This post is in collaboration with Decker8 Designs! All photos by Sarah Strunk Photography.
The New House – Photos + Full Tour!
It’s FINALLY here!! After over a year (almost two years) of building, it’s so exciting to be able to say that it is done at last. Today I’m sharing a full tour with lots of photos of our newly finished house!
Friends, what a journey this has been! If you’ve been following along, first of all, thank you for your amazing support. And secondly, we made it!! As a reminder, here’s everything we’ve been through so far:
- We’re Building A House!
- The New House: Kitchen Inspiration
- House Update: Framing Has Started!
- House Update: Windows + Doors
- House Update: Final Touches!
Building a house is no joke. I really had no idea what we were getting into when we started this process. Things really got crazy at the end as we pushed to close before interest rates skyrocketed. We missed our closing deadline, but thankfully were able to close before our rate lock expired (only by a few days)! Closing and moving were incredibly stressful since it ALL happened on the same day and we had to be out of our old house by the next day. It was beyond crazy!
All that to say, it took me a bit to get settled and I’m still getting used to the fact that this is our new home now (and not just a construction project). It’s a weird mindset shift, but this house is slowly becoming our home. Thankfully, I’ve had Alice from Decker8 Designs helping me with furnishing/decorating the house and helping it really come to life!
Jar Of Lemons – The New House
We’ve come a long way since Edna The House, although she will always have such a very special place in my heart. That house had so much character, it was in the sweetest neighborhood, and we brought both of our boys home in that house. But now we’re on to a new journey living in our newly built home (and thankfully, much closer to Cody’s work and the kid’s school)!
I’m so grateful to have been able to collaborate with Alice from Decker8 Designs on our interior design and so much more (like emotional support through the building process…but that’s a story for another time). She has been so amazing through all of this and I’m excited to share our collaboration with you guys today!
The Kitchen
There’s so much to get into here. I’ll start with my favorite: our Fisher & Paykel range! We looked into so many different types of ranges. I really wanted an Italian range, but several did not have great reviews in the US, so we went with this one. It has been amazing so far!
Our countertops are quartz, and the backsplash is porcelain. That marbled porcelain backsplash was a WHOLE thing. It actually had to be replaced shortly after we moved in and took several months because it meant we also had to take the cabinets down. It was pretty stressful, but I’m glad it’s all settled now and good to go!
In The Kitchen:
Dining Room
I thought the kitchen would be my favorite room in the house (and don’t get me wrong, I REALLY love it), but I think our dining room is actually my most fave! The arched built-ins have not only been a statement piece in our home but are also incredibly functional for all of my Jar Of Lemons prop dishes. It’s nice to be able to look at everything and decide what I want to use for different recipes, rather than having to dig through cabinets or drawers. I really love how they turned out!
In The Dining Room:
Living Room
I knew I wanted ultra-cozy vibes in the living room, and Alice really made it happen! I was nervous about all of the white/light grey colors with having little ones running around, but so far we have survived 3 months with it all and no horror stories. I’ll keep you posted 😉
My two most favorite things about the living room are the grid windows and the arched fireplace. While we were building, I really debated having a standard brick fireplace and having it bricked all the way to the ceiling. But I’m glad I went with this arched idea instead, it feels like it ties into our house and just feels very “us”!
In The Living Room:
Bedroom/Bathroom
I feel like bedding is my biggest struggle when it comes to making our house look pretty, haha. But Alice came through and save the day! I also really love these oversized nightstands. So much room and storage!
I love our bathroom! The brass arched mirrors with the terra cotta style tile and marble floor all came together so nicely in the end. Keeping that white grout and bathtub clean is another story! But hey, it’s pretty!
We’ve had a lot of questions about why we decided to put the bathtub inside the glass area where the shower is. There’s a very long answer to this, but the short version is that it was the only place that it could go. The original plans had the vanity split on opposite walls, which put the tub next to one of the vanities and the shower next to the other. I was really set on having a double vanity along that wall, which is why the tub had to go in the same space as the shower. But honestly, I’ve loved it so far and have no regrets!
Bedroom/Bathroom Links:
- Natural Stripe Bed
- Duvet Cover
- Nightstands
- Lamps
- Brass Arched Mirrors (Not the same, but similar)
- Shower Stool
The Study
Ok, ok. I can’t decide if the dining room, kitchen, or study are my favorites. But the study is DEF up there! The dark paint, the wallpaper, the brass touches, and the piano that’s been in my family since I was a little girl…it all just feels right. I love this room!
In The Study:
- Wall Sconce
- Brass Fixture (Not the same, but similar)
- Wallpaper
- Baskets
- Office Chair
I wish I could show you so much more of our house! The entryway with our double arched front door, the stairs, our guest bathroom…there’s a lot more I wanted to include in this but didn’t get to. Maybe another time!
But I truly just want to say THANK YOU to this amazing community for supporting us through this long and crazy project. If you’ve been following along, I’m seriously so grateful! And if you have any questions about building, please message me, comment below, or send over a DM. I’ve learned so much in this season! Next up….decorating for Christmas!
P.S: Because I know someone will ask…here are our paint colors!
- Stain – MinWax Heirloom Oak
- Interior Walls – Sherwin Williams Pure White
- Office – Sherwin Williams Ripe Olive
- Wallpaper – York Joyful Eucalyptus
- Mudroom/Laundry Room – Sherwin Williams Mountain Road
Alicia says:
Why did you go with black quartz? We were going with soapstone but I use my kitchen too much and don’t want to baby it, so we are going granite route but haven’t found anything I like. Did you do a post on countertop choices? Is your quartz matte or polished?
Christine McMichael replied:
It was a very tough decision! Countertops were the hardest thing to figure out. We went with black because we had that porcelain backsplash that would have been competitive with a white quartz. The black quartz is polished, it’s fairly easy to keep up but there is a weird issue where if we have any kind of moisture on the bottom of a cup or bowl, it leaves a ring that’s near impossible to get out. I do think granite is the least maintenance of all of them! Soapstone is so beautiful. My quartz in our bathroom is leathered/matte and I feel like that’s a little easier to maintain.
Barbara says:
Absolutely beautiful! Modern Traditional for the win! Congrats on your beautiful new home.
Jan Rupert says:
Beautiful home! Looks amazing. Can you tell me what kind of wood cabinets and shelves you used? I caught the stain color.
Christine McMichael replied:
Thank you so much! They are white oak cabinets and shelves.