re:fuge

we spent an exhausting weekend repainting the den & office and the master bedroom, as well as finishing the stair installation. yay!

we filled the gaps in the mdf with a resin compound, let it harden overnight and then sanded it smooth...



and then we painted everything and installed the treads with construction adhesive and a few finish nails. we still have to caulk and touch up a few spots with paint.



as far as paint goes, i haven't been digging the 'fenland' we put in the master bedroom - it would be more well-suited to a den or office rather than a bedroom. so with this inspiration pic in mind -

[sorry i don't have source info]
...we repainted the master bedroom 'site white' with 'refuge' on the bed wall (all paint colors are sherwin williams). i love it! it will look even better after we get the trim & baseboards installed.





i also wasn't happy with the 'tony taupe' in the den - the whole room was looking rather drab because that taupe was absorbing all the light, so we repainted it a lighter color - 'alpaca' by sherwin williams. it reminds me of the color of my favorite starbucks drink - the chai latte. yum!


we also painted the office 'refuge' as well - so now you get these cool glimpes of the blue from the den and then a modern color combo with the 'wheatgrass' in the powder room...


(the office still needs a 2nd coat of paint)





and here are some more pics of the living room now that it's been properly cleaned -





up next will be the stair and loft railing. no plan for that yet...

re:fulgent

this doesn't so much have to do with our house (maybe someday it will), but i wanted to share the stunning work of niche modern - gorgeous hand-blown glass pendants.








i was looking for a more contemporary version of a bell jar pendant to hang over our stair landing and stumbled upon this site a few months ago, and have just revisited it for work. i am smitten!

re:semble

i found the perfect vanity for our master bathroom -


it's 48" wide (the max we have room for) and has tons of storage. i love the walnut and i love the white rectangular vessel sink on top (not included). it would go so well with the rest of my vision for the master bathroom. what i don't love is the $3k price tag. the 36"er is nice too (and would give our toilet more ample room) but it's still $2400. hmm... i guess i'll just have to keep looking for something similar. 42" would be ideal.

re:inspire

i've picked out the tile for the master bath shower! it's so fresh & clean, i love it!










this is called china blend by a glass tile company called hakatai - and it's actually very reasonably priced at $5.29 per sheet (1 sheet is 1.15 square feet - so that's $4.60 per square foot!). i love the top pictures and would like to go with coloring along those lines - walnut, slate, teak - but our bathroom is more like the size of the bottom pic. not quite that small - we will be able to have a 4' wide vanity. we will have a frameless glass shower door, and i'm looking at lacava for vanities but am trying to find a similar source that's a little less expensive. any recs? i'm going for the spa-like master bath. dreamy!

re:ferendum

hooray for photoshop! let's hear your votes on these paint schemes...
now down to three options:

renwick olive - bronze windows:


renwick olive - red windows:



connected gray - bronze windows:
out

connected gray - red windows:


brown siding - bronze windows:
out

brown siding - red/orange windows:
out

here are some of the photos i've been using for inspiration - from bunnymendelbaum and the houseblogs flickr pool...









who knew this would be such a difficult decision??!!

re:plication?

a fellow renovator in asheville sent me this photo...



this house looks a lot like ours in that it's just a big rectangular box with a front porch, and they have the horizontal trim band dividing the top and bottom of the house, but used the same paint color top & bottom. and they have the dark windows that i like. this color looks kinda like the name-i-couldn't-remember brown we have a sample of in the photo below. maybe we could go in this direction for our paint scheme...

re:creation

i painted the chalkboard wall! we used ben moore chalkboard paint - it's a dark gray, almost black - just like a school chalkboard. it's very cool. after we get some chalk up on it, it will lighten out - but i really like the balance of the white kitchen (with future white marble countertops) opposite the blackish wall. plus it will be fun to draw on, and write grocery lists, etc.

here are a few pictures. i'll post more this weekend after we can draw on it! (have to wait 3 days to apply chalk) -








here is the main image that gave us our inspiration (from cottage living), as we're also planning on doing a pantry door on sliding/barn door hardware:


but for some more images of black chalkboard walls like ours check out cottage living; another cool wall from apartment therapy; and more here and here.

re:animate

anthony is picking up some more paint today. i'm very excited to work on the dining room - it will add a lot of character to the house, and be modern at the same time. this is the look i'm going for in the dining room (from room and board) -


so, we've chosen a paint color called calico. and maybe one day i'll be able to afford that concord cabinet. and some steel frames. this is the light fixture we ordered (also from room and board):


and i already purchased this cute mid-century inspired mirror from west elm to go in the room as well -


the plan is to get - or make - a big (54-60") round dining table, as the room is nearly square and therefore needs a round table, in my opinion. check back later in the week for more paint pictures!

re:new

we ordered the windows yesterday! we're going with jeld-wen (norco) wood windows, 3-over-1s like in our elevation dwgs. they should arrive by november 14! we had to lose the window in the laundry room because it's too close to the electrical weatherhead bringing the electrical wires from the street to the house. and we went with one pair of operable french doors in the family room and one fixed pair - we still get the same look but greater functionality of the space and a lower cost.

i'll update with current house photos later today. the framing is complete (including sheathing and papering the addition), the new foundation is in, the roof is shingled on the addition, and they've covered all the windows with plywood to keep rain and intruders out until the new windows get here.

we've been planning our ikea kitchen and hoping to make a trip to atlanta to buy the kitchen components around november 1-2. we're leaning towards the akurum/adel white style to keep the smallish kitchen bright and airy and have a little modern-craftsman/shaker style:


...and we've picked out appliances and will order those in a few weeks. we're leaning towards white (granite or oh-how-i-would-love-marble) countertops, like this -







(image from Martha Stewart)

...but we may also go with a black countertop in granite, soapstone or paperstone (a green product).