House on Hillsboro

One Week Later

 

Picture above:  Here is the desk off of the kitchen.  I have decided to top it in the same Caesar Stone I will put on the kitchen counters.  The upper cabinets will be covered with doors and are deep enough to store my printer, freeing up the top of the desk of everything but my monitor so that I will have space to lay paper and write.  The cabinet below will store my hardrive.  There will be lighting mounted flush under the upper cabinets and a corded wall phone mounted on the wall on the left - the one in the house that will work even when the power is out.  The guys will create several tunnels through the wall into the pantry so that all my computer/printer cords can be organized in there and out of sight.  And not underfoot!

 

Picture above:  The bannister made by hand by the builders.

 

Picture above:  Master bedroom with finished ceilings! looking through master bath and into the closet.

 

Picture above:  Master bath counter tops.  I wanted something seamless and shiny and white to match the tubs and toilets.  I went with the cultured marble from Lowe's and while I had no fewer than five nightmares that they didn't fit, they did!  And I am really happy with them.

 

Picture above:  Can you believe it?  Flooring!  Not only have I finally committed to something but I LOVE it, it was UNDER budget ($2.77/square foot), and some is even installed!  It is a SwiftLock laminate from Lowes. 

 

Picture above:  The master closet is finished except for a small piece of trim that will finish the molding around the floor.  Ray built the custom closet system after a quick consult with me and it is so nice.  The shelves on the right will serve as the bathroom storage for towels and such.  The thought of filling the rest of the space neatly with our things AND having space for it all is so exciting.

 

Picture above:  Here is Ava's cultured marble counter top.  Perfect fit!  And, yes, that is a shell sink.

 

What?  She really loves the ocean. 

 

Picture above:  This morning they laid the floor in her room and closet. 

 

Here is one of the windows in Jack's room.  I had fifteen or so lights in various spots throughout the house that I wanted to match and be relatively simple and inexpensive.  I found the school house-esque ceiling mount at Lowe's for $30.00 a piece and was thrilled to death. 

No stone progress this past week.  Here's hoping for Monday!

Bits Here & There

 

1.  Car port roof

  

2.  Screen porch door frame

3.  Other little Oak

  

4.  Jack peeks out from Ava's closet

  

5.  Electrical work, notice the outlet near the floor and socket (?) for a light at the top, a particularly exciting find!  This is one of the window nooks in Jack's room.

  

6.  Some cedar siding has appeared 

When I walk over after they leave, I never know what I will find.  It is waaaay too fun.

Dining Room Chandelier

I have looked for ages for the right chandelier for the dining room with no luck.  Then today, Shannon posted a link to the site The Find and I found one I love.

   

It's the Gardner Chandelier from Pottery Barn.   Problem is, though, that I have no idea how to know if it is an appropriate size for the room.  Also, it comes on a 6 foot chain and the ceilings in that room are 17 foot, so I am fairly sure that would be a problem.  ha ha

I wonder what to do about that?

Stairway

Those of us who do not have super neat and amazing software that allows you to see the rooms of your house before construction even begins, are always on the look out for rooms similar to what we will be building.

Earlier this morning I found a stairway/foyer photo that is nearly identical to mine.

   

This is as if you've just opened the front door.

The scale is nearly identical and I have the same foot wide opening at the top left of the landing.  With mine you also arrive at the top of the stairs at a wall with a window and turn left.  My foyer will lead to a room same as here, but mine will have a standard (not arched) doorway and will be the laundry room.  This appears to be a dining room.  To the left where this has a solid wall with a chest will be my freestanding fireplace. 

Again, I am loving the off white walls and trim.  I also love the pictures climbing the stairs and the foyer's lantern, very similar to the carriage house chandelier I chose, hanging in the very spot I had planned!

Lighting

I am hoping to furnish a lot of the lighting for the house from the local places but I do want a few special pieces that I really love.

This Carriage House Chandelier from Ballard Designs would be nice in the foyer.  It would match the bronze windows.

I am almost certain I want the Rustic Glass Pendants above the kitchen island.  It is only 6 feet long so I think two would do.

 

It seems I have a thing for pendants on chains.  I came across these Vanderbilt Piccolo Pendant Lights at overstock.com and can't get then out of my head.

 

Imagine it dangling in a corner of your bedroom alongside a comfy chair and small table just big enough for your book and a cup of coffee.  Or at each person's bedside instead of a table lamp.  Or is that weird?  Regardless, I love it and I think as long as we don't let Jack watch Tarzan or The Jungle Book anytime soon I may just get one.  Or two.