From the Ground Up

While we were gallivanting around Pittsburgh and other locations throughout the summer, true work was getting done at our house.  We really enjoyed stopping by every now and then to check on the progress, and it seemed like every day something new was going up.  The Chrismans shared our enthusiasm and embraced our excitement and desire to document the process.  Here is Chris, glass of wine in hand, demonstrating how he will come to visit once the project is finished.

And even on those days when we couldn't stop by, Sharon was quick to take photographs and give us updates on what was happening.  This particular update included the announcement that the Amish had arrived.  They were a fantastic work crew of framers, and we were mightily impressed by their craftsmanship.  If you ask Sharon, it wasn't just their work that was attractive.

When we say that the construction moved fast, we were not kidding.  It was incredible to watch the addition take shape in just a few week's time.  We have never been a part of such an undertaking, so it was so much fun to see it all come together.  Seeing this view for the first time made us realize how cool it was going to be to have our vision made a reality.

And it wasn't just the outside of the house that was taking shape.  Inside the house the framework for our new set up was also coming together.  In this picture the girls help us demonstrate the functional uses of the master bathroom.  If you look closely you can decide who is doing what.

One critical element that Sarah requested for the master shower was a large niche for shampoo bottles, etc.  Our contractor was a bit taken by the request at first, thinking it was too big and letting us know it would cost extra.  But Sarah was adamant, and when she saw the framed out niche her smile could not be contained.  No cost is too big for a proper niche.  (Of course she still wouldn't mind it being just a bit bigger)

Our daily visits brought excitement over the changes we saw, both big and small.  But this picture captures one of our biggest "aha" moments.  Our contractor had proposed going with bigger back windows than we had initially proposed, and we liked the idea because it matched our desire for more natural light and windows in the back.  But when we saw them installed we were a bit overwhelmed with how great it looked.

Another interesting feature of the addition came from the minds of our architect and his wife, a.k.a. Chris and Sharon.  Following one of their walks through our neighborhood they came up with an idea for an architectural feature to highlight the back entrance.  Sharon felt like something more permanent needed to be in the design.  We weren't so sure about it, but trusted their experienced eye.  Good thing we trusted them, because, like every other part of this project, as it came together we loved how it looked.