Hi Friends,  I can’t believe we are officially into the month of December.  TIME IS FLYING!  Maybe it’s because we have a new baby and things are extra busy or that we are headed out of town in a couple weeks and I have to get as much done before we leave for vacation.  We’ve never taken a vacation before Christmas so we are all just extra excited to do a big family trip together.  Hoping all travel will be safe and that we can enjoy some time away all together.  Truly, there is no better gift I can think of than a huge family tropical vacation.  Right?!

I wanted to share some updated photos of the Arched Chalet before we head out of town!  We were just there after Thanksgiving trying to get some more things set up.  We plan to go back after Christmas and spend time there while the kids have the week off.  We are definitely taking a little extra time off this month to just relax and enjoy all our hard work.

Final Major Projects as we end 2021:

I also want to just mention because it’s crazy what a difference a year can make.  We started actively searching for properties on the morning of January 1, 2021 as we sipped coffee we called a few realtors regarding properties in Vermont.  Ironically we were staying in New Hampshire at an adorable Air B and B.  At that point we stayed at so many Air B and B’s we finally felt it was time we invested in our own place.  I can’t believe one year later we will wake up in our own little winter getaway.  It’s amazing how the universe works when things are just meant to be timing wise (PS I also found out two weeks later I was pregnant, and some things that are meant to be are also not in the plans either!)

The last few construction items will happen this month (WE HOPE and have been told by our new carpenter).  Our first level is set to finish with ceiling repair, some wall repair and new floors.  As you can see the first level is still basically in construction mode.  This view looking through the hallway is where the washer/dryer stack and new water heater live in those screen doors on the right.  We plan to use this room as a mudroom, for all the ski/snowboard gear, winter coats etc… it will actually be so nice to dump all that stuff here before heading up to the main living areas of the home.  However it is currently full of boxes and trash!  Whoops.  I can’t wait to get all of this cleaned up and furnished.   Thankfully most of it has been painted and all the baseboard heaters have been updated and replaced!

This room above will be a family/tv room.  We ordered a tv for the left wall and a sofa for the right wall.  I’ll also layer in a cozy rug and coffee table.  I imagine lots of board games and movies will get watched in here by the rustic warm stove and my goal  is to make it very cozy!

The sofa we ordered on Black Friday:

Upstairs Bathroom:

I’m excited because we just ordered tile from Bedrosian, we went with the black Makoto tile. With the chalet I’m keeping things light and bright but with some pops of contrast and moodiness like the fireplace for example.  I wanted this primary 3rd floor bathroom to have that same dramatic contrast and pop with the really dramatic arched ceilings.  The Makoto tile has these subtle gradations of gray and I think that will add such interest vs. just a solid dark black.  Instead of doing a chevron pattern which would be a little busy, I’ll do a vertical stack.  A vertical stack will accentuate the dramatic height and bring your eye up to the beams.

Vertical Stack:

Livingroom Update:

Here are some updated views of the living room which let’s face it, is the show stopper of the chalet.  Those giant arched ceilings just give such a wow moment, add the giant windows, mountain views and you never want to leave this room, trust me.  The missing piece is the roaring fire place, which we are set to have finished just before Christmas.  We are having it converted back to a wood burning fire place.  One of Ben’s all time favorite things is making a beautiful fire in the winter.  He is a cold weather guy, through and through.  His birthday is January 14th so as a winter baby it only makes sense he would love all things about winter.   So with all the chimneys and fireplaces cleaned, repaired, etc… we want them to be working properly for guests and our friends/ family to enjoy with extreme safety and caution.  We plan to have a thorough guide on using these features.  But we feel like going to Florida and renting a house with out a pool is like going to Vermont and renting a house with out a fireplace, they just go hand and hand.  Plus add that extra specialness.

I can’t wait to show you how the fireplace once it has been transformed and the project is complete.  I’ve ordered these two really pretty fire place accessories.

Fireplace Tools

Screen

Thank you all so much for reading this post and following along on our family adventures/ home renovations!  Fixing up this Chalet has been so exciting and we love sharing it with you.   We can’t wait to eventually share it with you in person too, if you ever want to visit Vermont.  Stay tuned for more updates!

Have a happy holiday season as well,

Jordan