Bathroom sinks

Everything is starting to come together here at the end so be prepared for lots of pictures. This is the vanity in my master bath. I only had about 4 choices for the laminate but I think it turned out good. When we were drawing up our plans and getting input from everyone double sinks in the master bathroom was high on everyone's list. We thought everyone was kind of crazy because we don't mind sharing a sink at all, we are seldom even in the bathroom at the same time. That's what happens when your husband has to be to work before the break of dawn! Anyway we thought it would probably be good for resale...and who knows maybe we will love not having to share. We went with a standard faucet, I had no idea how expensive faucets could be. I think they look nice, and I will let you know how it is having separate sinks.

Sink Info

I have had some questions about my sink, so here goes. My kitchen sink is a granite sink. There are a couple of companies that make them. Mine is a made by Blano America. I think another company that makes them is Swanstone and they may sell them at Home Depot. I got mine at American Standard Plumbing. More specifically it is the Blanco Diamond double bowl under mount. I decided to try this sink because I HATE my stainless steal because it scratches really easily and shows hard water horribly. The granite sinks are the same color all of the way through so a scratch won't show, but you are not likely to get a chip or scratch because they are extremely durable. Everyone I have talked to really loves it, so I am going to give it a try. They come in a few different colors; white, biscuit, gray, black, and brown. I went with black because I really like the look of it; however, it may not be the best with hard water. I guess time will tell.I hope that helps. If you have anymore questions let me know.

Sneak Peek!!!

My cabinets are finished, but I haven't gotten a picture of everything yet. Here is a little sneak peak!

Sink!

So my sink has been in for awhile now but I have been to stinkin busy to show it to you. Here it is with my counter tops. I love it! I love the color, I love the size and I love the shape. My only concern is hard water but that is a concern on all sinks to a degree, right?

Gray, Gray, Gray

So it turns out it is really hard to pick a good gray. At least it was for me. I swear I got a million different samples and couldn't find one I liked. I finally found one that looked neutral enough...a gray-gray!


These are my kids bedrooms. I love the pinky-purple color!

Vandalism

A couple of weeks ago we had some lovely kids break into our home and vandalize it. They painted our windows, threw paint every where, knocked over 5 gallon bucks of paint, used a screw driver to punch holes in the dry wall, rode their bikes through the house and made holes in the wall with their handle bars, etc. Needless to say they had a lot of fun. We filled a police report and with in minutes they found the kids; problem being one was 8 and the other 9. Thanks to their young age the police told us they couldn't prosecute them. So to make a long story short we had to replace trim, re-texture our walls, re-prime, and scrap off a lot of paint. It was a ton of extra work and money, but mostly a lot of stress and frustration. Here are a few pictures of their lovely art work.

Update!

So this is a quick post without any pictures because I don't have any time. I spent my morning meeting up with my counter guy, my trim guy, my very kind volunteer painter (he happens to be my father-in-law and he has been so kind and such a huge help), and a mill work supplier. Last night I saw my painter :), home depot *twice*, my cabinet guys, and my tile installers aka my super sweet and talented husband and his brother, who has also been a huge help.

In case you haven't guessed; life is CRAZY! I do have pictures and questions that I need to post, all about carpet, door knobs, back splashes, etc. And I have some lovely pictures of the artwork our lovely vandals left us. It is all to come as soon as I can catch my breath!

PS Hip Hip Hooray! My cabinets are starting to be put in and I am so excited. I already know what is going in each drawer!

Pendant Lights

The last couple of weeks have literally been a blur. While my husband is working himself to death trying and get things finished up so we can move on to the next stage, I have been dragging the kids from store to store to store trying to find the best deals on wood floors, carpet, tile, lights, etc. The kids have been champs but they are starting to get worn out, okay we are all starting to get worn out.

I have been looking at a million lights trying to decide what I want to do/can do. I think it would be fun to add some fun pendants over my island. Here are just a few of what I have found.




I don't know why this picture is so small. It is a clear cracked glass pendant. I will try to figure out how to make the picture bigger.




My favorite two are the first pendant, the round glass one, and the teal one. Does that come as any surprise. What do you like or do you have any suggestions

Lights???

How do you feel about this chandelier? Do you like it? How would you feel about it over my stairs in our entry way? HELP Please!!!!

Patios?

Big, little, wide, skinny, square, rectangle, curvy? What is your opinion on back patios. I am thinking fairly large and probably not square. (kind of like yours Brooke, you totally inspire me!) Let me know what you think. And how about a built in fire pit? Made out of the same rock as the front of our house. Stamped concrete?

Sorry today I just have a lot of questions and no answers. Ask my husband, I am good at that these days!

House Pictures!

I have had some requests for pictures of our house. These are a little behind the current status so when I go over tonight I will try to update.

