mom's special gift

Some of you may know that my mom has been working on a special gift for me.  When we first bought the house, mom asked if she could design one area in our house for me on her own, as a surprise.  I had no hesitation asking her to please design the "Design Studio" (as we have now deemed it) in the back house.  And she was tickled and hoping that this room would be what I chose for her to help with.

I gave her a "program", which in the design world is a needs/wants list for a project, quantitative and qualitative.  The list included a twin bed for spill over guests and the occasional nap whilst designing beautiful spaces ;), lots of storage, a desk and a layout table.  I wanted it to be fun yet sophisticated, warm and inviting, etc.  She told me multiple times that she kept going back to the "program" to guide her in her process and selections and ultimate final product.  

The room was revealed to me on our move day after several days of "install" by mom and her two sisters.  Upon seeing it I of course cried, with tears of appreciation and love for my sweet mom who knows me so well and does so much for me and David and everyone around her.  I am so very lucky, there aren't really any words.

Still to come are a glass desk and a kitchen type work island, but I couldn't hold it in any longer.  I wanted to share with everyone how amazing of a design eye Reanie has.  She and I could do awesome things together one day ;)  I am so excited for her.

So without further adieu, here is Reanie Marchand's masterpiece.  

{Two items of note:}

~ Item 1

The necklace in the small white frame has my grandmother's (Reanie's mother) "Faith, Hope, Love" necklace with all of her PTA pins (turqoise and grey) strung from the chain.  Mom always used to tell me that when her and her sisters were little, at Christmas time, Grandma would label their presents with Faith Hope and Love.  And none of them knew which one was which until Christmas morning.  She was a stinker.  I miss her sweetness.  I am so happy to have this with us.

~ Item 2

My talented Aunt Connie expertly made all of the drapes, roman shades and the twin bed cover.  She truly is an artist with her hands, the sewing machine and fabric.  And my other sweet Aunt Joanie, helped all along the way with the install and keeping my mom sane throughout the whole process ;)

sneak peak

We've officially moved in.  All in all its been a lovely time.  This first week has been about simply moving boxes in, unpacking, getting boxes out of the house, taking large amounts of items to Goodwill and getting ready to start making it pretty, as David calls it.  We still have more grand ideas to come.  Despite my Type A personality and perfectionist tendencies, here are pictures of our house, turned upside down, shaken, not stirred.  I keep telling myself this blog is about the process, the journey, and to show this part is just one of those steps.  So here its.  Enjoy!  More craft, construction and design projects to come!

Welcome!  [we re-painted the wooden door.  Its a great door.]

Living room Friday before we moved in.  [Ahh.  So calm.]

Pretty kitchen. [Backsplash order pending!]

Master. [so clean]

elfa! [love me some organization.]

[in progress]

{living room to kitchen}

[living room}

{kitchen}

{front bedroom/office}

{laundry room & chalkboard!}

{back bedroom/nightmare}

{master bedroom}

[I had to make the bed up at least for this one...]

{master bathroom}

There you go.  Obviously there is more to come.  {i.e.  back deck, landscaping, DIY project for old ceiling fans.. yes! those fans again, and other design projects I have up my sleeve and or have stolen off of pinterest.  www.pinterest.com  -  Helping women feel completely inadequate yet inspired at the same time.}

Moved in.

So we are all moved in. Our house looks like a tornado hit it. But little by little things are taking shape.
Interesting things this week.


- the cats are loving the house. After a stressful car trip (20 min) I let them free in the house. And after 1 night we let them outside and it's like they have lived there forever.


- yesterday morning was the first day to drive to work from the house, as well as the first day of school. I was shocked at how well the traffic moved. And today it's completely the opposite.


- we have way too much stuff.


- mom taught me to create "shopping" areas while you unpack by laying everything out in pikes instead of placing them directly in a spot. Then you go "shopping" to decorate your rooms. Saves time and your feet. Genius.


- I love my elfa closet shelving. So much space! (pictures coming soon)


- 400 sf more space is a lot. All in all we have a lot of space and have built in a lot of cabinets for awesome storage.


- my LG washer and dryer are fantastic! They play a little song when they are done instead of this horrendous loud alarm.


