There are going to be a lot of folks to comment on so I think I'll break the posts up a bit and do a few at a time and reply in between others' posts. I tend to be wordy.
First of all my own entry. It was difficult for me to keep the color scheme and even more difficult to stay within budget. This house really needed a bottomless budget to be done to my personal satisfaction. There were so many things I had to leave undone. I plan on going back into the house and finishing it now that I won't be constrained by budget. lol
While I love black and red as a color scheme, it is not what I see for this house. I see it more pastels and soft woods and maybe a bit of marble. The guest bedroom is more along the lines of what I'd want to see in the house. A bit brighter and more like some grand old victorians I've met and loved. Yes, I know victorians often were dark woods and lots of red but others had a much lighter feel to them and that is what I wanted.
May favorite two rooms were the bedroom and nursery, especially the nursery. I was really pleased with how sweet the red, black and white looked there. Bright, colorful and very child welcoming.
The hardest rooms for me to do were the dining room and living room. I agonized over the living room doing it over and over and I'm still not totally happy with it, partly because of having to keep the budget down. The "gym" was an after thought based on "what on earth can I do with this with very little money left?". I wanted there to be a hot tub in there but alas, not enough cash.
@Tom: I absolutely love the way you made the house so very different with the use of brick walls, different window styles and very modern pieces. The fireplaces were perfection!
I won't even comment on the superb landscaping because we all know you are the master when it comes to landscape. Anything I know and do with landscape I learned from you early on and still thank you for all you taught me.
I wish we had more close ups of the rooms because I feel there would be even more things I would fall in love with. Guess I'll just have to download and see for myself! Meanwhile, I love, love, love the bedroom! It feels "comfy", and yet very modern.
One thing that I did not care for was the pool in both the color, (although it goes perfectly with the house and grounds), and where it is right next the graveyard. I think I'd always be looking over my shoulder to see if the residents ghosts were watching me swim. I can't think of a different color I'd chose for the pool though. It really is appropriate, just not my personal fave.
However, what you did with the graveyard was perfect! I love the way you made it neat and tidy and a nice place to walk through and maybe have a chat with the family ancestors. It made it cheerful and homey yet kept the aura of respect and peaceful rest.
Looking at it more closely I have to say the downstairs area is brilliant. It has a nice flow to it and a great family feel. I think the newlyweds, if they become newlyweds, would be very happy in this house.
Ok, enough for now. Next up will be intl_incident who, in my opinion, had one of the most unique takes on the entire project!
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