Our new vacation home is finished, lots of pics and tips

[linne]

As some of you know, we started to build a new vacation home last year, and I have told about the building process here:

http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... =boennerup

And here is a topic, where you can see the old cottage being removed

http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... ight=linne

and a little story about what was happening during the process

http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... ight=linne



The house is now nearly finished, and some of you might like to see pictures.

First I can tell that we are very happy for the house. Many of the ideas and wishes we have had, has been fulfilled, and we feel that we have been rewarded for all the time, we have used at the project, and all the work we have done for more than a year. If we were going to start from a beginning to day, we only would change a few things.

There are several details in the house, which isn’t very common in Danish houses, and which have given inspiration to people, who has seen it. I’m not sure what’s common in USA, but I will give some tips, which perhaps or perhaps not, can be an inspiration for you too (and I have to admit - it’s also because I’m a little proud of the house and like to show, what we have created ).


THE BACKGROUND:

When we were young, we liked to go camping, and one of our favourite places was a camping ground near a nice beach and a little fisher town, Boennerup. In 1972 we accidentally met a couple, who wanted to sell their plot in Boennerup. They had begun to build a cottage on the plot, but the woman got pregnant with number 3 child, and now they wanted to buy a house in their hometown instead. We felt in love with the place, had a meeting with them, but even though the price wasn’t high, it was higher, than we could afford. But a couple of month later they phoned us, they couldn’t wait for a buyer any longer and would now accept the price, we offered. We were happy and accepted, even though I had become pregnant too. We didn’t have much money, hubby had just finished his education and was doing his military service, but we got a loan in the bank, where I worked. So in this way we became owners of wonderful plot with a little unfinished cottage without water or electricity and with an earth closet in a corner of the plot. We finished the cottage, and our son was only 2 weeks, when we brought him there in a weekend for the first time. But with a little baby we needed both water and electricity in the house. Friends helped us with the work and during the next year hubby built a little cottage more with a sleeping room and a bathroom. Totally we had about 35 square meters (114 feets), it was perhaps the smallest house in the area, but we loved the place and enjoyed our little vacation home. For about 10 years ago we modernized it with a better kitchen etc., but didn’t change the size.

Here the old house:

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/szh ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/SuYBR ... 1.JPG"></a>


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/yfB ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/TE8e3 ... 6.JPG"></a>


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/L0P ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/TE8e1 ... 5.JPG"></a>


If we had guests staying overnight, they had to sleep in our son’s old playhouse, which we have put two plank beds into:


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/0ye ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1l ... 8.JPG"></a>


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/zYQ ... site"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy14 ... 7.JPG"></a>


But we are being older, and we have got grandchildren, so for some years we talked about building a bigger house, not only for our own enjoyment but also a place, which could be to delight of our son and grandchildren in the future. Last year we finally decided to start. We are not thinking of moving to the place, but perhaps we will change our mind, when hubby stop working, so we wanted a house suitable for use throughout the year. We also wanted a low energy house without much upkeep, a house with a lot of light in, easy to clean and keep clean and with the best view from the main rooms. We had several proposals from architects in construction firms, but none of them managed to come with a sketch for the house, which fulfilled our wishes 100%. At last we decided to make a sketch ourselves, it took a long time, and we had many discussions, but we succeeded in finding the right place and size for the different rooms. We showed the plan to the architect from the construction firm, we have decided to use, and he only made very small changes, before he could send the final sketch to the authorities.

The next discussion was, if we should remove the old house with all the good memories we had from there, or we should keep it as a guestroom. A difficult decision but the old house were placed with the best view, so we ended up removing the oldest part and keeping the part with the sleeping room and the bathroom. We can keep our furniture etc .in this part or use it as an extra sleeping room. Also we like that we are able to use a bathroom directly from the terrace - we are not forced to go through the house for a bathroom visit.

So in June 2009 our cottage was looking so:


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/lKz ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/SjK0l ... 4.JPG"></a>


and in many weekends from June 2009 to April 2010 we lived in the sleeping room with bunk beds:


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/8vI ... site"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1d ... 3.JPG"></a>



<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/KuB ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1f ... 4.JPG"></a>


(at that time it was filled with a lot of stuff from the old house, so there was not much space)



and we had to go outside to use the bathroom:

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/Eap ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1g ... 5.JPG"></a>


and the food was made in the old kitchen, which we had placed in the tool shed:


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/j9t ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/SjK0i ... 7.JPG"></a>

(no water in the tap- we had a big plastic can with water)


I have to tell that it was a real challenge. The winter was long with a lot of snow and very cold. So sometimes I had to wear gloves, when I made the food, and sometimes the water was frozen. Other times we had to get help to have the car pushed up to the plot, because it was very slippery for some month, the municipality didn’t remove snow on the small roads. But we think it was funny to try the simple life and were amused by, how we lived in Boennerup, although we had a comfortable house at home.