- my feet are killing me from moving all day Saturday and Sunday and continuously walking back and forth from room to room with boxes.


- we have only found 1 of 3 power cords for our flat panel TVs.


- If you like to organize and unpack things you can come hang out this weekend and help me.


- its nice not having to dodge jack rabbits in the morning. Now I just dodge highschoolers and their horrible driving.


- we are eating out a/ordering in a lot. Unpacking from 7-11 every day doesn't leave time to plan/prepare a meal.


- our dear friends Morgan and Michael are moving into their new house in just a week or so. They will be only minutes away.


- I found a backsplash! I'm placing the order tomorrow!


- we have been desperate to find a leather recliner for David and I found one for an amazing deal on the "deal" website, joss & main. It came today! I love it. But unbeknownst to me. It doesn't have a footrest attached. Oh well. Another opportunity to add another texture with an ottoman.


- there are not enough trash pick up days in the week to accommodate our moving needs. But we are taking advantage of the exobox buy back program. Yes! And we are helping to save the world. One box at a time.


- I get butterflies everyday on my way home to my house and my man. And that's the best part.


- posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

decisions and monumental progress

First of all, this post is already out of date as I write it.  More to come hopefully day by day.  We move in this weekend and I cannot wait.  And little Reba & Dolly cannot wait either!

Here is what has been going on.  Monumental things.  

First

[granite]

[laundry room]

[up close, Kashmir White]

[Bathrooms, Jerusalem Gold, basically a limestone.]

[Close up.]

{We've been told that this will stain.  I am aware.  But I don't care.  I am not a huge toiletries/makeup/gels person... but I am a big spiller of items such as wine and coffee.  David says its one of the things he loves about me most.  However, I've heard immediately soak it up with acetone.  I'm sure this will come in handy sooner than later.}

[Master bathroom]

{I've been too busy lately to get out the "good" camera, so please accept my

apologies for the hot spot of the light fixture}

[the backsplash saga]

{I am currently racking my brain and design resources to find something great.  So far, this is as "great" as I have gotten... and its $26/SF which is absolutely ridiculous.  I don't care who you are or how much money you have.  I am just frustrated with the selection of tile available to the general public.  Rant over.}

~But I really like the following idea.~

Christine Baumann Interiors, via HGTV, via Pinterest.

{So the idea in our kitchen is to do somewhat of the inverse.  Dark cabinets, light countertops, darker shimmer accent {expensive} mosic at the sink and oven with possibly a super cheap Daltile subway as the field}

And then Reanie found these great tiles in 1 of the 15839 design magazines she has currently in her arsenal. 

[Concave and convex hexagonal tiles from nemotile.com]

 [Dwell ceramic tile from HeathCeramics.com]

{Like I said.  Saga.}

[On to a more fun item.  Our kitchen faucet!]

{Good baby washing sink.  Just sayin'.  Not implying anything.}

Next.

We needed to figure out some focal points for the living room, so I had to make more decisions.  The fireplace has been looking like this lately. 

So I got out my trusty paint fan.  This time Sherwin Williams because the painters will inevitably go there no matter what and match any color you give them.  So I cut my losses on a screwy paint and went with Sherwin Williams.  I needed to coordinate with the only thing on this wall that would stay natural.  The rough leuders hearth and slab leuders top.  Grey.  You know it.

Dovetail, Fox Trot, Eider White, something like that.

I was worried about painting over the natural concrete stucco.  But it was looking very "unfinished".  Something that I HATE hearing at work, but I was saying in my head and couldn't get rid of it.  So we planned on a plaster chalk color for the stucco fireplace, and a medium tone grey for the wood paneling that sits on either side of it.

[nice texture]

[finished product]

{I'm in love.  Please note the stained beams as well.}

Onto the beams... this was another item I had to make a decision on.  All in all I went with a 50/50 mix of Minwax's Dark Walnut & Red Mahogany.

[50/50 stain mix on top.  Wood flooring sample on bottom.]

[Cowboy and our barn door.]

