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The Messy Stuff
👋🏻 I know this construction photo doesn’t make our feed look glamorous, or high end or make you want to move in, but this is real time stuff.
This is what the process a home build goes through to get the perfect photo in the end. But in reality, that perfect photo in the end isn’t real either, It’s reality for a moment…Until dinner time…. 😏
The truth is, we all love to click the heart on a perfect photo. But to get there, we get through the messy stuff first.
From now on, I’d like to show more of the messy stuff. The Process. The ups and downs, because that’s what it is. Construction is messy and unpredictable at times, but it’s also so rewarding! We are here for it all!
You’ll also get to see that “perfect” finished photo In the end too, because good design is art. And photography is art, and art is meant to be shared. 🤎
𝒮𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒽
The Geoffrey Home
The Geoffrey Home, [ pronounced Jo-free ] has been quite the journey. I had so much fun designing this home! Its named after my dear friend Geoffrey. I always had her style in the back of my mind. I wanted to think outside the box, and being intentional about offering something that is different than what is currently on the market, but keeping it my signature style. The design style is classic, yet fun. It has a modern coastal style with clean lines, that is seen throughout the whole home.
I used a color pallet of granite blue, grey, white, and wood tones to bring the coastal style together. The granite gray blue cabinets are used in the island, media cabinets, bathroom vanities and lower level bar area. Seeing the blue/gray color throughout the home brings it all together. You will also see the wood tones throughout the home in cabinets, shelving and light fixtures. White shows up in the quartz, backsplash, shiplap, beams, and the millwork. It is important to keep seeing similar design features in several areas of the home to pull it all together.
I also used a blend of metals. This can get tricky, but by choosing a dominate metal, you can mix in 2-3 metals as accents, depending on the size of the room. In this house, black was the dominate finish. and gold was used as an accent in several places. Knowing this was a home designed for the masses, I used gold cabinet hardware in places that could easily be swapped out with black.
The fireplace wall in the main living area is finished with white painted shiplap, we repeated this in the lower level fireplace wall, along with the custom built range hood in the kitchen! Many people see shiplap as farmhouse style, but it is also seen in numerous coastal interior designs. I love how it can be versatile.
We recently had this home staged by Design That Sells. I love how they captured our design style by just viewing photos of the home! I would buy everything they put in this home!
This home was being built smack dab in the middle of the pandemic. No one knew what was coming. We seen a lot of product delays and price increases. It really taught us to accept, adapt, and move to plan B when needed. And when plan B doesn’t work, there is always a plan C. We even realized that plan C, was just always meant to be.
We have always been one to adapt well, you have to when you are in this business. We find it as being one of our best assets. Also, part of being a designer is to make plan C the best that it can be! We are a team that looks at the glass half full. We know building isn’t a perfect process, but in the end, you get a pretty awesome result.
Walking in the door and knowing someone is going to call this their home, is why I keep showing up, learning, adapting, and making the best out outcome of what is meant to be.
The Building Journey Finale
We finished up our Mabel Two Story months ago! This build was one of my favorites, not only because its named after my Grandma, but we were blessed enough to have a family that fell in love with this house during framing. They trusted us with all of the big design decisions, like exterior siding, cabinets, quartz, flooring, lighting and paint colors! They were able to see the selections before they signed the dotted line, but they trusted us to make it all come together. They never seen the house again till they walked through before closing and they absolutely loved it. Phew! Not gonna lie! I was a tiny bit nervous, but this is what made this house so special. I will always be grateful for this family!
Sarah Grendahl
Sarah Grendahl
The Building Journey Continues
Its only been about 8 weeks since my last entry during the Building journey at our Mabel Two Story, but so much has happened! This house is now onto the finish stages. My last entry we were ready for our sub contractors to begin with the rough in of plumbing, electrical and HVAC. All of those have been completed, along with insulation, sheetrock, tape/textured walls and painting!
The cabinets are also all installed, and doors and trim. The kitchen cabinets are a combination of wood and painted cabinetry. I love how they compliment each other. The walls are painted a light grey that mirrors the kitchen island. Carrara quartz countertops will pull everything together. I am very excited to see this space come together. Tile work has also begun on the master bathroom shower.
While work has been continued on the inside, we have also had work continue on the exterior. The stone has been installed. I have to say, this stone is my favorite stone installs to date. It’s a simple white stacked stone, and it just makes the home feel so pretty. The siding is almost complete. I love how the combinations of the different textures of siding came together.
In the next coming weeks, this house will be finished and become a HOME! We have flooring to be installed, tile work, stone fireplace, and painting of doors and trim. There is also the trim out of electrical, HVAC and plumbing to be completed. And of course there is always the finishing touches as well.
We started digging this house mid July. Its amazing how quickly this house has come together. All of our pre planning has paid off. Roger has managed this project so well to keep everything moving along, and all of our sub contractors and suppliers have done such a great job at helping us achieve our goal. We are very thankful for that. Our goal and intention was to design and build a beautiful and functional home that someone could see as their own. We are SO thankful to say, this home is under contract! My heart is so happy knowing that a family sees this house as their home.
