The scale model of the Hazelnut Inn is finally fully painted. Looking it over, it is easy to imagine how the project will look when complete. The inn's warm and cool colours will play against each other beautifully. The two taller buildings are separated beautifully by the Under Hill suite, which will be largely hidden by the wall around it. The rooms and gardens of each suite are all very similar in size although they don't appear that way on first inspection.

With the model finished, everyone who will help us bring this magnificent dream to life as we build will be able to see and understand exactly what we are seeking to accomplish. The building plans and all of the accompanying engineering are almost complete and it won't be long now until we break ground at last!

With the first application of carved concrete it feels like the pre-construction for the inn has finally started in earnest. Every part of every suite will be filled with lovingly applied detail and we are very excited to begin!

Since the power tower is ready for its coat of carved concrete, it is time to make our final decision on the look and feel of the 'stone,' 'brick' and plaster we will sculpt throughout the inn. Luckily, we have been busy making test panels. These panels will be used as reference points throughout the construction of the inn. Final colour selection is still a ways off, but here are a few of the samples we have whipped up thus far.

The base of our "power tower" is now welded. Next we will cover it with expanded metal lath in preparation for the sculpted concrete. The top two sections of the tower are also underway and it won't be long before it will be ready to install it.

Our model is now fully sculpted and the paint is well underway on the North Star suite. We will continue to work on it in the coming days and weeks but the time has come to start prefabricating the real thing. The power tower for the front corner of the property is currently being welded It won't be long before we start to build the North Star's ship.

The model is going to be a very useful 'set of plans' for building the inn!

The North Star suite's paint is shaping up nicely. The garish base coats are being replaced with rich glazes. Soon the entire model will come to life in spectacular colour.