Well it’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of HGTV’s Fixer Upper. I love shiplap! Southern Traditions has just completed our Massey Street of Hope model home in Hallsley. We are very proud of our farmhouse. We hope you will find time to tour our home and see all of its great features. The show runs from Saturday, October 21 through Sunday, November 5 daily. I wanted to share some of my favorite features of the farmhouse.

Our reading nook:

Isn’t it cozy? Doesn’t it invite you in to curl up and read a good book?

Foyer:

During construction, I was often seen wearing my #shiplap t-shirt I purchased from Magnolia Market. Shiplap on the walls, shiplap on the ceiling and those beams!

Speaking of beams, check out the gorgeous ones in the family room!

If you look closely, you’ll see olive trees on the sideboard.
Another nod to Fixer Upper is the brick paver floor in the mudroom.

Of course the kids are not forgotten in the farmhouse. Check out these adorable bunk beds: (insert pic)
If all of these pics don’t entice you to come tour our house, maybe our 9’ antique boat light hanging in the stair well will. I hope you have enjoyed just a sampling of our farmhouse and feel like you are transported to Waco, Texas!

Well our farmhouse is coming along wonderfully! The trim is being installed and all that gorgeous trim work is being painted. Just look at those curved beams! Our house will also have a hidden door which our very talented trim carpenters built this week.  It is very cool.  Can’t wait to “expose” the secret passage to you.

The tile is also being installed. Check out this cool tile floor in our powder room. I really like the herringbone design. The granite and marble countertops have also been installed but are covered and being protected.  (Along with a bountiful of construction comes a lot of dirt and grime.  Can’t wait for a good cleaning.)   One of our countertops will be made of concrete.  Just wait for the unveiling!

We have so many hard working and talented people working on our farmhouse.  H.J.  Holtz & Son (a local Richmond painting company since 1936) is doing some specialty finishes for us. They will be amazing. More pics to follow when completed but take a look at this weathered wood ceiling they painted in our dining room between the beams! They will also be painting a very special design on our library ceiling but it’s a secret for now.  Stay tuned.  Our master bedroom ceiling will have a plaster finish compliments of the very talented Jeff who was working at Mt. Vernon last week!

Twig is a fabulous, local Richmond shop on Lakeside Avenue.  Jennifer Saunders is the owner and we are excited that Twig will be supplying some vintage and new home décor for our farmhouse.  I am very excited about the lobster trap which will be used as a coffee table.  Take a look at this darling blue side table Jennifer is letting us use in the guest room. Of course, all of these adorable items from Twig will be on sale during the show June 3 – 19.  It’s a great way to support local retail and local artists.  Look at this cute painting?   It will be displayed proudly in our farmhouse kitchen.  Nothing says farmhouse like a cow picture.

I also promised you some of my favorite finds. Sarah Jane Studios is one of my new favorite websites.  I bought several cute paintings and this adorable fabric which you can see I had made into a pillow for the nursery.

I just love this dinner plate I found for our dining room table. HomeGoods rules! Today, I visited our local tractor supply store.  I wasn’t aware there was a local tractor supply store near Hallsley. I bought a very large galvanized tub which will be used for our dog wash station. Did I mention there would be a dog wash station in our garage?  Lucky pooch! The tub is used to water livestock but we thought it might make a great dog wash tub.  I actually enjoying shopping at the tractor store.  Never thought I would hear those words come out of my mouth!

I’m like a child waiting for Christmas morning. I’m so excited to decorate this beautiful home.  The hardwood floors are being installed the end of this week.  Furniture will be delivered early in May.  I’m also looking forward to the upcoming landscaping and seeing those beautiful hydrangeas planted along the porch. My navy grasscloth wall paper is also being installed in early May. The countdown begins!

Meet Meghan!

Well, our farmhouse is coming right along despite all of last week’s record snowfall!  Luckily, we are scheduled for all indoor work.  The heating and air, plumbing and electrical rough-ins have all been completed.  These are the important components behind the walls that must be installed and inspected prior to insulation and drywall being installed.  Our cabinet makers marked the location of the cabinets in order for the plumber and electrician to know where to install their pipes and wires.  I have selected all of the plumbing fixtures at Ferguson with Meghan.    Meghan is so knowledgeable about appliances, plumbing fixtures and light fixtures.  She has a great sense of design and also helps us stay in budget!  She is a joy to work with and we couldn’t do it without her guidance.

Exposed Plumbing

All of the plumbing fixtures in the farmhouse will be by Kohler.  I just love this exposed shower unit we are using in our “rustic” bath.  Isn’t it cute?  It reminds me of an outdoor shower perfect for a coastal farmhouse! I am also excited about all of the different plumbing designs we are doing in the house.  The master bath will have a large “walk through” shower.  There will be a freestanding tub in front of the shower.  The master bath vanities will have wall mounted faucets. The tub filler will also be wall mounted.  And wait till you see the ceiling Rob designed for the master bath! I can’t wait to reveal it to you when it is all done.  We have 4 other baths in the house. One shower will have a rain head from the ceiling.  Rob is also planning a dog wash station in the garage.  The laundry room will also have a great “farmhouse” wall mounted sink with a drying rack above it.

