This.
This is the first question everyone will ask you when you announce that you're building a house.
For us, the answer for a long time was uncertain, and involved a lot of waiting. From the period of time that we decided to build a house until we actually dug a hole in the ground was exactly 564 days.
A LOT happened in those 564 days. Funny thing is that it was President's Day 2020 when we made the decision to build and little did we know that the President's would play a role in our building process. However, they weren't the only ones, and so, let's start at the very beginning...I've heard it's a very good place to start :)
Allow me to introduce you to the cast of characters that got us there!
First, for those of you who may not know us well, meet our little family of four.
Mike and I have been together for almost 20 years, our oldest, Michael Samuel joined the party in 2013 followed by our sweet Elizabeth Noel in 2016. Apparently the only thing missing is the future dog that the kids remind us about on a daily basis! Also, pictured in the background the famous West Lawn at Thomas Jefferson's Montecello in Virginia from our July 2021 visit - she was the leading lady in our design process and the primary inspiration for many aspects of our new home!
Onto one of the biggest questions we get asked - "Who is your builder?" Meet Sam!
Sam Farruggia, Owner of Trinacria, LLC. Out of the sea of "No's,' Sam's "Yes" to our project was both the first step in the process and the vote of confidence I needed to put our plans to paper! We met Sam early on and he got the vision immediately, more than that his support of that vision was beyond what we could have expected. Nearly 3 years later, it doesn't surprise me though. Sam is Sicilian, for the record, that is not Italian - I have been schooled, and he is a first generation American. His 80-year old father Vincenze still works with him pouring concrete and helped to instill a work hard, do it right and get it done work ethic that led him to create Trinacria and go out on his own. The "trinacria" is the emblem on the Sicilian flag, an homage to his family and history. The difference though, is that Sam doesn't just get the work done, he totally got the vision from the outset and general contracted the entire project that way. More importantly, we built during covid - AHH! - and he was by our side every single day doing his best to alleviate delays and manage through the inevitable issues that came our way as the entire world was rocked by cost increases, product delays and deteriorating labor base. We truly would not have this home without him!
Most importantly, meet Mom and Dad!
They opened their home to us in June of 2020 after my grandmother passed away and housed our entire family of four for 2 years while we planned and built our dream home. They rode the waves of highs and lows as they inevitably come during the construction process and gave us the support we all needed along the way. We wouldn't be here at all without their hospitality, support and unconditional love!
This is our primary crew, with many cameos along the way! Every one of these people, along with the divine intervention from several answered prayers, got us through those 564 days. Stay tuned for the next post "Designing Home - Adventures in Architecture."
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