Moving in to our new home didn’t quite mean it was really the end of the project for us. There were still a number of loose ends that needed to be tied up and more than a few projects that we had to work through before we could truly enjoy our new surroundings.

We had a number of contractors back to the house in the days and weeks following our official certificate of occupancy. The electricians had to finish installing the great room ceiling fans, reorder some light switches, and add a new switch for an accent light. The plumbers had to come back to make some valve adjustments. The heating contractor came back to finish installing all of the thermostats and gave us tutorial on how to use the system. The fireplace installers gave us a similar tutorial during their final set-up as well.

There were two ongoing issues that took months to work through. Our custom pantry door had to be ordered and delivered 4 times before it was right. The first 2 doors were damaged upon delivery and the third door didn’t match the style of the other doors in our house. They finally got it right the fourth time, but it took another 4 months after we moved in and required the painters to come back to stain and finish it.

The other long running issue was with the dishwasher. It had to be replaced with 3 different models before we finally found a brand and model that didn’t turn on or off on it’s own at random times. We never did discover the source of the issue, even after thoroughly inspecting the electrical connections. We think it might have been some kind of environmental interference, but we’ll never really know. We were grateful for how accommodating Specialty Appliance was in helping us finally get a replacement unit that worked, even after it was obvious that the appliance itself wasn’t the issue.

We had to finish up some work too before we could unpack all of our boxes. We needed to build and install the custom wood shelving in all of the closets and the pantry as soon as possible to make those spaces usable. We added the hardware to all of the cabinets and installed some custom built-in cabinets as well. We hung mirror in the bathrooms and finished the bar/desk area in the rec room with reclaimed corrugated metal roofing and a custom wood top. We also built and installed four barn doors in their planned locations. And since we sold most of our old furniture, we had to get new furniture for nearly every room in the house.

Now that all of the dust has finally settled and we can truly enjoy our oasis in the mountains where everyday feels like a staycation and the view always inspires a sense of calm.