A Big Fire And Other Updates
David has made a few trips out to the land recently. He’s cut down some of the fallen trees and Tuesday, he burned the huge pile left from when the previous owner cleared the front half. You can see it in the middle of the picture below.
We’ve had a good amount of rain recently so I was surprised he was able to get it to burn at all.
We went back out there yesterday and it was still smoldering a bit. While we were there, I was on the lookout for walnut trees. When I was there with my parents last month, we found a couple walnuts on the ground, but wasn’t sure if they came from the trees or were carried there by an animal. I did a little research in the meantime and was able to identify 2-3 walnut trees while were there yesterday. Unfortunately, they were all in the vicinity of where the house needs to go, so I’m not sure if we’ll be able to save them. I’d love to have the wood milled to use on some furniture for the new house though. I built 2 of the beds in this house and have ideas for new furniture to build for the next house.
Meanwhile, we made a day trip to Knoxville on Saturday to see a house built with the plan we want to use. The original plan is already larger than we can build, but they made it even bigger. With the basement (which we likely won’t have), this house was 7000 square feet. Regardless, it was really great to see the layout which was even better than I imagined. My biggest complaint about our current house is that anyone standing at the front door can see the living room and kitchen where we spend all our time (and make the most messes ;). When you walk in the front door of the new house plan, the formal dining room is straight ahead. In our house, it will be the piano room with my grand piano and a couple chairs. You have to walk into the house and go around the corner to see the kitchen, breakfast nook and living which is one large space. The main living area was incredible and made me even more excited to get started. We also loved the large covered back porch which is something we’ve never had. The house plan was designed for a lot with a view out the back which we should have. (The tour home’s view was out the side so it’s wasn’t the best choice for that lot. Their back view was to their pool which wasn’t too bad.) The exterior of the house is European, but we will be changing it to more of a Craftsman style.
On the right of each page, I’ve added a link to my Pinterest account. The “New House Inspiration & Ideas” board has pictures I’ve “pinned” which will give you an idea of the style I’d like the new house to be. The “More House Stuff” board has other ideas for the house. It’s empty now, but I will be posting our final selections for the house on the “New House Selections” board. The other boards are just my personal ones.