getting real.

Hi.  My name is Amy.  And I fell off the blogging wagon.  Now that we've gotten that over with... Want to see what the house looks like these days?

But first, a disclaimer:

I'm really sick of unpacking.  I'm anxious to put our mark on this place, but most nights I'd rather do something that isn't house related.  We've been going on lots of walks.  Playing in the dirt.  Celebrating birthdays, weddings and graduations.  Fishing in the retention pond.  Reading books.  Meeting neighbors.  Catching up on TV.  Visiting family.  Anything but hanging things on the walls and emptying more boxes. 

But I'm okay with it right now.  We've made some good progress on the garage.  The mirrors in E's bathroom were finally purchased and hung (just tonight!).  We've remodeled the laundry room (yes, already - more on that soon...).  We're getting there.  Slowly.

Now, back to the house.  These pictures were taken on my phone at 10:00 pm.  No staging involved.  Luckily, our house cleaner was here yesterday or it would have been worse :)

There is nothing on the walls in our bedroom.  Our lamps still have price tags and our shades are still covered in plastic.  We don't have a king sized blanket.  But we do have a bed.  And there are curtains hung - with real blinds behind them!

The master bathroom is in decent shape.  We have towel rings, cabinet hardware, towel books, accent towels and rugs!  I really want to add plantation shutters above the bathtub and I still need to figure out what to do with the vanity and wall in the middle of the sinks.

Rugs are hard to find.  I should be more specific. Rugs are hard to find when you're picky and cheap.  We finally found the one for the back door at Sam's.  But we continue to have a serious shoe problem back there.  I think I need to buy an organizer and bench for just inside the garage.

Also, the laundry room has been upgraded with a new tile floor, new baseboards and a fresh coat of paint.  The surrounding hardwood floors have also been replaced.  All thanks to a leaky washer hose.  We woke up one morning, not long after moving in, to a flooded basement, wet garage and soaked laundry room and powder room.  It was great fun.  But we're now the proud owners of washer hoses with a 20-year warranty!

Our drop zone continues to collect junk.  Although, it looks much better today than it has in months.  I really need to get some organizers and make this a useful spot to sort mail, store school bags, charge electronics, etc.  The powder room is in decent shape, though.  I still need to hang things on the walls and maybe even find a small table/stand for next to the door/across from the toilet.  It's a decently deep room and it would be nice to have a spot to store extra TP and other necessities.

I love our dining table.  And I love the design of our dining area rug...but I think it's too small.  I've been stalking Craigslist trying to find a long, narrow buffet for the big, blank wall.  I'm also on the lookout for curtains.  I'm debating whether to buy the same ones as the living room or try something different.  So many choices.  So few that I like.

We still need to add a tile backsplash in the kitchen.  I'm really leaning towards a grey glass subway tile.  And, we'll soon be adding two open shelves to the area next to the fridge/above the Keurig and wine.  So excited!

The living room continues to be a work in progress.  I recently picked up the wingback chair from Marshalls and love it.  The brown leather ottoman in front of the the armchair is on it's way out, I think.  I'm hoping to use the red pouf as a footstool instead.  But that means I need to bring in some more color.  I want to replace the art above the fireplace (an $8 find from Marshalls several years ago) with something a little more interesting.  And, I also want to bring in a small coffee table.  Maybe painted turquoise?  I continue to pick up random pillows whenever I'm out.  They still all have tags on them.  Shhh.

We just hung the mirrors in E's bathroom this evening.  It was difficult to find mirrors that fit the vanity and light fixtures.  I'm almost wondering if we should have done a large, framed rectangular mirror instead?  Unfortunately, at this point, the center outlet was in the way.  Maybe we should, instead, relocate the towel ring to the center?  Hmmmm.

Our queen sized sleigh bed is really too big for the spare bedroom.  But it works for now.  Ultimately, we'll move this bedroom set to a guest room in the basement.  For now, we've hung curtains.  But that's about it.  The highly hung curtains look so nice in magazines and online, but I'm not sure how I feel about them here.  Maybe the curtain rods are too small?  We still need to add blinds to these windows, paint the room, hang stuff on the walls and unpack everything that's thrown into the closet.  The bedding is in the wash as I type.

