Kitchen Reveal

 

 

 

 

I love my kitchen in our new build. I think it hits all the boxes in terms of how I imagined & planned it would all look. I shared these photos on Instagram but I thought I'd share them here too. I adore the lights above the island & how large the island is. 

We decided to go with a hex tile for our backsplash last minute also rather than the penny tile as mentioned earlier since it was closer to what I had hoped for- it just took us visiting a number of tile stores to find the right ones & purchasing ourselves rather than having the local supplier the builder contracted provide. They are made by Tierra Sol. 

I am so glad we decided to add the large window beside the dining room table even if there would be another house built beside us. I love windows & light spaces. As it turns out right where the window meets the next house is where their deck is so we will get great light still. It's a little awkward to be eating breakfast and look up & see builders or the new home owners on their deck but in time I will add in some shears or some kind of window treatment. I have yet to decide on window treatments &/or make new drapes. Also we are yet waiting on the microwave/trim kit for the oven wall combo. It was back ordered but should arrive this month sometime. 

I had envisioned a more industrial bar stool/chair but these are very comfortable and were a fraction of the price.

Here are some links back to the planning process:

Lights

Kitchen Configuration

Show Home Kitchen Inspiration

April

Lately it's been very grey here as winter gives way to spring. 

The calendar month of April I thought looked very blank. I've always thought every month needed a holiday to chase the doldrums away. I added a countdown until our home possession on April 11th. A momentous event.  I can hardly contain myself.  I am excited and at the same time on edge. Time seems to stand still. It is this way when we are waiting for something. 

Added to the anticipation of finally having our home build complete (it's been 8 months since we started this home build! And 12 months that I've been either living out of a suitcase or out of boxes) is the opposite of anticipation-- a realization of all the work that this month will include packing and moving yet again. And this time with a new baby! 

I decided I needed a little extra pep to remind myself that spring is in the air. A time of new beginnings. Perhaps a pep talk of sorts to remind myself I can do this. The last mile before the finish line. The last push. 

I saw on one of the blogs I follow a list of fun things each season they hope to accomplish and thought I'd make my own. While this move will likely occupy much of my time and energy I thought I should take a few breaks along the way to enjoy April. There are a number of Spring and even April lists out there. I thought a list of five was as ambitious as I'd get. 

Here's my April list:

• Experiment and plant tulips bulbs indoors (I saw this on Pinterest and have always been curious if it would work. Plus I think this year will not be the year I plant a full blown garden.)
• A picnic! Did you know April 23rd is National Picnic Day? I'm not sure which nation has declared this day but I'll take it. I'm always up for a picnic, a hike, a little exploring a spot we've never been before. 
• Lavendar Pedicure...I think a spa experience would be quite lovely. Plus my feet have seen better days and were quite neglected while I was pregnant. (Hello, bend over and touch my toes was not happening then.) 
• Lavendar lemonade....okay this is just strange but I saw it and now want to try it. A glass of lemonade is always a treat after working hard.
• Lemon poppyseed cupcakes ....perhaps I'll invite a new friend over for tea. It will give me reason to unpack. Plus it will be fun to test my new appliances. 

In case you all were also thinking April seemed a little long as your calendar was void of holidays (beyond April Fools Day) I found a few I thought I'd share for Ten on Tuesday 

Ten on Tuesday- Obscure April Holidays

1. April 7 National Beer Day
2. April 8 Zoo Lovers Day, Draw a Picture of a Bird Day
3. April 10 National Sibling Day
4. April 11 Pet Day
5. April 13 Scrabble Day
6. April 16 PJ Day- wear your pjs to work day (okay odd...I hope no one actually does this)
7. April 22 Earth Day/Jelly Bean Day
8. April 23 National Picnic Day/Lover's Day
9. April 28 National Blueberry Pie Day/Kiss Your Mate Day
10. April 30 National Oatmeal Cookie Day/National Raisin Day 

If you celebrate one of these days or several link your blog post/Instagram photo/twitter tweet etc. etc.  back to me in the comments. I'd love to hear and see what you did! 

5 on Friday: A Homebuild Closing in on the 11th Hour

I thought I'd make a random Five on Friday post about our home build.

1. Our possession date for our house has been moved back to April 11th from March 16. That's one month away!! We had to push back the move in date for financing and because Ls dad is going to help us out but won't be back from Mexico until the end of the month. I am so thankful for family. I'm very excited and ready to finally be in our new house. I feel like I'm over the home building process now and just want it to be ready. I'm not looking forward to packing and moving yet again. I am looking forward to finally decorating the baby's nursery! 

