pearls of wisdom

I have really enjoyed exchanging stories and ideas with contacts from around the country. A long time colleague and friend, Lisa from Denver, has been a wonderful source of knowledge and support. She recently shared five bullet points of fantastic advice, included below. Hopefully, I'll also be able to provide the same kinds of thoughtful insight after this process is complete:

·         Expect surprises and have a big contingency in your budget for them

·         Know enough about renovation/construction to be on top of your contractor and be sure he/she is doing what is promised, ethical and of high quality. Sometimes this means you need to be there every day inspecting the work

·         Set achievable deadlines with your contractor and hold him/her to it—and don’t forget the squeaky wheel gets fixed first, but also remember that it is better to kill them with kindness rather than threatening them and being difficult—you can save that until you don’t have any other options

·         Know where and when to cut corners and when you should invest in higher-quality things that will last longer and are more authentic

·         Respect the “bones” of the property

exciting developments

I returned from a quick work trip last night to find some great continued progress. The kitchen cabinets were installed, including a big island (unfinished to be painted turquoise) and the wall unit (glass inserts to be installed in the doors.)

and the master shower is done! 

picking THE palette

Unfortunately my crazy travel schedule caught up with me, and I'm home, sick, again...We were really bummed to have to cancel our trip to Knoxville this weekend, but at least now have some time to catch up on life a bit (and for me, really just sleep.) Andrew started packing boxes (he's a rock star!) and I have finally found enough energy to write a blog post.

During my short stint back in Charlotte on Wednesday, I ventured over to the Sherwin Williams store to make some final decisions about paint colors. After struggling to make paint choices solely from the deck the contractor provided, I'm very glad I took the time to go directly to the store. The displays themselves were incredibly helpful, and SW and HGTV have actually partnered up to create several pre-packaged color palette schemes. I, of course, was stubborn and initially resisted, but after 2.5 hours of staring at different shades of gray, trying to determine undertones, etc., I caved. Turns out, the Coastal Cool palette was exactly what I had been looking for all along!

The Coastal Cool package includes 20 colors which create fool-proof combinations for the entire house. Since I'm obsessed with turquoise/teal/sea foam in general, and love gray and white for home interiors, I (somewhat) easily identified the right combination. 

The four colors to the left and a corresponding white will be used through the majority of the house. I'm eager/slightly nervous to see it all in real life!

In the meantime, other progress on the house continues, although primarily related to electric, HVAC and other elements not totally obvious to us. The cabinets and counters should come in this week so stay tuned!

saturday morning inspiration

It turns out that home & garden tours are really a lot of fun.

On Saturday morning we ventured out to the Elizabeth Home & Garden Tour. Elizabeth is a beautiful Charlotte neighborhood just south of Uptown, comprised of tree-lined streets and adorable craftsman style homes. Honestly, I wasn't sure the tour would be worth the $15 ticket fee, but it was a beautiful morning and David and Myka were also in for the adventure. I think that we were all pleasantly surprised, and really enjoyed visiting most of the 7-8 houses    on the route.

We'll definitely keep an eye out for future home tours in the Charlotte-area. Myka and David, we are signing you up for Midwood Maynia this spring!

And, possibly the best outcome of the whole adventure is that Andrew is now fully on board with a gray and white color scheme. Some home-inspiring photos from a few of the stops:

glad I stopped by

As I was driving to work this morning, I made the spontaneous decision to stop by the house. Here's what I (happily) found:

floor of the master bath (outline of tub):

master bath shower:

den primed and ready for painting:

                                          

and my farmhouse sink has arrived:

time for tile

With the renovations ahead of schedule, I made a quick trip over to Lowe's and Home Depot today to make some speedy decisions about bathroom tile. Luckily my good friend Marisa was able to join and was incredibly helpful in narrowing down the options! Thank you!

Home Depot had a great deal on this black/white mosaic look similar to the pinwheel design I have had my eye on. Although it might seem a bit loud, it will be surrounded by all white (tub, vanity, etc.) and should look quite nice.

The shower will share the same black/white tile on floors and the walls will white subway tiles with the below detail as an accent row.

it all started with seersucker

Hard to believe, but the construction is actually ahead of schedule! Unfortunately, this means, the pressure is now on to make some concrete design decisions. Up until now, I have had a pretty easy time making calls about things I know relatively little about. Picking handles for cabinets or deciding on the placement of a door, were actually quite simple. Ignorance is bliss?

With some daunting decisions to make (i.e. paint colors), I'm preparing (or really just procrastinating) by daydreaming about decor. Throughout my various pinterest boards, one trend emerges: stripes! I guess a seersucker wedding was just the beginning...

wall stripes:

ticking striped shower curtain:

seersucker inspired chair:

fantastic fabrics:

one big blogging family

Fred Kraus formal inspection

After a enjoyable and productive five days with my parents here in Charlotte, we were sad to say goodbye. However, we wouldn't want to hold up the retired roadtrippers from their next adventure!

Between my dad's technical expertise and my mom's voice of reason, I think Andrew and I both felt much better after they had a chance to thoroughly explore the house, current progress, and our plans moving forward. For a full recap of their Charlotte trip, check out their blog post.

And, I'm thrilled to report that the renovation is right on schedule! We are in week four which includes the continuation of framing, electrical rough in, and the continuation of mechanical and plumbing rough in.

Next step, picking out tile for the kitchen and master bathroom. Some sources of inspiration from good old pinterest.

great design for kitchen back splash, in a neutral color though:

love the classic black/white pinwheel tile for the bathroom: