Tile Makes {my} World Go 'Round

I need to confess. 

I love tile. And stone. I love shopping for it. I love touching it. I love all the different material from which tile can be made.

I love any wall application, really, that can elevate a room from ho-hum to Wow. I'm actually sad that I have picked all of the tile that I need for the rooms in our home! Hey, got a bathroom that needs re-tiling and don't know where to start? Pick me! Pick me! I'll meet you at the tile store - just tell me where and when. I LOOVVVE IT!!

I started the tile-choosing process in...ohmygoodness...seriously?! August 2013. It's the end of March 2014. It took me many trips, a few different tile stores, and four months to place the order. I patiently waited another six weeks for the tile to be delivered, then a few weeks for installation, then grouting, and now - finally - WE HAVE BEAUTIFUL TILED BATHROOMS!! 

Let's start with my son's bathroom, which was my very first selection back in August. Here's the layout of his bathroom. 

I loved this blue glass mosaic tile the moment I saw it. It wasn't inexpensive, so we used it as an accent (behind the vanity and toilet) and chose a less expensive porcelain tile for the floor and shower walls. It's called Bond in Blue Haven Blend. I wanted a design (and color) that wouldn't date itself as he got older.  The tile has a fun, playful vibe whether you're six or twenty-six.

(before grout)

Porcelain Tile used for both the bathroom floor and shower walls installed in a running bond pattern. It's got cool grey striations that work well with the light glass pieces in the mosaic. 

I wanted to give my son something fun for the floor of his shower, yet it also needed to work with the size and scale of the other tile in the bathroom. Therefore, we went with a classic penny round in a light shade of blue. So cute! 

When it came to choosing the countertop material for the vanity, which will be clear stained walnut, I wanted to go with a durable material like Ceasarstone. I chose the new Frosty Carrina.

I can't wait until it all comes together! 

(unfinished shower)

I'm going to hold off on the "Big Reveal" until the vanity is installed, but here's a peek at the progress so far. Totally diggin' the blue glass mosaic and I am SOOO happy I went for it! I hope my son loves it as much as I do! 

Molding & Trim Work, and a Little Tile Prep

I am so excited to be at this stage of our project! For the past year, I've been visualizing in my mind how things like trim, molding, tile - you know, the details -  will look in our space. Now I get to see it beyond the plans, beyond the sketches, coming to life in each and every room. Very exciting! 

Not only have they spackled the nail holes and seams, but they've also primed the walls for molding and paint. 

As I've mentioned, we are going with a non-traditional look and feel for the interior of our home. This crown molding design walks the transitional line: minimal angles, curves, and no dental notches. In other words, clean lines.

Living Room looking thru to Dining Room 

Note the window casing. Typically, there are two ways of trimming windows: traditional sill and apron,  which is a standard wood sill and molding on three sides with an apron below; OR picture frame, which is the same trim all the way around the window like a picture frame on the wall. We chose to encase the windows like a picture frame to give the home a more updated feel.

In addition, they have prepped the bathrooms to receive tile. 

Powder Room

Master Bath (and a good ol' fashioned way to dry the prepped surface, lol)

BRING ON THE TILE!!!

Tile…Sneak Peak...

Dust, More Dust, and finally, Drywall

Let's get one thing clear: where there's drywall, there's dirt. And grit. And dust. And a white powdery substance that manages to find it's way onto your clothing - no matter how hard you try NOT to rub against a wall. If you see me with white splotches all over my jacket, no need rub it off. For the near future, I will always be that walking, dirty and dusty mess around town.

This is what I've learned in the past few weeks. Consequently, my dust-bomb of a house is emerging into a beautiful home! Here are some photos, post-drywall:

Foyer, and one heck-of-a dusty front door! 

Another view of the foyer, taken from my family room. Once those sidelight covers are removed, this room will be bathed in light. 

Side entry/mudroom door. Complete with sidelights. This side of the house faces north, so the sidelights and the window above should help filter light into the mudroom and the upstairs hallway. See next photo.

Since the rear of the house faces east, we set the family room, breakfast room, and kitchen on this side of the house. Standing in the family room (above), you can see each of those rooms, respectively. Glorious, light-filled rooms, which is something we didn't have in our old house. 

Butler's pantry, connecting the dining room, which I'm standing in to take the photo, and the kitchen.

Off the foyer is the living room, adjoining the dining room. Both rooms are in the front of the house, which faces west, so both rooms - including the foyer - will be well-lit in the afternoon. 

Let's head upstairs...

Are you as dusty as I am yet? I mean, seriously!! It's unavoidable. 

There's a good amount of light up here due to the window behind me...

