Published: September 01. 2010 2:00AM

By Kate Tierney

Installment One

It was hot and humid on May 28 as I turned left onto Rocky Slope off of Verdae. At that moment, I had no idea that my family needed a new home.  We had settled quite nicely into a cozy home behind our Haywood store. In fact, our children are just getting to the age where they see a benefit in having the Abercrombie’s and the Macy’s as close neighbors.   But apparently the cosmic real estate universe was aligned perfectly on that certain afternoon, and all of the real estate bests of timing, location and a great “limited offer” deal hovered overhead.  That, and I had only one, not all six, of my children with me, so I could actually follow the newly posted signs into Hollingsworth Park. The hook was baited. I bit, gobbled and 11 days later a list of all the home finishing details, about which I was previously clueless, were completed, and plans for us to move in before the holidays were set. Being the “how-to” queen, I mentally turn each design and décor decision into a mini “how-to” class in order to survive.  I invite you to join us on this homebuilding journey, where we will tackle the many hurdles and decisions that will be thrown our way.

Day 1: The best-laid plans

We fell in love with a Craftsman-style bungalow, “the Ashley.” Our builder, Brian Lazarus, took mercy on our family head count and subtly suggested that we consider losing the three front dormer windows and punching out the top floor to allow for one more bedroom.  From that moment on, “the Ashley” started to morph into “the Tierney.” Stone was substituted for brick, square posts won out over the round columns, the fireplace was nixed, the shutters deleted and a new exterior paint color was added to the neighborhood palette. Our hybrid blend of “old farm house gone beach” was born.  

Day 10:  “Why do we have to pick upholstery fabric before we can decide on kitchen cabinets and flooring?” 

This was one of the many “guy” questions Jay posed to me as we struggled to finalize our major interior decisions. Remember, 10 days ago I did not even know I needed a new house, now every last detail was pressing. Well, I admit I held up the show a bit as I tested different paint colors.   

Day 16:  Customizing Your Home

To incorporate a more custom look into your home, consider finding some “one-of-a-kind” pieces.  Digging around in unexpected places will get your creative juices flowing.  A favorite dig of mine is Joe Stevens’  Old House Salvage in Moonville (Photo of House Salvage sign — it is so great —and there are hundreds of doors behind the sign.)  There I found an old mantel that we will use to frame a flat-screen TV, a long board and some old knobs that will be ideal for a coat rack and two old doors that I will refinish and use for the front door and the pantry door in the kitchen. (photo of me standing on this lane on the House Salvage property with great trees on either side—I will be holding up the doors, mantel, and strip of wood.)

Day 25 

The door selected for the pantry came complete with original knob and strong lines, to contrast with our white beaded board kitchen cabinets. Using a wire paintbrush, I scrubbed the surface till smooth and clean. Blue, green and yellow were color blocked and trimmed with black. After all layers of paint were finished, a white glaze was applied to give a more worn look. 

This old interior French door was cleaned and then left with chipped paint exposed  The original glass remained intact, so I can use the door as a framework for some of my favorite artwork. The panes can also be used to support corkboard or frame photos.

Day 30

With construction moving at a pretty rapid pace, we were introduced to the concept of a construction change order. We learned quickly to make our changes before work has to be undone tot accommodate our idea. Keeping up with your builder’s timetable is essential so that as your house take shape, you know what building phase comes next.