Would you?

Through this entire house building

process, we've had many decisions

to make. One has been to decide if

we will sell our current house, which

is owned by us, free & clear, or to

consider renting it out. If we did go

this route, we'd have to of course,

put a mortgage on it as we would

have used this house's equity to pay

for the new house. Our new home

would then have a bit of a mortgage

on it but one that we'd pay off pretty

quickly. This house's value is under

the new one & the equity we have

is great but even with our savings,

there is still a bit of a shortfall. We

are both comfortable with this &

all along we knew we'd likely sell

this house so we'd remain living the

comfortable life that we'd are loving.

Things have changed a bit. Our rich

economy in this province is shifting

as the price of oil has dropped too

a very low dollar & this is a worry

for many. Jobs have been cut & soon

we'll start to feel the effects in the

real estate market. Both my dh & I

work in industries that never seem

to get hit with the recession & we

know this is just part of the "boom,

bust, recover" that happens in oil

rich communities. However, this

time, our timing with selling our

current home may be effected by

the industry & we need to make

some concrete plans around what

we will do if the real estate market

takes a big hit in the next couple of

months. One of our options is to

hang on to this house & rent it out

until the market corrects itself again.

So here's my big question of the day?

Do we rent out our house & wait for?

Or sell now & take the best price we

can get, even if it's a bit lower than

we had hoped for? I'm only talking a

difference of anywhere from $1,000

to $20,000 as a guess. We know in our

community, it's hard to find a great

place to rent & we know we have a

wonderful house in a truly perfect

location. Rents are high here, more

than enough to cover the mortgage

payment, taxes & expenses. I've

never been a landlord & my fear is

that we'd rent to someone who might

trash it in the end. We'd have to do

a lot of background checking & take

a risk but it could work. There are

tax benefits to this scenario too.

Either way, worry is involved. 

What would you do if you were in this position?

Do we go the safe route & get less money in hand?

Or take the riskier route & fingers crossed in the

end come out on top with a bigger profit?

Look who's Two!!

Our little L turned two today. 

We so love getting pictures of her every day as we

don't get to see her due to distance. But pictures &

Skype are the next best thing! L is starting to talk,

she's a bundle of energy & the sweetest baby girl.

Love you L, our tiny princess!!

A Decision.

Isn't this a great art studio? It's not my space

but a picture I found that shows a well used

environment, with a window on the outside

world. There are four windows in our studio

& once construction is complete, I truly hope

we will achieve this light & airy feeling inside.

I'm now half way through my "sabbatical" leave

from work, using my time to pack, purge & paint

in preparation for our big move out to the country.

Many decisions have been made over the last 8

months & this week, I made one more. As an

eclectic artist, my process of creativity is unique

& my space will reflect this. One day, I want to

be a true full time artist. As much as I love my job

because I can use my energetic creativity, it is a 

time consuming process that doesn't always leave

blocks of time for my personal art each day. I

get frustrated that I can spend days working on

something that needs my brain power & energy

to complete the project. My decision is just this:

my studio will be my sanctuary, a place to create,

a place to reflect, a place to energize, a place to

unwind. Beginning with small increments of

time, with an eventual goal of full time work. We 

aren't sure until we've lived out in the country for 

a while if our projected expenses will be bang on 

or out of bounds. For now, we need my income 

but once we can determine our actual & final 

budget, then we can make plans to bring me home 

to be the artist I am, the artist I need to be.

Part of this decision was choosing a name for the art

studio, which I did finalize today. I have to register

it, so until that legal process is done, I don't want to

write it here, just in case I can't use it. But I love it &

an internet search didn't show any users. Fingers

crossed that I can use it formally, soon!!

And not to be outdone .... here's Louis ....

Louis the VIII that is!

For the Great Room on the main floor.

Can you envision stockings at Christmas? It's

going to look very festive.

My boys!!

Meet Michael ....

 .... Michaelangelo, that is!

Our mantels for the master bedroom. Believe it or

not, we got such an awesome deal on this baby, sent

all the way from New York, that we would have paid

way more for simple wood mantels! Love the stone.

Sorry for the boxes underneath. These are heavy &

we wanted to protect the wood floors. We took each

out to make sure there were no cracks or flaws. All

are now packed up, ready for our builder to install.

Loving Michael!!

Exciting ....

The trim that will be installed around the exterior

windows has arrived! All the windows are white,

with a casing around each. We are adding the black

trim for a bit more of a classic look. Very traditional!

That was our big excitement for the day!

Was your day exciting today?

Pretty Ceilings.

Our ceilings were primed, painted & then scraped

this week for a "California Knock Down" look. 

Not sure what the name means but we like the flat

& sleek look, as opposed to the old stipple we have.

Picture on the left shows the ceiling now that it's dry.

On the right, the front door & two storey foyer.

View from the Great Room looking towards the front.

And the second shot is our alcove for the desk.

Our builder, D, our daughter, C, & my dh, B.

Conversing about color & the beautiful ceilings!

Almost a full shot of the media wall in the Great Room.

Soon, the mantel & the bookcases will be installed.

Paint first, then flooring, trim, lights, doors & cabinets.

So close! The left pic shows the small wall that is part

of the Turret. And then the bank of big windows.

That's the update for today.

More pictures & stories to follow.

Wrapping the House in Green.

We had a hard time choosing the siding color

but neither of us has regrets about our final pick. 

Dark sage green .... just right for a house in the forest.

The siding is about half done now. Can't wait to see it

all finished, with the grey on the gable ends & around

the peaks, black trim around the doors & windows, &

the black shutters framing several of the key windows.

Almost wrapped in full!!