We had an offer on our other house but it was really disappointing as they offered $50,000 less than what we are currently asking and wouldn't move up when we counter offered plus they wanted possession in less than two weeks. Let's be reasonable here people! 

2. Remember when I said I'd post a picture of the 80s party door? The new door has not yet been installed. L had a picture of the new door on his phone but it was deleted when he updated his phone. The cost of the hardware on the door the builder quoted was to cost $250 just for a door handle/lock taking the total cost of the door upgrade to $1050.  We instead went to Lowes and found a similar handle for less than $100. Yay us!! 

Here was my door inspiration. 

What colour do you think I should paint my front door? 

3. We had a paint fiasco that left me very disappointed but I think I've let it go now.

First we were told we would have Benjamin Moore paint. BM is a favorite of mine. I visited the local BM store and was told to watch out for a painter named Josh who was telling people he was using BM but really using Dulux. I deliberated over paint samples forever and finally decided on Snowfall White as my colour. It is just beside Simply White, BM colour of the year, on the colour swatch.

I asked to confirm with the builder we were using BM paint. Instead of BM he said his painter switched from BM because he was having some challenges with the paint.  Instead we would now be using Sherwin Williams. I then asked who the painter was. Guess who? 

So I went and picked out a Sherwin Williams colour. 

Later that week L and I decided to pop by the place and while it was all locked up what did we see through the windows but Dulux paint cans. I was upset. 

We contacted the builder and got the run around, basically he is saying it was colour matched with a laser and that they are using top of the line Dulux paint. We went by and held up our sample and like I thought it is not a exact match. The SW swatch is much brighter and lighter as it reflects light differently. It's pretty --a pale yellow but not really the colour I was aiming for. He said if I was really unhappy I could have a top coat of General Paint. So ridiculous. 

I imagine Josh and the builder are in cahoots and so to bring him to task for this lack of integrity will get me nowhere. Likely end up costing us more money and set us back for our move I date. It was just such a disappointment because it made me question and wonder about the integrity behind some of the choices we have been given and other upgrades we have been charged for. Plus I really wanted Benjamin Moore paint all along.

4. I'm so excited to see the kitchen being installed in the next week or so.

Here was my inspiration. You will have seen some of these photos before.

The cabinetry will be dark on the bottom and white on top which I think will look gorgeous next to the Amaretto floors (similar to the bottom left inspiration picture above).

We had to reconfigure the kitchen from its original layout. What do you think of my nifty diagram I made to explain my thinking to the builder? Basically what happened was we moved the fridge and oven so that it was a wall combo, extended the island and walkway, and aligned the gas cooktop with the sink. Even though it says broom closet in my diagram that later got nixed.

Below is the diagram from the cabinet builder. And the picture below that is the window concept for the upper cabinets.

I really wanted a vent hood like pictured. I liked the look of having tile behind the vent hood to visually break up the cabinetry. Unfortunately the builder said that would not be possible and somehow the vent will be venting down and out. It's really confusing. L had to search for the right kind of vent and finally found a built in one that crazily will cost the same amount as the gas cook top.  The cabinet builder will be constructing me a hood similar to my inspiration photo. We will be using penny tile as the back splash. 

L picked out all our appliances. I know!! What??!! I was in the last stages of pregnancy/giving birth/having a new babe and really couldn't be bothered at that point. I'm excited to see what he picked. I mean he has good taste so I trust his picks plus he is really good with finding quality at a good price. He is one of those people who will read all the reviews. 

5. Today when we were at the house we saw that the fireplace had just been installed. It is similar to the top left picture below. 

I am wondering if we should have built ins on the side constructed for the components, or a version of the bottom constructed to hide the components or to go with wireless? What would you do?

When we were at the house today it seemed like there was so much yet to do but hopefully it is like my favorite home design shows and there is five minutes left in the show and before the final reveal. Somehow it all comes together in the eleventh hour.

Lights Out

Where was I last post? Oh right lights, the disco party door, and kitchen layout. 

This post will feature lighting.

First up: Eglo 

I loved the vintage collection and after much deliberation decided copper! 

Because of course Tom Dixon Copper Light! Hello Gorgeous! As in $1500 gorgeous! I saw one site listing these for $860 but not sure if that was true...I didn't stay long enough to find out. And really you would need more than one for the true effect. Maybe one day I could change out the dining room light for one of these! 

Or just dream about it!

I wondered if all copper was too much... Or too matchy matchy so I deliberated among these lighting combinations also from Eglo...

But then when I had finally made my choices I learned this vintage line would not be available in Canada. I had just spent two weeks pondering combinations. It's like when you try on a thousand dresses and finally narrow it down to eight, then four and finally one only to find out that after returning to the shop to purchase it that it sold the day before. Or something like that. Except in most cases then you would just buy the runner up dress. 

