The finishes and lighting for our new house!
August 07, 2017
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Hey all and welcome to a new week! This one is special for us -- it's our last week in our house...at least with all of our furniture. :) If you missed our news, go here!
We move our stuff out next week -- our buyers had a 30-day close and have to be out before closing day. So we will be in temporary housing in between, for at least six weeks. I've been OK with the whole thing and am actually kind of looking forward to a much simpler, slower life for a couple months. But over the past few days it's really hitting me that we won't be living in this house for much longer. I'm SO excited about our new house, it takes some of the sting away. I just have a feeling it will all hit me at once when we're moved out. Not looking forward to that. :)
Anyway, let's talk about some fun stuff OK? How about new house finishes! The first time I did this (with our current house) it was 14 years ago. I had been living in apartments for 10 plus years and had never made a whole lot of big design decisions. So it took multiple trips to the design center and hours of going back and forth before I was able to pick out what I wanted. It was STRESSFUL. You're picking out finishes that you'll have forever...or at least that's how it felt. Little did I know I would end up changing so much and sharing it with you all. 💗
This time? It was just pure excitement and fun. I didn't even do any research -- I just knew what I wanted. I picked out every finish/fixture for the house in about two hours and then the lighting took another hour. Loved it.
I'm going with a slightly softer pallet in the new house and I couldn't be more excited about it. Here's a look at the floors and cabinet colors:
The light gray will be the island and the white is the rest of the cabinets. I went back and forth on the doing the lowers in gray like our house, but I am happy with the all white -- I know that will stand the test of time. See how much lighter this is than our house? It just feels soothing to me. I love love LOVE the tone of those floors! (Edited to add: the floors brand and color are Vallaria Pacific Pecan, Pacifica. BUT they were ALL bought out, we assume by a builder, so they are gone for the time being. We had to pick new ones!)
The powder room will have the same floors, a light gray vanity with open storage on the bottom (probably a little darker than this gray) and a little bling I'll show you below:
I went with a brushed brass for the kitchen handles and then the brass glass knobs for the powder room:
I think the white, gray and soft brass are going to look amazing together! And the good thing is hardware is SO easy to spray paint if my tastes change down the road. I've done it many times. I'm looking forward to having some fun with the decor in the powder room. I'm thinking wallpaper or a stencil perhaps? Powder rooms are one of the spaces I think you can do whatever you want in.
I'm really excited about the laundry room. The floors will be faux marble ceramic tiles and there are a couple upper cabinets that will be white. We'll have a countertop for folding and I chose a dark laminate that looks like soapstone:
The few cabinets in there will also have the glass knobs.
For the basement bath and our son's bath, I went with a darker wood vanity (it has some gray undertones) and a really cool white/gray tile:
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I LOVE that tile and think it's going to be really sharp in those rooms. Of course I have a plan to add his current bathroom wall tile into that room as well! :)
I chose this wavy white subway tile for the kitchen backsplash:
I didn't want to go with a color that may be trendy because I learned in our current house that taking down tile is pretty much the worse job ever. EVER. Never again. I think the wavy look will add some dimension and interest.
I'm obsessed with the five-panel doors that I picked:
I've been asked a few times if the doors in the new house will be black -- not yet! I got a quote to have them painted by the builder but decided to nix it to save some money. I want to see how the house feels first -- I think they will look SO good in black but I'll have to live in the house before deciding.
In order to save we will have carpet in more of the house than we have now -- quite a bit more actually. I had to laugh because I picked the same exact carpet we used in our basement years ago (bottom left corner):
The kitchen counters will be very similar to our current ones -- this is called Cotton White and they are just a tad lighter than our River White counters:
The island top will be wood -- I had to keep my wood island! :)
At first I was going to do marble on the master counters (the other bathrooms are marble) but it wasn't too much of an upgrade to do granite instead. I'm kind of obsessed with what I picked:
It was too busy for the kitchen for me, but on the smaller master sinks it's going to be so beautiful.
Thankfully most of our picks were included with the price of the house -- I only upgraded on some of the countertops.
We had an allowance for lighting and I really wanted to stay within that amount. I splurged on a few lights that will be in the kitchen and family room and I'm so excited I can't even tell you. I've wanted these for years and years and they will be over the kitchen island:
And this will hang in our family room:
I went bare bones with the others -- 80 percent of our house will have the "boob" lights. And some won't have anything until I find what I like and install them myself. It was my compromise for getting a few lights I've been dreaming of for years.
Even though this house will be beautiful to start, there are so many projects I can't wait to tackle. These are the bones of the house, the fun stuff is adding my personal touches -- the heart! (Soooo cheesy, I know. But true.) I can literally see all of these finishes in my head and I can't wait to see it come together.
I'll keep that in mind when we're living in about 700 square feet for a couple months. :) Three people and three animals -- it's a good thing we like each other!
P.S. I don't have the names/sources of most of these but can find them out! Let me know!
I love the granite material! Seems like a good alternative to marble, which y'know, is so overused now anyway!
ReplyDeleteCharmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Thank you! I LOVE marble, I just know I can't handle the upkeep. ;)
DeleteMy husband was just offered a promotion which requires a transfer from Colorado to the midwest. We are thinking Indiana, any suggestions for family friendly master planned communities? We have lived in our home we built for two years and i would love to build again so tips on areas with new construction would be great too. Love your selections for the new home, we have very similar taste ;)
ReplyDeleteKelly feel free to email me! Thriftydecorchick@gmail.com We love where we live, it's one of the best spots in the state. :)
DeleteBeautiful choices! I'm curious why you are going with granite instead of quartz. I do love the granite you chose.
ReplyDeleteQuartz is more expensive and doesn't have the "texture" and flow that granite has, in my opinion. It just depends on your preference. We are using it for the small power room but that's it. :)
DeleteWhat color is your wood floor? It's beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about your floors too! We are looking to build in a couple of years and that is the perfect shade of brown!
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ReplyDeleteSo fun, Sarah... and JUST lovely!
ReplyDeleteYep, I would like any available information on the floors. We are currently building right now and since it's custom, I choose everything. So needless to say it is overwhelming so I got excited when I saw this post!! I want those exact floors. :)
ReplyDeleteWhich knobs will you be using for your sons bathroom/basement bathroom? Brass? Also, which spray paint do you use for the knobs? We're building a house as well and unfortunately couldn't choose everything because it was a spec house, so I'm planning on changing some things asap!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the new house! Your choices look awesome! I know this is kind of a weird request, but would you be willing to post pictures of your old house once it's empty? I'm just curious to see the rooms without all the finishing touches. Plus it could be like a final goodbye for all of us that have been reading your blog for so long.
ReplyDeleteI hope everything goes smoothly for you in the coming months. Good luck with everything!!
So excited about all your picks and can't wait to see the end result. I think being in between can be a little hard so good luck while you wait but congratulations on your house!!! That is so exciting!!
ReplyDeleteLiterally can't wait to see it all finished. Post LOTS of pictures.
ReplyDeleteI love it all! I'm having a little bit of house building envy right now, as you make it all look so manageable! Living vicariously through you for the moment! :-)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE all your options !! Have you ever thought about adding one of those "SHOP THE LOOK" things on your blog so we can buy them too?!!
ReplyDeleteI'm LOL about the "boob" lights. So true! Those are hilarious! It will be fun for you to replace them later. I can't wait to see the new house come together. I've always wanted to build. Looking at floor plans is one of my favorite things!
ReplyDeleteSo fun! Everything is going to be gorgeous. We closed the door of our house yesterday for the last time. I cried the whole way to my sister's. We've been working so hard to get everything done, I think it distracted my brain from thoughts of that final hour. Walking out was HARD. But, in a couple weeks, we'll be moving into the home we dreamed about and it's pretty dang exciting.
ReplyDeleteI'm very interested in the information on your flooring, both the wood and carpet. Your choices are so lovely!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! All of your choices are exquisite. Can't wait to see the brushed brass knobs on the gray cabinets. We are about to start a kitchen Reno and are replacing floors through out. Can you share what your floors are?
ReplyDeleteI love my marble counters so, so much and don't regret them...BUT they stain so much worse in the bathrooms! I guess because the lighting isn't quite as good as in my open kitchen I miss spots? But I also know that it's because contact solution etches it so bad! It's going to be beautiful! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteWhere is the round chandelier from? I am thinking of putting one similar in my foyer. I love the one from Williams Sonoma for over $900 with removable white fabric shades. Something not as expensive would be nice.
ReplyDeleteboob lights LOL when we loved in here we did boob lights but i didn't realise thats what they looked liked. The first night we were here my then 3 yr old looked up and announces...boobies, big boobies. And that's what they've been ever since.
ReplyDeleteThose pendents get all the heart eyes from me. I remember how fun it was choosing all the finishes for our new home. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI like all your choices! :) I'm wondering, though... how is granite an upgrade from marble? I thought it was the other way around. I know it does vary in different parts of the country, especially in places where one or the other is naturally plentiful. Just curious. :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Sarah! Your new home is going to be gorgeous! Do you mind to share specific information regarding the wood flooring you have chosen? Manufacturer? Color? Wood "type"? I am in the market for new wood floors and really admire this selection! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLove all our choices, can't wait to follow along on your move and your decorating ideas. You have a great aesthetic.
ReplyDeleteLove the color of the wood floors you chose! I am about to refinish my wood floors (no more orange!!!!) I love the Jacobean you used, but have to ask if you had to pick a finish now, would you still use it? I love some of the colors mixed with grey, but afraid to try. Any suggestions??
ReplyDeleteHoping everything goes smoothly on your (& everyone's) sale. Too bad it didn't happen before everything was moved out but at least you have your home a while longer.
ReplyDeleteOur worst move was when the moving truck got stopped in the mountains for being overweight and never made it to pick up our stuff so we were scrambling on moving day. So much for the book ahead price. We found someone but they didn't have a big enough truck and we had to rent another one. It was a bit of a nightmare with our buyers wanting to get in but we couldn't get out.
We survived and you will too so try not to stress so much. My friend's husband always asks her if it's the end f the world if... and I try to remember that. Good luck!
Wow, you are a speedy picker-outer! Well done. I'll bet the people in charge of that were just floored! (yes, bad pun) But anyway, amazing. And such lovely choices! This is sooo fun for all of us! Chrissy
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