E's room is the only room in the house that has anything hung on the wall.  But it still needs permanent window coverings, more stuff for the walls, decorative pillows, etc.  It's a good thing we have such a cute little boy to distract from everything not finished!

The foyer is pretty much a blank slate.  Ultimately, the quilt rack will find a different home and we'd like to add board and batten along the two walls.  I'll probably add a bench and some hooks along one wall and a gallery wall of photos along the other wall.

The flex room is a complete dumping ground right now.  Toys.  Office stuff.  Man cave.  It's driving me nuts.

The basement is still completely overrun with boxes.  And, for now, I just avoid it.  About 25% is baby stuff we hope to need again someday.  Another 25% is man cave and craft room stuff that won't be unpacked until the basement is finished.  And the remainder is made up of holiday decorations and stuff that needs to be sorted through.  Someday.

And, despite looking like a complete disaster, the garage is in much better shape than it had been.  We have a few boxes left to carry to the basement, a patio set to relocate to our newly finished patio (woo hoo!) and a growing garage sale pile.  What's left should be able to be relocated to the extra garage bay after a couple more hours of work.  We're getting close!

I think the only areas fully unpacked are the freezer, pantry and fridge.  I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to stock up again.  Just don't pay attention to how desperately the pantry needs organized.  I've purchased shelves and baskets...I just need to empty it out and make order of it all.  Oddly enough, I enjoy that kind of thing. Organizing = fun.  Cleaning and Unpacking = no fun. 

So, two months in, that's where we're at.  Our concrete driveway, sidewalk and patio was just poured last week but we're still waiting on the land to be graded.  The builder is slowly working on the items we identified during our initial and 30-day walk through inspections.  The furnace has been repaired.  The laundry room has been remodeled.  The hot water heater has been fixed.  The garage door has been duct taped. Oh, the joys of home ownership.  But I wouldn't have it any other way.

day 142

Lots of changes and little time to update can only mean one thing - it's time for an iPhone photo dump!

1. Tile work in the master bathroom shower has begun.  I think they started last Wednesday and currently have the floor and half the walls complete.  The photos below are from Sunday.

Since these were taken, they've laid the floor (rectangular mosaics) and hung the diagonal square tiles above the small pencil edge tile.  Can't wait to see it finished!

2. Granite was installed in the master bathroom last Friday.

[Vanilla Ice granite counters]

And I don't totally love it.  Which makes me sad.  I'm hoping that once the additional shelf is installed in the middle of the vanity and the plumbing, mirrors, lights, etc. are added, I'll like it much more.  I had really wanted a neutral granite that didn't make a big statement and, right now, this is a bit bolder than I had originally hoped for.  I'm sure the fact that it's currently the only pattern in the room does not help.  Nor do the cardboard-covered floors.

Also, we had to make a last minute change on our faucet locations.  They were originally supposed to be offset, at an angle, on the outside corners of the sinks.  We received a call from the granite folks the morning they were to install, letting us know they'd just gotten a complaint from the last vanity they did that way.  Apparently, water keeps splashing out of their sinks.  In favor of function over design, we decided to mount the faucets as normal, centered along the backs of the sinks.  I'm just bummed now that we didn't go with the rectangular sinks.  Unfortunately, by the time they'd received the complaint and called us, the sink holes had already been cut for the oval bowls.  Oh well.  I was just grateful to find out about the splashing issue before they'd cut the faucet holes.

3.  And granite was also installed in the main bathroom.

[Coffee Brown granite counters]

There is more brown in the stone than the photo is pulling.  And as nervous as I was about the dark color, I really like it.  Phew.

4. We finally got around to painting our Craigslist dresser this weekend.  After much debate, we opted to do a charcoal top with a medium grey base and drawers.  The contrast is definitely greater in person than the photos are showing.  More details to follow on this project.

5. After a ton of browsing, I think I finally found a shower curtain that will work for the main bathroom.  I really want something kid-friendly, but classy.  And it's been amazingly hard to find!