I named this floor plan after my grandma, and I know she is cheering us on, and I am pretty sure she had a helping hand in all of this as well. Stay tuned in the next coming weeks for the finished photos of this home.
Sarah Grendahl
Designer / AAS Interior Design
The Geoffrey Home
During the first couple months of this new normal we live in, we went on a lot of walks around our subdivision. When we go on walks, I love to seek out potential lots to build on. I know that finding the perfect lot plays such an important role in someone choosing to purchase a home. We’ve walked past this corner lot many, many times. One day, Roger and I both said to each other, what about this lot? The grass was high, and overgrown, so it was hard to really see the potential it had. When we walked to the middle of the lot and looked out the back, we both said YES, this is it. Well maybe I had to convince Roger a bit, but I knew this was the lot. The view is gorgeous out the back, and its private.
This floor plan, called The Geoffrey, is a combination of homes we’ve already built. I love the main floor layout of the Mabel Two Story plan. So I started there, and then the rest just developed. There are 3 bedrooms on the main floor and 2 bathrooms, and 3 more bedrooms on the lower level! It was also developed based on the lot. We wanted it to be a walk out lower level, and fully finished, so a large family could move right in. This home is all about the view out back. Three 7′ high windows in the living room are the main feature of this home, along with 10′ high ceilings in the living room.
The interior of this home is coastal craftsman design style. I love blues, greens, wood tones and clean lines. Its a timeless and classic style that can combine with many styles. I spend a lot of time making sure the design of these homes feel right. I’ve had a couple of design drafts, but none of them have felt perfect. This one is the right fit.
I also love naming our floor plans. The Geoffrey (pronounced Jo free) is after a dear friend. Her whole outlook on life was choosing joy. She taught me so much about life, we were childhood friends, and that developed into our friendship as adults. I will always be grateful for our friendship and her outlook on life. I feel so much Joy when I get to see one of our projects come to life. It makes me so happy seeing every stage of the home come alive. I know Geoffrey would be so excited to watch these homes go up and see us grow as a company. She was always so supportive.
This home is currently being framed right now, and FOR SALE! We’ve had some windy weather setbacks, but It should be fully framed soon! This home is located on 8010 Country Hills Drive. You can check out the listing here. https://www.bismarckmandanhomes.com/Listing/8010-Country-Hills/20210105142557149298000000
The Building Journey
Designing a custom, build-to-sell home, is one of my favorite things to do. I love to imagine how a family would use the space. I am always drawn to a clean and classic design style. I love the craftsman/coastal design with clean lines and a light and airy feel, but also adding in something special you don’t find in any other build to sell home.
I take something from each of our past builds and grow from that. Whether its a style I loved from a past build, and I’ll use it in the next one, or something that I know I could make better, and I’m able to improve on it for the current build. Each house we do I say, “This one is my Favorite!” My daughter reminds me that I make that comment on every house. That is always my goal, to make each one the best one yet!
This all brings me to our most recent built, the Mabel Two Story being built at 7732 Country Hills Drive in NE Bismarck. This home is completed with framing, windows, doors and shingles! I smile every time I walk into this house. It is so spacious and open! This floor plan is inspired from our personal home. I love how our home functions, and I used the best parts of our home and put it into this plan!
Now that the house is framed, we all get to sigh a big sigh of relief! SO much work goes into this point of a build. Roger is great at managing our projects. Everything has to line up (almost perfectly) with sub contractors, and supply houses, and sometimes it doesn’t always go as planned, but often it does! We’ve learned to adapt, and that is just part of building. Seeing a house standing, fully framed, sheeted with a roof, is such a reward! You finally get to see the plan on paper finally come to life!
Up to this point, most of the interior finishes have been selected. The cabinets, flooring, and shower tile are all chosen. This makes the project run smoother by having everything selected. I always like to bring the materials to the project to see it in the natural lighting before ordering. I may make minor adjustments, but most of the time, its good to go.
I’ve also chosen the exterior materials and colors. This seems to be the hardest for me when designing a built to sell home. It needs to have great curb appeal in order for a potential family to want to come see what’s inside!
The plumber, electrician, and HVAC will be roughing in next, and then the insulators will come. Once that is all complete, the drywall will go up and its time to pick out paint colors! I like to do this once the drywall is up and I can take the paint deck to the house. I always choose the paint color at the build. Paint can look so different, so its important to see it in the home with the natural lighting.
Once we get to the point of a home with drywall and paint, I will keep you posted as to what is next! Stay tuned! You can also follow along on our Instagram @grendahldesignco
This house is for sale! If you are interested in viewing it you can follow the link. https://www.bismarckmandanhomes.com/Listing/7732-Country-Hills-Drive/20200811043412159518000000
Casual and Elegant
If you summed up my style, it would be casual and comfort, with a little elegant mixed in. My goal is to always make a home feel inviting and comfortable. This is very important when we are designing a home to sell. I want someone to walk in and feel at home.
These photos are from our last build to sell project. We had Glasser Images capture these photos right when it went on the market. We are happy to say it sold in just 3 weeks! The new owners have made this house their home, and we love seeing that!