So it’s a very, very big change to have this house now:

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/ShX ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1o ... 1.JPG"></a>


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/B5L ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1j ... 7.JPG"></a>



<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/6Dj ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/TJZzA ... 6.JPG"></a>



Here we are going to have a place where our grandchildren can play football:

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/lEH ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1n ... 9.JPG"></a>



<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/hpL ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/TJZy- ... 5.JPG"></a>



All the surplus soil from the building activity we have spread over the plot. That meant that we could level the plot, and we could cover many of the old roots from trees, we had removed, and which we often stumbled over. But it wasn’t very pleasant to look at soil, when we were used to look at a green area. So we removed a lot of small stones all over and sowed grass and wild flowers.
In August we had this sight from the terrace:


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/YiH ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THOmv ... 4.JPG"></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/2KX ... site"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THOmx ... 8.JPG"></a>


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/dYt ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THOmz ... 3.JPG"></a>


and one morning we had this guest:


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/5JX ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/TIYIG ... 3.JPG"></a>



FACTS ABOUT THE HOUSE

Size: 142 Square meters (1528 feet) + the old buildings

Rooms: a small entrance, a utility room combined with a little storage room, a kitchen/dining room in open connection with a living room, a master bedroom and a bathroom, 2 guestrooms and a bathroom. To each bathroom section there is a corridor with built-in closets.

Full bricked

Heating: geothermal heat , 300 m pipes (984 feets) are dug into the ground. Also we have an air distribution system, which replace the air and heat up the air from outside with the air from inside

Roof: roofing felt (cannot find a better word, no it isn’t common in USA)

Gutters, down pipes etc.: Zinc

Insulating: Insulated in the floor, walls and roof as a low energy house, and when the house was finished a “blower door test” was made to control that everything was as claimed.

Windows: 2 coats of low energy glass. Aluminium outside and painted wood inside.

Terrace tiles: 4 cm (0.13 feet) thick granite and the sand in the joint should prevent weeds.


So as you see, we have nothing outside, which need painting or other sorts of upkeep.


Inside:

Heated floors overall except from the storage room

Central vacuum

The ceilings are some special ones, which give a good acoustics in the house, and the doors are solid, which also prevent noise

We have the same tiles overall, and we have none doorsteps, strips around the floors or architraves around the doors (we like wood on the floor, but it’s more difficult to keep nice)

No curtains, but Venetian blinds in some rooms

Protection against burglars: We have an alarm inside and outside, which phone us too, the windows
are nearly unpick able, we have only one entrance door and 2 terrazzo doors, and all 3 of them we can lock, so if you don’t have a key, you cannot open them from inside. But we know, it will always be possible to break in. We only can try to do it more difficult to rob the house.





Here a lot of pics and tips:


THE TERRACE

We have tiles all around the house, and covered terraces in each side of the house (we call it our morning terrace and our evening terrace, because we move after the sun). In each terrace we have a very solid granite table. The tabletop is divided, so we are able to take the single parts away. In this way one strong man is able to move the table from one terrace to another, if we want to put the two tables together, in case we have many guests.

Some of the chairs are so called relax chairs. When they are folded they don’t take a lot of space. Other chairs are very light chairs, we use them both inside and outside, and when they are stacked, they don’t take much space either. It doesn’t harm the table to stand out the whole year, but we will keep the chairs inside in the wintertime.


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/ggQ ... site"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1w ... 7.JPG"></a>


THE FURNISHING

Concerning the furnishing we try to give the house some “soul”. Everything in the house is new and modern and seems a little impersonal. So we have used many things from the old house and old things from our parent’s and grandparent’s homes. We also have used many homemade furniture and decorations.



THE ENTRANCE, THE UTILITY ROOM AND THE STORAGE ROOM

We only have a small entrance, because we want to use the square meters in other rooms. The first you see is an old harrow with hangers on, which are for guests. The harrow we have got many years ago from some family, who had a farm.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/rg9 ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1Z ... 8.JPG"></a>

.
From the entrance you look directly into the utility room. We wanted very open rooms, but the entrance to the utility room is made, so it’s very easy to put a door in, if we perhaps regret.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/N6p ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1Y ... 7.JPG"></a>


The sliding doors hide all the technique, which is needed for the geothermal heating system etc..
As the only room in the house we have a flat ceiling here, and we pursued the builders to place parts of the central vacuum and the air distribution system at the ceiling room. In this way it was possible also to have room here for a wardrobe and a room, where we could place the cool bags, we always bring with us from home

As you see there are really many pipes and tubes:

