wallpaper download

you ever heard of that phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words"?

yeah. i thought so.

when planning a remodel or building a new home, it is essential to make sure that your contractor or subcontractor "gets" what you want.  a picture is the perfect way to communicate your desires.

there are some finishes in a house that you DO NOT want to have to redo because of a miscommunication or an error. tile is one of them. once the tile is laid in the thin set, it becomes almost impossible to remove without destroying it. you really want to make sure that your installer knows exactly what you want before a single tile is laid. there is nothing worse than showing up to check on the progress of your tile work, and discovering that it has been laid incorrectly!

since i was planning on some "out of the ordinary" tile patterns, i wanted to make sure that our tile installer knew exactly what i wanted. i thought you might like seeing the notes that i gave to them!

here is what happened:

the counter tops were installed! hooray! 

i chose a honed carrara marble for both the kitchen and the master bathroom.

see that HOLE IN the wall?

it's going to a tv, hidden behind a two way mirror, both of which will installed...eventually.

i will be writing a more in-depth post on this project once it is underway!

the sinks were installed, and the holes cut for the plumbing fixtures.

i am really happy with the sinks that i choose. you can read more about my sink adventures here.

we were able to stay on budget with our counter tops because we installed granite remnants in the two upstairs bathrooms. for this bathroom (the girls bathroom) i wanted something really light. there were not many options, but we managed to find one that works with the floor tile. if i had a bigger budget, i would have selected something different, but i am happy with the way it turned out!

the interior doors were hung. the doors are painted benjamin moore's "blackjack"

the electricians started adding the outlets and switches.

that took about two days...

and then, on the last day, a huge crew showed up and installed all of the light  fixtures.

here is my vintage lantern, all rewired and waiting to be hung in the girls upstairs bathroom.

the restoration hardware barn light over the toilet is such a fun touch!

you can see the entire board that i created for the master bathroom here.

a look at the completed master bathroom shower.

a look at the master bathroom from the master bedroom. the doors at the end are to a linen closet and  will eventually be covered with full length mirrors.

my bargain circa light fixture for the powder room ceiling.

the hardware was installed on the kitchen cabinets, as well as the faucet. you can read more about my hardware selection here.

a look at the kitchen from the great room. 

there will eventually be two pendants over the island, as well as a light fixture in the dining area but they wont be purchased for a while.

another view of the kitchen cabinets.

can you spot the slightly longer pulls on the larger pantry doors and the latches on the cabinets over the fridge/freezer?

i opted for a ballard designs semi flush mount in my younger daughters room.

i will most likely change the finish on this in the coming weeks!

the fronts to the drawers that will be installed under the sink in the island.

getting those pulls in was a bear! (according to my cabinet fabricator.) but totally worth it, according to me.

the (real, working) hood got installed.

there were a few times when the electricians, the plumbers and the cabinet guys were all there at the same time. it was a frenzy of stuff getting DONE. i LOVED it.

a view of the back hallway, leading out the the garage. the laundry room is to the right, and there is a closet and area for some future built-ins is to the left.
you can read about the light fixtures i chose for the hallway here.

the microwave got installed under the island counter top. 

sometime before we move in, the microwave will be trimmed out to make it look more built-in.

on the OUTSIDE of the house...

\he front retaining wall was worked on...
(the blocks will eventually be covered in stone just like the bottom of the house. eventually.
notice how the "eventually's" are starting to add up?)

and the side retaining wall along the driveway was started.

in this picture you can see the concrete footing for the wall...

there were also a few long nights doing what else...cleaning!

the upstairs floors had to be completely clean in preparation for the carpet!

i actually had to vacuum the ENTIRE upstairs with the tiny attachment that you see in my hand in the above picture.

oh, and of COURSE that attachment doesn't hook up to the "regular/long handle" on the shop vac. it only attaches directly to the hose...

so imagine me, scooting around on my hands and knees vacuuming about 1800 SF with a 5" wide vacuum attachment.
i felt like an 80 year old lady when i was done! "oh...my back! my knees!"

don't be fooled by this picture....she only vaccumed for about 25 square feet...

(child labor is great when you can get the CHILD to actually LABOR!)

ah....but onto more big changes...

carpet!

(cue the angels singing!)

nothing changes the look of a house more than carpet!

first, the pad went down...

and then the carpet was laid.

the entire house was done in just a few hours. it was amazing!

a look down the upstairs hall--looking towards the bonus room.

the bonus room.

the wall color doesnt look as green in real life, by the way.

ah...the stairs.

ok, so the original plan was just to lay the carpet everywhere, and then come back in a few years and lay wood treads and a nice runner.

well, the pine treads looked so great when they were installed that we thought we would just go ahead and paint them.

but THEN, it became clear that it was going to be more labor intensive, and therefor more $$ than we wanted to spend, so we decided to lay carpet on ALL of the stairs except the bottom 7 stairs from the landing to the main floor. the treads will be painted black, but we will wait until after we move so they don't get damaged.

CARPET ANGELS!

that's what my 9 year old son yelled as he dropped to the ground and gave the carpet an official "welcome."