Ta Da! (Upstairs)

And now the tour moves upstairs...

The banister as we climb the stairs and reach the 2nd floor landing which all rooms rotate off

The Master Bedroom

The Master Bedroom tray ceiling

Erin's Closet (you walk through the master closets with mine on your left and Chris's on your right as you pass from the Master Bedroom to the Master Bathroom)

Chris's Closet (no, it doesn't just look smaller than mine in pictures)

The Master Bathroom vanity

The Master Bathroom walk-in doorless shower (tiles are made from recycled light bulbs)

Main/Kids Bathroom

Main/Kids Bathroom (sinks are separated from toilet shower area by a pocket door)

Natalie's Room

Dot's Room

Guest Room

Laundry Room washer, dryer, and LaundryPure (mounted on the wall behind the washer)

Laundry Room utility sink, under-counter hamper area, and clothes hanging bar

Thanks for coming on our tour. Now come see the real thing in person! The VHBA Parade of Homes goes through Sunday, August 22. And family and friends - come try our guest room!

Ta Da! (Downstairs)

As of Friday, August 13th the Trend Home construction was complete!

VHBA and WBA held a ribbon cutting ceremony to unveil the house to VIPs before the Parade of Homes began on Saturday. I snuck in a couple of days before to get these almost-done pictures. (Don't mind the couple of pieces of painters tape here and there - those are gone now and the house looks wonderful! Also, please don't mind that the pictures aren't the greatest. I was wrangling Natalie and Chris is our family's photographer. Bug him for some better ones!)

"Walk" with me on a virtual tour of the 2010 Wisconsin Trend Home!

The Front Exterior

The Game Room (inside the front door to your left, on the floor plan as a formal dining room but we'll use it as a den/family game room)

The Butler's Pantry (in a pass-through between the Game Room and Kitchen, to cut down on the time between your next glass of wine and your next hand of cards)

The Desk (opposite the Butler's Pantry in the pass-through)

The Kitchen

The Dinette and looking into the Living Room (the kitchen, dinette, and living room are all one Great Room)

The Living Room

Powder Room (in a hallway off the Living Room)

The Mudroom (the door leads into the garage which alone is bigger than our whole condo in DC)

Upstairs pics to come shortly...

No More Detergent?

Last Friday we learned of yet another neat green feature in our house. On top of cool things like solar panels, geothermal heating and cooling, a hot water recovery stack, on-demand water heating, 2" foundation foam, tiles made out of recycled light bulbs, and others, we have a LaundryPure laundry system.

LaundryPure is a small gadget that mounts to the wall behind almost any regular washing machine and eliminates the need for detergent, fabric softeners, bleach, and hot water. Cold water goes to the LaundryPure first and UV light bulbs oxidize it eliminating the need for detergent. Oxygen and peroxides lift dirt and odors away from clothes. Clothes are supposed to become softer, fluffier, and last longer.

More info and a demonstration can be seen here.

I have to admit I'm a bit skeptical but hopeful. I'll post again after I've used it!

The Home Stretch

A lot has happened in the past 3 weeks. The Trend Home will be unveiled August 13th in the VHBA Summer Parade of Homes. It's looking phenomenal and we couldn't be more excited to get in and start pushing buttons!

Here's a sneak peak before the parade:

We have the power!

Solar power, that is. Jim & the crew from Energize LLC were at the house wiring & mounting the first solar panels. After these thirty 180 watt photovoltaic panels are connected they will have a significant impact on the home's energy cost - especially since the home is all-electric.

Driveway & Trim Finishing

Despite some torrential rains, the concrete folks were able to pour the driveway & front walk on Friday. Meanwhile, the painter was hard at work patching, sanding, priming & painting the trim.

Solar, Sinks, Newels, and Retaining Wall

The house is a-buzz with work today! There's all kinds of stuff going on.

There's a roof crew prepping the solar panel installation. They've installed several sets of rails to house the 30 panels that will soon be powering the house.

The newel posts (Who wanted to learn a new word today? That means posts at the bottom and tops of staircases.) have gone in.


All sinks and plumbing accessories (towel bars, toilet paper holders, etc.) are being installed.

Kitchen sink

Powder room sink downstairs

Main bath sinks upstairs

Master bath sink (there are 2 of these)

And the retaining wall in the backyard was done on Monday.

Next on the list - landscaping and staircase hand rails!

Geothermal Ground Loop

Yesterday the ground loop for the geothermal heating and cooling system was installed. The system will circulate water through 3 sets of tubing laid approximately 8' underground (below the frost barrier) and use this to heat and cool the home. Pretty cool - and green!

The giant hole in the backyard dug for the loop

The loop is comprised of three 1-ton coils




The dirt was replaced after installation was complete

Also installed recently was a heat-recovery stack designed to capture heat from hot water (think showers, dishwater, washing machine) going down the drain.

Our geothermal heat pump and auxilliary water heater.

Finish Carpentry, Fireplace, and Lighting

The house's finish carpentry is now nearly complete, most light fixtures are installed, and the fireplace stonework and mantle are done.

Stairway caps and skirt boards are installed

Fireplace and mantle

Master bedroom tray ceiling with molding installed

Master bath lighting

Powder room lighting (obviously only 1 of 2 fixtures)

Upstairs main bath lighting

Exterior lighting on garage