lighting

As the golden yellow leaves fall from our trees, there is an exciting transformation going on in the inside of our house as well. The walls are up and the heat is on!

Baby it’s cold outside!
Check out the condensation on our windows now that our heat is on!

Our house is finally showing the beginning signs of habitability–a very exciting turn of events! Now that the heat is on, the floors and trim can start going in/up. For me this is an exciting time to finalize some major design decisions: namely paint colors, cabinets, countertops and lighting as some of the major points of interest.

We have decided to paint the majority of our house one neutral color for now. This makes the decision much easier for me! We can always go back and paint rooms through the years.

Hayes is making the painted shaker cabinets and walnut custom vanities with the help of a few dear carpenter friends, so these will naturally be works of fine craftsmanship. I have no concerns in this department.

I am struggling with countertop decisions since I love the timelessness of marble but not its known durability issues. Since we we lean on the function side of the form/function equation as a family, we will be going with quartz.

On the subject of lighting, I took full advantage of Black Friday deals to order the majority of our fixtures. There were some amazing deals online! My task in this category has also been made substantially easier by our placement of nearly 70 can lights throughout the house.

I thought it would be fun to see the progress of a few of my favorite rooms this month before the detail work begins. I will show a few transformation images of our master bedroom, home office, kitchen, powder room and master bathroom to be continued over the next few months.

Master Bedroom

Future: Master now ready for wood floors and sconces.

Home Office

Future: I am excited about the space for triangular bookshelf

Kitchen

Framing: Out with the old doors and in with giant Marvin windows

Future: We’re ready for the base cabinets, tile backsplash, range, sink and island.

Powder Room

Before: This was the only downstairs bathroom accessed in the downstairs guest bedroom.
Yes it had a few leaks.

Framing: New powder room with new window

Future: Walls are up and now waiting for beadboard paneling, wallpaper and fixtures

Master Bathroom

Before: Originally there was only one full bath in the house upstairs, shared of course

Future: We’re ready for the salvaged clawfoot tub, custom vanity, shiplap and walk-in shower

Hayes will be working on cabinets, vanities and trim for the next month or two. The hardwood and tile teams will be coming in to help finish our floors. I can’t wait to see what happens! Until 2019…Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

Well the first snow came early this year–inside our house. That’s what it looks like to me anyway. I think I mentioned that the spray foam insulation was going to encapsulate the house including sealing off the crawl space and attic, so it looks like snow in reverse fell to all the non dependent crevices of our house.

bedroom #1 and framing for little kid closet

We have done a lot of planning this month. There are so many considerations before the walls go up: placement of outlets, switches, lights, appliances, mirrors, cabinets, plumbing, venting, oh my! Things can change, but after this point it will be very inconvenient. For example, Hayes had to drill holes in the exterior brick for the lights outside, so we only want to do this once. I never before considered all of the measurements that go into light placement and the craftsmanship required to ensure that all the fixtures are level.

hardwired sconce placement at master bed

hardwired master bathroom sconce placement

front entrance light selection and placement

making accommodations for the salvaged claw foot tub

Pinterest planning for creating the outdoor shower faucet

We have been simultaneously working on the exterior. More copper flashing and gutters will continue to go up throughout the project. The exterior trim is up, so now we’re onto the trim painting phase.

We have also done lots of yard work. After consulting with a trusted advisor, we decided the best course of action for all of the shrubs at the entrance to our home was to clear them out and start fresh with planting of indigenous plants in the winter and spring. It turns out that having a wooded, large lot also translates to endless leaf raking in the fall and endless joy for toddlers.

Now that we’ve finished all the interior wall considerations and met the requirements of our inspectors, we can turn the heat on and start on the walls and floors. We have already started on the showers and will likely have major changes over the course of the month!

We are thankful to the endless number of people who have helped us, are helping us and will help us make this house our home. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Changing Seasons