Order: placed!

Nearly four months after moving back in (four months!), we are finally getting around to window treatments.

But first, let me tell you, whoever conceived of paper shades was a genius. We've had them up since we moved in. They've lasted that long! Six for $20! Genius!

Still, after a while you think, well, it would be nice to lift the paper shades. Catch sight of the view. And, you know, not have them be made of paper. When even the kids start wondering when they're getting 'real' curtains, it's time to get serious. So, we bit the bullet and ordered window treatments today.

We're going with cellular shades just about everywhere. When we bought the house, the previous owner had installed plantation shutters on all of the front-facing windows save one (the kitchen). They're lovely. But a house full of such shutters was never on our wish list.

I love cellular shades mostly because when they're all the way up you can hardly see them. I tend toward unfussy windows. In the upstairs we're going with three different shades: Storm Marble for the girls (it's sort of a pinkish-white, or maybe a whitish-pink); Northern Lights Charcoal for most of the master windows, the hall window, and the master bath; and North Lights Glacier (a silvery-grey) for the master closet and water closet. On the main floor, we're going with Dirge (a grey-brown) in the kitchen, family room, guest and hall bath; and Northern Lights Navy in the office. Here's a link to the Bali site so you can check the colors for yourself.

In our dining room, and for our three large master bedroom windows, we're going with drapes. No, we haven't chosen them yet. The only windows we're leaving uncovered are the ones that look out over our back deck.

That's 30 windows getting cellular shades, five windows (representing two 'sets') getting drapes, and three windows left uncovered. My best advice: wait for a sale somewhere if you're covering this many windows.

With fall in air, now is the time to get these windows covered. I think it will add a nice, subtle touch to the rooms. They'll be here in three weeks, and I'll post pictures when they arrive!

Summer! Summer! Don't go!

Well, September is barreling down upon us. September. How did that happen?

Still, it's warm out, which means we're outside as often as the mosquitos will allow it. I tell you, that front porch was worth every penny. We sit and watch the kids play, greet neighbors passing by, read books and magazines, and just visit. Rain or shine, we love that porch of ours.

Things continue to get settled in the house. The chairs we ordered for our master sitting room arrive next week, so I'll post pictures when they come in. We've gone back and forth on getting a new headboard but to tell the truth about it, I'm a bit shopped out.

{Did you hear that? It was the mister shouting halleleujah! at the top of his lungs.}

Being shopped out, though, means we're still sporting temporary window coverings. My, how those paper shades do hold up. It also means the landscaping continues to consist of pine straw. Just pine straw.

All in good time, though. For now, we'll settle into our back-to-school routines, linger outside a bit longer even as the daylight hours grow shorter, enjoy the last few swims of the season. Summer hasn't left us yet.

Company's come to call

We've had nine visitors and one pool party in the 3-4 weeks since we've moved back home.

Guests let you stop fretting about where to place this and that, and just let you enjoy what you've got. So we've been doing exactly that. Porch sitting. Puzzle puzzling. Swimming. Visiting with one another and with friends and family. A game of Battleship here. A couple of movie nights there. Sweet, sweet summer time.

And oh, maybe here and there wondering about what to put up on the wall in the dining room. Perhaps possibly ordering a couple of chairs for the master sitting room. Most definitely still avoiding the window treatment purchase.

We're enjoying what we have and not worrying about what's still left to do. It's summer after all, and it's half way over. School's out. The sunny days (and stormy evenings) beckon. Everything else can wait.

The little laundry room that could

Before the renovation, our washer and dryer were located in the basement. There isn't a laundry room down there; rather, it's as if a galley kitchen was planned, and at the last minute someone tucked a W/D hookup there and called it a day. Doing laundry pre-reno consisted of gathering up dirty clothes and heaving them over the stair rail. Then eventually when I couldn't postpone it any longer promptly I would head down to pick them up off of the steps and walk them back to the laundry area. Clean clothes would live down there until someone was desperate enough to need something. Except for sheets. I'm fanatical about washing those at least once a week.

I just felt you should know from whence we came. Laundry room-wise that is.

It never occured to us with the renovation we could actually have a laundry room upstairs. It wouldn't be big, our architect was careful to tell us, but certainly big enough. And she was right. Presenting, the laundry room.

The lady of the house, in the library, with a book

Love myself a little game of Clue reference!

First room up on the pictorial tour is the room formerly known as the front room, the den, the living room, the other living room, and the family room. Poor thing, she didn't know what she was supposed to be. As a result, neither did we.

When we planned the renovation, the mister and I thought about rooms we each wanted. He wanted an office. I wanted a room without a TV. Presenting, the library:

Everything in its place (yeah right)

Pictures are coming soon, I promise. We had house guests two days after we moved in, and suspended all but the most necessary unpacking (glasses? yes, we have glasses...somewhere). And it's summer, you know. Which means longer evenings out on the porch, or in the pool. We actually didn't even eat dinner last night until 8pm! Ah, summer...

Still, we have been able to make a few strides in Operation Everything in its Place. Including:

• Finding a home in our home for the fish tank. It used to be on our main level, perched on an old dresser (we no longer have). It's now in our upstairs hallway. I think they like it.
• Purchasing a new washer/dryer for our laundry room. It was just delivered yesterday. It's the least fancy (I think) of the fancy HE machines, top-loader, and it looks great. We'll see how it works.
• Hanging one picture. My birthday present is now hanging on the wall, and so far, it's the only thing hanging. We are not rushing the wall decor decisions.
• Deciding to let the landscaping go for a bit. We're hitting high temps now (hey look: here comes 100 degrees already!). We are going to have someone come out and advise us, but it's not on the top of the list. Trust me, it feels just as good deciding not to do something as it does to do something at this point!

