Color Palette

I usually try to temper my words with pictures, but in this case, I have way more pictures than anything to say.  So, here’s a little guided tour of the house as it is now – all painted!

 Welcome home!  This is the front of the house.  The front door is painted a light tan color.  I think we’ll paint it darker when we move in so it stands out a little more and doesn’t look so drab.  That color was not the best color choice, but the colors get better once we go in.

Upon entering, the stairs to the second floor are right in front of you.  This view from the top of the stairs shows the large window over the front door.  The wall color is Valley View and the ceiling is Fresh Air, the lightest color on the chip strip.  I am not a big fan of white ceilings – I think they look cold and disconnected.  I am also not a fan of dark painted ceilings (unless it’s on HGTV, but we all know those designers are super-human color know-it-alls).

To the right at the top of the stairs is the master bedroom suite.  What a cozy word – suite.  The color of tan that is on the walls is called Oakwood Manor, and the lighter color of tan that is on the trayed ceiling is French White, and they are very warm colors that look really good with the color of the stained trim and the Tree Bark color of the carpeting that will eventually cover the whole second floor (minus the bathrooms and laundry room).

The doorway in the picture above leads past the closet to the master bathroom.  We chose Oklahoma Wheat for the master bathroom because it matched well with the color of tile that we chose.  It is a warm golden color that looks warm and cheery in the morning – perfect for getting ready for the day – and deep and soothing in the evening – just right for relaxing after a long day’s work.

The bedroom across the hall from the master bedroom is a soft green called Stolen Moments.  This room will be the nursery if life goes according to our plans.  For the meantime, it will probably be just a sitting area – a place to relax and read a book in the warm sun.

The hall bath is a cool turquoisy blue.  The color is called Heavenly Blue and it’s a cool, smooth color that looks really nice with the tile we chose, and will also match well with the chrome faucets and fixtures.  There will be two mirrors on the wall (instead of the big mirror sheet that is so common) so we’ll need a bit more paint.  Also the light fixture box needed to be moved slightly when the cabinets arrived so that the fixture would be centered over the sinks.

The color on the walls of the laundry room is called Cape Blue.  It is a brooding blue that matches really well with the tile on the floor and reminds me of a summer storm rolling in.  We figured the laundry room was a place we could be a little braver with color as it isn’t a room we will have visitors hanging out in, and doing laundry is so boring that we had to brighten it up a bit.  I actually really, really like this color.  Really.

The other two bedrooms are the same color as the living room and dining room on the first floor, so let’s continue our virtual tour down there, shall we? 

At the bottom of the stairs, to the right, is the living room and dining room.  Neither room is huge, so we figured that painting them the same color would help make both rooms look larger, keep the flow going between the rooms, and prevent us from having to choose another color for another room of the house.  The color is called Wood Ash and it is a very neutral beige color that we will probably keep for a long time because it is warm and will go with everything.  The picture showing this color is the view looking into the living room from the dining room.  Notice the fabulous trim decor that our builder put up on the divider between the two rooms.  He had a vision, and I told him to just go with it.  And it worked!

Across the hall from the living room, on the other side of the staircase, is the office.  We wanted something soothing so we chose Manor Blue as the color.  It is a dusty grey blue that is almost a dark periwinkle.  It looks very fancy and important against the brown wood trim and dark bamboo floors.

I think the color we chose that we absolutely like the best is the color we will have to look at the most – Grasslands green – in the kitchen and family room.  I wasn’t sure about the color at first, but my color consultants (ie my husband and my mother) both really liked the color, so I went with it.  Best decision ever!  What I was afraid would be too bright and hard on the eyes is actually a color that feels both cool and warm, fun and cozy, which is pretty much exactly what a family room should be, in my opinion.  The color really draws out the greens in the stone on the fireplace and, though you can’t see it here, softens the dark cherry color of the cabinets.

We think we achieved the balance we were looking for in choosing our colors – nothing too bland, but nothing to shocking.  Enough color to differentiate space, but not so much that you felt dizzy walking from room to room.  So far, we are really happy with our choices.  And if we don’t like it later, well, it’s only paint.