So moving on from Eglo...

Next up: Kichler

We had returned to the store by this time after deciding possibly looking online at the list of websites provided by the supplier was a waste of time. After wandering around the store and talking to Erroll we decided on the Brinley Collection

This was to be the dining room light fixture.

Four of these above the kitchen island.

And above the stairwell.

Then I started second guessing as I do and wondered if again I should not do all the same lights...Plus L was not keen on this collection...so back home I went to the websites and deliberated for much too long.

I liked the Everly Collection and also the Hatteras Bay Collection. Here are some of my choice picks...

In the end of all that deliberations I learned that with a vaulted ceiling my choices were limited and I could not have a light fixture with a pole. Both the Hatteras & Everly were knocked out of the running. 

So after all that deliberating I finally chose:

Island lighting x 4: The Brinley Mini Pendant 

Stairwell Light: Russell Pendant (this ended up being a budget choice)

And Dining Room light: Grand Banks Chandelier

I still some days wonder if I should have gone all Brinley or this combination. What are your thoughts? I found picking lights the hardest design aspect because I just can't picture how it will look in the space by looking at a photo of a light online. I almost need to see how it looks in a room. 

Also any suggestions on having the baby nap more than 30 minutes at a time during the day (mid-morning, early afternoon, late afternoon/early evening) or is that enough? Or is this just a phase? She seems a little grouchy with this little sleep during the day especially by early evening. Thankfully she is a better sleeper at night and we can sometimes go 4 or even once she went 5 hours. Baby J is 6 weeks today. 

I'm excited to have found a new app that will let me hopefully (fingers crossed) post from my iPad rather than firing up Ls computer. If it works I am excited by the ability to post more frequently. 

Home Build Update and Interior Plans

Are you ready to imagine with me...

On Friday we did a drive by and I saw that they had started to put up the siding. I forgot my camera as luck would have it at a time when something actually exciting was happening. Just imagine instead of white snow there is muck, because spring or psuedo spring has arrived in Saskatchewan and the snow is gone.  

And in the photo I would have took you would have seen scaffolding and the construction crew putting up a smoky dark grey vinyl siding.  I do love stucco or Hardy board exteriors but not at $15,000 and $8000 extra respectively.  I think this siding choice will look sharp with the white trim and with green folliage and red flowers. 

Here is a photo of the iron ore vinyl siding we chose.

Does anyone have any recommended colour choices for the rock trim on the front exterior surrounding the garage doors and front window? I am leaning toward a sandstone coloured brick similar to this home that I saw when out touring. What do you think? 

Have you all been curious about the interior? Tada!

 Oh dear can anyone even see this? I think you may need your magnifying glasses to view. 

Some of our favorite features of the interior layout included that it was a bungalow, and a walkout bungalow, an open kitchen/living layout, three bedrooms on the main floor, laundry on the main floor, and a three car garage. I love that my kitchen island will be 42" wide by 10 feet. I also love that the exterior of the property faces a park and a playground where baby J can play.

In the next day or so (or when the baby has a proper nap) I will post an amended kitchen layout, along with a post on lighting since I spent much too much time deliberating over lighting and really would like to remember all of the options that I waffled over. Or chose and then learned that I had inadvertently chosen a European line from the supplier that would not be available to Canada or the hardware for installation did not work with a vaulted ceiling. I think we went back and forth to Regina after making selections online to meet the supplier and find out prices or view lighting options in-store five times in the months of December and January. 

So far it has only been the innards of framing, plumbing, electrical, insulation, and drywall that we have seen. I am very excited to finally see the flooring, granite and cabinetry going up soon! It is hard to imagine sometimes when picking from samples how it might look. Then sometimes after I have angst wondering if I have picked the right finish. 

This is a picture of the hardwood and tile we chose. We will have hardwood installed in all the rooms on main floor except where there is tile in the entryway, laundry and washrooms. We chose Mercier Maple Amaretto Hardwood and San Marco Pulpis Ivory Tile.

Building a home has not always been easy. Sometimes features that you envision are not translatable to builders or within the building allowance or what is offered by local suppliers. (I wonder sometimes if I were to build another house if perhaps hiring an interior designer to negotiate with the builder and who would have access to suppliers would be a smart choice!) Sometimes these features you wish for can be included but always after much negotiation and at a price. Sometimes I wonder at the suppliers that a builder chooses.  For instance I envisioned a traditional door similar to the doors on the houses across the street from where we were building. When I arrived at my house I saw that a front door had been installed with glass that looked like a 80's dance party. I thought I would have to grin and bear it but L knew I was not impressed and so after some negotiation we learned that the door costed $3000 and for us to have the door we wanted we would have to pay extra. I now have my door but ouch! I shall make an effort this week to go and photograph the 80's party door for your viewing pleasure. Sometimes I think buying a house would have been easier as you would see the finishes and how it all works together before hand. 