So, things are coming along. This weekend the house should be pretty much all together, and I'll start posting more pictures. After an ice-cold glass of something or other on the front porch.

We shall call this room the library

I've always wanted a library. A room with books everywhere, and comfortable seating, and places to spread things upon (books, puzzles, newspapers, mugs of teas and plates of goodies). A room with inviting furnishings, cozy. No TV. I'm working on ours.

It's a start. It's the first layer, if you will. We need more soft things, and additional table or floor lighting. A throw or two. A puzzle started on that back table perhaps. Photographs on the wall. More books!

With the exception of the storm print, everything in this room is not new. It's lived in, and therefore not is it okay if I put this here? in its demeanor. I think I'd like a new rug, but maybe a new-to-me old rug? One with blues and greens and grays, that's soft underfoot and not Pottery Barn circa 2012. But maybe not. Maybe this doesn't-exactly-match one helps with the intimate appeal of a library. We'll live with it for a bit, and add things over time. And read. Lots and lots.

Box by box, life gets a little more settled

The only boxes and bins left are the ones with all the little stuff in them. Of course. So they take about an hour each to unpack. We definitely slowed down quite a bit today. The kitchen is mostly unpacked. Same goes for the bedrooms. Closets are approaching organized. We have one billion pictures of ourselves, and I'm not quite sure where they all used to go.

Even though everything is a mess, and I'm not sure where things currently are placed is where they'll stay, I've decided to share pictures.

Bay's room. It actually was clean this morning.

Zoe's room. She hasn't seen it yet!

Den.You can see lots of things that will eventually reside elsewhere.

For some reason I can't add a caption to the last photo. That's the front room. The no-TV room. The haven. We need a rug, and that table you can just see crowding the left corner is going to be a game table. I will probably move it 10 times before finding a spot I like.
 
Our first house guests arrive (gulp) tomorrow. Stay tuned for a post I wrote in my head last night entitled, 'Things the mister doesn't want to hear right after we move in.'

PS- if the apocalypse comes, you'll want to find me if you're in need of batteries or brown rice. We may be able to keep a small village going based on current supplies.

Welcome home

It's a mess. There is no cable or Internet. Food supplies are low. We haven't even checked to see if we have hot water. But we're home. Pictures to come tomorrow. The girls' rooms are pretty much finished. Most of the furniture is in the right room (if not in the right place). All of our beds are made up. We are off to a good start!

T-minus 36 hours

Sure, we'll be ready when the movers come on Saturday morning.


We've done some prep over at the house. In the basement we had all the stuff originally in the attic. So, back up it went. I'm proud of us, as we pared it down only to seasonal stuff (e.g., Christmas decor, etc.) and one bed. At least that's what they tell me; I'm certainly not going up there to check on it.

And though you'd be hard-pressed to tell, we've actually started moving a few things in already. Mostly clothes, kitchen items, some books, etc. We're a bit anxious! Tomorrow night we'll need to finalize furniture placement in each room. Success will be having the furniture on the right floor. So long as we (read: the mister and his friends) don't have to move anything up or down ourselves after the movers leave, it's all good. Wish us luck!

So, we had our final inspection today...

WE GOT OUR CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY!
WE GOT OUR CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY!

Twenty-four days ahead of schedule. Ahead of schedule, y'all. If you stalk renovation forums you know this is the exception, not the rule. We are beside ourselves with *giddiness*.

We had our pre-move-in walk-through tonight. It's all minor stuff, including:

• Paint touch-ups, both inside and out
• Our closet shelves need those tiny white caps on the edges that face the wall
• Front walkway step needs re-trimming (or whatever the correct term is for 'fix the edging of the concrete')
• A small chunk of our old sidewalk needs removing
• The front gutter needs relocating
• A hallway light that finally shipped (back order) needs installation

All of this (she types hopefully) will be done by Friday, when the professional house cleaners arrive (part of the service) (which of course we pay for). And so guess what Saturday is?

MOVING DAY! 

Stay tuned for moving day and settling in pics, and many before-and-afters!

When inspectors don't show

The HVAC inspector was supposed to come by today, but didn't. Our builder turned the A/C on in the house in anticipation of his arrival, and by our reckoning, things appear to be in order (read: it was cool). Still, apparently the city won't take our word for it, so hopefully the inspector shows up tomorrow to sign the certificate. Then we can get the CO inspection.

Wednesday is our final walk-through, and Friday the cleaners come to prepare the house for us to move in. We're proceeding as if the inspections will all clear this week, and I am already thinking about sleeping back in our house by the end of this weekend.

In other news, when lil bit and I got home, we trotted over to see how this would look in her and her sister's bathrooms. She was a good sport, tolerating my deliberations about the best place to mount them (though not nearly as impressed as I might've hoped with my 'anyone can do a towel bar' monologue).

Even though things are nearly done and there isn't much day-to-day change, we still check the house out every day (bonus of living right next door). When the mister got home tonight, the conversation went something like this:

Mister: 'Let's go see the house.'
Lil bit: 'Dad, we already went. They haven't done anything new.'
Mister: 'Well, I still want to go see it. Come with me.'
Lil bit: 'Oh wait! Actually, there is something new. Mom got some hookers.'

Perhaps our builder should mention that to the inspectors...it might ensure they show up. :)

Snail's pace toward the finish line

It feels like we're running through deep, sticky, heavy mud these last few feet toward the finish line. All that's left:

- HVAC inspection
- Electrical panel inspection (now that power is restored to the house)
- Final CO inspection
- Bathroom and laundry room hardware installation
- Front door hardware installation
- Final decision on the concrete porch (to stain or not to stain...yes, we are back to that)
- Front gutter relocation
- Final walk-through for the punch list (nicked paint, etc.)

Hopefully, for the certificate of occupancy, we can get by with the 'landscaping' we have (ie, pine straw...and more pine straw). With the power restored to the house, guess what's gone from the middle of our yard?

Beds optional

The carpet is in! Although we have wood floors everywhere else, we like carpeting underfoot in the bedrooms and closets. Soft carpet, that is. Call us old-fashioned. :) Like everything in a renovation, you can spend a fortune on carpeting. One of the mister's favorites was $100 square foot*. Yowza. What we really wanted was something soft that would wear well with the kids. And we found it!

*not even close to our budget

Mirror mirror on the wall...

Well look what showed up today:

Now, we talked about getting larger mirrors in all the bathrooms, and having the sconces put on the mirror itself. It would have made for a bigger mirror (of course), and in the girls' bathrooms would've allowed for centering the sconces up with the vanity. But, we don't really like that sconce-on-the-mirror look. We also could've gone with an over-the-mirror light. But, they tend to cast shadows. So we went with what you see. Although the mirror is a bit off-center, it's actually fine with us.  And if I didn't point it out, or you weren't studying these pictures, you might not even notice it. :)

Master shower door

I wanted to go back in tonight to get some better pictures of the shower, but guess what? They re-refinished the floors today! So, no walking inside for a few days. This picture will have to do:

Originally we planned to have a swinging door. And then that tub entered our lives. We're really happy with this door, though! The shower floor has been retiled, and looks great too. Once the mirrors and vanity hardware are installed, the bathrooms will be complete!

Final (maybe?) checklist

• Final floor coat Saturday
• Carpeting Tuesday
• Power restored directly back to the house (rather than temporary line in our front yard) Tuesday(ish)
• HVAC inspection Tuesday(ish)
• Mirrors, last closet shelf, towel hooks installed Wednesday
• Protective floor covers in main floor bedrooms removed, furniture untarped Wednesday
• Front door hardware installed Wednesday
• Final main floor hallway light installed (when it arrives from being backordered)
• Bath vanity and laundry cabinet hardware installed Wednesday
• Final front step poured Wednesday
• All systems warranties/paperwork delivered to us Thursday
• Master shower floor resealed (it was retiled Wednesday)
• Porch concrete stain maybe sometime next week (or after we're in)
• Final building inspection to get our certificate of occupancy!

It's like the finale fireworks on the Fourth of July around here - things are moving faster and faster! We are preparing to commence to begin to get ready to pack things up. I tell myself it will be easier to use boxes to move things, even though I don't want to have a bunch of boxes laying around for weeks. Then I tell myself we can pack a few boxes, move them, unpack them into exactly the right places (no, 'just put it there for now'), bring back the empty boxes, and do it again. Doesn't that sound nice and orderly, and like none of us have jobs or anything else to do, so that we can devote the three straight weeks it would probably take to do it that way? We'll get back in, we'll have boxes and stuff laying around, and we'll be so happy happy happy to be back home, I expect we won't care too much. Well, right away that is. :)

We have door knobs!

Came home today to see they've been busy installing the many door knobs! All of the knobs on the second story are black, even though our door hinges are oil-rubbed bronze. Something I learned: ORB (as the oil-rubbed bronze is referred to by those tired of typing it out every time) can look different across manufacturers. While our hinges are ORB, they are a very dark finish. Which we love. The ORB version of these knobs, though, were lighter than I wanted, and they had a sort of 'distressed' finish around the edges. The black looks AMAZING!

On the main level the knobs are a mix of nickel and pewter (bedrooms and dining room, and kitchen cabinets), and ORB (back door and front door). We ordered all of the new pieces from handlesets.com. Want to see?

Two inspections down, two to go

We passed plumbing and electrical inspections today! Coming up next is HVAC, and then the final building inspection to get our certificate of occupancy. Today the mister ordered power to be reconnected to the house. Once it's up, the HVAC inspection can happen.

In other news, the stair rail was installed today:

We measure for the mirrors tomorrow. The final hardwood floor coating goes on Monday, and carpeting is installed Tuesday. More pictures now available in Interiors!

Remember what we picked out in January?

We chose our faucets in early January - so long ago, I'd actually forgotten what they looked like. They were finally installed today. Want to see?

Bathroom countertops

So we started with a slab (+ a remnant) like this:

And we got this:

Drawing the line at 'apple bliss' carpet

The youngest has requested red carpet. Cherry, rosebud, apple bliss: she is drawn to these fiery red, red, red choices. Can you imagine? Red wall-to-wall carpet. *shudder*

Which is kind of ironic, because the largest area rug we have is an 8' x 10' red Persian-style rug, and red is my favorite color. But still; all I will think is that it would look like a bloodbath in her room. So, we've dashed her hopes and she is not pleased. While she is 'kind of into blue', she has enough blue in her room she says, and doesn't want blue carpeting. She is mulling over a lilac color, but it doesn't look promising.

Meanwhile, the mister has taken a shine to this one:

What happens next

• Bathroom vanity tops will be installed
• The rest of the lights will be installed
• The staircase handrail will be installed
• Vanity and cabinet hardware will be installed
• Door knobs will be installed
• Front walkway step will be poured
• Front door will be stained
• Front door hardware will be installed
• Shower doors installed
• Mirrors installed, along with other bathroom hardware

And we have to choose the bedroom carpeting. We've also begun thinking about window coverings, since we have 22 new windows to cover. Yowza. We think eight of them can wait for a bit, so we're focusing on the others now. I like our windows, and plan to seek fairly minimal coverings. As cool as these ones are, or even these ones, we'll probably go for something  a little more neutral. Probably.

Our front door is in

Behold...

We plan to stain it and try to match the shingles as closely as we can. Our builder says we're probably going with a Behr stain, as he doesn't think any Minwax will provide a close enough color match. The glass looks funny because it's still covered with film. And I think we're getting this door hardware.

Today much of the paper came up off the floors, the staircase handrail was measured out for installation, and more of our lights came in. Also, window coverings we originally had, like our plantation shutters, were reinstalled; one blind they put back up coulda gotten lost and I wouldn't have minded.

T-minus 22 days, give or take!

Closets are in

I said we were doing basic closets, using white wire systems. They're nothing fancy, but they'll definitely do the job in providing plenty of space for us to store hanging and folded clothing. We can always upgrade in the future. You see, while we love a gorgeous walk-in closet as much as the next person, it just wasn't high on our priority list. Here's a glimpse of one wall in my closet (for shoes and flat storage):

Dining room (+ more) pictures

Tonight the mister is over at the house talking about the shower door templates. Tomorrow they're installing the closets. And they may take the paper off the floor so we can see how everything looks together. For now, we're optimistic it will look great. We're waiting on the rest of the lights to come in, but what we've got is up. Including this beauty...

Our sources

If you're considering a renovation, or a room remodel, or even just replacing a room element like lights or tile, here's a tip: look beyond the big box stores like Home Depot.

Don't get me wrong. The HD can be a great place to go for ideas and inspiration. For deciding what you do and don't like. And to see some products up close at 9pm when other stores are closed. It's even possible you'll find something you like somewhere else, and HD has it too - only cheaper.

Given everything we needed for this home renovation, though, only two things came from HD. Here's a source list for you:

When things go wrong

I rarely mention when things go wrong. And we've been extraordinarily fortunate that few things have. Still, it wouldn't be fair to paint the picture that nary a hiccup was experienced. So what didn't go the way it was planned (so far that is...we're not done yet)? Take a look.

The path to our door and other news

Yesterday we met with our builder, Lee, to discuss the front walkway. Did we want a curved walkway or a straight one? From what part of the driveway should it start? In 90 degree heat we debated angles and placement. Lee spray painted two possible designs. We chose one. Today, we came home to this.

Let there be light!

Ohhhhhhh....we have finally finally finally chosen all of the lights! Cue sighs of relief and pay no mind to the teeny tiny voice suggesting we check out maybe just one more website.

Would you like a sneak peek?

Checking in

Painting still continues. Even though it's just the trimwork and the doors, it's a LOT of trimwork and doors. Stuff's lookin' good! We've gotten the first gentle nudge to choose the rest of our lights. All that's left are the dining room and our bathroom lights. We can't choose the bathroom lights until we find the mirrors. We aren't finalizing the mirrors until the cabinets go in. You see where this is going.

We're all getting antsy to get back into our house. While it's been wonderful living right next door to the renovation, and the house we're in has been great for our needs, it's just not home. Memorial Day weekend would be a nice target move-back-in date, and a great seventh anniversary present for the mister and me. Believe it or not, I've already begun thinking about where we'll put the Christmas tree up this year. Getting excited!

Porch and Painting

Porch railings are going in this week:

All those balusters? Individually installed:

Also happening this week is the painting. So far they've painted the trim and the doors, and it doesn't make for a great photo so I'll wait until paint goes up on the walls.

This just in: we finally chose some lights! Not all the lights, but some of them. The mister and I each spent a fair amount of time checking out options online, and in stores. So many choices, it's overwhelming. But, we did come in under budget on the first round of lights. Please let them not be ugly.

Next Tuesday our bathroom vanities arrive, and shortly after the stone people will be out to measure templates for our vanity tops. Light fixture installation will begin, and we'll be pressed to make the final lighting choices. The front door will arrive in a few weeks, and we'll need to choose front door hardware. I've begun hunting door knobs for the inside doors. Soon we'll look at carpet choices for the bedrooms. Heads up: there won't be any boring beige carpets in this joint!

Size matters (when it comes to lighting, that is)

I'm a huge fan of designer Candice Olson. One thing she pays a lot of attention to in her room designs is light. But she makes it look so effortless, you think to yourself: well, how hard can it be? What's there to figure out? It's just lights, right? Come along and I'll share what we've discovered...

Floors still drying...and we opened the door for a better look

We figured it was unlikely a gust of wind would rise up and blow debris into the house if we opened the door for a peek, so, well, we opened the door for a peek! And oh how we *love love love* them!

We didn't cross the threshold to take these pictures, though I was half convinced I would fall in trying to get that first picture. By Monday we'll be able to walk in and look around. It's been so humid the past few days the floors are taking a bit longer to dry. But that's okay. It'll be worth the wait!

Caution: Wet Floors

Came home tonight to this:

So of course I wanted to see what the floors looked like. I peered through the windows and it was darker floors as far as the eye could see. Through heroic efforts*, I managed to get the best picture one could possibly get at 7pm on a rainy night from outside the house looking through a grimy window into the inside of a house with no electricity while trying to hold my finger over the miniscule but powerful flash since everyone knows you'd just get a picture of glass glare if you don't (even if it takes you six tries to realize you can't outsmart the glass glare without covering the flash...in case you were thinking you could).Translation: don't judge the picture.

