We're at a stage in our house build at Eden Hill where the home transforms every day. Sketching in the rough details — arch profiles, lighting locations — is giving the interior personality and bringing the vision that has been in our minds to life. It's intimidating, honestly. Exciting and invigorating, but also intimidating. Are our ideas crazy? Are we being ridiculous? Probably yes to both. But we're also okay with that. The home is particular to us, and that's how it should be. Below are some new images of the progress, with detail on what you are seeing and why we did it.
A frequent question today is whether the AAC block is our final finish. News alert: it's not. The exterior is going to receive a few inches of insulation, mesh, and then a render (or stucco) finish. Ultimately, the windows will be set 3-4 inches in, rather than protruding slightly out as they do now.
Another question we get is why the house isn't a big cube and 2-floors throughout. For us, the kitchen being a one-story section is a storytelling vehicle. We don't think our home will look old from day one — or even year 10 — but maybe someday someone will assume that the kitchen was an addition onto an older home. If so, that would be pretty cool.
The home is built on a "center hall" layout, with the stairs in the middle and a wing on each side. The front door, reclaimed from the original farmhouse on the property (more on that to come), will be a centerpiece of the entry and we're excited to get it in place soon.
Building in AAC block comes with a lot of benefits (speed, energy efficiency, finish), but also comes with some challenges. Putting electrical into the interior side of the exterior walls requires carving into the block, which is a time suck. As a result, we've moved the vast majority of the electrical to interior walls or, for outlets, the floor, but there are a few places (mostly in the kitchen) where having electrical in the walls is necessary. So, we carved.
Could the bedrooms have been bigger? Yes. Could we have squeezed in another full bathroom? Also yes. But we decided to prioritize spaces for gathering, like this upstairs reading spot in the hall right by a big window.
The largest room in the house won't be done when we move in. It probably won't be done for a decade, even. But we have a vision for our library that will take time. We'll make it work in the meantime, but always with an idea of where we want the room to progress towards. And that big doorway? That leads to an outdoor 'room' for morning coffee or an evening drink away from where the goats can see us and put up a fit.