I can’t believe it’s May already.. This year is flying by. We have two months until we move into our home and it seems like a ton to still get done. The past weeks have been so busy. In the midst of everything my beloved wisteria had the best bloom in years.. Thank you California rain!
As luck would have it, that was the week the painters came to paint the eaves black to match the new black roof and gutters, which I am loving. They very kindly pulled the wisteria off and hung it in a large wrap. Can you believe it? They put it back after no harm done. I was so happy as this vine is 40-50 years old and I am trying my best to preserve it with all this work being done!
I am mostly finished with choices for-tile, cabinets, lights, floors and I am so glad. My head is swirling all the time with this stuff. My days go like this- call the closet person, get back to the cement guy, meet the garage door people, check with the tile store, view the floor sample, get back to the cabinet guys, order those lamps, return the ones that didn’t work, think about bath mirrors…and so on!! I would be lying if I didn’t say I’ve had some anxiety.
There are SO many building choices and websites. You can pull a whole home together on something like Build.com and Restoration Hardware. I am one of those people who may do better with less choice. I love a LOT of things and styles. The anxiety comes from worrying about whether I’ve made the right choice and if it will all look good pulled together..Luckily now a lot of design is changing and there really is no ‘perfect’ look -just your own. I keep reminding myself that, and that I am going for my own unique home, but still I stress.
So look guys…this is the interior..Fireplaces and walls gone, drywall almost all up. This is the front view out. I love the large French doors to the little patio we are building. I plan to put my dining table in front of these doors.
This is the back of the house looking toward the new fold away La Cantina doors and our fireplace. Window seats will be on either side and to the left is the kitchen.
My biggest challenge with this house has been sticking to my look and style for this home. Not everything has to match, but I would like it to flow. I love when a home has a thread of continuity about it and the rooms feel connected in some way. This exterior of the house will be white with black details, wood floors and cabinetry, light stone accents, white walls and aqua blue in a few places. The house has no trim or moulding on the upper walls or windows and has contemporary feel inside.
This is the front right now. You can see the new path I tried to model after an offset path from my grandparent’s 1960’s house and the new patio to the left.
The front entrance has a portico that will have a little bench on one side for packages. The door will be glass and the sidelights also.
This is the back and you can see the new dark roof and gutters. This will be all stuccoed and painted white. Deciding on that color is next- hopefully something not stark.
Here is what is all over my house..tiles and cabinetry and flooring. I think you can see the look I’m going for here- whites, light oak, and stones.
This is the fireplace material below. I love this Italian tile and I think it will look modern, yet still natural. I cannot believe the gorgeous stone looking tiles that are coming from Italy. This is supposed to be like onyx and has about 400 different variations so using it looks just like the real stone for a lot less.
These two are the flooring for the mudroom/laundry/pool bath and the beautiful blue tile is the background for the wall in the pool bath part. I wanted something fun as the pool is just outside the door and it’s mostly used by swimmers. This tile has the slightest shimmer and is like the sun on the water. I love it!
I used this image for inspiration for that pool bath and I am sorry I have lost the source. I am having a vanity built like this with two floating shelves where I can wedge pool towels between. I like the modern stacking style of tiles and the wall mounted faucet too.
I am also excited for the wet bar which I decided to use something called Yesterday’s Glass from Jeffery Court on the backsplash. It’s like those 1970’s mirrored tiles that had that smoky look that my parents and Max’s both had. I hope this will be a little glam and reflect light. The upper shelves are floating and the lowers are light wood. I still have to figure the hardware, but there is a round hammered nickel sink and a dark pewter toned faucet.
I wasn’t sure what kind of garage door to go with. I like the glass ones, but they seem more modern than my house is. I did not like the metal ones many garage door companies have. I like a very clean and streamlined look and a few neighbors have that. Turns out my neighbor Vivian designed her own and the other neighbors like it so much they also used her design.. Below is Vivian’s house and the look I want, but in black. Isn’t it modern and sharp? I think it’s perfect for my transitional style.
Then there is the driveway and I love this look below and am trying to recreate something similar, but offset like my walkway and with stones between..
I have always known I wanted a glass front door for the light. This is where I am conflicted -do I go very modern like the photo below or classic like the next photo? Max worries about the openness to the front, but you can always add a curtain that pulls over the windows and sidelights if you need more privacy.
I am set on having the door a color and this below is the front runner..
I think Palladian Blue is a good foil to the golds and wood tones that will be in the house, like these chairs shown above with it.
Great Barrington Green is also cool for the door of a white California house with black accents..
Speaking of color, these new Century Paints from Benjamin Moore are so gorgeous. Have you seen these? Any of these would make a statement on a door!
Thanks for following along. I would love to hear what you think and any tips you’ve got for remodeling choices.
Next week I’ll share more house things like wallpaper, my trip to So Cal and my lunch at the most beautiful San Francisco home.
Kim
How is your summer going? We were away on vacation and last week, two days after we got home, we moved into a rental house while we renovate for the next 6 months. It had been ten years since we have moved and I had forgotten how much work there is. GAH! I’m still recovering. My son Jackson and I were saying that moving should be required for everyone every decade as it really makes you evaluate what the heck you own and are living with, you know? Moving requires you to acknowledge and touch just about every darn item you possess and even those squirreled away in a closet or garage. It’s a big wake-up call. I thought I had been good about purging in the past few years, but clearly not at all. My family especially got on me about the amount of pillows and books I own. I love my books, but yes we will be cleaning out more before moving back. The days before the move we took 3 huge loads to donation. It made me really feel guilty about how much ‘stuff’ we acquired. We all vowed to have less.
