Houzz.com

I'm a huge fan of the design website at houzz.com.  The woman who sold us the lot told me about it and gave me advance warning that it's addictive. She was right! I have since spent countless hours on it, reviewing photos of paint colors, built-ins, backsplash tiles, flooring, patios, kitchen stools, etc.  If you want to see how your paint color will look or how to design around bright blue walls, you'll find lots of examples.  If you want to see what's trendy, houzz.com will tell you.  If you want to find that perfect lighting fixture, you'll find it. Because you can't always visualize how your choices are going to come together when you're building from ground up, the website has been a great resource.  Even if you're not looking for anything in particular, their weekly e-mails highlight specific projects and are worth looking through. The only words of caution I would pass on about houzz.com are the same ones that were given to me:  "Be careful.  It's addictive!"

Built-ins

We've got the living room, guest room and mud room built-ins going in.  They look great!

The ceiling and columns in the dining room are in.

In addition, the front columns are taking shape.

And the patio looks pretty much done.  I love it all!

New tops and tile

After sleeping on the new counter top choice, I decided that the pre-selected tile wouldn't work after all.  The tile had too much yellow and the tops had too much gray.  I decided to explore other options.  It turned out that we have a little more time than I thought for installation of the backsplash tiles.  Sonja from Cabinet Works dropped off the Windermere sample and Tim at Randy's was very helpful with finding new tiles.  I am really happy with the selection! (And actually quite grateful that the Lincolnshire was on back-order!) 

Patio under way!

Counter Tops

We had a little drama with the counter tops this week.  We had picked out Lincolnshire quartz for the kitchen and were just informed that those tops are now on back order.  Even arrival at the earliest date possible would be too close for comfort for the Parade of Homes.  This was initially disappointing news, but I had been questioning our selection for a few weeks.  The good news is that our second option, Windermere, is available.  I've seen it large scale at the Cabinet Works show room and it is really beautiful. 

I'm a little worried about our back splash tiles, a polished travertine, which we selected to go with Lincolnshire.  It would not have been my first choice for pairing with Windermere, but it looks like there are enough warm tones in the counter tops as well as significant color variation in the tile.  I am just hoping that it will all come together. 

The back yard

Total Tree Care worked for five hours yesterday to clear out the dead trees and brush and to trim back some wayward branches.  It looks thinned out, but still wooded.  It's a definite improvement!  Maybe we'll even be able to walk into the wooded area without being attacked by thorns and burrs!

The patio materials have arrived and the seat wall is under way.  We are so excited to see the finished product with landscaping and all!

Work work work

What a busy day at the house!  Jeff is working on the stair treads.  Both bathrooms are tiled and the flooring is in the laundry room.  The bathroom and laundry room cabinets are in their proper places, just waiting to be installed.  There is sawdust everywhere, but the the trim work looks great!!  It's all very exciting! I am very eager to see lighting and plumbing fixtures!

Tile upstairs and downstairs

The tile so far looks great in the master bathroom.  I somewhat regret not thinking to put a window in the master bathroom.  It would have been small, sometimes obstructed by the door to the toilet and probably stay covered all the time, but it would have been nice to have some natural light coming in. However, I'm sure the bathroom will look much much lighter and brighter when the lighting has been installed. 

The slate in the mud room looks great!

The wood floors in the second level are all done and look awesome.   We're just waiting on more tile in the master bath and the upstairs bath as well as the carpeting for the bedrooms! 

Trim

I went to check out the progress on the kitchen cabinets today and found trim on the windows.  I love it!

 

         

Cabinetry

The bathroom and kitchen cabinets arrived.  The kitchen cabinets are going in now.  We selected a cream colored cabinet and dark island, both of which should look great with the floor.  Can't wait to see the counter tops!

Black stain

Here's the black impact oil on white oak.  I was so worried about whether I'd like it, but have to say that I'm really pleased with the result.  I also love the wide plank.