This of course is the front of our house. It isn't the best angle! We were worried that our garage would look HUGE. It does but not as bad as we thought it would. This angle makes it look even bigger. The window at the top of the garage is our bonus room window. Looking at it like this I think it looks really funny. Like we shoved it up to high, but if you are up in the room it has to be there in order to see out it. If you have any ideas on how to make it look a little better let me know. Maybe shutters, flower box, something fancy with the stucco, etc.


This is just an up close of our entry way. The window on the left is my laundry room and the window on the right is over our stairs. From inside the house this is one of my favorite parts! The cement forms are set up to poor our porch.


This is the back of our house. Yes, I know it is straight. We did this on purpose to cut down on cost. I hope once we get the patio and steps in it will give it a little dimension. Honestly it doesn't really bother me the way it is.



This is the up close of my patio doors (patio french to be specific!) and the 3 windows in our family room. I love the windows because they are low enough that the kids can stand on the floor and see out them without having to climb up on a couch or something.


We know have our roof on, our windows in and most of our exterior doors up. Our master bathtub got put in yesterday so I will try to get a picture of it and get it posted soon.

Kitchen Sinks

If you could choose your kitchen sink what would you choose? Stainless steel, cast iron, granite, etc. So far this is what I have learned about the different types of sinks. If any of this is wrong please let me know.

I have been told that stainless steel sinks are the strongest sink you can buy. This is the only type of sink I have ever had and I really don't like them. They scratch so easily and they are horrible with hard ward. I can't ever get all of the water spots off of them.

I don't know that much about the cast iron other than they come in different colors and the sinks I have seen seem to have a lot of cracks in them. If you know more about these sinks please help me.

I really like the look of the granite sinks. I love that the color is solid the whole way through so if they get scratched you can't tell. They come in a variety of colors and anyone who owns them seem to love them. I did talk to a granite guy the other day who told me they can crack if you are not careful. As in, if you drop a huge thing of frozen hamburger in the sink.

As far as the bowl design I think I want two bowls. I am also thinking I might like the middle divider to be small. Have you ever seen those? I like the idea of being able to put a large pan in one side and have the handle stick over the other. I seldom hand wash dishes so being able to fill it up to wash and rinse isn't a big deal for me.


I also need to decide under mount of drop in. I really, really want an under mount sink but that all depends on the counter top so we will save that for another day.

Drawers vs. Cupboards

If you could choose how many drawers compared to cupboards you wanted in the base cabinets in your kitchen what would you want more of. I am trying to decide what I would use more but because I have only had a few of each I can't decide. If you have an opinion let me know.

Bath Tubs Take 2!

I found out a little more about the tub I liked. It has a toe activated drain so it will be flush with the tub floor. That way you don't have to worry about sitting on it when you are in the bath! Here are a few more options that I am looking at.




I think this one is still my favorite even with the center drain.

Bath Tubs?

So I have to pick a bath tub for my master bathroom ASAP. The plumbers showed up with one the other day and I didn't like it. I am making them take it back (serves them right for showing up with a bath tub without going through me first!) and I am racing to try to find one to install in its place. This is what I am working with. It needs to be 6 feet long and 42 inches wide. I am looking for a drop in style in white. I want a soaker tub because I don't want jets. This tub will also be where our shower is, kind of the two birds with one stone thing plus I don't have unlimited space. We will be having shower heads at both ends so the bath tub will have to accommodate that.

I really love this tub. I love the sleek lines, that it has a ton of space, and that it will be easy to clean. I don't know how I feel about the drain in the center. If I drop it down to 5 1/2 ft. it moves the drain to the end but I think I would love a 6 foot tub.



This is another option I am looking at. I think it would be more comfortable for one person because it has arm rests but it doesn't give you as much space inside and will probably be harder for the shower.



The only other options that I have found so far in that size in our price range are oval tubs similar to this one which is like the one the plumbers brought in. I just don't think they are as smart where we are using it for a shower as well. Plus they kind of look grandmaish to me. Sorry if you are a fan. I just think I am looking for something a little more sleek.



Please tell me what you think. Or if you have any idea on where I can find more info on the tub I liked. I can't find reviews from anyone who has used on. Am I just looking in the wrong place. Please HELP!!!

Cabinet Style

I know more cabinet questions. I can't help it I have cabinets on the mind. I am making my final decision on cabinets today, well as far as who I am going to use, and I really hope I do the right thing. Right now I am trying to decide what style of drawer and cupboard fronts I want. I really like the look of a raised panel drawer front, weird because it just so happens to cost more!



These drawers are very simple with the bead board cupboards. I don't really like this look. What I do like about this vanity are the square drawers and the furniture feet on the bottom.