Before:

After:

*Note to selves: we could maybe use some new deck stairs. If there's a better sign than thinking, 'I wonder if the mister would think to come looking for me back here'' goes through your head as you climb the rickety steps, I don't know what that sign would be.

Slab shopping

It's time to choose the vanity top. Yesterday I went to a shop that has a huge warehouse space filled with slab after slab of marble and granite and other stones - beautiful! We are seeking two tops for the two master vanities, and one for each of the secondary baths. And hopefully we can score remnants for the small vanities, because remnants = cheaper. We're looking for a white marble top like, maybe, this one (though the mister thinks, maybe, not this particular one)...

Not-quite-final stretch: what's left to do

It's amazing to think that in a few short weeks we'll be back in our house! What's coming up:

• Floor refinishing. It starts tomorrow!
• Interior painting. We're painting everything - old and new, walls, doors, trim. Starts after the floor stain and first poly coat is down.
• Staircase finalized. The handrails, newel posts and balusters are in.
• Gutters. They are an installation-in-progress.
• Vanity tops. I head to a stone place tomorrow to look at our options.
• Cabinet hardware. Just chose that last night.
• Front door. Just chose that last night too. And apparently without a moment to spare: the builder says it may take up to six weeks to get it!
• Bathroom fixtures come in. Vanities, faucets, tub, toilets, etc.
• All sorts of tiny little trimwork jobs finalized, especially where old and new rooms have come together.
• Shower glass enclosures need to be chosen.
• We have to choose the other bathroom fixtures...mirrors, towel bars, etc.
• WE MUST CHOOSE OUR LIGHTS. *sigh*
• Railings on the porch.
• Porch steps and path laid in.
• Ack - the door knobs!
• Outlets and switches of course. Right now they're all just holes with with metal boxes and wires poking out.
• Closet 'system' figured out. Think, 'least expensive chic'.
• We have to decide if we're staining the front porch or not.
• Doorbell dilemma. By that I mean: we've never had a working doorbell. Just last week (known in builder terms as, I'm just guessing here, 'now you mention it hour'), the mister asked if it was possible to get a working one.
• Leak mystery. I'm going to be breezy here, because it's how I'm coping. About 10 days ago we were in the house and I heard water running in the pipes. We checked everything inside and out and couldn't find a thing. The builder came over and he couldn't find anything. He shut off the water valve and it stopped. Plumber is scheduled for a visit. Please think cheap-fix thoughts.
• Choose the bedroom carpets. The mister is all giddy about this task. And no, I'm not joking!

At least, the above is what I'm tracking. I'm sure the builder's list is about 10 times as long. And I'm not even including things like landscaping around the new porch (we at least have to fill in the tire tracks and do something with where the old sidewalk used to be).

We haven't scheduled a move-out date just yet, but we're preparing to commence to begin to think about it!

Hardwood floor stain. Or, a brown by any other name...

 After trolling chat rooms and Google image results examining homeowners' hardwood floor colors, I picked three stain colors to sample. During the floor stain research journey, I learned a few things:

• The type of hardwood you have greatly affects how the stain will look. White oak and red oak will show the grain regardless of stain, and red oak tends toward a reddish cast regardless of the stain color. Pine will soak up stain exceptionally well, but it's a softer wood, prone to faster wear and tear.
• Some homeowners attempt all sorts of formulas to arrive at the desired color. 1:1, or 2:1 or 1:1:2 and other such mixes aren't unheard of in the homeowner forums. The willingness to go to such lengths tends to correlate with 'refinishing our floors' being the only thing the homeowner is doing.
• Water-popping the wood can make a stain richer when it's applied. Basically, you put water on your floor to open up the grain. Apparently this is not for the amateur. 
• When you're staining old wood and new wood, you're likely to see some variation in how the stain appears. You're assured, 'only you will notice.' This is, actually, not that reassuring.

So let's see how our stain choices all stack up.

So easy, a girl can do it

These were on every window at the house. I didn't pay any attention to them until one day I decided to see what they said. The message is pretty clear:

Dip, Splat, Spread: In Goes the Tile

I don't think I could be a tiler. Correction: I don't think I'd like to be a tiler (my HGTV 'upbringing' assures me surely I could actually do it). The folks laying the tiles have been at it for two straight days. They work long days, have to manhandle a lot of heavy boxes/bags, and use a scary looking wet saw. That's before they even get to the laying of the tile. Makes me wish we'd chosen 4' x 4' tiles, and then they'd only need to put down like four of them. Instead, we choose things like subway tile, which probably feels like hand-trimming a lawn blade by blade.

But I'm grateful for this crew. They've started in one of the girls' bathrooms and nearly finished it. A sneak peek for you:

Ugly lighting

We've lived with some ugly lights for more than six years. Like this one:

Seriously, the previous owner had a thing for 'aged bronze' or 'rusted bronze' or 'clearance bin bronze' or whatever finish this is called. I wish I'd saved the sconces that originally adorned the fireplace. Picture water bugs holding vanilla ice cream cones. That's kind of what they looked like. And yes, we've lived with them for more than six years, but they are precisely the motivation behind our light selection.

And no, we still haven't chosen the lights. I continue to pin ideas here and here and, well, here too. If you have a favorite, let me know!

Presenting: The Staircase

Feast your eyes: the staircase is in.

Lots of updates!

Let's just dive in, shall we?

