Project Update: Our House

OK, so I know I said last week that I wasn't going to update on our house again but I am just too excited with the progress not to! They have started to install the plumbing fixtures and as you can see, some of my Visual Comfort lights have arrived, hopefully more soon.

The 10mm frame-less glass is installed in the showers and I am loving the polished chrome handle I found, a bit different that the usual suspects.

 The our closets are almost completed, just waiting on the bank of drawers to be installed and my lights to arrive. This past we also had all of the carpet installed, hard to tell with the coverings but loving the cream wool I went with.

Lights and final plumbing fixtures installed in the boys bathroom, just waiting the mirrors and wallpaper install.

In the guest bathroom on the upper level the Vouge Bay Bubbles backsplash has been installed along with the faucet, while it is the wrong one (supposed to have white handles) we have something there until the right one comes in.

 The kitchen is also starting to take shape. Our custom stainless hood is being templated today and hoping to get it by the second week in June, fingers crossed. Also loving the custom corbels that our finishers & I designed.

Appliances are delivered and what can be installed has been. Just waiting on the marble counters & splash along with the butcher block island top. I know my girl Victoria is on it for me...she is trying to keep all of those cute Italian boys at the granite shop in line. ;)

 The shaker style alder beams are completed, stained, and awesome. The stone work was completed yesterday morning so the mortar is still quiet wet and will lighten up a substantial amount, I love the warmth the stone adds to the white filled space.

 The powder room is ready for the marble so the plumbing can be finished off. I am loving the high gloss walls, the Hubs, not so much. He wins some and he loses some, this is one he lost. Mud room is pretty much completed, just need to order up some nice polished nickel hooks for the 'lockers' and awaiting the Hicks lights.

 The Ocean Blue Vein Cut foyer tile was installed this past weekend as well. I know, shocker, I had it installed in a chevron pattern. The tile is oh so pretty and the lineal lines of it work with the pattern. 

Below is my gym, part of my 13 hour Sunday that I put in at the house. Lovin' the stripes and with my canary yellow pullup bar and a few other fun items I have found I know I will enjoy spending time in this space.

Bar & wine room are awaiting final electrical and the 10mm framless glass walls...I will admit that I am excited to see this space finished. While it did turn out a thousand times larger than it was supposed to I know it will see many fun nights! Carpet, railing, wainscoting on the stairs...done!

 Finally lets not forget the weather, OH THE WEATHER!!! Lets just say my Hunters have been my best investment in a long long time. And yes, that is my foot covered in mud/rain/muck/yuck! The site is a mess, we are averaging one tow truck a day right now. So Mother Nature, besides all of the muck you are delaying the exterior work and landscaping. I see a lot of baths for 2 little guys in my future!!

 I have a lot more to share with all of you, a super fun kitchen I am working on and as all of the jobs that we currently have in the design phase. More to come soon!!! Mel xo

Project Update: Our House

Crazy, that is what our house is like right now. There are finishing crews on all 3 levels of the home and they are doing a wonderful job, here is a bit of a progress report for all of you.

My amazing floors in the master bathroom are being done. 6" wide hickory done in a chevron pattern cut at a 45 degree angle. Hello lover, I am seriously SO in love with this.

The passage doors are being milled and hung as I type. We went with a 3 panel shaker style solid door that has classic lines and a heavy weight to them. We had all of the French doors in the home custom made to be exact replicas of the passage doors, now I just need to find the right glass for those and this part of the home will be complete.

The bathrooms are being worked on as well. On the left is the beginning of the boys vanity in the Jack & Jill bathroom and the other image shows the prep work that was done for the lower level shower. Yes, we even have a tile setter in the house right now.

 Also in the lower level another crew is in the process of building the wet bar and the entertainment unit in the recreational room.

Finally the exterior, since it is sunny and the snow has stopped blowing we have Dave, our wonderful paper & wire guy working away getting the exterior ready for the stone, stucco, and brick application.

 By the end of the next week the house is really going to look like a house, with cabinets in place and ready for the painter. Needless to say I will be baking up a storm this week to keep all of the boys happy, they are pretty much tripping over each other so anything I can do to help I will! Mel xo

Mud Room ideas...

So I have been working on ideas and designs for our mud room at the new home. At first I was all over using orange as an accent when I saw Heathers post on the color orange, it inspired me. That is until I started looking for flooring that would work with what else is going on in the home. Here is what I have ended up going with (for now, ha!)...

1. Custom lacquered lockers c/w lids and storage bins above...need to pick my white, ugg.
2. Gilmore Hook in polished nickel via Restoration Hardware
3. 12x24 Black Pearl slate
4. Accent pillows for the seating bench
5. Seating bench cushion
6. Accent pillows for the seating bench. All fabrics via Premier Prints
    *Fabrics may change when I receive my samples, they appear a bit brown but I am hopeful
7. Extra Large Hicks Pendants (3 of them) from Visual Comfort in polished nickel
8. Festival Rug from Anthropologie

Here is the general layout of the cabinet design for the built-in lockers that will flank one wall.

