I wonder if a house is ever finished. My own answer is no. But the rooms are livable and we have just passed our final building department inspection. The furnishings are a collection resulting from years of saving things, along with just a few new purchases. If you start looking way ahead you can find deals and save lots of money.

The kitchen is ample in size. Actually we are having a debate about whether we have made the kitchen too large. There is more than enough storage even for trays.

The gas fireplace and cantilevered bench are key design elements – the main room needed anchoring and this combination of the gas fireplace and the cantilevered Douglas fir hearth-bench more than achieves the vision we had. Planning ahead is crucial for this- you need to tie the steel support into the 2×6 wall and build strength into the structure – inexpensive if you do it up front, expensive if you add it later.

Kitchen Cabinets- we looked closely at Ikea but ended up getting our cabinets made in Northern California- we chose a plastic laminate with no detailing.

Our theme outside was less is more. Along with the house and pool, we have to incorporate the septic mound, a water tank, and a storage shed into the landscaping.

We have a narrow lot. It’s only 100? feet wide. We decided to raise the pool 18? above ground to make the pool a seating area as well.

The two bathrooms use concrete (floor), ceramic tiles (shower), and hanging, or cantilevered, cabinets.

The skylight at the end of the long hallway draws the eye by brightening the space and creating a focal point.

We ended up installing two skylights instead of three, to save costs: one in the master bath and one at the end of the long hallway.