Yup, that window. Originally, there was no window and the hallway dead-ended at the wall. But it was too dark, both upstairs in the hall and downstairs in the mudroom, and, quite frankly, I wanted to be able to see who was at the side door from upstairs. Soooo happy we made that change. 

My husband's office. Front, side, and rear views. I hope he's able to get some work done in there. I'd be too busy staring out the windows!

Guest room. 

Master bedroom, looking thru to master bath. 

Master bath. This room is going to be kick-a$$. 

Guest bath with wonderful windows filtering afternoon light.

And finally, the Little Man's bedroom, with bathroom on the left. Wait for it...

Did I say our master bath would be kick-a$$? Sorry, I meant this room. And it's loft space. The best part? The Little Man hasn't quite grasped it yet that this is HIS fun space!

Descending the stairs into the basement; on the left, is a hallway to storage area, bathroom, kitchenette, and small laundry room; on the right is the playroom. 

This is also a playroom, but we're going to make it a home gym. 

Until next time… feel free to wipe the dust off your clothing now!

Staircase Installation

The stairs are built and installed! Yay! 

Before we go there, let's have a little lesson in the anatomy of a staircase...

That long piece of wood that runs from the landing to the second floor? That's called a Stringer.

The horizontal boards you step upon as you ascend the stairs? That's called a Tread. 

The vertical board that connects the treads is called the Riser. 

That little "lip" of Tread that sticks out over the Riser is called the Stair Nosing. 

Lastly, and not yet installed (because I haven't made up my mind as to their look) would be the Baluster and Handrail. 

Keeping with a more modern, fresh approach to a traditional Shingle, I wanted to do a glass baluster and wood handrail combo. When we got the quote and then looked back at what was budgeted for the stairs, the idea was squashed in a nano-second and Plan B was put into place. No glass baluster for this house. See? I'm being sensible. 

Since the stringer is being painted, it was built in Pine. The treads and risers are White Oak. 

From foyer to second floor….

And from basement to first floor.

Basement stairs (another view)

Warm & Sorta Cozy…Finally

 The house is insulated! The heat is ON! Amen to that! 

We opted to use spray foam insulation instead of traditional fiberglass and are so happy we did. 

Yes, spray foam insulation is more expensive than fiberglass, but it is also more effective in keeping the  warmth inside the house (during the colder months) where it belongs. Traditional fiberglass traps heat inside tiny glass fibers, while "closed cell" foam provides a barrier not only again air loss, but also moisture and vapor. As the drywall installers work inside the house these past few weeks, the thermostat has been set in the low 60's - and it is toasty warm in the house. We may have paid a premium for foam insulation, but for a house this size, and with lots of glass and exposure, it was well worth the investment!

So what does spray foam look like, exactly? Here are a few photos of the insulated exterior walls prior to drywall. After application, the foam hardens and is then "shaved" to create a flat service upon which the drywall is attached. 

Mudroom

Breakfast Room into Kitchen (lots of windows/exposure)

Foyer

My son's Bedroom/Loft (two-sided exposure)

My Husband's Office (three-sided exposure)

Guest Suite #1

About a week later, they began the drywall insulation and finished the interior wall insulation:

Master Bedroom

Catching up, Finally

Let's play catch up. Because most of the progress at the house site has been on plumbing, heating, electrical over the last couple of months, the exterior of the house has not changed that drastically. 

What have I learned this time around? That you need to keep an open mind, have patience, because delays will happen. It's all good. 

The rear yard construction has been completed. 

The rear yard has been leveled out, and  the scrappy trees and shrubs are gone in order

for new trees and shrubbery to be planted. We will be planting trees that will provide a great screen from prying eyes, like giant arborvitae. 

Wanna visit? Come on over! This is the guest suite! I'm standing in the ensuite bathroom to get the photo.

DRUMROLL……..

The shingles are finally being installed and we could not be happier! The custom color is named Chocolate, but it appears either grey or chocolate brown depending on the light. See for yourself in the next few photos. 

Here, the shingles look brown. 

Hmmmm. Brown/grey? This is one of two stone choices we had narrowed it down to. I prefer this stone because of its more grey and white undertones. However, due to a time constraint and needing to get stone on the chimneys before winter (aka Hiccup #1), we were kinda forced to put a different but similar stone on the chimneys, and went with it for the rest of the house. See the photo below.

No sun; a grey, rainy day… and the color is totally different. Note the stone on the chimney. Come back in the Spring and that will be up on the house.

So this takes us to present day exterior work. However, there is some exciting stuff taking place inside the house! Last week, I finalized my tile choices and placed the order! Yay!! Big weight lifted off my shoulders. Stay tuned to my next blog post for photos of our choices!