't even as large as the houses themselves. I mis-swore. (Wouldn't be the first time) It was a smart sacrifice to get the house of our dreams. I'll get over it until we can buy land and build our family compound. No, seriously.

Fence for the little dog: Nope. Have to ask the HOA.  Insert eye roll. I hate asking permission for every little thing on property I own. Somehow it makes me feel like less of a homeowner. I'll petition the HOA for it and hope for the best.

Giant walk-in pantry: I got one of those tiny pantries which are sort of wasted space. I would have preferred extended cabinets in that spot. I might change it at some point, but it's not as terrible as I thought it would be. I still maintain a large food store room in the basement. I would have had to do this anyway,  unless the giant walk-in pantry was a ten by ten foot room. I'm over it.

I know there were other things I wanted, but honestly, I can't remember most of them. It's kind of funny, because at the time they seemed so critical. After living here a few weeks I am so satisfied those little items, whatever they were, are forgotten. So I didn't get architectural charm - I got full hardwoods and beautiful, fantastic bathrooms and a laundry room on the floor with five of the bedrooms. (Goooooooooal!) I got a big kitchen with gorgeous cabinets and a beautiful fireplace and a warm and inviting dining room. My husband has a nice home office and the guys have a very comfortable man cave. We have a guest suite. If we need to one day, the basement can easily be a separate area for someone to have a lot of fairly private space. (Large bedroom, full bath, stove, fridge, already in place.I got my cousin and her wonderful little family across the street.

What about you? What did you give up and what did you get?

I'm already planning our next house. When the kids all leave and have families of their own I plan on having a grandma house - much different than this one. That one will have a door at the bottom of the stairs to block the noise, and a giant room with lots of bunks for grandkids!

A Not So Funny Story

     About a week before we were supposed to close on our house we decided to take a Saturday drive over to the house. Our daughter had not been to see it in a while and it was very different, so we decided to go, even though we had decided to wait until our walk through in a few days. We walked into our beautiful house, looked around, gasped in amazement, and sighed with contentedness, etc. Then, while we were in the kitchen my daughter noticed wet spots on the floor. Then we noticed them dripping down from the outlet by the door. Running the whole way across the kitchen to the pantry. Our hardwoods were sitting with little puddles on them. Not good.  Wait! It's still kind of drippy. (we shall deem this the mini flood) I don't know about everyone, but our PM is out of reach on weekends. He doesn't check voice mail, email, etc. I applaud that, because if he did his family would suffer for it.

     I called the model home and talked to the sales rep, called the girl with the mortgage company to tell her we may need to change our closing,  and we waited for our PM to arrive. He looked at it, found a leak in the plumbing where they had moved our bathtub fixtures, and assured us everything would be okay. We had a very frank discussion with him. We were confident, but I was also feeling kind of annoyed at something he said.

     Back story: Our tub had been installed so that when we were sitting it in with the drain at our feet and the jet behind us the faucet would be right in our face. I brought this to his attention and was frankly surprised that he didn't seem to know what I was talking about right away. Then it took several days, and lots of anxiety on my part, to get the kind of response I was expecting right away. "We'll take care of it" was what I was expecting to hear. We also allowed for the tub to have holes patched where the faucet and handles had been rather than demanding a new tub. I know we could have, but to us it felt unnecessary. *I did feel, however, that we were really nice about it.  

     Fast forward again, to the day of the mini-flood. We were standing up in our master bath talking about what happened and how it would be taken care of and be a-okay. The PM explained that earlier in the process they had thought the water lines for the bathtub were missing, so they opened the drywall (which we had noticed and wondered about) and ran lines from where the sinks were to supply water to the tub. So the faucet had to be at the end because of jets and where everything else was situated. (After reading about how other people with Ravennas have had PMs put all the control access in the bathroom so they could have a full tile front to the tub I have to admit I felt more than a little cheated with my "Oops" tub situation.) When they went to change the faucet & handles they found that the lines which they originally thought were missing were indeed right where they were supposed to be.

     At some point in the conversation he said that this is where "No good deed goes unpunished" comes in. And he was talking about his good deed of moving the faucet and handles! I can only imagine the look on my face when that happened. I thought we were the ones who did a good deed and took less than the brand new in perfect condition bathtub we paid for, but he saw it as a favor to us to move the stuff. Definitely different perceptions of the same thing.