Ken’s Cave

We finally got some concrete poured for our garage floor, front step, back stoop (out the back of the garage door), and bottom step for the deck.  Hence, we have Ken’s Cave – our three car garage.  We ended up with a three car garage with a tandem third slot for a few reasons:
1. We didn’t want the whole front of the house to be garage.
2. We didn’t want a separate garage behind the house because we don’t like to carry groceries in the rain and because we like having a grass, not concrete, backyard.
3. I’m no good at backing up and turning at the same time, so a three car garage sideways in the front would have only led to disaster.
It’s hard to see the dimensions from the picture, but the garage is pretty big.  It’s really only wide enough for two cars and walking, but there is plenty of room for a chest freezer, shelves, a work bench, whatever on the left side in front of the car, and if Ken has his way, there will be plenty of room for a scissors lift in the back on the right.  We have a double door (or at least a doorway for now) leading out the back of the garage.  This will allow Ken to get the lawnmower out the back of the garage to mow the backyard.  There is a stoop there now, and we’re supposed to be getting a ramp, as lawnmowers and stairs don’t exactly get along. 

Miles of Tiles

The workers have been very busy!  All of the tile has been laid in the master bathroom, hall bathroom, laundry room, and on the fireplace.  (Of course this picture was taken shortly before completion.)  The tile chosen for the master bathroom is a travertine-like tile from Italty.  Sounds fancy, eh?  We had no idea it was Italian tile until after it was installed.  We just liked it because it matched the floor mosaic we chose and it matched our budget.  Go figure.  We also chose a paint color called Oklahoma Wheat that really wamrs the room up and looks great with the tile.  One thing that was integral (in my opinion) was the use of some glass tile.  Having taken an interior decor class, I fell in love with glass tile, and I’d have it all over the place if it fit in the budget and cleaning schedule.  Alas, two bands of medium gold glass tile ribbon through the shower and over the tub.  They offer just a hint of extra fanciness and I love it.

The tile in the laundry room is a bit on the wild side.  Because this is a room that will get moderate use but won’t be “lived in,” we figured we’d go just a little less conservative with the tile color and design choice.  We were actually inspired by the original owners of our current house – they asked at closing if we liked the tile in the laudry room because they picked something a little less neutral.  We said yes, we liked it, then when we got to our new house, we ran right upstairs to see if we really did because it is so mildly un-neutral that we hadn’t even noticed.  The tile in our new laundry room is a nice mix of tans, golds, and smokey blues.  Our builder admitted that he thought we had gone a little overboard on the selection when he first opened the box, but when he say it laid out, he actually really like it.  Once the paint went up, I decided I really like the tile more that I even thought I would.  The picture of the laundry room also shows some of the window trim stained.  It is a really warm brown that matches well with the bamboo floors. 

The hall bath tile is also up.  It isn’t nearly as exciting as the master bathroom or the laundry room tile, because we figure this bathroom will mostly be used by guests (who we love) and kids (which we don’t have yet).  We did manage to toss in a band of smaller accent tiles on the wall to fancy it up a little bit.  There are also two built in shelves for shampoo, soap, and the like.  These were a bit of an afterthought, so I didn’t pay as much attention to their installation.  I do think the tile installers put them in upside down, so if you come to our house as a guest and don’t have enough space to put your shampoo and soap, you’ll just have to use the tub ledge.  Sorry.  We do hope you enjoy the cool calming turquiose color on the wall though.

The fireplace tile is a natural stone, though I can’t tell you what kind, only that I think it comes from a quarry in China and the guy at the tile store really wanted to sell it to us.  And apparently we really wanted to buy it!  Once it is sealed it shows a beautiful, natural variation of color.  The tile on the front of the fireplace (not yet installed when this picture was taken) is made from the same stone, but is done in a stacked style without morter or grout.  It is earthy and rough but cool and relaxing at the same time (if such can be said of tile).  The fireplace grate is integrated into the wall so it won’t have doors or pokers or real logs or anything.  It is a gas fireplace with an on-off switch.  And no maintenance, which has become a deciding factor in just about every major decision lately.  It will be spring when we move in, and I can’t believe I’m saying this while I freeze and look at leftover mounds of snow, but I can’t wait until the first snowfall of next winter so I can curl up with a book in a cozy chair in front of this fireplace.

Stairway to Heaven… or at least the second floor

We have the grandest staircase!  There are 16 stairs going up, and with the spindles on either stair railing, the railing at the top parallel to the stairs (to the left) and perpendicular to the stairs (to the right), and the railing behind the stairs (next to the open basement stairs), we have 107 spindles.  That’s a lot of dusting!

No one (including the builder) realized the stairs would be as big as they are.  They are nice and wide (good for moving furniture in I say) and have nice curly ends at the bottom.  The last step is wider than the rest of the stairs and has a very sophisticated look.

