Forever Home Series: The Color That Felt Like Home

One of the questions I've been asked over and over throughout this build has been, "What color are you painting the house?"

After months of samples, mockups, second-guessing ourselves, and standing outside staring at tiny paint swatches in every kind of lighting imaginable... we finally have our answer.

We landed on Sherwin-Williams Limestone for the main body of the house with Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze for the trim and accent areas.

And here's the funny part...

We completely stole Shaun's parents' exterior color.

A couple of years ago they painted their home, and my mother-in-law brought over a stack of all the samples they had tested. Limestone was sitting in the pile, and almost immediately it jumped out at both of us. Sometimes you spend months chasing the perfect color only to discover someone in your own family already found it.

It's funny how that works.

When we first started dreaming about this house, I always pictured a warm, creamy exterior. Something soft and classic.

But as the build evolved, so did the vision.

Once we committed to black exterior windows (with white interiors), I realized the house wanted to lean a little moodier than I originally imagined. Shaun has always loved those richer, darker exterior tones, and this ended up being the perfect compromise.

The outside gets the depth and contrast he was hoping for, while the inside will still feel very much like me—light, airy, warm, and timeless.

Honestly... I think it's the best of both worlds.

The exterior is finally starting to come together in a way that feels real.

The stone crew has finished all of the prep work, and if everything stays on schedule, they should begin installing the stone within the next week or so. I have been dreaming about seeing that Boardwalk stone against the Limestone siding, and I honestly think that's the moment this house is going to completely come alive.

Our painter is scheduled to start next week, and I can't wait.

Well... technically, he's continuing what Shaun already started.

Since the stone had to go on first, Shaun spent countless hours painting the entire front of the house himself so the masons could keep moving. He's been working incredibly hard after long days, and seeing that first section painted has made all of this feel so much more real.

Inside, the drywall crew has been absolutely flying.

I was gone for twelve days attending my Clerk conference, and I came home to what felt like an entirely different house. Walking through after being away that long was surreal. Rooms finally feel like rooms. Hallways make sense. Ceiling heights are easier to appreciate. Every visit somehow makes this dream feel a little more tangible.

Over the next several weeks, things should continue moving quickly. The drywall crew still has another week or two ahead of them before we move into the next major phases—garage and exterior concrete, garage doors, tile, flooring, cabinetry, finish work... and about a thousand other little details that somehow all have to come together.

Next week we'll also be sitting down with our contractor to really dial in all of those final selections and make sure everything that still needs to be ordered gets locked in.

It's exciting... and just a little overwhelming.

Thankfully, we couldn't ask for a better team to walk through this process with.

A huge thank you to Western Washington Construction for everything they've done so far. Every custom build comes with unexpected questions, decisions, and little curveballs, but they've continued to communicate well, keep things moving, and genuinely care about building our home the right way. We are incredibly grateful for the craftsmanship and the people behind it.

If everything continues on its current path—and that's always a big "if" in construction—we're feeling more and more confident that we'll be moving into our forever home at the end of August.

That sentence still doesn't feel real.

After years of dreaming, months of planning, and watching every stage unfold from bare ground to standing walls, we're finally entering the chapter where all of the finishes we've spent so much time choosing start coming together.

Paint.
Stone.
Floors.
Tile.
Cabinets.

The details that transform a house into our home.

Thank you for following along through this entire journey. I know many of you have been here since the very beginning, cheering us on through every milestone, every decision, and every update. It means more than you know.

The finish line is finally coming into view, and I honestly can't wait to share these next few weeks with all of you. For now, here are some recent project photos!

Finishing the front of the house. The packed gravel shows you where our concrete slab will go here. We bumped it out a bit on the front to keep things more simple for landscaping. Grass will then carry around the right side of the house and below that right pop-out of the house.

Here is a better up-close photo of the main body paint with the darker trim. It’s not a significant change in color but just enough of a contrast that we are looking for with the exterior.

Here is the view looking in when you walk through our main front door. Immediately to the right will be a cozy reading den with a sofa and oversized chair, books, etc.
It’s kind of hard to see, but in this photo you can see the two skylights. One is closed and one is open here… I cannot wait for this! It really lights up this side of the house. The blinds are on a remote.
The fireplace area is our main living room with a big sectional and double-seater leather sofa seat. That full-lite glass door you see will take you out to the view side of the house with another large concrete slab.
That big entry is the girls’ side of the house and guest room. The girls have a nice jack-and-jill bathroom to share. I have zero regrets incorporating a hallway here. I really envisioned that space and seeing it come to life is just amazing. I have a big linen closet at the end which will be nice.
Around the left side is our kitchen and dining room area. My kitchen has four zones which I’ll walk through in a future blog post!