     The following Monday my cousin let me know there were a  bunch of trucks at our house doing lots of work. We signed our papers with the mortgage people and moved into the house. Within a few days all the little loose ends were tied up and you would never know there had been any water problems. Thankfully, it was during construction, so it isn't considered something we had fixed. We are all living happily ever after.

    If you are building and going through hairy situations in the process, I would say it is to be expected. I would also say you should expect to see things resolved to your satisfaction, however that is defined.

     Totally unrelated item:

     There are a couple other things which I specifically asked to be done a certain way during the sales process and were changed without prior notice. I'm trying to decide how to handle stuff like that now. For example: I asked to have an outlet put in the garage on the left side front. I planned to park on the right side  with the big van. I also plan to park a small car on the left. So whatever I want to plug in would fit easily in front of the car. The van - not so. Guess where the two garage outlets are? One on the right front  and right side towards the front. Am I too big of a pain if I ask to have it put where I originally contracted it? I really want it there, paid for it assuming it was going there, and now feel like I can't use my garage the way I planned. Parking the van on the right is far and away the most convenient option for us. We added extra parking pad on the left for the kids to park, and getting in & out is most definitely easiest on the right side. The sidewalk to the front door is also on the right side, so If we let people out of the van, again, it's the easiest.

     Am I being way too "First world problem" or is it a totally reasonable request?

    

    

Ryan Homes: Ravenna Options

Gratuitous picture of the house. Same picture I just posted of the house. Can't. Help. Myself.

I get emails about the house asking about Options I had not mentioned so I thought it would be a nice idea to put them together for people in one place.

We chose the Ravenna model, elevation A. I wanted a covered porch, but the roof lines for the models with a covered porch made me crazy, so elevation A it was.

We chose Graphite Gray siding, black shutters, tricorn black for the door, and white trim.

Our exterior stone color is: Buff.

Our bathroom tile is Ceramic Salerno 12x12 Marrone Chiaro.

Our appliance package was (for us) option code 4GF. It breaks down to:
                              Model #JGB500SEPSS for the gas 30" free standing range.
                              Model # GLD4466RSS for the Tall Tub dishwasher.
                              Model # JNM1851SMSS for the Spacemaker over-the-range microwave oven.

(When choosing items never assume that my level 4 is the same as your level 4. The standard options in my house could be quite different than the standard options in your house)

Our kitchen faucet is the Moen Camerist in Chrome. (I have tactile issues and could not deal with a stainless faucet) I love that pull out sprayer!

Our kitchen granite is called by three different names: Brazil Black (this is what our division of Ryan calls it) Black Pearl, and Black Uba Tuba.

Our kitchen cabinets are Rushmore Maple Glaze Butterscotch. (knobs are included with this cabinet option) So are the bathroom cabinets. Realize if you take upgraded cabinets and counters in bathroom #2 you get it automatically in #3, etc. It made it really worth it to find out the the additional cost carried over to the third bath instead of being per bath.

We added a third lane to our driveway, since we have a house full of big kids.

Driveway update: Adding a third lane to the drive only added 10 feet wide by 20 feet long. When the concrete guys were here we added a couple more feet out to the side - another 2 x20. This felt necessary because the 10 feet of extra drive starts at the edge of the garage door, not the edge of the garage. It would be a real tight squeeze with a vehicle parked in that side of the garage and cars parked down that lane. 

Our bathroom granite is Wheat.

Our light fixtures are oil rubbed bronze.
Our plumbing is oil rubbed bronze.
Our door hardware/knobs and pulls are all oil rubbed bronze.

Our fireplace has slate and the surround is painted in bright white.

Our main level has Bruce hardwoods throughout. It's Sugar Creek Maple. The color is cinnamon.

We went with the highest level carpet padding in the basement and all the bedrooms.  The waterproof aspect, as well as the cushiness, won me over immediately.

If I left off anything feel free to let me know and I will add it.

*To read more about our Ryan Homes Ravenna home click on the "Our House" tab at the top.

Ravenna: Upstairs Hall And Half Wall

For Suzanne, and anyone else who may buy a Ravenna from Ryan Homes in the future and wonder what it would look like to have the half wall instead of the banister. 

The floor is Sugar Creek Maple. Color: Cinnamon

Ravenna: Room at the top of the stairs out to hall.

Ravenna: Front of hall to back of hall.