The shower curtain was found at Tuesday Morning ($16) and I think I'll need 2 yards each of the navy and green fabrics ($3/yd).  So, for $28, I should have a shower curtain I love.  Hopefully!

6. I also found hardware for the master bathroom vanity!  I don't know if they're new to Lowe's, or if I've just never noticed them before, but we finally decided on using a combination of knobs and pulls.

Knob: allen + roth 1-1/4" Polished Nickel Round Cabinet Knob

Pull: allen + roth 3" Center-to-Center Polished Nickel Bar Cabinet Pull

7. I found a mirror that I love for the main bathroom.  But I think it's a little too large.  And I think something rectangular would probably fit better.  The one below is from Hobby Lobby, but I'm wondering if we could make our own if we bought a plain beveled mirror and then trimmed it out with some painted and distressed molding?

8. We might have decided to wall paper the wall behind the toilet.  Or maybe the powder room.  And, yes, I swore I'd never use wallpaper in my life.  Especially after living in this highly wallpapered condo.  But isn't it pretty?

9. Weren't my boys handsome in their St. Patty's Day attire?

10. The electricians are coming out on Saturday to wrap everything up!  We're going to have them install one more light outside of the powder room/by the drop zone.  We've noticed it's a bit dark at night and figured we might as well have them take care of it now.

11. The new bathroom vanity cabinet should be delivered tomorrow or Thursday.  Can't wait to have it installed and to finally be able to check cabinets off the list.

12.  The plumber was supposed to start working Monday but we haven't seen him yet.

13.  Unlucky number 13.  We stopped by the house this weekend to drop off our kitchen faucet and a replacement light fixture that had been purchased broken.  In the time it took us to walk into the house and quickly drop off/check for updates, E discovered the latest project.  They'd filled our master shower basin with cement.  And it was fresh.  I'm sure you can imagine what happened next.  Hubby worked hard to smooth everything out while I cleaned up the kid and his less than two-hours old shoes.  Breath in.  Breath out.  

The countdown is on....20 days to go!

bedroom inspiration

I think we're going to do a little furniture re-arranging at the new house.  Hubby is dying to upgrade to a king sized bed, so our current bedroom furniture will be moving to the spare bedroom.  I'm planning to keep the same quilt, but we're going to change out the pillows, curtains and wall art.  The photo below is our old master bedroom, depersonalized and staged to sell. 

I mentioned yesterday that I'd picked up a few pillows from Kohl's, as well as curtains from IKEA, so I think we have a pretty good start on this room.  I'm still debating on the wall color  Maybe a light tan?  Or possibly even something with a little blue in it?

The curtains were the ultimate inspiration for this room and I think the lighter pillows will really brighten things up and help create a welcoming guest space.  And I'm glad they still work with the quilt - which I still love, six years after purchasing.  (Funny story - I bought the quilt from Target for like $70.  A day after it arrived in the mail, I found it on Overstock for like $30.  Do you know much $40 feels like to a newlywed?  I was excited for days.)

I'll pull in some brown from the stained dresser and a chunky mirror over the dresser, but am otherwise planning to use blue and red accents.  A few pops of a bright, canary yellow might be nice, too.  I think this space will be fun to decorate since I won't be living in it every day.  I can go outside of my comfort zone of neutrals a bit.

Random thought - it might look good to find some older nightstands, paint them white/cream and then stain just the tops?  Or even find a couple smaller plant stand sized tables and paint them a deep red?  Hmmm....

For the master bedroom, we're currently weighing the pros and cons of a few different beds.  We posted the options on Facebook and I think the bottom left was the easy winner.

Sources (clockwise, starting at the top left): Restoration Hardware outlet, IKEA, Target, Joss & Main

Our thoughts -

Restoration Hardware: Best quality by far but there is a stain on the foot board that I'm not sure will come out; I'm also not sold on the foot board - doesn't it seem like the tufting should be on the outside, too?  It's the most expensive, but is about $1500 less than retail by being at the outlet.

IKEA: It's the least expensive and really does look good in person.  You can't see it here, but the base is actually two pieces, so there is a connector (with feet) that is visible from the end of the bed.  Compared to the others, it's very simple.

