A building update on our Virginia French Country inspired farmhouse – month 17.
This post may contain affiliate links. I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on the links but at no additional cost to you. Thank you for continuing to support JandLOnline!

Another month gone by and our home is still not complete. The start of April marked the end of month 17 of our custom home build — RECAP — I started our count from the date of our first draw from the construction loan because our builder explained that our build would take between 7-8 months from the start of permit application to move-in.
We started our build process in October, 2019 with hopes of being in our home the next summer but we started off 3 months behind when our well wasn’t drilled until the day after Christmas, 2019 and then COVID hit in the middle of our permitting process.

So here we are in April, 2021, hopefully just weeks away from ending this process. This past month, a lot of the little things have finally come together and the house is looking more and more like a home! Every time we visit, we see new things installed.
RUNNING INTO ISSUES
A few issues we ran into this month were that our vanity lights were installed too low and our bathroom mirrors wouldn’t fit. Our contractor raised the two master bathroom vanity lights and Natalie’s vanity light — the others were okay. Also, I requested that they do something other than quarter round in front of the bathroom doors where the tile meets the hardwood because it does not look good and I really feel it looks like I just DIY’d my tile job.
I decided to cancel the additional window that we have been waiting many, many months for which was supposed to be next to the front door in front of the staircase. I’m really disappointed about this – I had told our builder that I wanted this window added before we even broke ground and we had him out there several times to count and re-count the windows before ordering to ensure we had all of them on the order. We requested that they order the windows in July, 2020 but he didn’t actually order them until September and they didn’t come in until December. When they came in, they “lost” one and damaged another. We finally received one of the two missing windows last month and the other has been coming “any day” for the last two months. At this point, I just want the house completed and I don’t want the window holding us up.
![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Here’s what happened in March, 2021:
- Closet shelves installed and painted
- Interior door knobs and stops installed
- Door hinges switched out to the oil rubbed bronze hinges we purchased
- Siding installed and painted (SW Oyster White)
- Plumbing fixtures went in
- Vanity light fixtures installed
- Mudroom lockers built, installed and painted
- Laundry room sink installed
- Toilets installed
- Exterior lights by the garage installed
- Kitchen countertops installed
- Front porch concrete poured
- All ceiling fans hung
- Custom hood vent built and delivered to the house
![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
SHOP THE POST:
Exterior Lights | Master Bathroom Light Fixture | Master Bathroom Vanity | Master Bathroom Faucet |
Master Bathroom Shower Handle | Master Bathroom Shower head | Rachel’s Bath/Shower Fixtures
Hop on over and watch our monthly building update video on YouTube. Don’t forget to follow along for updates on IG @HouseManorVA and be blessed in your every day!

Sharing is caring!
![]() | ![]() |