Don't be such a SQUARE!

When I asked for square balusters, you would have thought that I had asked for them to me constructed out of jello! 

The reaction was far from accommodating! 

"Where will we get them, who makes them, how will they attach?"

Since I had already used them on two addition projects over the years, I knew that, if they could not be found, they could easily be made.

("Easily" -  I guess I shouldn't comment on how easy it would be, but...If you could see these trim carpenters, Whew! Once they get going, it's incredible to watch. I can't imagine anything that they couldn't whip up in 3 minutes! They are craftsmen (and women) - and for them, making these balusters was easy!)

I am glad that I stuck to my guns. 

If these were the usual turned balusters (That are included in the contracted price) - I know that I would have been disappointed.

These square balusters (or... as I incorrectly call them, Pickets) are exactly what I was looking for!

I think that they make all of the difference. 

 Siding almost done!

This part has been a bit stressful. 

I really wanted to use the pre colored Hardiplank - because they guarantee the color & finish for 25 years. That seemed worth it to me,(@$3k more than the unfinished hardi) since getting the house painted once would cost at least $5000

I must admit...

I have had moments of doubt as it has gone up. 

Mostly because my husband keeps commenting about how it looks like "primer gray" 

Maybe, once the white corner boards and gutters are up, it will look less "primer-ish"

(Fingers crossed!)

Decisions - decisions...

The laundry cabinet color...

 I wish I had known how much I would like this gray. I probably would have used it in at least one of the bathrooms. Oh well. It will be the upper & lower cabinets in the laundry - with the B & W floor 

Of course - the floor is going to take a bit of fixing. Apparently there were two tile guys working at the same time. Here is where they came together. More tile on order to fix this up!

 I am trying to find an interesting, lighter granite for the island - and a honed or leather finish, darker granite for the other countertops.

Here is a piece that I found. It looks boring here - but, in person it is pretty cool looking.

Both kids baths will have basic white subway. I am just going to try to add a bit of interest with some accent tiles. These are for my daughter's bath.

Boy's bath - looks like the tile guy put the glass pennys on backward - I hope that comes off!

 Tub wall - pre grout...

Things are really coming along. I dropped the price of our current house today. I hope that will do the trick - and we can finally move forward toward living in our little house!

Tile choices...

I had ordered all of our tile online. 

I thought it was a brilliant idea. That way, I could choose exactly what I wanted, read all of the reviews, and have it delivered right to the new little house. 

By chance, I even found everything I was looking for at Overstock.com. It was not less expensive - but, I thought it was worth ordering it that way - especially since I was in NY and the tile had to get to the little house before I was to return to VA.

Well ... live and learn.

What a mess that turned into. I spent no less than 10 hours on the phone with overstock, and the (3) carriers involved in the delivery of the tile. 

It never arrived. 6 days after they told us that it would be at the little house "within 30 minutes" it still had not arrived. At that point I asked them to cancel our order - and planned to buy it locally. 

What a fiasco! 

They threatened to charge us 50% ($1600!) of the total order for not accepting delivery! 

Meanwhile - I had had the tile crew onsite on (4) different days awaiting the delivery.

 They would schedule a time - and never show. Then schedule again the next day - and never show.

I was really starting to lose my mind.

Unfortunately - (and I sincerely mean that) - I finally had to pull out my inner NY bitch. 

I am a firm believer in the "you catch more bees with honey..." philosophy - but, I was not getting anywhere with Overstock.

At the end of the 6th day - of non delivery, they finally agreed to return all of the tile (that we never received) - and credit my account.

I've called the bank and given them all of the details of the transaction - just in case...

I was able to scramble around Richmond and gather what I needed within 24 hours. 

 Mary @ Best tile (on Broad) was a gem - and helped me to pull it together. 

Although I could not get exactly what I had found at overstock - I was able to find suitable alternatives, and save a bunch of money. 

The biggest bonus of all was that they had all that I needed in stock - so there was no risk that I would hold up the tile guys another day.

