That is one fine lookin' house

Paul had a photographer come over and take some nifty shots of the house. There are now posted on his website here: http://www.pmckean.com/residential/leedy/

The photographer is Dan Kvitka. Dan, thanks for making our house look so nice! Per his website, he's a top PDX photographer for artists, galleries, museums and product/graphic designers. Yeah, that sounds like the right guy for us. Check out his other stuff here: http://www.kvitkaphotography.com/

Rumor has it that a national magazine may be considering publishing a piece on our humble home. Oh please, god-of-yuppie-architecture, do your architecture god magic—we're really love to be published. And the rest of you, keep it under wraps. I don't want you to jinx it.

11:11—T-minus 33 hours until the big event

Our home tour is happening in 1.5 days, starting Saturday morning. The house is looking pretty nifty. It's clean, art has been hung, beds have been made with beautiful new linens, dogs have been banished to doggie camp, the shop now has a beautiful new overhead door (AKA garage door) with frosted glass panels, the new front porch is setting up nicely...almost everything is in good shape.

Paul and team are headed over here tomorrow to take some pictures of the house in it's "done" stage. Watch for them on the PMa website soon!

The only thing that is bringing me down is that I screwed up the fabulous wool carpet in our bedroom cleaning up a giant mess that our dog Django left for us (don't even ask). I cleaned too aggressively and now there is evidence of where I've cleaned. Evidence that doesn't seem to be fading. Evidence that is making me very mad. And sad. I'm hoping that by sharing it with all of you, I will find peace with it. You know that feeling when you get your first ding in your car? And that ding was your fault entirely? That's the feeling I am feeling now. Giant sigh.

But...on with the show!

Are you coming over? I hope so.

Almost famous

Check it out -- on the updated site page for the upcoming AIA Design Matters home tour, our house is prominently featured.

Admittedly, it does help that our architect is on the planning committee for said home tour. But still...famous! This is a better link to the event that I'd posted previously, for those of you who are interested: http://adfestivalpdx.com/

Now we must start hanging art. And cleaning. And hiding things that are hideous to the eye.

too much stuff to mention

It's out of hand. Moving, building, demolishing, reconfiguring. Nobody would build their own house if they knew about some of this stuff.

Positive things that stand out:

- The stair railing. It looks flippin' awesome.

- The shed. Again, awesome. Who knew a shed could be awesome?

- The stairs themselves. They make the house. Bravo Paul and team.

- The tile. Thank you, gruff Eastern European tile man of few words. You are making our house incredible.

- The white. Who-hoo! It's amazingly white in there. Just wait until we more in and dirty it up. ;-)

Here are some photos:

More photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25768433@N02/sets/72157626984176301/

Negative things that stand out:

- Packing

- Moving

- Being nomads

Oh well. It's only 3 more weeks.

Facade photos - we're legit

Paul took a couple of nice shots of the exterior, now available on the PMa site.

Check them out here: http://www.pmckean.com/residential/leedy/

God, I am in love with the front balcony and railing.

A shout out to my house-building peeps

Apparently our architect and builder didn't exactly know (or perhaps remember) that I've been blogging about the project. Well...now they know! Hello, guys. Welcome to my little sharing circle.

As a reminder to all of you readers out there:

• Our super fab architect is Paul McKean. His work can been seen here: http://www.pmckean.com/
• The calmest, coolest builder in PDX is Andrew Friedman of Prutting and Co. Their work can be seen here: http://www.prutting.com/

If you're looking to build a new house or do a major remodel/addition in PDX, look no farther than this rock-star team. Seriously.

Garthwick open house = smashing success!

Garthwick neighborhood, thank you for the wonderful welcome. Our open house was delightful. Many neighbors dropped by to see the space and meet our family. And the feedback was quite positive--many people seem to like the design and the space, and appreciate that we're making a positive change in the community.

Also, thanks to all of our friends who dropped by. I'm glad that y'all had a chance to see the house as well. Paul and Amy, it was great having you there. Many people were pleased to have a chance to meet the architect in person.

The event couldn't have gone better. I feel very happy. And very full of coffee.

We are in over our heads...

Or at least we are craaaazy busy.

Stream-of-consciousness update: windows, siding prep, tile picking, carpet ordering, doorknob picking, electric, plumbing, sinks and bathtubs, hardwood bids, insulation decisions, exterior lighting, interior lighting.

Coming up next: rough-in inspections on electric and plumbing, neighbor open house,

drying out house, insulation, drywall, siding, exterior painting. Oh, we have to pick out exterior paint color(s). Holy moly.

Andrew/Paul/Ryan, thanks for all of your help. We have to be nearing the halfway point, right? ;-)

I've uploaded tons of pictures for you to see the progress. Check it out.

Jan/Feb photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25768433@N02/sets/72157626472772366/

Mar/Apr photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25768433@N02/sets/72157626472716488/

Here's the latest picture taken of the exterior.

We're official

Our house project has made it onto the PMa site. Check it out!
http://www.pmckean.com/residential/leedy/

Detailed drawings

We have new drawings from PMa that include details on all of the lighting/wiring/switches/outlets/etc. It's a bit much to look at, but maybe there are some detail fiends out there who will be interested. Enjoy!

Insanely great initial design drawings

Leedys are blown away by initial designs; in particular, the master balcony, the bonus loft for the kids, and the overall design of the stairway and great room -- excellent design and flow. Thanks Paul and Ryan!