The Build Journal

Introduction: The “Fresh Paint” Feeling There is nothing quite like the smell of fresh primer to make a construction site feel like a home. This week, the painting crew arrived to get to work on our interior—and let me tell you, when you’re dealing with 18-foot ceilings, you are so incredibly glad you hired the…

Introduction: The Transformation If framing is the skeleton and drywall is the skin, then siding is the dress—and I have been waiting for this “outfit change” for months. We have officially moved past the look of industrial framing, and the exterior of our forever home is finally taking its true form. For weeks, we’ve been…

Introduction: The Transformation The day has finally arrived! If you’ve been following along, you know we’ve spent weeks looking at exposed studs and hanging wires. But this week? The house officially became a home. Seeing the crew unload the drywall was almost as impressive as the installation itself—I held my breath as a crane operator…

Introduction: The Transformation There is a striking shift happening at the site this week. With the black metal roof and soffit fully installed, the house has a sharp, modern-meets-traditional contrast that I absolutely love—especially against the bright blue skies on a sunny day. But as much as I love the exterior, this week was really…

Introduction: The Transformation There is a moment in every home build where the structure finally stops looking like a “construction site” and starts looking like an actual house. For us, that moment happened this week when the crew started the roofing. Watching them carry those long, gleaming panels of black metal up the ladders and…

The Waiting Game Building a custom house gives you a front-row seat to the magic, but it also means experiencing the challenges of a construction schedule. We use a builder portal through The Barndo Co. to track our scope of work, which is fantastic for transparency—but it can be frustrating to know exactly what the…

Introduction: The Best Seat in the House Building a custom home is usually a process of email updates and site visits, but we have the unique advantage of living right next door in our tiny home. Every morning, I can step out with my coffee and watch the work unfold. While the light fixtures and…

The Roofline & The View With the framing finished and the roof sheathed in plywood, our house finally feels like a structure. Next up was the metal roofing! We chose a crisp, classic black metal roof, and I honestly can’t wait to see the contrast against the exterior. It’s going to give the house such…

The Transformation There is a specific kind of magic that happens on a building site. One day, you’re staring at a flat slab of concrete, and the next, your home is literally rising out of the ground! Once our concrete foundation finally finished its curing process, the real excitement began. The trucks rolled in with…

For years, we’ve been tucked away in our tiny home, dreaming and planning for the day we’d finally break ground on a more permanent space right here on our land. We’ve poured over house plans, saving bits and pieces of designs that caught our eye, knowing all the while we wanted to build something that…