An Ordinary Day in the Life of an Architect

Howard and his best girl hopped on their bikes today and rode 16 miles across town to take a look at the progress on the million-dollar house that Howard designed.

The first photo shows a built-in dresser and a box window seat with a hinged top for storing kids toys. They were recently built, though they haven't been stained and finished yet.

While looking at these, Howard's wife kept using the word, "Sweet", until she realized that her own home doesn't have any of that sweetness.

The rest of the afternoon didn't go so well for Howard.

The next photo is of the entrance foyer and colonnade with darker stained accent wedges at the capitals. If you've been reading this blog, you've seen versions of this picture from various angles and degrees of completion for a while now. In this one, nearly everything is done except for the floors, the unpainted walls, and the kitchen peninsula to the extreme left.

The photo that follows is similar, except you are now standing near the front door looking back through the house at a recently completed bookcase to the right with the kitchen entry and peninsula beyond. There are still no light fixtures anywhere in the house, so some photos like this one appear a bit dark, particularly with Howard's lousy camera [Christmas gift suggestion???]

To the extreme left is the entrance to the study, then the stairway, and finally the beginnings of the family room down the colonnade.

If you squint very tightly, you might see some of the exposed ceiling joists over the family room which were also visible in an earlier kitchen photo.

The door at the end of the colonnade leads to the large back deck with views of the entire universe.

The next photo is one of Howard's favorite aspects of the house so far -- showing the built-in eating nook, mostly finished, though still needing some plastic laminate on the table top.

Below that is the first photo of the kitchen to grace this blog. Howard's made you wait long enough, though he really would have preferred that you wait some more because the granite countertops and porcelain tile floor haven't been installed yet.

The thought is that if you see it now, you'll appreciate later on how much the countertops and floor tile will add.

Some of the wall cabinets to the left of the window haven't been installed yet, and those that are in have been masked to protect them from overspray when the exposed ceiling joists and panelling will be stained soon. The large cabinet to the right will contain the oven and microwave.

The next photo is also of the kitchen while sitting in the ergonomically-perfect eating booth. The sink will be in front of the windows, of course. You can also see the island in the center of the kitchen which will hold the gas stove.

The stove won't have a range hood overhead, but will have an exhaust baffle which will pop up out of the countertop behind the stove when it is in use, drawing all fumes away from the stovetop and down through the island and then exhausted out the side of the house through the floor.

The final photo shows the back patio at the walk-out basement entry.

To the right of the door you should be able to see a dog door leading to a dog room containing all kinds of dog pleasantries.

The stamped concrete sidewalks and patios were recently poured (and stamped), although they haven't been stained yet. A covered breezeway hasn't been constructed yet which will lead one to and from the garage, beyond.