These marble hexagons will be in my daughter's bath - and the powder room.

These Black & White hexagons will be in the Laundry & the Boys bathroom.

The Black & White basket weave will be in the Master Bathroom.

So - nothing too elaborate. I was just trying to stay pretty simple, and stick with the smaller scale to date the house a bit.

The walls in the kids baths will be simple white subway - with just a bit of accent tile.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

today's progress...

Struggling to come up with ideas for the accent tile. This would be for the tub surround in my daughter's bathroom.

 Newell posts up - and railing 

 Beadboard in the ceiling of the dining room. It is glued & nailed - so the wood pieces are just there to hold it in place while it dries.Not sure if this should be blue - like the other ceilings, or if it should just be white. Please chime in!   

Upper cabinets going in. There will be open shelving on either side of the window.

  This could be a blog post in itself! My husband is ready to kill me on this one. I asked the builder if I could leave a space for a window between the office & the powder room. Since it does not have any natural light - I thought that a stained glass window would be nice.The trouble is...I don't actually have a window, and I am not sure when I'll get a chance to make one.Oh well - I guess I'll just have to block it somehow until I come up with a plan.

 Another view of the front stairs.

 

Laundry room cabinet. I really like the color. I wish I had known how much I would like it , when I was ordering all of the cabinets. I think it will add a bit of interest in the laundry.

Building is a full time job!

The only trouble is...

I already have a full time job, and a family and a dog. I even have a very neglected fish - that thankfully does not require much attention!

Just the running around from store to store is exhausting. It definitely helps me to appreciate the fees that the GC gets paid.

There are so many decisions each day now. 

I wish that I had enough time to send each question out to you - before I needed an answer. I'd really love the input. 

Unfortunately - I am flying solo on most of these, so hopefully it will turn out okay.

Here are a few update photos.

Siding is going up. We chose the Hardiplank "cobblestone" color. Not because it was my favorite - but, because we are trying to blend with the older campus houses - and this seemed to be the closest fit.

Stairs & trim - moving right along. Sassy teen making fun of her Dad is part of the fun.

Sorry this one is blurry. 

This is the beginning of the kitchen. Right now it is looking a bit too white - but, I hope that it will look good in the end.

Generator panel in place. From what I hear - this neighborhood loses power all of the time!

I'll take some more when I go by today. Meeting with the tile man this morning. 

Take care!

Finally we are getting somewhere!

Well - as my friend Nancy was quick to point out, when I saw her today - I have been neglecting my BLOG!

She's right of course, I have been slacking a bit. Mostly my lack of posts can be attributed to the season. Summer can be very hectic with a family of 6! More than that though, is my lack of interesting things to say.

This part of the process is so much slower, and more uneventful than the beginning.

I like to be able to add some photos of progress - and today, for the first time in a while, I've seen some real changes.

The trim guys have been hard at work - and I am really enjoying the "show" as they work through, room by room, adding character & detail to my little house.

First - I wanted you to see the doors...

I decided to go with the 5 panel - and I really like the way they look. I  also asked the builder to add  older looking trim ( what I call Northside trim, because you often see it in houses in North Richmond) around the doors...

I am pleased with the way the trim looks - and I am glad that we decided to pay the $.20 extra per foot to have it this way. It really makes a difference.

My favorite thing so far in the new house is the Newell Posts...

There are 8 of them throughout the 3 floors. I really wanted something square and sturdy. Of course I could find exactly what I wanted online for $250+ each, or I could have the builder make them for even more.  

Although these were a bit more ornate than I was going for - at $69 each from Home Depot, I think they are perfect!

So there you go - an update finally. As things are added, I'll be sure to post. For a while there nothing was worth taking a picture of (Wiring , drain lines , bleh! that's not fun to photograph!)

I really do think that we are getting to the fun part now! 

The next big hurdle will be getting my house sold, so that I can live in the little house. If not - we will put it up for sale and see what happens. 

Too tired for editing - so please excuse any extraordinary grammatical errors!

Goodnight