A Wall Sconce

The electrician has also completed his wiring of the house.  Meghan and I have selected the light fixtures. To me, the light fixtures are the jewelry of the house. I’m very excited about some of our sconces.  Rob and I love sconces!  One of the fireplaces will have sconces.  The dining room will have sconces.  We selected sconces to go on the bookcases in the library as well as sconces above our eat-in bench seat in the kitchen and above the kitchen sink.  The upstairs hallway is getting porthole sconces!   Due to my navy obsession, I was even able to find a navy chandelier for the foyer and navy pendants for the master bedroom.  I am also meeting with the wall paper hanger this week.  Of course, the grass cloth will be navy! This week the weather promises to be better.  The stone veneer, navy siding and metal roof are all to be going on.  I will show you progress pics next time.

Front elevation of the Nantucket South!

Well, here it is as promised. . .Ta-da!  This is what our farmhouse will look like when it is all finished.  I hope you like it as much as I do.

While the front of the house is stone, the remaining sides will be Navy.  The actual Hardiplank siding color is called Deep Ocean.  I think it will look great with our stone and white trim. It has been a busy couple of weeks.  Framing is almost complete.  I can’t wait to see the metal roof after it gets installed!

Sailboat weathervane

I also promised  to reveal  one of our coastal outdoor ideas.  I hope you like the sailboat weathervane on top of the cupola.  I thought it was ironic when Rob selected the cupola, the name of it was Cape Cod.  (I selected the sailboat weathervane.)

Sailboat for one of the 3 mantles!

Those of us who in live in Virginia love our Chesapeake Bay and sailing!  You will see on the inside décor I will repeat the sailboat theme.  Here is one that will go on one of 3 fireplace mantles in the house.

Now for my new obsession:  I can’t get enough of the color Navy.  Navy to me is nautical neutral.  I also think both men and women like the color which is VERY important when you are selling homes to appeal to both sexes.  One of  my jobs is to help our customers with all of the selections for building their dream homes.  But we know married people don’t always agree or have the same taste so it is good when you can find colors that appeal to both. I hope by sharing this experience, I can show future Southern Traditions customers how the selection process works but also how much fun it can be.

We have also been working on our cabinets.  One important thing to know when designing your kitchen is to select what appliances you want in the kitchen first so the cabinet designer can design the cabinets to work with the space and the appliances.  Rob and I selected our appliances at Ferguson.  Our main focal point will be the 48 inch Thermador gas range with two ovens.  We will also have a custom wood hood above.  Of course there will be a dishwasher and frig.  There will also be a microwave drawer within the large kitchen island.  We are also excited about our beverage center with a coffee maker above and a wine frig below.

The house in the middle of framing!

We have selected Creative WoodWorkz to build kitchen and bath cabinets for us.  The owners are Chet and Lynette Gray.  They live and work about 8 hours away in North Carolina.  The distance can be challenging but they make it work. We have worked with them on several projects and they do beautiful work.  One reason I like dealing with custom cabinetry is because I can select my own paint colors for the cabinets.  My kitchen cabinets will be white so I can select the trim paint color throughout the house to match.  We have decided to do Navy cabinets in the master bath because of my new obsession and I think it is a good coastal look.  I know it will look great with our white tub.  Speaking of tubs, I will be selecting the plumbing fixtures at Ferguson. Next time, I will introduce you to our wonderful sales associate   who helps our customers with their appliances, plumbing and light fixtures.

I’m Elaine Reeder and I am a designer with Southern Traditions (whom I believe to be the best custom home builder in Virginia!) Here I am with Rob Carter, the owner (my very nice boss!) This was taken at our first Homearama. We are about to embark on our 5th Homearama in 2016. Please follow us on our journey to designing and building our 5th custom show home which we will finish in April.

First things first: to pick a plan and get it approved by the developer. We both like Southern Living style houses with big wide porches. We are going for a coastal farmhouse look. I fell in love with the island of Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts last Summer on my first visit there. Oh the hydrangeas! I will refer to our house plan as Nantucket South. Our lot has been assigned. We are lucky number 7. We have some exciting “outdoor” spaces ideas but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I will let you know later about that. But here’s a hint: we are going for a coastal theme! Speaking of coastal, here are some of the very first accessories I purchased for the house.

Don’t you love the shells on these kitchen cannisters? I know it’s a little crazy to buy accessories for a house still in the planning stages, but when you see the perfect item at Homegoods, you buy it! (Don’t you just love Homegoods?) You will see I do a lot of shopping there. I will keep you posted on my “finds” as we go along the next several months.

The 2016 Homearama is being held in the Hallsley subdivision in Midlothian, Virginia.

This is the first house we have built in Hallsley and we are quite excited to be involved in such a fantastic neighborhood. Wait until you see their playground. I would love to try their zip line. They even have a dog park. I love their club house with its reclaimed wood mantle above the fireplace and what a large pool!

We have received final approval on our plans so we can get our building permit and start construction. It has been a busy week. We have selected our stone and brick for the house. Most of the roofing will be galvanized metal. It is going to be a good looking farmhouse. Do you like the stone we selected?

We have cleared our lot and plan to dig our footing and install the foundation this week. I will be sure to share pics of our house while under construction with you.

Next time, I will share with you a pic of the front elevation of the house so you will know what it’s going to look like when we are finished in about 6 months. Stay tuned, the fun is just beginning!