But at the end of the day this process is heaps of fun! A little stressful but exciting.

Home Build Update

The roof & shingles are now on. Most of the windows have been installed. Framing is complete on the main floor. Basement concrete floor has been poured and framing is underway. 

Today we met with the builder, electrician, plumber/heater (haha what do you call the individual who installs the heating system?) at 8:30 am. Brrr it was so cold as the house only has minimal heat in the basement for the curing of the concrete. 

It is exciting to see the progress. 

They had to put up a sold sign out front since there have been several interested individuals asking if the house is for sale now that the park layout behind our property is almost complete and two offers! 

Granite Perusal

L had the day off so we decided to visit the industrial area today to check out the shop that will be cutting the granite and another shop where we would be ordering the lighting from.

I had this idea that it would be a gigantic warehouse where we could walk around looking at granite slices but instead it is more of a workshop where they were cutting and shaping the granite.

This worker cut off a few samples for us to take with us and explained a little of the process showing us an extra long counter that he was finishing and joining.

We are leaning towards the following white granites in our price range:

Camelot White

Miracle White

Moon White (This is the granite pictured in photo two above. It was quite striking in the shop.)

We both liked Siberian White but it is currently out of stock. 

I wonder if it will come back in stock in a few months.

Walls, Window Upgrades & Hiccups

The walls are up!

It was really exciting to see the walls were built the last time I was by the house.

This is the south view.

 West side with two bedroom windows.

This is the north view including the walkout basement, jut-out is the master bedroom window, window to the right is the bathroom, window and door to the left is the kitchen and door to deck.

This is the east side. When I first saw this I was a little shocked that the windows were only 2 feet by 2 feet and the window in the kitchen 2 feet by 6 feet. How did I miss this on the plans earlier? We emailed the builder to ask about enlarging the kitchen window to 6 feet by 6 feet. It will be an additional $2000. Crazy! 

Every change is thousands of dollars! Is it worth it? I am divided since there will be a house directly across from this one. Perhaps all we need is the natural light from this window and to forget having a large window here since there likely will not be a view. But I also love windows. Why are windows so expensive! 

In other news we had a hiccup yesterday as far as where we will live while this house is being built. 

We had planned to house sit for a lovely couple while they went to the United States for the winter to Mesa, Arizona. Unfortunately I got a call in the early morning that she had had a heartattack and was in the hospital. I was concerned for her health but it really did leave us in a lurch. It had been such an ideal situation. We would be renting their place for $750 a month plus $150 for snow removal. It included a garage, all utilities plus netflix/cable/internet, furnishings, dishes etc. 

I am trying to not be stressed out about this all and take it in stride. I left a deposit with her of $750 which has been cashed plus paid for all the snow removal on Saturday at $600 and left post-dated checks until April so I hope we will be able to recover this money. 

Luckily I was able to secure a new place yesterday thanks to connections that her husband had and so now we will be living in a renovated church. It costs a little more at $1100 plus utilities per month. I also needed to leave a security deposit of $1100. Unfortunately it is unfurnished so I am trying to figure out if we should move our furniture currently in our basement here for the cost of $3071 or buy some used items on kijiji that we can later re-sell or make the trip and try to move some of the items ourselves with L's dad's pick-up truck. 

Lots to think about as I likely shouldn't be lifting heavy items being 29 weeks pregnant. Plus L is working day in and day out it seems. He has worked 50+ days now with only 2 days off.  I am not even sure if he will be available to help me with moving at the end of the month. Our condo lease runs out at the end of this month so I do not have a lot of time to ponder this hiccup. 

Home Build Begins!

Building begins! We are building a house!

On Tuesday the foundation was dug.

I dropped by today and see that the concrete footings have been poured.  

We will have a walkout basement.

I'm standing taking this photo where our driveway will be likely.

Where you see the red heart shape is our lot.

In the next two photos I am standing on what will be the pathway behind and to the left of the red heart.

I love the iron fences that will open up to the park.

If a straight line were drawn from our property line on the west side it would align with those electrical boxes. Behind our property will be a large park with playground structures. I can hardly wait to see the playground design.

I am hopeful that the concrete will cure before the snow flies. It is looking a little dreary out! 

Last month I participated in a blog-tember challenge to post everyday in the month of September. One of the prompts was to write about a quote that is meaningful to you. One I carry with me is this, "Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come." 

In the next few months I will update you on our home build. The home should be completed by March when we are able to move in.

We are very excited!