The Estate of Things

It’s birthday weekend!  Unfortunately, I will not be dazzling you with how fabulous I am by saying that I’ve got some grand destination birthday planned. No jetsetting here.

But…I will be headed to:

a. the flea market (the Raleigh, NC fair grounds flea is rated one of like the 25 best in Country Living)

b. a couple of other antique/consignment stores after flea

c. dinner with friends, all of which are female

d. cocktails

e. commando decorating at Kristine’s house

Sounds good right? Good enough for me.

Last night I celebrated with my family and Dan presented me with this,

Some after dinner conversation,

Dan: Will you be gone most of the day on Saturday you think?

me: absolutely

Dan: Well there’s a present coming for you but I don’t know if you have to sign for it.

me: Is it a Massimo Vitali beach scene?

Dan: yeah

me: Seriously?!?

Dan: no, but its something like that

conclusion: there’s a good possibility it’s artwork, yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In other news,

I have been hammering out the completion of the Indiana project all week. It will be pretty much done with the exception of the closet install on Sunday.  The yard will be hyrdroseeded tomorrow and yes we can talk about that at more length if you’d like to in the future.

Iphone pic, two coats Ben Moore Showtime

It goes on the market next week. I may not sleep until it sells.

I don’t have anything to share this week because I’ve been standing out in the yard pacing at the Indiana project all week saying things like “are you coming today…ok and what time” “can you be finished by Saturday?” or the ever popular “that pea gravel is such a disappointment”

We worked hard Saturday in the 90 degree heat on the landscaping and fine tuning the lot at the Indiana project. There is a lot to be done. When a house is under construction for many months and work trucks are driving all over what was already a poor excuse for a lawn, you’ve got your work cut out for you.

Construction debris has to be raked away, dead limbs have to be cut, existing shrubs have to be pruned/shaped, a lawn may have to be installed.

We purchased our plant stock back in January, so it was transported over, unloaded and ready to be placed. My Mom and I typically do the layouts and we shoot from the hip when it comes to landscape design.

We are far from done after this weekend but its a start.

Some friendly neighbors came over and asked to tour the house and we obliged. They spent a while inside and emerged with some pretty positive feedback. I happen to know which house is theirs in town and I’m pretty impressed with their home but they want to move to Indiana! They described our renovation as “breathtaking”…this makes me feel great. After all, this is a huge risk and to hear something like that gives you a tiny bit of relief.

Some of you might be wondering what the outcome of the exterior lighting deliberation was for the Indiana project.  I did make my selections and here’s what we ended up with,

Restoration Hardware’s Rutherford sconces for the back of the house. I know, it wasn’t on the list.

And for the front, the Sea Gull fixtures (#13).  Right now I’m having second thoughts about the Sea Gull, its a little small.  I’m considering ordering the Rutherford for the front too.

Also purchased was #3, the swan neck will be mounted over the back door. Its a pretty big fixture in the box, the electrician will hold it up in place tomorrow so we can see if it will work.

With all of the exterior painting done with the exception of deck stain and touch up, we turned to selecting an accent color for the front door.

After considering blue/grays, white, greens and gray (boring!) we gravitated towards red, deep coral or a gold.

My Mom suggested the gold, both she and my Dad really like Benjamin Moore’s Goldfield. I like Spanish Red.

My goal here is to find a color that is both fun and sophisticated. I want to totally distance myself from the dreaded “whimsical”.

Samples are up,

And your vote is?

During the course of the Indiana project a curious neighbor has frequented the job site.  She has readily offered her opinion to the carpenters working at the house and they in turn share those opinions with me.

In the beginning she shared a lot of praise, saying that the family that lived there would be bursting with happiness to see what we had done with the house.  These days she serves up opinions on paint colors and a little criticism.

Last week she walked in for her weekly tour. Upon entering the master bath, she exclaimed “oh mistake” and added “no tub in the master!”

Chesterfield tub, Waterworks, $10,197

Ms. Neighbor should know after research and deliberation we chose not to squeeze a tub in to that space. She might also like to know that most people that I questioned never used their jetted garden tubs.  The real estate agent assured me that it was not a deal breaker. 

Maybe Ms. Neighbor was comforted when her tour continued upstairs and she found a tub in the bath up there.

For the sake of comedy and a little irony, you might like to know that Ms. Neighbor’s house resembles the creepy Klopek house from the movie The Burbs.

Whats your take on the tub in the master? Necessary, obligatory, unneeded amenity? And I already know what your answer is Betsy!

It is time to select the outdoor lighting for both the front and back of the Indiana house.  As we approach completion, finish electrical and plumbing work are next on the list.

I usually purchase both the interior and exterior lighting from various online sources. One retailer that I often return to is CSN Lighting. CSN Lighting offers a variety of lighting ranging from landscape lighting to interior track lighting.

I’d like for the fixture to have a little of the craftsman element but not too obvious. Do you have a favorite here?

1. Sea Gull Lighting 2. Craftmade Outdoor 3. World Imports 4. Kichler Alameda 5. Progress Lighting Aberdeen 6. Minka Lavery Townsend 7. Maxim Lighting Cubes 8. Maxim Lighting Craftsman 9. Martha Stewart Arts & Crafts 10. Thomas Lighting Mission 11. Arroyo Raymond 12 Arroyo Berkeley 13. Sea Gull

In the beginning the master bath was an extra room off the downstairs hallway that was being used as a den.