• Trim is up. All of the door and window trimwork, the baseboards and the crown molding are up. We have this oversized baseboard that I love. We also apparently have two different types of baseboards in the house, which I never noticed before. So...thanks? For pointing that out? Our builder went with the one that is more 'period'. By the way, you can also spell it crown moulding. I just felt like you should know. 
• Master bath tub plumbing is now situated. And our new tub filler appears to be fixed to the floor (pre-tile). At least I assume so, since I couldn't move it from its spot. She's a beaut, and a bit modern. Pic over in Interiors.
• We decided on the newel posts, balusters and handrail. I don't have pictures of the last two, but one of the newel post is also over in Interiors.
• We haven't chosen any light fixtures. I'm really trying to come in under budget on this line item. And oh the options - nearly endless it seems! 
• We might be done a month early. Whaaaaaat?!? The key word is might. We are cruising right along and are actually ahead of schedule. So, we'll see.

Paint decided. Now, on to the staircase

Confirmed the paint colors this morning. For your viewing pleasure:

We also talked (and talked, and talked) about our staircase. You'd think a staircase is pretty straightforward. It's stairs, right? And a handrail. Well I'm here to tell you it's decidedly not a straightforward project. Because here's what you have to figure out:

The tub has arrived

Ta-da!

And with a model!

It's actually facing the wrong direction (it will be turned around when it's actually installed). We both sat in it, and it's deep and roomy and we can't wait to take our first bath!

So many lovely shades of gray

Finally we got to go through the umpteen hundred paint chips we've amassed over the last several months! Only after we got home I realized there were nine additional shades of gray we forgot to consider so...shhhhhhh...we're going to have to go back to the house in the morning just to make sure. The mister doesn't know this yet.

I can tell you this, though. We're painting the entire first floor, minus the two existing bedrooms and the bathroom, plus the staircase, upstairs hallway and master bath the same shade of light-to-medium gray (Manhatten Mist). The girls's rooms, bathrooms and closets will all be a light neutral gray (Silver Charm). The master will be a darker shade of gray (Cathedral). This assumes none of the nine shades I found bump any of these.

So why all the gray? It's a fantastic neutral. Given that many of the rooms face different directions (so the sunlight is different), the color will take on different hues in the light. For example, in one room Silver Charm takes on a slight bluish cast, but in another, more of a clay. *swoon*

Tomorrow we meet with our builder to go over the master tub placement, our paint colors, and the staircase. They've installed all of the doors, and are beginning all the trim work this week!

Floors and doors

Dork alert: I shot a video for you all, so you could get more than random pictures of different rooms. And part way through it, I flipped my phone horizontally, thinking I'd capture a wider view. Yeah, no. That's not what happens. You get a sideways view instead. I'll try again this weekend, because I think a video at this point will really be cool.

The view from outside the house hasn't changed much at all. Ah, but on the inside, big doings are afoot.

The story behind blue porch ceilings

Rumor has it people paint their porch ceiling blue because it:
- reminds them of the sky
- keeps bugs away
- wards off evil spirts
- all of the above

Yep, all of the above. The folklore about warding off evil spirits (often referred to in the South as haints) is so well-known, the blue actually has a name: haint blue. Unlike Tiffany blue, haint blue isn't a single color; rather, it appears to be in reference to several shades of blue. The painters finished our blue porch ceiling today. Take a look:

What a difference some walls make

Sheetrock is in! The rooms are actually room-like now. The gals aren't quite as impressed; they can no longer see the entire house from any spot on the second floor.

And with sheetrock comes dust. Imagine taking hundreds of bags of flour into your house, hanging them as pinatas, and then busting them all open with a stick. Scatter random pieces of wood and sheetrock (all sizes!) around, string some power cords selectively in areas you actually need to traverse, and for background music, find an audio clip of a dental drill and put it on loop. This is what it was like while the sheetrock was being installed.

This week they'll mud it and sand it and do whatever else it is they need to do to get the walls ready. We're supposed to pick paint colors soon (hooray!), and tile will go in soon (again, hooray!). Oh, and guess what? We got ourselves a tuuuuuuub. It should be here in two weeks, and I'll post pictures of it when it arrive!

How I use Pinterest

I'm not just on the Pinterest bandwagon, I'm up front handing out bumper stickers, kissing babies, and campaigning for it as one of the best sites ever.

It's been a fantastic way for me to organize ideas and options, especially when I need to show the mister what I'm thinking. I've got a board for most things to do with the house, like carpeting and front doors. Here are other boards I'm currently filling:

• Chandeliers. I'm a sucker for a drum pendant. It's sleek, mid-century, looks classic/modern/retro, comes in a variety of options from fabric to glass, and can be one of the most striking and yet affordable fixtures you can install. Can I get an amen?
• Blue ceilings. A while back I read a great piece on how it's tradition in some places (especially the South) to paint your porch ceiling blue. I'll tell you why soon.
• Staircases: We have some choices about how we want to finish the staircase, and it may affect our other staircase heading downstairs. Mostly to do with the balusters, a word I haven't had occasion to use until this reno.

I also use Pinterest for non-reno things, like storm photos (natch) and letters and numbers.  Are you on Pinterest? Do I follow you? Would love to see what you're working on!

Mixing metals

I am in love with this door knob.

At $169 per piece (I know!), it's spectacularly over budget. Maybe that wouldn't be so terrible if we only needed one or two, but we need ten. Perhaps I could just get these for the bedroom doors, though, and something much cheaper else for the closets and bathrooms?

Forgetting cost for a minute, though, what I'm pondering is mixing metals.

We have chrome in all the bathrooms. Running that finish all through the door hardware - much less the light fixtures - seems a bit much (and awfully...shiny). I like brushed nickel, and oil-rubbed bronze. And between us, I've even taken a shine to some of the brass finishes, too.

