The Estate of Things

Stacked stone planting wall…that’s our plan for the weekend. So its more like working on the weekend.

Most of the images above use medium stones, we chose thin Tennessee Veneer fieldstone to compliment the river rock that was applied to the columns. 

We bought about 3400 lbs. that will cover roughly 100+ square feet. No I did not take measurements of the beds, I just bought a pallet and then will go back for more if needed.  I don’t anticipate the wall being completed this weekend so going back for more later is ok.

We’ll be sharing the progress report on the backyard at Bungalow 404 as soon as there is some progress. We are meeting with landscaper #1 today. We meet with Landscaper #2 on Monday.

This is where we are now, brace yourselves– this photo is super exciting.

Now thats inspiring.

696 Virgina Avenue

Covered Front Porch

Living Room w/Fireplace

Separate Dining Room

Custom Kitchen

Vaulted Master Bedroom

Zen-Like Master Bath

Master Stairs

Master Loft

Master Balcony

2nd Bedroom

Den/3rd Bedroom

Custom Crafted Details

Back Deck

Fenced Backyard

Custom Workshop

Bungalows…just can’t get enough.

This week’s Estate Envy is located at 3953 Northeast Avenue in the Sabin neighborhood in Portland. Listed at $379,000, this property boasts a great layout, tons of character and a total renovation. Built in 1926, the house is a little over 1400 sq. feet.  The pictures can do the talking.

The laundry room (more like a pantry/closet) is off the kitchen. The doorway leading in to this room is an odd width.  I thought, until about a week ago, that I was going to have to settle for bi-fold doors from Lowe’s Home Improvement store. They would have to be cut to accomodate the odd size.  In the midst of my dissapointment over having to look at more standard bi-folds, I found this!

Image via Sunset

They looked fairly easy to build so I asked the carpenter and he said–no problem, I can do it. So the carpenter built the simple frames, sans little silver plugs and I’ll have the local glass company fit it with some glass panels.  I’ll have my version of the doors painted white to match the trim and other doors in the house. Voila!

Exterior painting is slated for next week for Bungalow 404. Four paint samples have been up for about two weeks now, observed in different stages of the day and the family and carpenters have all voted and voiced their opinions-wanted or unwanted.

1- Sherwin Williams, Moody Blue

2- Benjamin Moore, Mount Saint Anne

3- Sherwin Williams, Studio Blue Green

4- Benjamin Moore, Water’s Edge

After much consideration I’ve settled on Studio Blue Green. Originally, I wanted the color to be more along the lines of blue/gray, think a Colorado Blue Spruce collides with a cloudy Seattle day. The decision narrowed to Mount Saint Anne and Studio Blue Green.  But after much deliberation and living with them for a bit I sided with the Studio Blue Green.

Also for your enjoyment I’ve posted the kitchen with cabinet install complete. I think the layout turned out great. I see the reward of putting those three windows in the dining room every time I visit, the light just beams in from the backyard unobstructed by gables or eaves, brightening the whole room.

Also a few pictures of the bathroom tile.

Hall bath, shower wall

Floor tile in hall bath

Shower in Master Bath

The projected finish date has been set for April 1st. Think we can make it?

After a long search in both print and on the internet, I think I have found the right source of inspiration for Bungalow 404’s kitchen. If you are fairly indecisive like me, then it’s a relief to finally settle on a look you want to pursue.

Found on pointclickhome

This kitchen has many elements that I like, they are:

• Chrome/Nickel bin pulls
• Black countertops
• Chrome/glass pendants
• White cabinetry
• Ebony, gloss hardwoods
• Open to dining area

Oh and I think it’s important to tell you that I have decided to pack up my little family and move in to Bungalow 404…in case you hadn’t already surmised that. My favorite architectural style right now is Craftsman/Bungalow and I couldn’t pass up the chance to have my very own. And I am pretty sure Betsy is scouring the MLS searching for one that she can call her own because she’s jealous– but hey she gets to go to Europe this Spring.

Back to the kitchen…here are some purchases I have made to outfit 404’s kitchen.