Target: Not the biggest fan of the color, but I'm having a hard time finding the gray option in stock anywhere.

Joss & Main:  Love the look of this bed, but hate the thought of ordering a bed online, unseen.  Also, it was available through Joss & Main on a limited basis and is no longer on their website.  I haven't yet been successful locating it elsewhere - or finding somewhere that carries it locally for me to see in person.

At this point, we haven't made a decision.  The only other items we have figured out for the master bedroom are the curtains (acquired from two different TJ Maxx stores back in November) and the dresser. 

[master bedroom curtains]

And, when I say we've figured out the dresser, I only mean we've sanded and primed it and left it sitting in the garage.  I'm still not sure what color we'll end up painting it.  I recently picked up a sample pot of a faded yellow color that would be pretty - but then I saw a really neat two-toned gray dresser on Facebook this week.  Not sure why I'm having such a tough time deciding.  Maybe I'm waiting to decide on a full color scheme for the room?

[Refinished by Reclaimed]

In unrelated, non-decorating news - E had his first dentist appointment today.  After needing to reschedule three different times (I was afraid the dentist's office was going to boot us for good!), we finally made it there.  And despite waking little man up from his nap for the visit, he was a champion.  The hygienist was able to brush and count his teeth and the dentist was able to do a full exam and fluoride treatment.  I was so proud of him.  Especially since I hate the dentist.

Doesn't he look so big?  I am so not ready for these milestones.  And something else I'm not ready for?  E telling his teachers that he's going to have a baby brother and his name is going to be Baby Bear.  Hilarious, but I'm sort of wondering how many people he's told that to and how many people think I'm pregnant.   And let me answer that question.  I'm not.  Sorry to burst any bubbles!

living room inspiration

So I mentioned yesterday that we did a bit of shopping on Sunday.  It's been fun to start making decorating decisions, instead of just building and finish decisions.   It's a little intimidating, as well.  After all, I work in accounting, not interior design.

We purchased our current sofa and loveseat from a discount furniture store in town just after we got married seven years ago.  It's a light brown color with some green undertones and, while it fit into our apartment well, it was always a bit large for our house.  I've been on a mission to find something new for a couple of years and really fell in love with the idea of a linen-colored sofa.  Crazy with a little one, right?  In an attempt to balance pretty with functional, I finally decided on a washable, slip-covered sofa. The problem?  Most of the ones I like cost a small fortune.  And, with as much as my taste changes, I'm not willing to spend a small fortune.  I'm also not willing to take the gamble that my linen-colored sofa idea is a great one.  So, we've been on the lookout for something affordable, but nice.  Something that will hold up decently to being lived in, but is still comfortable.  Enter IKEA.

As hesitant as I was at first, I really think their Ektorp sofa and chair are going to meet our needs.  The sofa is $499 and the chair is $399 - completely affordable.  Plus, they were super comfortable - and most importantly - washable!  We held off on actually buying anything and are going to wait until we can move them directly to the new house.  Now, I'm on the lookout for another coordinating chair.  Preferably something that is a tad smaller than the Ektorp chair and contains a bit of a pattern.  Any suggestions?

The inspiration board below is the look I think I'm going for:

The couch, chair and ottoman are all from IKEA.  We purchased the rug from Rugs USA during their recent (and still ongoing) 50% off sale - it's the Keno Nava Trellis rug in Slate and the price was right.  The reviews are good, but I haven't yet seen it in person.

I'm thinking of carrying the same wall color from the kitchen and dining area into the living room.  I like the shade of gray and I really think the continuity will be nice.

The throw pillows, artwork and decorative accents will be the tough part.  I don't like spending a ton of money on "pretty" things, but I really want everything to look nice and pulled together.  After browsing at least fifteen website for throw pillows, I was able to narrow down a selection that will hopefully help set the tone for the room.  I love the casual mix of patterns and I think the colors are neutral enough that I can pull in some brighter art for the walls.  Says the accountant...  I really have no idea what I'm doing.