 This post is not wordy, for certain. I just figured if I had wondered and someone else is wondering then it makes sense to have it online for when the next Ravenna building soul comes hunting.

The hairy little man had to get in on the action in this photo.

Ravenna: Back of upstairs hall to front.

Ravenna: Hall looking towards Master Suite & Bonus room

Ravenna: Upstairs Hall looking out from Master Suite

Home, Sweet Home

Ryan Homes Ravenna Reverse Floor Plan w/Bonus Room & Partial Stone

         Even though we are still waiting on our driveway and landscaping, our house is already feeling quite homey. There are all sorts of things going on inside and lots of visitors, which I love. I don't think it looks like a monster from the street or anything, which I was a little worried about when people were saying they didn't get the bonus room because they thought it would be too much. I actually wanted this elevation because of the lines. I needed wanted the gray/black/white color combo very much. So much so that it narrowed down the stone choices for us, which was a good thing.

*If you are investing in stone, make sure you get out to houses with the stone. Don't just look at what they have in the model home to choose a stone.

     I really wanted a full porch, but there was not an option for a full porch. I am hoping the HOA will approve one when/if I decide it is important to me. Right now I'm fine with the idea of using the back yard for all my outdoor sitting. We have three fields behind us - two for cattle and one for horses. I think I prefer sharing my quiet space with them over the street, even our peaceful street.

They Way We Live Now - Kitchen

Ryan Homes Ravenna Reverse Floor Plan Kitchen
Cabinets: Rushmore Maple Butterscotch Glaze
Floors: Sugar Creek Maple, Color: Cinnamon
Countertops: Black Pearl/Brazil Black

      Sure, you saw the kitchen before, when it was still bare. Before we had our own personal treasures in the house. Here it is today, right after we had some eggs and bacon. They taste way better in this kitchen, too, let me tell ya'. As you can see, I haven't done anything to it yet. I'm waiting for the perfect inspiration before I do something up around the window. I'm thinking about some small rounded shelves, but I haven't visualized the 'just right' thing yet. I think I might leave the window itself bare. Or just hang a little string of hankies or something up there. I don't want anything to obstruct my light or my view.

     Please ignore the fingerprints, crumbs, swiffer, or whatever else you find wrong with these pictures. I was lucky to get a couple which weren't totally blurry! I love this kitchen with it's deep sinks, awesome faucet, and all of the delightful functional little details!

Ryan Homes Ravenna Reverse Floor Plan Kitchen


p.s. If my whole house had a theme, that theme would have to be: Candy.

Woulda, (Maybe) Coulda, Shoulda

     When we were in sales meetings for our Ravenna with Ryan Homes I wish I would have asked about noise. When someone turns on the fan in the first floor powder room I hear it louder in the master bedroom than if the fan is on in the master bathroom. My husband making calls in his office is also loud in the master bedroom. We paid for the highest pad upgrade we could for the carpets, and we put soundproofing insulation in the master bedroom wall which butts up to the bonus room. I am not sure what more we could have done, but I'm sure Ryan knows how to make a quieter house, even if they don't do it.

     Television on in the family room downstairs? The sound travels right up the stairs, over the half wall, and around the corner in to the master bedroom. Maybe, just maybe, if they didn't insist on cutting the doors with inches of clearance from the floor it wouldn't be so loud, but it is loud. My half wall is probably going to be turning into a closed off something in order to try to get some of the noise to stay out of the master bedroom. It's the same when someone makes any noise at all in the kitchen. Our house is usually pretty lively, so it's no big deal. Until the house isn't lively, and all you want to do is get some rest. The master bedroom is not the peaceful sanctuary I was counting on it to be. While the kitchen and family room noise travels up the stairs, the office and powder room noise travels through the walls and/or floors.

     And like The Ravenna Ranter said, the light switches seem like a nuisance during the planning stages. Or at least the did to me. I had seen people suggesting we decide where we want them, but I thought it was too much of a hassle. Now I tell you to get yourself to the model of your floor plan and check all the light switches in the house. Because I am convinced many of them are placed by mischief-makers. My living room lights are my least favorite. But I also wish the light switch in the garage was duplicated inside the house as well. And it could have been done so easily - so it is nonsensical that so many homeowners have to live with this frustration. I think it would be nice to have another switch way in the master bedroom, and many other people think there should be a single spot to kill all the master bath/closet/toilet lights. Basement lights? Don't even get me started. You have to go down the stairs and around corner to reach them. For heaven's sake, they need to install a light between the utilities (giant heating unit, water heater, humidifier, vac canister, etc and the stairs. Because that area is d-ark. And big. For storage. (Especially for us, because we have a guest suite where the big storage area is in the Ravenna). So this is where we have our food storage. Some light would be swell. But it is all blocked. It would probably be great to get a light in that area - or at least an outlet, for Pete's sake, so you could put in a corded light. But something, please, dear Lord, something. My cereal and canned beans are scared of the dark.

          While I am writing this post my husband comes upstairs and he's just rammed his foot into a television in the basement. Because it is so dark. Yep, folks, this is what I am talking about. Of course, had my sons not blocked all the light from the little window so they could have total darkness for the projector, it wouldn't be pitch black down there, but it would still be majorly dark.

Considering The Dirt Devil Central Vac?

     I say go for it! I used mine for the first time today and WOW! It has suction for days. It makes my Kirby seem like a cheap hand vac. I had used the toe kick part in the kitchen a few times already, but today was the first day with hoses and the powerhead. It was fun to be tickled over a vacuum cleaner, but I was. The Kirby, even with the Hepa filters, still made the house smell like dust when it was used. It just made me feel sick. I love the dirt being sucked through the walls and into the basement container. Love it! I think it is definitely worth the money.

My Modified Closet and Laundry Room

     For Steve and Ericka, here is the modified closet and laundry room I did in the Ravenna model:

Sorry about the blurry laundry room, but you get the idea. Straight wall. No cutout into the master closet for a laundry tub. With a bathroom on either side of this room, I was certain I did not need a laundry tub.

I never said my closet was ready for a close up or anything. Please remember this.

This is what we got instead of a cut out for a laundry tub. A straight closet all the way down to the end. Much more room for us to hang our things on the side butting up to the shower and on the back wall. 

     If you want to see anything different just tell me and I'll be glad to show you. Just remember, it's still not picture-perfect.

Final Walk Through

Here, in whatever order Blogger decides, are pictures I took today during our final walk through with Ben. 

Ryan Homes Ravenna Kitchen & Family Room w/solid Oak Staircase
Cabinets: Rushmore Maple Butterscotch Glaze
Floors: Sugar Creek Maple, Color: Cinnamon
Countertops: Black Pearl/Brazil Black

Ryan Homes Ravenna Kitchen & Family Room w/solid Oak Staircase

Cabinets: Rushmore Maple Butterscotch Glaze
Floors: Sugar Creek Maple, Color: Cinnamon
Countertops: Black Pearl/Brazil Black/Black Uba Tuba (one granite, three names)

Ryan Homes Ravenna Kitchen & Family Room w/solid Oak Staircase

Cabinets: Rushmore Maple Butterscotch Glaze
Floors: Sugar Creek Maple, Color: Cinnamon
Countertops: Black Pearl/Brazil Black

Ryan Homes Ravenna Kitchen & Family Room w/solid Oak Staircase

Cabinets: Rushmore Maple Butterscotch Glaze
Floors: Sugar Creek Maple, Color: Cinnamon
Countertops: Black Pearl/Brazil Black

Ryan Homes Ravenna Kitchen & Family Room

Cabinets: Rushmore Maple Butterscotch Glaze
Floors: Sugar Creek Maple, Color: Cinnamon
Countertops: Black Pearl/Brazil Black

Ryan Homes Ravenna Kitchen

Cabinets: Rushmore Maple Butterscotch Glaze
Floors: Sugar Creek Maple, Color: Cinnamon
Countertops: Black Pearl/Brazil Black

Ryan Homes Ravenna solid Oak Staircase


Floors: Sugar Creek Maple, Color: Cinnamon

     Someone had asked for pictures the full length of the kitchen & family room, so here it is. I am too tired to go look up who it was, sorry.

     I am happy, happy, happy! I am ready to be in this house - waiting until tomorrow feels like waiting for Christmas. I am exhausted. And happy.

House Beautiful

We are heading down the home stretch! Of course we stopped by the house today to see what's new. 

For Brooke, here is a picture of our stairs. Please excuse the dust. They were sanding them again. 

Ryan Homes Ravenna Oak Stairs

     We also had appliances in the house:

Ryan Homes Ravenna
Cabinets: Timberlake Maple Butterscotch Glaze
Hardware: Oil Rubbed Bronze/Antique Bronze
Counters: Black Pearl/Brazil Black
Floor: Sugar Creek Maple: Cinnamon

Then we went upstairs and saw the hardware for the master bathtub being moved to a better location:

Ryan Homes Ravenna

     I forgot to take a picture of the outside of the house with the giant dumpster gone.     

We are going Monday to do our closing and meeting the PM Wednesday morning for final walk through.

     When I finally get the keys to the house in my own little hand I am probably going to start crying.

Almost!

     There is not much left to do until our house is ready for action. Frankly, I feel like they should just deliver my appliances tomorrow and let me at it. But alas, Ben (our project manager) is a perfectionist and wants to touch up and retouch and light all the candles before he hands over the keys. Here is what we saw today when we went to see the house:

*In no particular order, because between my computer and blogger I don't know which one is more stubborn. It's a real pain to get things in a certain order and I'm just too doggone tired to deal with it.

Boys Bathroom: Granite: Wheat Oil Rubbed Bronze faucet

Front Door Exterior

Front Door Interior - oops! They are changing this

Kitchen Corner - excuse the dirty floors - we're animals!
Floor: Sugar Creek Maple: Cinnamon
Cabinets: Timberlake Maple Butterscotch Glaze
Hardware: Oil Rubbed Bronze/Antique Bronze
Counters: Black Pearl/Brazil Black

Granite's lookin' good!

Kitchen Sink/Window

Front Bedroom

View from living room - great dumpster!

Blurry Back Bedroom

More floor - Living room

Office - Sugar Creek Maple floors. Color: cinnamon

What's wrong with this picture?  Can you see it?
On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being "Who cares?" and 10 being "Oh no they di-in't" rate this problem.

     Do I need to say I am so happy with the selections we made that 'happy' doesn't begin to do justice to the way I feel? They were working on our oak staircase when we were at the house. One of the guys was sanding his heart out. They are going to be glorious! I keep looking at all the pictures of the house. No matter what I'm doing I just have to stop and look at them. I told my husband today that when I move in I'll probably be sitting in the house looking at pictures of the house.

Lights, Plumbing, Stone!

     Okay, there was a lot of work done since Friday. It was really something to get to the house today and see the progress. The biggest deal is the exterior:

Isn't she beautiful!?

Chandelier in dining room

Entry

     I love-love-love (yes, triple-love!) the oil rubbed bronze plumbing fixtures. I'm so thrilled with everything.

Lights and Vents

     Even though we are not moved in yet, there are a few things I already wish I had done.

1. Have recessed lighting everywhere throughout the whole house. If it's in the kitchen and basement and some closets, why did I not get it in the office, bedrooms, living room and family room? I have no good answer for this.

2. Have the dryer vent higher on the wall. It just makes sense.

3. Have the microwave fan vented outside. (I would have done this if it had been an option. I did let them know at sales meetings I didn't like it being circulated back inside - now I know some people did pay the upgrade to have it vented outside.)

4. Insist on one door instead of french doors and have another window on the wall instead.

I really can't think of much. I did spend a lot of time thinking about everything. Plus, it's our first time, so I'm sure there will be things we think of as we live in the house. We'll just have to build another one next year. Kidding... because this was a lot of time and effort. More than I would have ever thought it would be. It's worth it, though. I can't wait to live in it!

Since I Am Not Sleeping...

    I might as well share. I Stopped by the house and almost drove right past it:

 

Went inside and she was all painted:

Then I went upstairs and saw the bathroom without the cardboard:

And took another picture of the shower:

Then I headed to the basement and saw this little Devil: 

The kickplate for this guy is installed under the kitchen sink, too! 

     I was pretty excited. I think the closer it gets to being done the more emotional I get. I nearly cried.

     The roads in our (nearly finished) development were not plowed at all. I found it rather shocking! Anyone else experience this? Isn't it the responsibility of the city?

Tile & Grout Question

     When I started reading all the Ryan Homes bloggers I could find I read about sealing the tile & grout from someone. They might have done a video or shared a video with us. Can anyone tell me what they did to seal the grout? I know it was a miracle how simple it was to do it. Anyone? Ferris? Bueller?

Update:
     I'm so good I'm going to answer my own question. I just found the post I was looking for  on BD's blog. I should have known. I actually searched several posts on the blog and then found it a different way.