Pics Coming Soon...

The framing is almost complete! The back wall of the house was bumped out this morning. Our updates required the addition of several LVL beams, which are used to provide support over long distances, and a 270 lb steel beam. These beams allowed for the removal of several load-bearing walls. The siding has also been added to three sides. The shakes will be added to the front once the porch is complete.

A couple of funny things happened today. I did my usual site visit, and I decided the guys deserved some coffee and doughnuts on this Friday morning. I left to get the surprise, and I got lost! I need to learn my way around this side of town! I eventually gave up on the doughnuts and decided I was lucky to make it back to our current neck of the woods.

Once I made it home with both kids after school, I decided to look online for granite. I scrolled through hundreds of Google pics before finally finding a picture of a granite with both beige and gray plus an interesting pattern. I clicked on the picture to find out the name of this beautiful stone. The word "Formica" came up on my screen. I do have great taste.

Details

We started with floor plans, and we're progressing to more detailed sketches. The kitchen layout is a work in progress, but below is the latest sketch of the wall that will house the range top.

Another Week of Framing and More Decisions

The framers have a big job, and they're continuing their work on the three interior levels and the major exterior changes. I have a big job as well. I've been busy looking at exterior paint, shingles, bath plumbing fixtures, tile, carpet, and hardwoods. I came home with a bag of tile samples yesterday and wasn't quite sure what I'd selected. I've realized that I can only look at materials for one hour before I get frustrated/confused/overwhelmed. In one hour yesterday, we discussed tile for five bathrooms. That includes floor tile, shower/bath tile, and accent tile. Only two baths will have the same finishes. We also discussed the kitchen, the basement bar, the mudroom, and, possibly, something else that I've forgotten.

I also realized that I need to do my own research. Some of the products that have been recommended are not highly rated by online reviewers. This selection process has really become a full time job.

Kitchen Plan

Here is the final kitchen plan. The perimeter cabinets are an off-white color with a light gray glaze, and the island cabinets are cappuccino with a black glaze. The hardware will be brushed nickel, and the granite will be light. Hopefully, we'll be able to find the right granite color to tie in the grays and browns.

Rewind to 1973

The new shake and siding will be going up in the next week or so, and that means the white vinyl had to come off. Under the vinyl is the original cedar siding from 1973, and now we know how the home looked almost 40 years ago.

Fifty Shades of Gray

No, not Fifty Shades of Grey. Fifty shades of gray. That seems to be where we're stuck. We love all the pictures of gray houses that have been floating around Houzz and Pinterest, but when we try to match these, we have problems. Too light, too dark, too blue, too cold. Where is the elusive, perfect, warm, medium gray that will coordinate with our stonework and black metal roof and shutters? Which shade will perfectly highlight our carefully selected Hardie shake, board and batten gable, and siding? And, which gray will look beautiful with the dark red double front doors that I just may be daring enough to select? At this point, I think no color will live up to my expectations. I am terrible with color choices, and I'm now afraid to commit to anything.

If this is the biggest issue we have during our renovation, we are very lucky.

Decisions

We're moving out of our current home this weekend, and we're moving into our less-than-fabulous temporary home while the renovation is completed. We also had a big appointment this morning to select our garage doors, fireplaces, and appliances. We may have set a world record by making all of these selections in about 45 minutes.

I'd sent our contractor a photo of a home exterior that Jeff and I both like. So, we pulled it out and picked the same garage doors. That process took less than one minute.

We moved on to fireplaces. The existing fireplace in our study will be cleaned and will house the gas logs from our old home. Our new living room fireplace will be directly vented outside and will have no chimney. We looked at a floor model, chatted about colors and materials, and made a selection. This took about 4 minutes.

So, we moved on to appliances. I've spent a great deal of time researching and considering these over the last couple of months. I decided against selecting all appliances from the same line and to instead pick the individual appliances with the features that are important to us.

First, we discussed wall ovens. I like the double convection wall ovens from our old house, so we picked the updated version of the same ovens. We looked to the right and saw the updated version of our old dishwasher. Done. Total time for ovens and dishwasher: 4-5 minutes.

Next we spent a minute chatting about warming drawers. The consensus seems to be that no one has ever regretted getting one. So, we said to throw one of those in, too. Matching the ovens, of course. Our GC budgeted for a refrigerator, but we decided to bring our Jenn-Air cabinet depth with us. It's a nice fridge, and it's free.

The appliance selections got a little more exciting as we discussed our new microwave that will be hidden away under the counter in our island. Because it will be low, we were debating a swing down door or a drawer style model. The self-opening and closing drawer won. It's easier to access, and it's kind of cool.

Finally, it was time to discuss the range top. From the beginning of this process, I've said that I want a professional-style range top with a hood hidden by cabinetry trim. Obviously I've been looking at too many pictures on Houzz. But, I also love to cook, and I do it often. And, I have a couple of scars from reaching over hot pots and pans on my old 4-burner, 30 in. range. So, the new one will be a 36 in. model with 6 burners and a high BTU output. And, of course, we'll need an upgraded hood/vent for the bigger range top. Because it will be hidden in cabinetry panels, we just let the salesman pick the most appropriate model for our range. He also advised that we get one with a remote control as he took note of my height.

So, we really made a dent in our selection spreadsheet in less than one hour. Now I'm stuck on the next most pressing issue-- shower fixtures. There's some part of the shower fixture that has to go in during the plumbing rough-in. And, of course, our shower fixtures need to match our other bathroom fixtures, so I have to make some more big decisions soon.

The house is coming right along with the cement going in for the porch addition and the basement room addition. The awful siding comes off the house in the next few days, too. It should look like a totally different place in a week or so.

Paint Shmaint

So, things are getting stressful with this renovation thing. Apparently, we/I actually have to make decisions. I know what I like when I see it, however, I do NOT have an eye for design or decor. Now it's crunch time for the exterior selections, and I seem to have no clue what to choose. I drive around looking at houses and thinking, "oh, I like that, but it won't work for our house because...", and I think of some reason it will look terrible on the new house.

The things we have been able to decide on are the exterior features. We're adding a long front porch with a metal roof, shutters, window muntins/grilles, stone accents, a gable over the main roofline, and two dormer windows over the garage. The things that are stressing me out are mostly related to color selections and materials. Our current neighborhood features many homes with shake, siding, stone, and board and batten exteriors. I'd like to find an the right combination of these to make our house look updated and interesting.

I'm also very concerned about the color. We like gray with black trim and a red front door. But, our front door is actually a double. Two red front doors? And, the house is below street level. If we paint the porch's metal roof black, will it look like a huge black stripe across the middle of the house from the street?

Decisions, decisions.