It's early days. We've just begun the door knob and light fixture hunt. I expect mixed metals is in our future. And I expect no one but us will notice.

PS: Yes, a new blog design. My BIL's 'feedback' notwithstanding, I wasn't really into the previous design. Maybe I need a mixed metals template.

Fear of choosing the wrong thing

OMG we cannot pick a tub. What is wrong with us?

We're decisive people, and yet we have procrastinated about choosing a tub. I'm reminded about that Sex & the City episode where Miranda has to choose a crib, and she says (wisely): "Evidently, I'm to go to Crib World, because it's a whole world of cribs. I guess Crib City wasn't big enough. Why isn't there a store called ''This is The Crib For You''? And they just have one great crib. They deliver it and assemble it, and help raise the child."

That's basically how I feel about this tub.

Exterior Transformation

Driving up our street last night, I rounded the corner, caught sight of the house, and literally gasped. What a difference paint and cedar shake can make!

First, for those of you who thought we were painting the house light blue: that was the primer! Second, we're still deciding on the trim color (it's between three shades of white...and exactly as mind-numbing as you would imagine it to be). And finally, we have to decide on the stain color for our cedar.

Here she is!

Let the painting begin!

We chose 'Seal', a Martha Stewart paint color (using Sherwin Williams paint):

What do you think?

Porch update

Did I tell you we decided on a poured concrete porch? No? Well, we did.

Why, you may ask, when you think of all the beautiful porch floor possibilities did you go and choose concrete of all things? Well, I'll tell you: it is the least expensive; it's easily maintained; it's not slippery; it's easy to update in the future (meaning, you can install anything over it); and, after checking around on some concrete design sites, we decided we rather liked it.

They poured it yesterday, and I now present to you our still-wet, as-yet-to-be-stained, concrete porch floor:

Undermount, self-rimming and vessel (oh my)

We're all particular about something most other people generally don't give much thought to. For example, my dessert must be either hot or cold, and not both (like the horror that is a brownie sundae), and I only eat tomatoes if they've been thoroughly seeded (that pulpy center is awful). Turns out, I'm also rather choosy about my sinks.

All about bathrooms

After scouring site after site after site and store after store after store for possible bath vanities, guess what we up and did? Got some custom cabinet quotes.

We had a clear idea about what we wanted; style, shape, functionality and color. And we found lots of options online, to be sure. I suggested we get a custom quote for our master bath just to see what we could get.

So we met with two guys who listened to our ideas, suggested some approaches, and measured our spaces. And since it's all free at this point, we asked them to quote all three baths and the laundry room. We told ourselves repeatedly there was no way we were going custom on everything - too expensive. Then we got the bid.

Choosing the perfect house color...again

A house in our neighborhood has been four different colors in the six years we've lived here. We don't want to be those people.

Before we had our final architect plans we had a paint color for the house selected. We wanted something dark, with hints of steel blue and dark gray. Turns out, choosing the color - wrought iron - was pretty easy. We congratulated one another on our fine taste. Fast forward to this past week when Chris slapped up a swatch just so we could gaze upon its beauty. Two minutes after the paint went up, picture us checking the swatch to be sure it was the same color.

Mmmmkay. Well, that wasn't what we expected. It was definitely dark, with a hint of gray. But the blue? It wasn't so much a hint as it was a bullhorn announcement. Basically, we'd have a no-doubt-about-it blue house. So, back to the store two more times for yet more swatch deliberation. Ultimately we darkened our original color in hopes that would tone the blue down, and chose six additional options (one of which we decided against before it made it onto the house). So the front and side of house now look like this:

We think we've got a winner in this bunch, and want to watch it over the next couple of days to be sure. From left to right (on the front of the house): sorceror; wrought iron (darkened); dark granite; blue-grey slate; seal; wrought iron (original). Stay tuned.

Before and now: some pictures

We started out here:

 And now we are here:

Tile, Part One

Our builder told us we didn't have to choose tile yet. We told our builder we were seriously convinced it was possible all progress on the house would stop because we hadn't yet made our selection. So two weeks ago we met with Yesim at Transitions in Tile.

She calmly listened to us talk about all the things we liked (dark colors, and subway tile, and penny rounds), and all the things we didn't (big grout lines, overly large square tiles, anything brown or beige). She looked at our budget and didn't start cackling. Our conversation then went something like this:

We got ourselves a porch...sort of

Building the porch started out like this:

Then we saw this a couple of days later:

Do you see what I see?

Two things have changed since the last posted picture. See if you can figure out what's new:

Besides the tire tracks in the yard. Okay, the first change is that we now have windows! windows! windows! I mean, these windows rock. And they're so shiny.

The second change is that work has begun on our front porch. The old front porch railing has been removed, the yard has been dug up and (granted, you can't see it from this angle) concrete has been initially poured. They're continuing that tomorrow, hoping to finish up the block work and face it with brick, which will ultimately be painted the color of the house.

We have to make a decision on the porch floor soon. Like, this week. There are only so many hours in the day to Google 'beautiful porches', 'best porch flooring', 'show me the freakin' porch floor and quit with all the street views already'. We know we want a light-colored porch for reasons that will reveal themselves in time, and we know we want it low-to-no maintenance. I thought about slate, but apparently it crumbles ever so minutely and you drag it in on your shoes, thus making your house full of tiny little slate droppings over time. Uh...next option please.

The process from here on out will go something like this (in the next 48 hours): I have to research all the horror stories about every flooring type, fall in love with something out of our price range, scour Pinterest, and porch-stalk some homes in our neighborhood. Really, it's fine. I'm sure we'll choose something great.

