Moving went smoothly. Settling in was a bit more difficult. While the majority of the work was done, there were a lot of details to finish after we moved. For example, they were still finishing the wood floors the day we moved in, so that evening we went out to dinner and a movie to give the floors a chance to dry.
The biggest missing piece was the stair rails. This made it easier to move furniture and boxes up and down the stairs, but wasn't quite appropriate for a finished house. The next week was spent finishing the stair rails. Since then, there has been at least some work each weekday to finish up the remaining details. The remaining tasks are recorded in a punchlist, which is being checked off at a steady rate.
The first few days living here were exciting. Partly because this is a nicer house than any of the previous places we've lived. Mostly because we are finally living in this house that we designed ourselves and have watched every step of the way. Despite everything we've done, living here was still new. We knew the layout, the materials, the details, etc. It looked familiar and was designed around us, but living in it is still a different experience. We could really experience the advantages of the design, and appreciate the materials and construction techniques.
Reality set in fairly quickly, though. While all our stuff was within the premises of our house, we were a long way from "moved in". Unpacking was complicated by the fact that work was still being done on our house. Most of our shelving wasn't installed until a few days after we moved in, so we couldn't immediately unpack clothes. Paint touch-ups were still in-progress, so we were a bit cautious about blocking walls.
There were some bugs and obstructions to deal with initially. The master shower had a bug where the water was either fully hot or fully cold, with no temperature adjustment in-between. Our bathroom and dressing room held a pile of stair rails. The kitchen counter was mostly covered with construction paraphernalia.These particular issues have been resolved, but there are still some inconveniences. The largest one is that the garage is not ready to have a car in it. It is full of our boxes that need to be unpacked and construction equipment belonging to our builder. All of that needs to be cleared out and the floor painted before we can park our car in there. Having always had access to a garage, it has been difficult seeing our poor MINI sit outside in the cold and rain for weeks at a time. More practically, it has prevented us from putting proper winter tires on the car.
Some annoyances derive simply from adjusting to a new place. The mini-split heating system seems to be working well, but we're still learning the proper adjustments to keep the house comfortable. The kitchen is wonderful, but we are still learning how to use the stove, oven, dishwasher, etc. and figuring out the locations of all the kitchen implements.
There are plenty of details to enjoy, though. The master suite is excellent — the bedroom is quiet and cozy, the dressing room is functional (even without chairs and a side table yet), and the bathroom is just right for us. The kitchen is working well, and the induction stove is amazing to cook with. The media room is everything we hoped for. We've already been enjoying movies and video games, and hosted a few gatherings that took advantage of it.
As time passes, we're increasingly enjoying our house. Items are being crossed off the punchlist, bringing the construction closer to complete. Boxes are being unpacked, bringing the house closer to moved-in. And we are becoming more used to living here, bringing it closer to feeling like home.
Despite this big step in the process, we're not done blogging! There are still plenty of areas we have not yet written about; and even once those are covered, we'll be writing more posts about our experiences using the space.