We knew instantly that this space was wasted as a den and we needed it to become part of the master suite.

This was the master bath in mid-April,

To create this room, the door in the hall was eliminated, today the shower is now where the door used to be.  You no longer enter this room from the hallway.  It is now accessed by way of the master closet.  Both original windows were removed.

I was inspired by a number of custom bath vanities I saw in designer’s portfolios scattered across the internet.

Molly Frey

Urban Grace Interiors

Leverone Design

Source unknown

Remodeling magazine

Traditional Home

I didn’t want to buy an off the shelf vanity and I needed a double that fit snug in to a custom space in front of the window. So I decided to have a custom vanity fabricated. I needed a drawing to give to someone so I talked with my brother in law Patrick.  Patrick is currently in school for mechanical engineering and he knows AutoCAD. Perfect! Patrick was just the man for the job and he created this plan for me.

Thanks Pat! If you need someone to create a drawing or a plan for you, we’ll be glad to pass along his email, he’s a very personable guy who appreciates a challenge.

Here is the plan the cabinet company made before beginning fabrication,

This is the vanity in place in the bathroom. The towel bars have not been installed yet.

This is the plan for the finish materials,

The walls will be painted Benjamin Moore’s Healing Aloe.  A great soft blue/green that will give the room a spa like feel.

Folks, I’m happy to report that I will not be painting the Indiana house a fourth time. The house is now Sherwin Williams Outerspace with Toque White trim.

We finally stuck the landing. And no the dental molding will not remain blue, it was just a little trial and error.

A neighbor drove by after the paint color had been changed for the 3rd and final time. She looked at the painter standing  in the front yard and threw her arms up in the air as if to say “what next!” Maybe the paint fiasco drew more attention to the house and could prove to be beneficial in the long run. Lets hope so.

Now its on to porch stain, foundation color and front door color selection.

I did consider leaving the brick exposed but the mortar was in bad shape and decided to skip expending time and resources on revamping it.

A close up of the window and the shelves that have been framed in the shower.

Standing in bathroom looking toward door and hallway.  You can see the ring for the toilet on the floor on the right.

• Challenge #1- How to best position the shower?
  This room is long and fairly narrow but the challenge is the slanted ceiling.  We had to restructure the entire bathroom and really part of the upstairs hallway to get the room you are looking at now. We had to carve out a space in the room for a shower. Our first design included a clawfoot tub along the slanted wall and then the shower stall against the right side of the room, eliminating the window and adding a large skylight. The final design is a tub/shower combination at the far end of the room.

• Challenge #2- Where can we put the toilet?
  We are required by code to have a certain amount of vertical inches from the front of the toilet to the ceiling.  Normally this wouldn’t be an issue but in a room with a slanted ceiling it quickly becomes a problem. The inspector was asked to come and consult with us on our preferred spot for the toilet. He agreed to allow us to put it where we wanted to because it was a remodel and it had previously been a bathroom. If it would’ve been a new house, the inspector wouldn’t have given us as much leeway.  Even after we placed the toilet, the challenge wasn’t over.  The plumbing has to tie in to the sewer so it has to travel down to the lower level.  The position of the toilet routed the pipe through the downstairs hallway ceiling. When this happens you have to build a box to house the plumbing. In order to make this box make visual sense, the carpenter built a tray ceiling in the downstairs hallway–problem solved.

Some of you might be interested in some other details,

• The window is vinyl clad with obscured glass.  The window itself will not be affected by shower water. The window will be trimmed in composite material that will not rot and then painted.  We may choose to apply a water resistant epoxy, which we’ve had a lot of success with in the past.
• A custom, frameless glass door will be fabricated to shield the floor from splash.
• I’ve already purchased the American Standard rain can, extension arm, faucet, shower controls and tub filler from Hubbard plumbing supply. I also bought the Aquaglass unskirted tub at Hubbard’s as well.  I did compare prices at Lowe’s and Hubbard’s because I knew Lowe’s carried the Aquaglass brand. Hubbard’s came out lower and they stock the particular tub I needed, no special order necessary. The side of the tub that is visible in the room will receive a custom wooden paneled front built by the carpenter. As plain as this tub might seem to those of you that are designers or cruise shelter mags or design blogs on the reg, it was still $500.00. Trust me, if it was in the budget I would install a $1500-$3000 soaking tub.
• There are four 4″ recessed lighting cans in the ceiling in addition to the sconces.

Fixture Sources:

Vanity, Home Decorators

Hexagon floor tile, Overstock

Subway tile, American Universal

Sconces, Lighting Universe

Grohe faucet, Overstock (sold out)

Rain shower head, Faucet Depot

Wooden mirror, Overstock (I purchased ours at Home Goods)

Towel hooks, IKEA

Right now I’m leaning towards Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace for the wall color. I like to test the color out in the room so I’ll finalize the choice once I take the fan deck over and observe it in the room. The trim will be oil based, semi-gloss white and the ceiling will be white.

Last week the deck was completed. Let’s review again…

Then

Now

As you can already tell the windows are in too.

I hope to receive sign off on the rough in inspection this week, that would mean clearance to begin hanging drywall and really begin making the magic happen on the interior. I should be able to make the call to the inspector on Wednesday requesting the inspection. Thats my goal.

We’ve come a long way but still have quite a ways to go at the Indiana project.