More pics in the gallery for your viewing pleasure!

Decisions

As far as I can tell...

Still deciding on:
Front door
Front door hardware
Interior paint colors in all rooms
Porch colors
Staircase spindles
Porch spindles
Porch columns
Porch floor material
New path material
Exterior lighting
Interior lighting (it's a lot, but 'interior lighting' makes me feel better)
Door knobs
Bath vanities
Bath sinks
Bath countertops
Bath mirrors
Bath fixtures like towel bars, et al.
Door hinges
Stair risers stained or painted
Stair rail
Carpeting
Hardwood floor stain
Master tub
Master tub faucet
Closet organization
Toilets

Already chosen:
Shingles
Bathroom tile
Laundry room tile
Sink faucets
Tub and shower faucets
Exterior paint color (we're 99.9125% sure, so this goes down as chosen)

One of these lists is not like the other.

We have stairs, and more

Over the past few days, our house has received her shingles, and workers have been swaddling her in the construction-equivalent of Saran Wrap. While Chris has braved the ladder in the never-ending rain to check progress on the second floor, the girls and I have been waiting on the stairs. Yesterday afternoon, our wait was over:

So up we went. We were able to see where the rooms would be, and point out what was going where. We could also see what would be our new attic space (amazing storage space). Our new staircase going up is so roomy that our (existing) staircase going downstairs feels like a drive-through banking chute. Hmmm.

Because I don't want us to be the reason work on the house is delayed, we stay pretty busy researching and selecting all the remaining purchases. Stay tuned for posts on:

• Tile: earlier this week we visited a tile showroom, and quite the unexpected happened.
• Something we all use every single day: it has become my new online hunting prey. You may even be asked for your opinion.
• Carpet: more commonly known around here as someone's obsession (hint: not mine).
• Why I love gray: and how it will be a part of every single room in this house if I get my way.

And if there's anything in particular you want to hear about, just let me know in the comments. 

Eight days later, we have this

Construction started with a roof demolition just eight days ago y'all. Eight. Days.  Amazing!

Introducing Saxton, our faucet

I thought I wanted oil-rubbed bronze finishes. They're beautiful, and stately, and all sorts of gaze-upon-me, for-I-am-worthy-of-your-lingering-glance. So I dutifully looked online and in stores; I dog-eared magazine pages and bookmarked a couple of websites. Then I noticed something: few of my online pins featured this finish. And when I looked at those pictures I'd pinned, I couldn't imagine oil-rubbed bronze in them. So after noticing what they did feature, I asked the Mr. if he had an opinion. And when he spoke these words, I knew what we would choose:

Farewell roof...

Thursday was our scheduled demolition day, but our builder decided Wednesday afternoon the rain had stopped for good, so roof demolition began. By the time we got home from work today, the entire roof was gone! Chris observed the house now looks remarkably like a double-wide trailer.

What's on tap for the next few days:
- Friday the second-floor floor joists are installed.
- Saturday the plumber comes and does...something...plumber-y.
- Monday we visit our first showroom to choose the next item - wait for it: shower/tub faucets- which we have to select before the roof can go on.
- We'll spend much of the weekend trying to finalize our bathrooms overall (floor tile, vanities, lighting, etc.) since we'd like everything to match. We're crazy clever like that.

Oh, and I've started posting before and demolition pictures on the blog so you can visually follow along. Stay tuned...

Weather report

I do love the rain and the wind, the lightening and the thunder. We've had a few days of rain, with a storm slated to move in overnight. It'll taper off by later tomorrow. I see this as a good sign, an auspicious prelude to the official start of the project. Thursday looks to be the first of a run of clear days, so that's when demololition is scheduled to begin. Fingers crossed!

The big decision we didn't anticipate

We met with our builder Friday to discuss the first big decision. I have thought long and hard about virtually every aspect of this renovation, but I did not once - not once! - ever think about this one: the roof.

The roof? That's the first big decision? Ok, how many choices are there? Well, behold:

The Project Brief

When we talked about ‘the renovation’, we were all sorts of dreamers. We could bump the house out and back and up! We could install solar panels! Wallpaper is totally in! Okay, that last one was just me.

Then slowly we started to get a little more serious. What’s most important? How would we go about this? Are we really willing to do what it takes to make this happen? We decided we were.

Fast forward to our getting an architect and a builder. Now, you can sit around with these folks all you want, dreaming and surmising and fantasizing. You can say you're looking for a city-chic Swiss chalet, and then get weirdly intense about, say, the shape of your bathroom faucets and how you want to loathe stucco but you can't - it's just so texture-y. That sort of random word association approach to construction will get you disappointing houseplans and a high architect bill. Plus, I'm pretty sure you'll be that client they all horrify one another with at their builder conventions.

You have to focus. That's where The Project Brief comes in.

First, about the second story

When they install a temporary utility pole in your front yard, you know something is about to happen.

Oh, hi! Welcome to Southern Reno - The Second Story. We're documenting a renovation we've dreamed about for years.

Above is a picture of our current home. She's cute, huh?  Quaint, cozy little three bedroom, two bath with full basement. Ah, but she yearns to be bigger. She wants to be our home forever, and give us no reason to ever look longingly at another. So she's going under the knife. Or the saw, rather. Lots of 'em we expect.

What's on the reno list? Here's a peek:
- A second story
- Three additional bedrooms and bathrooms
- An upstairs laundry room
- A more open main floor floorplan
- One less bedroom on the main floor (hey, the stairs have to go somewhere!) but also...
- An actual dining room

It's so exciting, and we can hardly believe it's finally underway!