The sources of the pillows are:
1. Sculpted Origami Pillow Cover in Heather Gray from West Elm - $34.00
2. Honeycomb Crewel Pillow Cover in Blue/Ivory from West Elm - $39.00
3. Keyes Decorative Pillow in Charcoal/White from Home Decorators Collection - $54.00
4. Piper Decorative Pillow in Yellow/White from Home Decorators Collection - $54.00
5. Deco Dot Down Filled Pillow in Spa Blue and Ivory from Shades of Light - $42.00
6. Nate Berkus for Target Gray Geometric Applique Pillow from Target - $24.99
7. Medallion Flocked Lumbar Pillow from World Market - $14.98

I'm hoping Marshalls/HomeGoods/TJ Maxx/Tuesday Morning will have similar pillows for much less.  The prices above are much more than I'd like to pay for decorative pillows.  I did hit up Kohl's tonight (yay for 30% off coupons!) and was able to pick up some pillows for the spare bedroom, but I didn't find anything for the living room.  Bummer.

We made a few more purchases on Sunday for the dining area and spare bedroom, plus Hubby's mom is hard at work on a project for E's room.  I think I have somewhat of an idea of the design direction in those rooms - and will share details soon.  Now, to figure out the rest of E's room, the main bath, the master bedroom and the flex room. 

In the mean time, here's a sneak peek of a few items we did end up purchasing from IKEA:

From L to R: LAPPLJUNG panel curtains, HENRIKSDAL upholstered chair, KAUSTBY wooden chair (note: the KAUSTBY chair we purchased is similar to the above, but larger and sturdier - and $10 more)

day 112

Ready for another list?

1. I like the paint colors.  Phew.  We had selected Valspar colors from Lowes but the painter uses Sherwin Williams, so we were forced to find new colors.  The kitchen was almost an exact match (Gull by Valspar vs. Gray Clouds by Sherwin Williams) but the master bath wasn't (Smoked Oyster by Valspar vs. Perfect Greige by Sherwin Williams).  I like the master bath color quite a bit, but until I see it with the granite and cabinets, I won't be 100% sold.  The main bath color I actually like better (Light Raffia by Valspar vs. Nantucket Dune by Sherwin Williams).  I was unable to get good photos this weekend, but here's a preview of what the new color palette looks like:

[color samples from Sherwin Williams]

2. The trim was finally finished being installed on the front of the exterior!  It's amazing what a difference it makes having that one piece up.

3. After a bit of drama, our kitchen faucet has arrived.  We decided on the Wheaton by Pfister and ordered it from build.com on January 31.  We were aware that there was about a one week delay for shipment, but when I received an e-mail on the 15th that it might not ship until February 28, I started freaking out a bit.  Their customer service team was great to work with, but ultimately we ended up cancelling the order because their shipments from Pfister were on back-order.  We found a new faucet being sold from a user on Amazon for $50 cheaper so it ended up working out for the best.  Despite being a tad nervous about the condition, it arrived in the original box, in mint condition.  Yay for small victories (savings)!

[Wheaton by Pfister from build.com]

4. Flooring started going in on Friday!  The main bath, fireplace hearth and half of the master bath tile was laid on Friday (day 110).  The hardwood floor started being laid out on Saturday (day 111) and they were back out working on the tile again today (day 112).

5. I did a bit of shopping at Restoration Hardware today.  The towel rings, toilet paper holders and towel bars at the big box home improvement stores are cheap.  In price and quality.  I've been hesitant to spend the money for decent ones, but I'm finally giving in.  The Restoration Hardware outlet had a matching towel ring and toilet paper holder so I picked them up for the powder room.  I thought I had been diligent about comparing finishes at the store, but upon getting home, I realized one was polished chrome and the other was polished nickel.  Ugh.  Hopefully I'll be the only one to notice.  But, for $32 each instead of $55, I was happy with my purchase.

[Chatham Tissue Holder by Restoration Hardware]

[Chatham Towel Ring by Restoration Hardware]

6. I also picked up some hardware for the main bathroom.  We'll use the pulls on the middle three drawers and the knobs on the two doors.  These were $4.99 each instead of $11.00.  Have I mentioned I love the outlet?