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/udR ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1U ... 4.JPG"></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/Ql6 ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1W ... 5.JPG"></a>


but we are glad that we got space for this too:

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/uRb ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1X ... 6.JPG"></a>



The ironing board is built into a drawer. The sink is made of silgranite like the one, we have at home, and which is just the best, I have tried. Easy to keep clean, and you can place a hot pan on it without problems. The tap is the same material, it’s a new type, and it’s so great.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/as5 ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1T ... 3.JPG"></a>


I also enjoy my storage room. It isn’t very big, but we have filled it with shelves and drawers, and we can keep incredibly much in it.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/wjb ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1S ... 2.JPG"></a>


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/j5- ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1R ... 1.JPG"></a>


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/R2f ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1Q ... 0.JPG"></a>



When you go from the entrance into the kitchen you see this wall. It’s the backside of the bricks in the sitting room, but we like it and have decided not to paint it. The mirror and the lamp are from hubby’s grandparents home.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/Yq7 ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy1b ... 9.JPG"></a>



THE KITCHEN

Because of all the stone in the house we wanted a kitchen made of wood. We also wanted a kitchen without visible handles and drawers instead of cupboards. It was not easy to find the right one, the drawers should be easy to open, which can be a problem with many of the handle less kitchens we have seen. But at last we succeeded finding the right one.

The kitchen island is on wheels, so we are able to move it, if we have many guests for dining.


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/wiM ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/TI9Zr ... 9.JPG"></a>



<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/dDT ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/TJZ8M ... 9.JPG"></a>


Finding the best worktop to the house was another challenge, but the one we ended up with is just the best. It’s jet burned mat Kashmir White granite, which have had a special treatment to avoid spots. It’s a new product, and I have never seen it in any places, just a small sample from the kitchen firm. But it’s so great in use, no problems at all and nothing to polish.

Both the sink and the tap are similar those in the utility room, and it’s very easy to clean pots and pans and the sink it selves, because you can draw a part of the tap out. The sink we have had glued. The one at home is plane glued, but I must say that after having tried both variants, I prefer the glued one. The small tap is a quooker (with boiling water). I haven’t tried such one before, but it’s very practical. I use it for vegetables, cleaning a pan, making tea or coffee etc. We don’t have a coffee machine, we just make the coffee directly into a vacuum jug. It’s faster to make coffee in this way, we can take the jug with us outside, and the machine doesn’t take place on the table.


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/uF0 ... site"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/TIVIi ... 0.JPG"></a>

The electric stove is induction. We have induction at home too, and I like it. I like that it react nearly as gas, but there is no open fire, I like that if I put a pan on, but switch on at the wrong place nothing happens, - only a beep (I have to confess that I sometimes are a little confused/ absent-minded and more than one time have switched on in the wrong place). Because I know how absent-minded I can bee, I normally always use to set time on. On the stove I have at home, I only can set time on two places, but here I can set time on all four. The pan doesn’t need to stand on a certain place, it’s enough that it touches one of the four marks on the stove. The stove has a long row of other possibilities, I haven’t learned everything yet, and I also have to say that I sometimes prefer the more simple at home. It can be a little complicated.

Another wish from me was that the range hood should be hidden. That meant that we needed to have some wall cupboards, but it’s fine enough, give space to some stuff.


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/7up ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy09 ... 9.JPG"></a>


Normally we place the garbage pail beneath the sink, but I wanted it besides the sink. When the pail is nearly in the same height as the table, it’s much easier to put garbage into it from the table, or when I for example peel potatoes or apples, I do it directly in the pail The drawer with the garbage pail has another advantage- you can open it just with a push, so if you have both hands filled with garbage you just use your knee or your hip to push and it opens.

At home we have two pails, one for “green” garbage and one for the rest (not glass or bottles), but in Boennerup the garbage isn’t sorted out. You can see three other pails in the drawer, but they content cleansers, garbage bags etc.


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/ClH ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy01 ... 9.JPG"></a>


The drawers are with soft close, and you can pull them completely out. Some of then are wider than those, I have at home, and I’m so surprised how much more a wide drawer can contain than two drawers, which take the same place

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/I53 ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy0v ... 4.JPG"></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/pWA ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy0x ... 6.JPG"></a>


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/wW_ ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy0z ... 7.JPG"></a>


I also have drawers beneath the sink instead of a cupboard (we have had the water pipes put into the wall to give space), and we have 4 pedestal drawers for things I don’t use very often.


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/fEY ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy00 ... 8.JPG"></a>


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/Tkv ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/THy06 ... 6.JPG"></a>

So even though the kitchen seems small, it contains, what we need.

Concerning the freezer, the fridge and the oven we have had it built into walls with the same stones as outside - thought that it could look nice, and we haven’t seen it in other kitchens.