{Reanie and I went and picked this little treasure up at Pieces of the Past in Johnson City on Saturday.  I had 5 minutes before the store closed, and with tape measure in hand, I pulled the trigger and made a decision.  Now I have to research/decide on a frosting solution for the panes.  Easy.  Pinterest will save the day.}

{Thought I'd throw in a little pick of some random items about the house that interest/intrigue me.  First, the basketball goal.  David and I have played HORSE here once.  I lost.  Obviously.}

[There is a strange hole behind the shop, covered with this chain link gate door.  I think David told me once what it was, but maybe it's Alice in Wonderland's hole and there is an adventure waiting for me.  No, David will have to fill that in and remedy this situation before any kids or nieces step foot back here.]

[We have this little shed/barn that David wants to re-clad and paint and store the John Deer {yes, we have a John Deer riding lawn mower, are you jealous?} and the blower in.]

Back to remodeling.

[Existing fan blades that are a hideous color that I will be painting.  Future post.]

[As of Sunday we were able to pee in a legitimate plumbing fixture.  I admit that I have used the porta potty 2 times in the 2 months that we have been renovating the house.]

Okay, I admit, a little anti-climactic with the toilets at the end, but this means business!  

Appliances were installed today.  I haven't been there since Monday so this will be a special treat for me on Wednesday.  Window cleaners come tomorrow, Wednesday.  Final clean happens Thursday as well as carpet install.  Somewhere in there we need to install the Elfa closets {secretly so excited about getting to do this}, and then the move happens Saturday/Sunday.  Time Warner Cable is being installed Saturday, so you know its real.

Last week I asked David if I needed to schedule movers for this weekend.   He said, "No, I have Jim, Jesse, and Josh scheduled."  So the cowboy and his crew will be schleppin our stuff from the storage closet on Bee Caves to south Austin all day.  My job is to make sure they are fed and hydrated, the H20 kind and the adult kind.  So grateful for our friends!

Thanks for sharing in our journey!  More to come but so happy to be here!

1 more week, or so.

So, this is a tiring process.  I say that for me, but then there is David at the house most nights later than I care for and I have since stopped complaining that I want to finally have a house again.  This is why I love this man.  Ever committed to every aspect of the project, and then some.

Here are some updates.

Glass tile in the master bath shower.  This is a shelf... we built the side wall out, so that the original wall and that one created a shelf.  For all my products.  Yes.  The glass tile was forever an inner debate with myself.  We wanted something brighter, contrasting, but fun/modern/shimmery.  I delayed, like I still am with the kitchen backsplash, but I had to make a decision on this one because without tile on a shower wall, you can't take a shower.  I need to take a shower.  So we went with the original selection.  This little gem from Home Depot.  All in all, I like it.   Its not grouted yet, but I think it will stand the test of time.  And if it doesn't, its just one small area.

2x2 travertine on the floor, more grout lines means less slip, means I won't fall and break my neck.

Note the well planned "curb" so water doesn't creep out.  We may or may not put a glass door here.  Still up in the air.

This again is so that I don't break my neck.  A little perch for my foot when I shave my legs.

Hallway with LED lights.  I promise it doesn't look this blue.  Or maybe it does.  [ahhhhh]

Kitchen with can lights.  Granite comes Friday!

Here you can see the under cabinet lights.  This should be good for all that intricate cooking I do.

Once the carpet was ripped up and the wood floors were in the plan, it became obvious that the floor was horribly uneven.  This is self-leveling cementitious epoxy stuff that makes it even again.  

The wood floors are in!  But are covered up by protective paper.  So, we'll all have to wait for that reveal.  The fireplace I reckon is done "drying"/curing.  But I'm not ready to commit to painting it yet.  And I think there is another layer of plaster/stucco left.  I haven't gotten the run down on this from David.  And.  The plan is to paint the original painted wood paneling a medium charcoal color.  So, I guess we'll do that and make a decision.  

Stain still needs to happen.  Mantle.  David wants a bigger TV, what guy doesn't.  And then of course the actual living items, my furniture!

 

Wood floor in the studio.  Reanie is sooo excited.

This is how uneven the master bedroom floor was.  They had to level out practically the whole room.

Okay, so its still slow going, but its going and life is good so I'm not complaining.  At least not anymore ;)

Big thank you to HD Walker, David's Dad, for helping out so much!  And Happy Anniversary to HD and Nancy on their 40th Wedding Anniversary!  I love my Walker family.

Until this weekend! katie, H&H