I am in the process of buttering up the trades, mostly our finishers. I would love to have a tall shaker style wainscoting in this room, even if it is a faux panel with the vertical strips and trim piece added to the top, I just want the look but it is not something the hubs is going to go for. I might be doing a lot of coffee runs and baking once they move their tools into the home.

Don't worry guys, I will treat you to a Starbucks now and then too, so like i was saying, that paneling in the mud room...

Hope the week is treating you well! I am looking forward to some girl time this evening at a charity event and let me tell you, I am ready for some laughs. Mel xo

Powder room, too many choices...

So I need to get on ordering paper & the chandy for our powder room. It is a small space, 6' x 6' but it still needs to have impact. Here is what I have nailed down so far...

1. Porcher Lutezia Console Lavatory
2. Jado Hatteras faucet in chrome
3. Kohler Bancroft toilet in white
4. Restoration Hardware Venetian Beaded Mirror
5. Kohler Bancroft towel holder
6. Kohler Bancroft toilet paper holder
7. 6 to 7' tall shaker style wainscoting

And here is where I am stalled. A few that are heavy contenders to go on the top portion on the walls are below, all by Eskayel. They are all amazing, what can I say, I am in love.

Second is the chandelier, it is centered in the room and situated on a 10' ceiling. Here are a few options, would love to know your pick (whatever I do select it will be in polished silver)...

via Visual Comfort

via Currey & Co

So that is where I am at now, I need to pin down the paper or the Hubs is going to make me pick a paint and I think this space deserves so much more, don't you? Mel xo

Wide plank flooring...

I posted this while I was away on accident, so I wanted to re-publish it with an update...

Wide plank flooring, a must have for me in the new home. It is something that I wanted in our last home that we built 5 years ago, but being in Canada we seem to be a bit behind the times and it was pretty much impossible to come across then. Now there are tons of options. Is it the best choice for our climate? Simply no. With the lack of humidity we will be having a lot of separation between the boards but I am OK with this...at least I say I am now, only time will truly tell.

 

 Image via GardenWeb

Reclaimed, distressed, maple, oak, hickory, walnut, cherry, fir....soooo many decision. This needs to be finalized asap so we can order our stairs and it would be nice to select carpet as well. So far we have the 11 samples below, it will be finished on site so I also need to get on a stain color. The one thing I know for sure, I will never EVER have dark hardwood again, at least not with little ones running around. I am leaning towards a wood that will work well with a medium stain color, I want some depth but not the deep dark floors we had previously.

We are pretty sure we are going to be using varying widths for the planks, I am thinking 6" & 8" combination or possibly even a 4", 6", & 8" combination, just another decision that I will mull over for way too long. Here are some images that made the decision for wide plank oh too easy...

 Image via My Home Ideas

 Image via Decor Pad

 Image via Houzz

Along with picking a wood that will allow me to have the color I want is also selecting a wood that is durable enough to withstand 2 small boys, a husband, and my 'Shoes on Party' philosophy. Before we had Jatoba flooring, this my friends was pretty much indestructible but it has was too much red in it for my liking.

 Image my own

When we are trying to find the right fit for us I am using the Janka Hardness Scale as a resource. This ranks hardwood flooring on a scale, from 380 (Eastern White Pine) to 3684 (Brazilian Walnut). We are leaning towards Hickory (1820), much softer than the Jatoba (2350) that we had before but also a lot more durable than the Fir (660) that seems to be so popular up here right now.

Image via Tracery Interiors


While the rustic and hand-scraped looks are 'in' right now it is not up my ally. I think this is only going to date homes that are incorporating this look and to be honest, I find a lot of the hand-scraped floors have a plastic look to them. I still prefer the clean simple look of a beautifully finished on site flooring, and yes, finished on site if the budget allows is the way to go, but a pre-finished vs. on-site debate discussion is a completely different post.

 Image via EcoTimber

Update: We have decided to go with 6 & 8" Hickory floors. The wood coming out of the mills right now is just beautiful. With the gray undertones the wood naturally has I know it will be the perfect choice for us. Here is one final image that made the decisions easy, it is from the JCrew store on Madison Ave in NYC, hickory done in a chevron lay...it.is.amazing. Now, am I gutsy enough to go with that color?

A lot going on here today, our front door has passed through customs and is being delivered/installed today (oh I hope I like it!!) as well I need to get on my finishing information for Wexford II, can't wait to share with you what is going on in that home! Mel xo