I love this house. I really do. I am so excited for almost each and every corner of it. I love each wall. I love all the windows. I still love the front door.  I very much love the tub . But, just as much as I once hated shower valves and bathtubs . I now hate vanities. I loathe them. At one point, I was like "oh, let's make sure there is a spot to plug in a hair dryer!" And now I'm more like "let's just make sure the water doesn't end up on the floor and nobody drowns". Here's what I've decided I care about: under-mount or flush sink the most minimal post exposed shelving if needed shaker style detailing  Here's what I'm not sure about: I feel like I want a drawer, but do I? Like why can't we just use bins to contain our shit. I might even like that more.  How much under sink storage is necessary? On legs or flush to the floor? Rectangular sink v oval? In general I'm trying to go with a more p...
Candidly I'm having a hard time designing the master bathroom. I literally have no vision for it . I know what the first floor bathroom looks like. I know what the hall bathroom looks like. I have no idea about the master bathroom. I love my tub . I like the windows. I have zero vision for everything else. So, when I saw a dumb Buzzfeed article about bathroom design - I took it. I also was looking forward to when the internet thought I might have children in this mythical bathroom. I just assumed they were going to tell me "Age 25" - but, apparently my bathroom design instinct mean I'm never having children. I died a little bit with laughter - and then also with a bit of shock. Like, are my design tastes that indicative of people who don't have children? For what it's worth, I feel like Pinterest hasn't led me to believe I'm not having kids based on my tile choices. So here's to never taking Buzzfeed questionaires ever again - and to...
First of all this is a funny word. Second of all, Jim the contractor asked me to decide where any / all paneling was going throughout the house. Initially this might seem like an overwhelming question but it actually was perhaps one of the easiest to date. I looked back at some of the original interior shots to see where we had it before. The answer? Pretty much everywhere. If it was a room that wasn't a bedroom? Wainscoting. Or Bead board. Or Board and Batten. Whatever you want to call it.  I'll be keeping almost true to that original design. First question = where is it going Second question = what will it be Question 1: Where I've broken my thoughts out into 3 different zones: "95% yes", "75% yes", and "depending on the budget". Cute how that last category is named right? The clear winners to me the upstairs hallway and the hall bathroom. The other zones are a little TBD. Here's the breakdown: upstairs hall = absolutely. ...
I'm going to categorize week 25 as a hard week. I feel like I'm behind on.... everything. Everyone is waiting for me to respond to them. I've legitimately missed the first boat on the home security system (...almost not my fault). I'm wearing on the patience on several people I would imagine. But - while this week was not the easiest. There was so much progress that happened. Progress that gives you the "oh shit, this is getting close" moments. On Sunday, the walls were just filled with insulation. On Tuesday, all the walls were covered with blueboard - or whatever they call this stuff. Then by Friday, the walls were getting plastered! All of a sudden, there are really rooms. Rooms where you see life happening. Bananas. On Friday I pulled up to the house after work and caught a glimpse of the deck railing... and died a little. It is perfect. Contractor Jim is so talented. I stood on the back deck and embraced all of it. It's perfect from the color of...
This week felt like a light one. I'm sure the crew might feel differently - but that's how it seems when you initially look at the house. I was out of town for a few days as well but when I came back... the first thing I saw was the front porch trim. It looks amazing. One of the most stately parts of the old house to me was the heavy trim on the front porch. It felt so solid and present. We had to add a bit of a beam to the front porch so there would be a place for the wall to go. We needed a wall because... you can't have a 3 sided screen porch. But the beam appears to seamlessly blend in. It looks like it has been there for 100 years. I love it. I had never discussed with Jim what the trim would be like on the front porch. In part because I just trust him to make the right decision. He takes my design thoughts, slightly tweaks them, and then does it. I told him that it was important that there was a screen porch. He makes it happen. what happened emailed nice Kitc...
There is not a single thing in this entire house that I won't have thought about. Now? It's interior doors. I bet you just walk through doors and down hallways and never think about them. So did I. Now? I'm thinking about every single detail. Door Throughout this entire project the goal has been to bring this house back to it's roots - and keep my own at the same time. Unfortunately, the doors left behind were ... nothing special. I'm sure special things did come out of the 70s but these doors were not them. So, we are doing all new doors. The minute Jim suggested a 5 panel door, I knew it was the concept. I might have even immediately said yes. I searched at a lot of options on Pinterest while on a flight. There are a lot of options out there but here's where we settled. End result? A 5-panel door with limited detailing. Trim Just like the doors, the trim will be everywhere. I was so thankful that I found this random picture on Pinterest. There...
The week started off a bit slow…. because we still didn’t have electricity from the last nor’easter. In the event there was any doubt about the need for a generator, that is gone. And just like all the other weeks, I’ll say the same thing. This is really coming together and feeling real. On Friday, the insulation team was spraying in the foam insulation. All of a sudden…. there was this structure and shape to the house that I hadn’t seen before. It was a really surreal feeling. The best moment of the week was when I was standing in the bathroom with Jim determining the bathtub placement. We propped up the box to make the wall, looked at it from different angles, shifted it around. But - I couldn’t quite tell if it was right. So I hopped into the dusty, plastic lined tub and gave it a whirl. It felt perfect. But the best part? Jim examining how far my top knot bun would be from the wall. Real team effort. what happened this week picked out a tub faucet confirmed bathtub p...
The beautiful Richmond bathtub arrived this week - and I was beyond excited. Just like your traditional birth announcement, I texted several people and received congratulations / responses that were definitely more aligned with life-changing events. Clearly the people in my life are just as thankful we are moving past this tub phase. But the tub actually being here has helped this bathroom really come into focus more. Candidly, I was having a harder time visualizing what this bathroom would be like. Yes, it was a "master bathroom. It has some of these traditional elements like a free-standing tub but it also had some slightly wonky windows. So every inspiration image really doesn't apply to me. I wasn't going to put a chandelier above the tub because how would that look with these funny windows. To be clear: I don't really have a problem with these windows. If there were two big windows, then someone would literally be able to watch me shower. That wouldn'...
It feels oddly poetic that the week we talk about generators…. is the week that we get hammered by a nor’easter. We are currently on day 3 without power. I’m not exactly writing this by candle light, my parents have a generator so that’s a win. I made a few trips over to check out the old lady during lull in the storm. She did great! Everything looks good on the outside, no obvious roof leaks, windows and doors look good. The only hiccup? The basement did get a bit wet. Given the historic storm and rain totals, it is pretty incredible that there was only a small amount of water. The water table is through the roof. Not the literal roof, but rather the figurative roof. The best part of this week was that the master bathtub arrived. The worst part of this week was realizing that we needed to pick a faucet for the tub... and that there was really only 3 options. And all the options were expensive. How expensive? More than 50% the cost of the tub. How is that even possible? what ha...