We had to make sure the spindles were nice and durable before the carpenter finished installing them.    (No actual sparring was involved.)  Don’t tell, but I also run up the stairs with a small pen (cap closed, of course) in my hand to hear the dink-dink-dink-dink-dink of the spindles.  I figured someone needed to do it before we have children and we have to hear it all the time.  I think I deserved to be the first one.  And it was fun!

This picture, looking from the second floor landing, shows just how big the staircase and foyer spaces are.  At the bottom, you can almost make out the curlicue at the bottom of the railing.  You can also see the front door straight ahead, the doorway to the office to the left (where we will hang french doors), and the entry to the living room on the right at the bottom of the stairs.  The doorway to the fourth bedroom is peeking at the top right.  We have decided to paint the foyer area and beautiful yellow gold called #213, er, Harp Strings.  We hope it will make the entry to our new home feel warm and inviting, and we can’t wait to greet our friends and family at the bottom of our grand staircase!

Walled In

I was on a work errand this morning and snuck by the house to see what kind of progress is being made.  There was a big truck in the driveway from the stairs company (who knew there was such a thing?) and they were bringing the basement stairs.  I could hear the two guys talking, and as I rounded the back of the truck, they fell silent and stared me down.  I explained that I was the owner of the house and then we were great friends instantly.  Good to know people are watching out for what’s going on.  Then I headed inside…

Wow!  This first picture shows the family room.  The fireplace is straight ahead.  We will be adding a mantle on the raised shelf (which is kind of hard to see in the picture).  The mantle will be a large piece of wood that my husband’s grandfather, a master woodcarver, put together, as long as it cleans up well.  It was used as a long narrow coffee table in my husband’s youth.

This second picture shows the kitchen.  We will have one recessed light over the sink and two more on each side of the kitchen.  We will have two pendant lights over the island.  The two smaller windows on the far wall will be on either side of the stove top.  The larger window to the right is the bay window over the kitchen sink that will look over the deck and backyard.

This third picture shows the master bathroom.  Yes, it’s big.  And yes, I’m thrilled about that!  Just past the door frame to the left will be a separate little room for the toilet, or, if you’re feeling fancy, the water closet.  Straight ahead on the left is the shower, and on the right is the large soaker tub.  There will be glass above the half walls of the shower and a glass door.  You can’t really see the little corner bench in the picture, but I wasn’t giving up that nice little amenity.

Hopefully it will only be as long as it takes the townhouse to sell until I can climb into that soaker tub with a load of bubbles and my little bathroom chandelier dimly lit and think back on all the work it took to get there…

Those Little Hidden Fees

Everyone says you should always read the small print on contracts.  I try very hard to do that.  Every so often I am still surprised.  However, there’s not always print – large or small – when going through the steps of building a house.  And even if it was in print, it’s not like you always have an option.  So, here’s the not-so-small print of things to look out for and be prepared for.  (Up until this point, I have tried very hard not to include actual dollar amounts for anything because they can vary so widely and because I don’t want to get too personal.  However, I am including fairly accurate figures here because there’s really no good way to give a head’s up without including them.  And because otherwise you probably wouldn’t believe me.)

1. Soil sampling: I guess I didn’t talk about this way back in the beginning… We had to have the soil sampled to make sure a house could stand where a house was already standing in order to get a permit to build.  So, for $900 we had 3 30-foot tubes of soil pulled from the yard.
2. Asbestos testing and removal: If you plan to tear down a house that might contain asbestos, be prepared to pay at last $6000 for these services.  You have to have a “clean bill of health” before being considered for a demolition/building permit.
3. Demolition permit:  We paid $100 for a permit to remove the asbestos, and since that was removing part of the house, we didn’t need to pay this fee twice.  So, we saved a little money.
4. Building permit: If you didn’t know you needed a building permit to build a house, just stop your project now and walk away.  This should be a no-brainer.  However, depending on your town, be prepared to write a hefty check.  This permit is not usually covered in the builder’s contract and will be several thousand dollars.
5. Disconnect and reconnect of water and sewer: Apparently our village thought we paid enough for our building permit and only asked a nominal fee of about $200 to dig up the street and disconnect the sewer and water.  And no fee was asked to reconnect.  Phew!
6. Disconnect and reconnect of the natural gas line: Obviously you don’t want gas running to your old house when you tear it down and during construction, so you have to have the gas company come out and dig a hole in the yard to cut the line.  Reconnection can’t be done at the same time, so you have to pay again to reconnect.  Overall, we paid about $1500 for this to happen.  And be prepared to trench the yard yourself to lay the new pipe or the price goes up from there.
7. Disconnect and reconnect of the electricity: This one was a real whopper.  We had overhead power lines on the old house, and now we have underground lines on the new home.  While we like the aesthetics better, it was the decision (and benefit) of the electric company to run the lines underground.  But, kindly, they pass the charge on to the consumer.  To the tune of $2000.  Originally they wanted $3400 to trench and reconnect the lines because we would have had “abnormal trenching” which means someone would have had to hand dig about three feet with a shovel.  The travesty!  However, we were able to hire a trencher for $350 to dig for both gas and electric lines and save us quite a bit of money.  Otherwise I would have been out there with a shovel myself.

