#7: A Week of Selections: Bringing Timber Oaks Into Focus

The week of April 20, 2026 brought Angie back to Lancaster, and this visit was all about choices—big ones, small ones, and the many in between. Some people call this phase tedious, but honestly, it felt exciting. Every decision brought our Timber Oaks home into clearer view.

Over several days, we moved from showroom to showroom, meeting with designers, comparing samples, and learning just how many details go into building a home from the ground up. Cabinetry, fixtures, countertops, stone, tile—each stop added another layer of personality and intention to the house we’re creating.

One of the surprises of the week was realizing just how much time cabinetry demands. We found ourselves in multiple sessions with the designer—each of us catching details we’d missed the first time. In between visits we’d also finalized our granite choices, so having samples on hand to compare against the cabinetry was invaluable. It was a good reminder that thoughtful design takes time and patience—and that having the right people guiding us makes all the difference!

Our most memorable outing was the trip to Rolling Rock Stone in Boyertown. The drive led us through a beautiful stretch of Pennsylvania countryside, and the stone yard itself sits on the very hill where the material is mined. There’s something grounding about choosing stone that comes directly from the land beneath your feet.

Crystal Lake Stone Veneer for the outside of the house.

Crystal Lake for the interior.

Here’s where we landed with our selections so far:

Cabinetry: Red Rose Cabinetry, Lititz. Working with Pam Baker, we chose natural cherry for the kitchen, dining room hutch, and entertainment center—warm, timeless, and true to the character of Timber Oaks. The pantry will bring in a soft Fern finish, and the bathrooms and mudroom will feature clean Glacier White cabinetry with wrought‑iron hardware.

Natural Cherry for the kitchen, hutch, entertainment center, granite white for the bathrooms, green for the pantry. You can see our granite selections in the background: Lennon and Steel Gray.

Bath & Kitchen Fixtures: Thomas Somerville Bath and Kitchen, Lancaster. With Beth Stover’s help, we selected a mix of sinks and faucets that balance function and style. We’ll be providing our own toilets and swapping out a vanity we had originally planned for Bath 3.

Kind of a regular kitchen sink faucet.

The toilet paper holder (top, center) doubles as a grab bar.

Granite Countertops: Keystone Granite, Lancaster. Jeff Cevat Sezer guided us through the slabs, and we chose:

• Lennon granite for the kitchen and dining hutch

• Steel Gray granite for the mudroom, pantry, and all bathrooms

Both options feel durable, elegant, and perfectly suited to the natural materials throughout the house.

Beautiful (John) Lennon granite.

Stone Veneer and Exterior Granite: Rolling Rock, Boyertown. From a hillside quarry, we selected:

• Crystal Lake for the front entry and fireplace

• Graphite Granite for the fireplace apron, the exterior walkway and front porch

These choices will give the exterior a grounded, organic presence—exactly what we hoped for. Crystal Lake veneer feels especially meaningful, echoing the mica‑laced schist woven through the land at Timber Oaks.

Tile: Wall-to-Wall Floor Covering, Strasburg. With Brittney Shrom’s help, we finalized a beautiful soapstone-like tile combination of gray and white porcelain tile featuring a unique band of smaller tiles for Suite 1 and Suite 2 bathrooms. Bath 3 will have a lovely white tile with a tiny bit of color and texture. The only remaining decision is the grout color for the tile “carpet” in the kitchen that we are ordering a custom design from Villa Lagoon.

The bathrooms will have a mix of dark and light "soapstone."

Lighting: Yale Lighting Concepts, Lancaster. Lighting showrooms are surprisingly scarce in Lancaster, so we’ll be making our selections online over the next few weeks, working with Kim Musser.

This trip was full, productive, and energizing. Each choice—whether a cabinet finish or a piece of stone—felt like another step toward shaping a home that reflects our values, our style, and the story we’re building at Timber Oaks. Along the way, we’ve come to appreciate just how essential our skilled partners are in helping us bring this vision to life.