I like these drawers better. I like the raised panel front a lot. This isn't a great picture but you get the idea.



These drawers have a mitered edge to them and are the most expensive door front that I have looked at around here. I really like the look of them but can't decide if they are a little too busy. I love, love, love this vanity. Maybe someday I will have that much room in my bathroom so I can do something fancy smancy like that!

Colors?

I have a million thoughts running through my head when it comes to our house, I don't really even know where to start. I have been dealing with our cabinets like crazy this week and I have to make a decision in the next couple of days. Do you realize how expensive cabinets are? Crazy expensive! I have gotten a million different bids from custom cabinets to prefab cabinets and so far you wouldn't believe what came in the most expensive and the difference in prices. My prefab bid has been the highest so far. And I have a $19,000 difference from 2 different custom bids. Isn't that just crazy. I have gotten a million references to a million different companies and I am honestly getting worn out. I just want to pick someone and stop worrying about it. The problem is the price is higher than we expected. Enough of that, here are my questions....

What type of wood would you use? Alder, maple, oak, cherry, etc. Most cabinets these days, at least around here, are made from alder because it is a cheap, very soft wood that can be stained and glazed very easily. We have had knotty alder in the last 3 places we have lived and I haven't minded it. But everyone I talk to says to stay away from alder because it gets beat up so easy. I am thinking of going with a maple or cherry wood. What do you think?





Stain/Glaze? I know I want to glaze my cabinets and depending on the wood I go with I may want to stain as well. Did you know that glazing, staining, or applying toner is an upgrade. Some places charge you just once and will stain and glaze for you, while other places hit you up separately for each one.

Color? I know many of you weren't a fan of my before mentioned idea of adding some color to one section of cabinets. For those of you, I am sorry because I am very strongly leaning towards it. Like I said before I will probably be doing a dulled down shade of turquoise. So that leads me to what shade. Keep in mind I will be applying a glaze over the color.








Next up drawer and cupboard style!

Sorry...

My computer has been completely out of commission the last week or so. We are finally back up and running. Hopefully, I will have some time to post again. My mind is swarming with questions. I have spent multiply hours each day this week in and out of cabinet shops (not something that is real fun when accompanied by 4 kids!) It is getting to be crunch time and I need to make some decisions. Check back soon...

Gas or Electric?

I hadn't even thought of the option of gas or electric stoves, I just assumed we would do electric. Most likely I will stick with electric just because that is what I have always had. I have had a few people try to convince me to go with gas, I mean it is what all of the professionals use and I am pretty close to being a professional especially when it comes to making Mac and Cheese out of the box! If you feel strongly either way let me hear it. I am guessing I am going to have to decide soon if I go with the gas so they can run a gas line over to it. And while I am on it, is there any reason to run a gas line into the laundry room for a dryer if we ever owned one? I know this is kind of boring stuff but it still has to be decided.

Cabinets-furniture legs

I really like the look of furniture legs on cabinets (there might be a specific term for this but I have no idea what that would be!) and if the price is right I think I will add some.

So first off what shape would you do. I think I will go with a round spindally look similar to some of these. . .

kitchen design

traditional kitchen design by boston kitchen and bath Rob Kane - Kitchen Interiors Inc.

But I also really like the square look on this island but I don't know how well it would work flanking the oven.

traditional kitchen design by san francisco architect Wm. F. Holland/Architect

Then do I add them just for looks or do I pay the extra money and make them functional? I think these are pretty sweet!

traditional kitchen design by boston general contractor Mitchell Construction Group

Honestly I have to figure out how much it will all cost but I think it adds a lot to a kitchen. What do you think?

Cabinets-Color

Cabinets are the next big thing on my list. I have already spent a lot of time thinking about them but now it is time to make some final decisions. I am going to try to narrow it down into separate parts to make it a little easier. First off I am trying to decide if I really want to add some color to part of the cabinets. Right now I am thinking of doing wood for the majority, black on the back of my island and desk area, and a glazed teal on my butlers pantry. Over all it would be at least 70% wood tone. These are a few pictures that give you an idea of what I am talking about. I haven't decided for sure on colors but something in this general area.

This first picture shows what it would look like with the three different colors combined into one area. This isn't quite the style I am looking for but kind of shows the general idea.

traditional kitchen design by london interior designer Steeldaisy Associates

These next two pictures just show the teal islands in different shades. Do you think I could pull of this color?




This last one shows a different kind of color combo. . . I think it is a little light for me but I still like the combination of colors.



You may be asking "Why do color at all" and here is my short answer to that. I am going to have a lot of wood going on in one room. Between floors, cabinets, mantals, banisters etc I kind of want to break it all up. Plus I am really digging more color these days! If you have suggestions or ideas . . . please help ASAP.