Both the freezer and the fridge have a special surface, which is much easier to keep clean than brushed steel as on our dishwasher (we often put the same front on the dishwasher as in the kitchen, but hubby denied- he doesn’t like, when you cannot see, where to find the dishwasher).

From the freezer you can get ice cubes and from the fridge you get cold water and can choose with or without fizz. (In USA it must be common with ice cubes from the freezer. We can buy a combined fridge and freezer with ice cubes, and in DK it’s called an American cabinet.)

We have two ovens. A small kombi oven with microwave and a common oven with Pyrolysis.

The different sorts of things you can see on the top of the stone arrangement are all old things from our parents home.

You also see a tray table with wheels. I use it, if I’m going to use many things from the fridge, or to place the stuff we need, if we are dining outside or in the living room.


<a href="http://picasaweb.google.dk/lh/photo/t-m ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_4aSBK_jB-gs/TJZy_ ... 7.JPG"></a>


We like our kitchen and the utility room, but sometimes it’s nearly too much with all this modern white goods. When the washing machine or the dryer are finished you hear a BEEP, if the door to the fridge or the freezer stand open too long you have a BEEP, when the dishwasher is finished BEEP, if something on the stove is finished or you have placed a pan on it without having switched on another BEEP, when the oven is finished BEEP. Sometimes it makes me confused with all that BEEPen. Last weekend when I heard a BEEP I took the eggs out from the egg boiler, but found out later that it was the oven, which told that the bread was finished.

Okay, this story is already being too long, and I have not yet showed the rest of the house.
My excuse is that I like to tell, and as usual I hope that my English will be improved by using it.

But as I said in the beginning, I don’t know what’s is common in an American house. Perhaps you think that it’s silly of me to believe that I can give you any tips. But then I hope that you perhaps- like myself - find it interesting to see, how other people build and live.

We still miss a few things in the house, before it’s quite finished, and I will tell about the other rooms later.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Linne

[silverheels]

Linne,
I have been waiting to see this for a long time. It's beautiful and so utilitarian. You've made good use of space. That's one big refrigerator! You have all the conveniences that you will ever need.
Congratulations to you and your husband. Thanks for going "green".
The flowers outside were gorgeous. I love wild flowers.

[Tracy in WI]

Thank you Linne! It is very interesting to see your new home and to learn how it came to be. I look forward to hearing about the rest!

[sailorgirl]

Congratulations on your new house. I wish you many happy times with your family!

[mbw1024]

wow what a transformation! I love it. Love the kitchen and how organized it is. oh how I dream for that in my own home! what a wonderful place for your family, enjoy!

[Cid]

I too like to see how other people live in different parts of the world. I've never seen a Quooker before. That's awesome. I think you would be able to make a lot of money by bringing that to the US. Nice job on the house. Your patience has paid off and now you have a beautiful home.

[lprof]

What joy to have this wonderful house completed! I am continuing to read and look at all the aspects; thank you for sharing the details.

When I sent this link to my son, an architectural historian, he responded... "Her house is very hygge!" After learning the meaning of hygge, I agree.

Looking forward to the next tour....

[PA Girl]

Linne - I am looking forward to showing this lastest post to my husband. He enjoyed the prior posts.

The drawer storage for plates and glasses is brillant. That method is not seen in the US.

My parents had quookers in all their houses and it was used frequently. (My father is German)

[mindehankins]

So beautiful, Linne! Thank you for taking the time to make such a complete story about your new home. I learned alot, too! Can't wait to see more.

[greyhoundmom]

Linne, your house is amazing! I love the clean lines and the pull out kitchen drawers. I especially love the counter tops. The green plant in your kitchen window looks a lot like the Donkey Diner plant that Margo and I have! Can't wait to see more "house"

[Nancie-Pa]

Very nice Linne! So efficient and tidy...you could live on a boat easily, where everything has a place and every inch is utilized. I love it! And apparently so do the deer and butterfly. Can't wait to see more!

[Xislandgirl]

I love your house!!!
It seems so well organized and very minimal, which I love.
Can no wait to see more pics!

[California Girl]

Linne, I LOVE your house! I've really enjoyed watching its progress from the very beginning. I love that it's so energy-efficient, and I'm amazed by the amount of storage space! I think one of the best parts is the heated floors!

... and the wildflowers!!!!

Can't wait to see the rest! You're giving me a lot of ideas!

[waterguy]

Great house Linne. I see alot of wine on those shelfs. If you need help drinking it before it goes bad let me know. It is about 1300 Sq ft as there is over 9 Sq ft in a Sq meter.

[Coden]

Linne - your new vacation home is truly amazing and I want to thank you for sharing the building, and the completion, of it with us. It is beautiful, and I wish you and your family many happy times spent in it.