These are most of the “hidden fees” and “small print” that people warn you about.  Fortunately we were able to cover these fees to keep the project going because we didn’t really give ourselves the choice, but not everyone may be able to.  I’m trying to give help to anyone who is thinking about or in the process of doing a teardown/rebuild.  Read the small print.  And if there’s no small print, ask some questions and do your research.

Now Showing – In Color!

Ta Da! The siding is now all up on the whole house.  Most of the gutters (if not all) are up as well.  We had a glitch with the gutters because the original color we picked didn’t match as well as we had hoped (according to the builder and gutter people) so we had to pick a different color.  There is a slight bit of aluminum trim on top of the trim over the windows (which is difficult to see in the pictures) that was a very close match, so we went with that color.  It isn’t an exact color match, and I had to decide how much that really bothered me, and I decided it would bother me (and probably the builder) more to change all the gutters than to live with the chosen color.  It is a good match and will probably look just fine when the whole thing is done.  It’s kind of a shame that we chose the trim color to go with the gutter color and then not have them match anyway, but such are the trials of building a house and “getting” to make all of those decisions.

In other news, the basement concrete was poured.  The tubing for the radiant heated floors is under the concrete and there will be a thermostat to adjust the temperature of the floor.  This picture (to the right) shows the basement, looking from the north to the south.  The window on the right edge of the picture is part of the large window that will look out to the backyard.  The two windows on the far side of the basement look out to window wells.  The one partially shown on the left will be in the guest room and the one in the center will be in the craft/exercise/whatever-we-use-it-for room.

There is more progress on the inside of the house.  For instance, you can now only enter through the actual doorway from the garage to the house.  (You used to be able to enter between any of the studs between the garage and the house.)  Almost all of the insulation has been installed and all of the electrical, telephone, television, and internet cable has been run.  We are now able to get a better idea of the actual dimensions of all the rooms because very few of the walls are see-through now.  We were lucky to get the doors, insulation, and trim installed before we got a big snow, so the workers can work in relative comfort and don’t have to dig their way in!

Feeling Blue Over Green

So would you believe it?!?  We chose the color Mulberry (at left) for our home because we really like the color green, it is rather neutral, but a little bit different, and few people have a color even close to the one we chose.  SO, imagine my shock when I looked at the teardown/rebuild two doors down and saw that their siding is – you guessed it – GREEN!  Their trim is a slightly darker color (ours is Nantucket White at right), and they have brick on the front and siding mostly on the sides, but really!  So, I guess green is really a more popular color than we thought…  Anyway, the siding should be going up this week so we’ll really be able to see how we compare with the Joneses.  And I thought “going green” was just an environmental trend…

Kitchen Cabinets are on the way!

We met with the cabinetmaker this morning to look at different cabinet options for the kitchen, mater bathroom, second bathroom, and laundry room.  At first I thought there were way too many options to pick from, but when I found out we had cherry wood planned for the kitchen and maple everywhere else, the decisioon became easier.  And when I asked my husband his opinion and he said “I want the one you picked,” it became even easier!  So, we are getting an extra fancy edge in the kitchen – for no extra cost – and a slightly fancier door in the master bathroom for a few pennies (alright 15,000 pennies).  So, once we get the drawings on that and make a decision, we’ll be ready to put in the official order and we’ll have our cabinetry just after the first of the year!

All in the Can

Can lights, that is!  We met with the electrician today to decide on the light fixture placements, outlets, switches…. and on and on.  And all I can say is that if you come visit us, you can expect to see a bazillion recessed lights.  Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but we will certainly have plenty to light our path in any direction.  We were able to walk from room to room giving our valued opinions about where the switches should be, where the outlets should be (and how many), which switches should control which outlets, and all that fun stuff.  So, now we wait until Monday to see how much damage we’ve done.  And perhaps we’ll only end up with three-quarters of a bazillion…