At first I was sold for sure on the Phane pendant at Conran but just decided that it was out of my budget because I needed four and at $350 each, they got the boot.

Instead I ended up with the Clemson pendant from Restoration Hardware which I purchased new on Ebay and saved $40.

You’ll remember from a previous post that I chose white cabinets, some with glass fronts. I’ve also selected Absolute Black granite countertops and I’ve received one quote and am waiting for the cabinets to be installed on 2/9 before I receive the 2nd quote.  One of the stone companies I am working with advised me that Absolute Black granite tends to show scratches more than his Black Pearl and Black Galaxy stone. I had to just take that advise and move on because I couldn’t give up the consistency of the Absolute and I didn’t like the shiny stones or filler in the pearl and galaxy.

I purchased this lovely faucet for the kitchen sink after reading the reviews on Overstock and comparing prices.

Most of the original flooring on the main level is in fine shape and will be refinished. However, in the kitchen and new dining room, there was a mix between cheap laminate flooring and ugly and worn linoleum. New flooring will be installed Monday and it is a dark Hickory Spice by Somerset Flooring. The salesperson assured my Mom over the phone that it was an espresso-like finish.

This is natural hickory which I think would’ve been nice for the basement but we got white oak instead.

The contractor will continue the rest of the carpentry and trim work that needs to be done this coming week to prepare for the painters.  Painters have already started prepping, caulking, sanding and doing some priming.  The original trim work really needs to be sanded and smoothed to prepare it for paint. They plan to clean and pressure wash the exterior to prepare it for paint on Monday. The pressure is now on to select the rest of the interior and exterior paint colors this weekend.  I really want to get the outside color just right, I don’t want to pull in to the driveway everyday and it not be exactly what I wanted to see, it will bother the hell out of me so…I am going to probably paint a couple of samples on and observe those for at least 48 hours and make a decision from there.

I thought for a hot minute that I might want to wallpaper the downstairs bathroom at Bungalow 404 with this

Blackbird by Cavern, via Walnut Wallpaper

It’s a small space and it would be above white wainscoting. Just a touch. But I can’t do it, I can’t commit to wallpaper. Should I?

I think my love for wallpaper is fleeting. I think wallpaper and I would have a long and fruitless engagement, I will never marry.

3853 North Keeler Chicago, IL is the focus of this week’s Estate Envy.  Take a gander at prairie-style living in Chicagoland, where some say all the great bungalows are.  This house looks like it has a really great layout. This property is listed at a cool $1,075,000.

I am stuck on what to do with the three bathrooms in Bungalow 404, well I haven’t really put in the effort on collecting ideas and putting them together. The first bath is in the hall in between the master bedroom and the second bedroom.  I have decided (95% sure) that I would like to paint the hallway Mink by Benjamin Moore, it’s a chocolate brown and I like the idea of bold colors in small spaces.  I think it will elevate what would normally be a boring hallway.

I think that a soft blue bath off of the brown hall is going to be a great contrast. I’m sold on white subway tile and in this particular bath I will be doing a tile wainscoting. I haven’t decided what to do with the floor yet. We are stuck with a vanity because there was a huge air return in the bathroom that the owner didn’t want to relocate so the return had to be framed and boxed in so it will be tied into a vanity to make it disappear. I had originally planned for a pedestal.

I would really like to incorporate a glass door and this one is right on the mark. The wall color on my monitor appears to be the subtlest of blues also something I am searching for.

I like shaded sconces a lot like the ones featured in this image from pointclickhome.  I’m always looking for something timeless, it’s so easy to be so excited about something for your house and in 5 to 10 years want to desperately rip it down. I’m trying to avoid that.

These images helped me peer into the future with the use of a blue/green wall color and white subway tile

I was also considering using small mosaic tiles on the shower walls. Instead of the blue mosaic, I was thinking maybe some white mosaic.

White subway tiled shower walls also a consideration

And I really like IKEA’s circular Grundtal mirror, at $29.99 I like it even more

Again with the mosaics, only a different palette

So I’ve got some work to do on finding the right vanity that is going to hide that hideous air return and I’ve got a lot of concrete decisions to make on this bath with two left to go.