[1-1/4" Aubrey knob by Restoration Hardware]

[4" Aubrey pull by Restoration Hardware]

[Portrait series in Maple - Sable by Merillat]

7. I almost bought pulls (the Gilmore) for the master bathroom vanity but ended up putting them back.  The only con to the outlet is their no return policy.  I still love the pulls, but I was worried how they would fit on the top drawers. I'm having a really hard time picking out hardware for this vanity.  Any ideas or suggestions?  We're looking for polished chrome without fussy details.  Our inspiration vanity actually just uses simple knobs for everything.

[Gilmore pull by Restoration Hardware]

[master bath vanity]

Source: houzz.com via Amy on Pinterest

8. The hole in our master bedroom floor was patched.  However, our floor is starting to look a little Frankenstein-like.  I had requested the floor vents be moved from under our windows (and ultimately under our nightstands) immediately after they were cut out.  So, now we have three patches - and another large seam along one of the side walls.  I know it's only the subfloor but I worry about the integrity of the patches over time.

9.  We hit up Home Depot on Saturday and finally purchased the hardware for the kitchen cabinets.  I'm happy with both the price and style.

[Cup Pull by Liberty Hardware from Home Depot]

[Contempo Knob by Liberty Hardware from Home Depot]

10. Finally, we started sanding and priming the Craigslist dresser tonight!  So far so good, but I'm still completely stuck on what color I want to paint it.  Ivory?  Light gray?  Charcoal?  Yellow?  Light blue?  So many possibilities.  Anyone have some uh-mazing inspiration photos to share that will help me make up my mind?

day 92

It's Monday.  And I'm scatterbrained.  And I'm not in the mood to write proper sentences or use correct grammar.  Therefore, it's time for a list.

1. I met our Construction Manager at the house during lunch to talk through what's to come, go over placement of our master bath mirrors and resolve an issue the drywall crew left behind.  He told me that they should be adding the attic insulation today or tomorrow and then they'll start heating the house up to finish the drywall work.  Also, the siding is finally done along the garage!  They just need to finish the trimwork on the porch and box in the columns.

2. We ordered our kitchen faucet last week and are getting varying estimated ship dates.  Hopefully it ships sooner rather than later.  We finally decided on the Pfister Wheaton in a stainless steel finish.  We're not going to install the soap dispenser because the one at our old house never worked properly.

Pfister Wheaton faucet from build.com

3. We also ordered our dimmers and fan controls last week.  I can honestly say they were some of the least exciting things to pick out so far.

[images from Pro Lighting]

Left to Right: Lutron 3-way Fan Control, Lutron Fan Control & Dimmer, Lutron 3-way Dimmer

4. I had a wall texture crisis today.  I'd really prefer a smooth drywall finish.  I personally think it looks cleaner.  However, it's expensive.  And I've spent a lot of money on other upgrades recently. So, we're sticking with texture.  But I don't remember what texture.  Aye.  The Builder is going to confirm with me tomorrow.

5. Our house cleaner comes tomorrow.  I have no desire to finish picking up the condo.  Or to go to the bank for cash.  But I'll be glad for it tomorrow night.

6. Have you seen the IKEA Rast side table?  It's unimpressive on it's own but there are some amazing hacks out there.  I'm seriously considering trying to replicate a couple of these.  Could be fun, no?

[Rast Side Table by IKEA]

[Rast side table hack by A Charming Nest]

7. Our cabinets are now scheduled to be delivered next Thursday or Friday.  I'm hoping for Thursday.  Happy Valentines Day to me!  I'm so ready to see them installed.  Not sure if I'm more excited about the kitchen or master bath vanity.

8. I still need to order our cabinet hardware.  I have the kitchen knobs and pulls picked out but I'm still not sure what I'm doing in the bathrooms.

9.  I also need to order toilet paper holders and towel bars/hooks/rings.  I'm leaning towards the Sussex line at Pottery Barn but I'm still on the lookout for something cheaper but still high quality.  We've been to Lowe's and Menards.  Maybe Home Depot will come through for us?

[Sussex Towel Ring by Pottery Barn]

[Sussex Paper Holder by Pottery Barn]

10. That's all I have but it seemed weird to end a list on 9.