The Estate of Things

You might remember my post about my friend Kristine’s house.  She and her husband Fred are remodeling their kitchen and redecorating their living room.

I’ve been helping Kristine a bit in both of these pursuits.  Kristine has chosen IKEA cabinets in the new Ramsjo door style, which is a shaker/traditional fusion. By electing to install IKEA cabinets she and Fred will save thousands of dollars without having to sacrifice quality.

Here is the space after drywall repair and floor installation,

Kristine completed the demolition herself to save money and when I say “herself”…I mean just her. She rented a dumpster and went at it! She hired a plumber and an electrician to come and terminate the connections and to relocate some of the plumbing and install recessed lighting. For the new floors, Kristine chose  4″ wide white oak which was continued from the kitchen in to the living area, down the hall and in to the master bedroom.

After Kristine and I talked through the layout using a measuring tape, a pencil, a calculator and a little painter’s tape, Kristine got to work and downloaded IKEA’s kitchen design software and begin putting the layout on paper. She and Fred travelled to IKEA and loaded it all up themselves. The couple is lucky enough to have a contractor friend who is experienced in installing IKEA cabinets. 

I have been encouraging Kristine along the way to wrap the island with wood. The reason why–because we (I’m) are shooting for a modern rustic, Southern California aesthetic. Kristine really had her heart set on white cabinets and so in order to warm things and play up the rustic vibe, I have suggested wrapping the living room side of the island in teak or another warm modern wood material. It also acts as a compromise between the natural finished wood cabinets I wanted her to get and the white kitchen she wanted.

Some images to illustrate,

Living Etc

Real Living Australia

Jeffrey Alan Marks, Elle Decor
 

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?

My friend Kristine has asked me to help her redecorate her combined living and dining areas and to help remodel the kitchen. 

Kristine and her husband Fred bought their 1970s contemporary or shed style home a few years ago.  Since the closing they’ve been hard at work on remodeling.  They are like those kind of people that you see on HGTV’s Weekend Warriors, except for HGTV never shows up on their doorstep offering free labor/carpentry.  They have routinely done their own demolition work, painting and have engaged in several DIY projects.

Because Kristine is no stranger to demo work, she will be doing the demo in the kitchen herself.  She is also not opposed to painting the rooms AGAIN.  The basic plan for this project is:

• Entire kitchen remodel including new tile, flooring, countertops, cabinetry, fixtures, hardware, possible installation recessed lighting. We are very inspired by CREED Interiors praise of IKEA cabinetry.
• New dining & living room furniture
• new light fixtures, hiding of TV wiring
• paint
• new accessories & textiles
  

Custom Sofa Design, Granada

Kristine and Fred have traveled quite a bit and they collected lots of objects and carpets from the Middle East and Asia.  It is important to the couple to incorporate these treasured objects in to the living space but at the same time not let the room get too saturated with these elements. 

Considering the style of the home is critical…
 

Peter Dunham

I think a Southern California vibe would be good here. Think modern and casual, warm wood-toned cabinetry, a Big Sur dining table, a fig tree, open and loungy furniture that keeps the room flowing right out the french doors on to the rear deck.  Their personal treasures from the East and textiles and maybe a tapestry will keep the space warm.

 Kristine sent me some images that are inspiring her.

Southern Living

Domino

Bunny Williams 

 Cottage Living Idea Home, 2008, Los Angeles

 Here are some images I find to be inspiring for Kristine’s house,

Carrier & Co., unknown, Susie Sarlo, unknown, CW Eisner

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!

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 have found myself in yet another exterior paint related pickle. My Dad called me Tuesday night and told me he had cold feet about the Rainwater color. He wants to change it–again. Its a good thing vacation is looming.

I’m already pretty embarrassed about the failure of Mushroom. My embarrassment however isn’t half the problem. The budget is the main concern here and we must pay for each mistake we make.

Our real estate agent tells us that the feedback she is getting about the house is positive and people seem to like the color.  My Dad still isn’t convinced.

I’ve decided to bite the bullet and show you some pictures. All of these images are iPhone pictures. Please keep in mind none of the trim has been painted.

The house in Mushroom

Close up of Mushroom with a Softened Green sample

Close up of Mushroom with a Rainwater sample

The house in Rainwater with Mushroom accent

After four more hours of deliberation this morning, we have decided to change it. Yes, its crazy. Yes, its making me crazy.  By midday tomorrow, the Indiana house will be SW- Outerspace.  The trim as selected by my Dad will be SW-Toque White

We were in the throws of paint color selection last week at the Indiana house.  Up first…exterior paint.

Remember this is some of our inspiration,

Inspace

Canadian House & Home

also joining the pack of inspiration is this combination, which is really a reverse of the two examples above

photo above & below via lumierefl

Honestly, I’m dying to paint something midnight blue but I don’t think this is the house.

Last week, we hashed it out over colors and this is what we initially narrowed it down to,

1. Iron Mountain, BM

2. Gabardine, Martha Stewart

3. Stonington Gray, BM

4. Mushroom, MS

Sherwin Williams came in to play because our painter prefers SW’s exterior paint called Duration.

Mushroom emerged as the front runner in this group.  But we weren’t sure so we added more to the field.

5. Liveable Green, SW

6. Softened Green, SW

Liveable Green did not live up to it’s name at all.  Softened green was a strong contender.

Our decision went down to the wire last week and we all were having a really hard time selecting, we even had to call in our real estate agent for an opinion.

Finally after stretching our painter’s patience to the max, we settled on Mushroom. Our reasoning, we have incorporated some craftsman elements and many craftsman homes were painted to be in harmony with their surroundings.  Also, some of the old shakes have some imperfections, the darker olive green provided better coverage.

FAIL.

Mushroom was a complete and total failure, it was muddy in stead of olive and it was too oppressive and dark.  The Indiana project was a giant, swampy mud puddle of a house.

Back to the drawing board and more samples,

7. Clary Sage, SW

8. Enamelware, MS

9. Sea Salt, SW

10. Rainwater, MS

Recovery.

FINALLY we ended up with…

Martha Stewart, Rainwater

Martha Stewart, Mushroom

Rainwater is the body of the house, Mushroom is on the gables and is an accent color, stay tuned for a white trim color. The colors on my monitor do not look like these colors do in person, so you’ll just have to wait for the finished product.

I can sleep again.

Just a little peek of the new and improved exterior at the Indiana house. Its not finished yet so I can’t unveil.