A big hole in the ground

Here are some in process pictures of the pool. I am so impressed with the back hoe drivers. John (left) with our pool rep - Andrews pools.

Framing out the pool - it's roughly 41' x 28' in an L shape. Because of setbacks the smallest width is approx 11' by the entrance stairs and then it gets wider.

Pool equipement will go behind the garage next to the AC units.

Hayden came over to watch the backhoe and dump truck. What a wonderful outing for a 3 year old boy. He cannot wait for the pool. It was only 90 and humid today. They said about 6 weeks to the finished pool.

Digging the trench for the equipment pipes from the back of the garage to the pool. This is the view from the kitchen. The bluestone patio will be out this door.

Kim and Jacob in the shade

Day 2 - pool dug and spreading final rocks at bottom of pool. Adding a dry well for 3 downspouts to keep water away from pool and our foundation. One downspout occasionaly gave us a small puddle in the basement. Hopefully this will not happend anymore.

View from the kitchen window. The shallow end wraps around the house to the right. Most of the pool is 3' to 4.5' for games (volleyball, basketball, etc.) A small deep end at the far end.

Other end of pool - shallow end (about 16") for the little ones. In the far right corner is 6.5' .

View from the side dining room window.

View straight out the dining room. Bluestone patio will be behind kitchen on left - garden with path to pool here and pool to the right.

View from the kitchen window where the table will be located.

Latest kitchen pictures

OK it's a functional kitchen but not quite done. We have to move down the frig and microwave plus pick a paint color. The microwave will go to the left of the range. It's a bit messy but I was in a hurry (that's why no close up of the farmhouse sink). John has to build the built in bench with the old floor boards that were found above the ceiling. We need a new kitchen table, stools for the island and of course we still need to build the pantry shelving and nook cabinet. Our 1st priority is paint though.

And the earth moved

The trucks came today to clean out the backyard. Pool tomorrow.

This picture taken from the 2nd floor window.

I'm very impressed on the driver's finese with a full size back hole. He's taking out shrubs right next to an old wooden fence and the fence stays intact.

Inches from my 2nd floor office window. The earth and house shakes.

Floors are finished on the 1st floor

This past weekend the floors were refinished on the 1st level. We went with natural oil based polyeurethane. I know it may be a bit shiny for some, but I love it. We're on the home stretch.

Second floor bath - more pictures

Here's our 2nd floor bath. Our walls and trim are not painted yet. Emerald Pearl granite is used for the vanity top (it came free with sink for spending so much money on our kitchen granite). It is stunning - the pictures don't do it justice.

Since the washer and dryer are in this bathroom I wanted to use the least amount of hard surfaces (i.e. tile) as possible. I used Armstrong Alterna vinyl tile - Mesa Stone light grey. It is textured and people can't believe it's not real tile. I love it. Farther down is the shower - it came out great. The blue tile has so much depth and personality.

Now on to the yard (even though we're not finished in the house)

So, just in case you think I don't have enough to do (picking colors, sanding, painting, staining, moving in...) they start digging the pool next week. The pool shape is set but the patios, plantings, etc., are not finalized. This year is the backyard. Hopefully with more money we will do the front yard next year.

Many years ago I met a period landscape designer. She is designing for us an 1850 garden for modern living. We will use plants found in the Boston area in 1850 or earlier. Also the shapes of gardens, patios, hardscape, etc will be from that era. Normally the pool would be rectangular but we had a lot of setback restrictions so we squeezed what we could into the yard. The salt water pool is 41' x 27' in a somewhat "L" shape. We have a "sun shelf" at the small end for the little ones (about 18" deep). The long part of the pool is mostly 3' to 4.5' for basketball and volleyball. At the very end is ~6.5' deep. We will have a heater plus some water and light features. John's in charge of the details (I had enough on my plate with the house).

Here's the 1st draft with gardens, patios, etc. At the far end on the right will be our vegetable garden. I had to cut and paste and then resize so it may be a little off but you should get the idea.

Here's the pool depth - the far 2 on the right are 6.5' deep. The next 2 (up and down) are 4.5' deep, the next 2 are the corner are 4' deep and then 3.5' and finally 3' at the stairs. One stair wraps around into a bench. There's a swim out in the deep end with a bench. The at bottom of the picture is the "sun shelf" and 2 steps into that shallow end.

You can see some of our setback restrictions on the below.

Paint colors

Potential Paint colors for Eden Ave – I will use Benjamin Moore white dove on trim. I bought pints of each paint and will try in each room. I will live with it a few days before deciding on a color. There's more rooms to paint besides these. Lauren wants pink and purple, Sean wants blue plus the hallways and a few others.

My monitor doesn't represent the true colors but you get an idea. I love saturated color! Some of the sample colors have writing thru the center - just ignore that.

Kitchen
A bit more orangy – looks better with the red from the dining room. Benjamin Moore™ 2155-50 Suntan Yellow
Benjamin Moore™ HC-4 Hawthorne Yellow
Dining room colors
This sure doesn’t look red on my computer. Benjamin Moore™ 2078-10 Roseate
Benjamin Moore™ 2079-10 Candy Cane Red

This looked more red in real life . Benjamin Moore™ 2080-20 Confederate Red

2nd floor bath – will choose 2 colors including an accent wall (sink/toilet wall)
Benjamin Moore™ 2059-40 Yosemite Blue

Benjamin Moore™ 2059-50 Pool Party

Benjamin Moore™ 2059-60 Splash

Benjamin Moore™ 2060-40 Toronto Blue

Benjamin Moore™ 2060-50 Cayman Blue

Mudroom – possibly 2 colors
Benjamin Moore™ 2062-40 Blue Daisy

Benjamin Moore™ 2062-50 Blue Jean

Benjamin Moore™ 2062-60 Blue Hydrangea

Benjamin Moore™ HC-152 Whipple Blue

Benjamin Moore™ HC-153 Marlboro Blue

The problem bath – the cool granite modern sink with the claw foot tub; one will go on wall, the other on the tub
Benjamin Moore™ HC-169 Coventry Gray

Benjamin Moore™ HC-170 Stonington Gray

Benjamin Moore™ HC-171 Wickham Gray

Office
Benjamin Moore™ HC-128 Clearspring Green

this was the front runner
Benjamin Moore™ HC-129 Southfield Green

Benjamin Moore™ HC-132 Harrisburg Green

Our present office is close to an above clearspring green plus this (which is in the running) Benjamin Moore™ HC-6 Windham Cream

Sitting room
Below chair rail in sitting room -Benjamin Moore™ 2070-50 Enchanted

above chair rail - This looks more lavender in real life. Benjamin Moore™ 2070-60 Lavender Mist

Half bath – more intense in bath; Benjamin Moore™ 2067-40 Blue Lapis

TV room – was more red in real life; Benjamin Moore™ 2079-20 Blushing Red. May switch to a blue

Still missing music room, billiard room and all the hallways. Probably something calming and light in the hallways to tie in the rooms.