HA! Our original lighting allowance/budget was $1250. Our quote from the lighting store is
$2741.40, and I don't think that includes any recessed lighting, of which there will be a considerable amount. Obviously, we can cut that down quite a bit, but I don't see how we can halve it without sacrificing a lot of aesthetics.
The good news is that lighting - unlike, say, flooring or cabinetry - is easy to switch out just about any time. So, worst case, we just go cheap now and start upgrading lights one at a time.
I wonder what would happen if I just went to Home Depot with my lighting list and came up with stuff there.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Lighitng!!
Saturday was an amazing adventure! Alison, our interior designer, came into town. I think she'll be among the best money we spend on this adventure. She helped us pick out lighting for the whole house (see below) , a siding (and gutter and soffit and downspout) color (a medium gray), and helped us out with the granddaddy of decisions - the kitchen countertop (maybe black or black and brown). We even started talking paint colors for the whooooole house (again, see below).
A selection of the lighting choices are featured below, in no particular order (click on the picture to see the larger version and read the text). The flushmount is pretty boring, but hey, you need lights in the hallways and closets. The most exciting (to me, at least) is the exterior lighting. We saw a few that we liked but didn't love, and then it was like heaven opened up and shone a light on this one. And THEN it turned out to be one of the less expensive options. It's great.
Like I said, that was the most exciting part. We also got approval on our previous kitchen selections (which will go a long way to keeping me from second-guessing myself) and talked paint colors. I'm a dork, so I made an image with the paint colors we talked about. Nobody's rushing out to buy paint or anything, so this all could change, but I do like it overall, especially looking at them all together. It's not like we have one room that really sticks out like a sore thumb (I don't think).
As far as construction progress goes, there is waterproofing material on the outsides of the basement walls. It's ugly, but it's there. And the ugly part is getting covered with dirt, so it's all good.
OH! I almost forgot. We're at strike two on the ceiling fan for the master bedroom. The one I posted about earlier looked even more questionable after our visit to the lighting store; it's definitely out. We picked another one at the lighting store. I was unsure about it at the time, and it got worse after I slept on it. Strike two.
In browsing the web this evening, though, we may have found a winner! It's Hunter's "Palermo" ceiling fan.
I am really digging it; the downside seems to be that it uses a compact fluorescent bulb, which some customer reviews describe as "harsh." (Not exactly ideal for a cozy master bedroom.) Maybe it would be better for the breakfast area and we can move the one we picked for that into the master bedroom.
And THAT, my friends, is all she wrote. For tonight, at least. Phew.
A selection of the lighting choices are featured below, in no particular order (click on the picture to see the larger version and read the text). The flushmount is pretty boring, but hey, you need lights in the hallways and closets. The most exciting (to me, at least) is the exterior lighting. We saw a few that we liked but didn't love, and then it was like heaven opened up and shone a light on this one. And THEN it turned out to be one of the less expensive options. It's great.
Like I said, that was the most exciting part. We also got approval on our previous kitchen selections (which will go a long way to keeping me from second-guessing myself) and talked paint colors. I'm a dork, so I made an image with the paint colors we talked about. Nobody's rushing out to buy paint or anything, so this all could change, but I do like it overall, especially looking at them all together. It's not like we have one room that really sticks out like a sore thumb (I don't think).As far as construction progress goes, there is waterproofing material on the outsides of the basement walls. It's ugly, but it's there. And the ugly part is getting covered with dirt, so it's all good.
OH! I almost forgot. We're at strike two on the ceiling fan for the master bedroom. The one I posted about earlier looked even more questionable after our visit to the lighting store; it's definitely out. We picked another one at the lighting store. I was unsure about it at the time, and it got worse after I slept on it. Strike two.In browsing the web this evening, though, we may have found a winner! It's Hunter's "Palermo" ceiling fan.
I am really digging it; the downside seems to be that it uses a compact fluorescent bulb, which some customer reviews describe as "harsh." (Not exactly ideal for a cozy master bedroom.) Maybe it would be better for the breakfast area and we can move the one we picked for that into the master bedroom.And THAT, my friends, is all she wrote. For tonight, at least. Phew.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Slow and steady...
... wins the race, right?
I suppose there can't be huge amounts of progress every day, especially with high temps in the low 30s. Just the same, we are moving forward with the
gas and electric hookups (dealing with the companies, that is - it takes weeks to get those things actually hooked up). I bought a ceiling fan for the master bedroom tonight. I liked it the first time I saw it, and it's inexpensive. But I don't know how much I love it now, and it has somewhat mixed consumer reviews online. (Well, it has mostly positive reviews, with a few exceptions, notably that it's not a very bright light and the reverse-direction switch is difficult to reach.) It's the "Mediterranean" from Hampton Bay. I'll keep the receipt.
Oh - an update on those beautiful basement windows pictured below... Those are the only windows in the whole basement! How could I not know that?! (<-- interrobang) It was right there in the contract, which I truly did read carefully.
I'm laughing about it, mostly because I don't really care whether there are windows in the basement. We will have the 2 large windows and a door for the walkout, plus these 2 small windows in the workshop. That's plenty, especially since the basement will be just for storage for several years.
But still. What else don't I know about that has been right in front of my face the whole time?
In still other news, our interior designer, Alison, is coming to town tomorrow! Thank goodness I have at least a few friends in the right places, because we could not afford an interior designer without a friendship discount. Then we'd be screwed!
She is going to bring us tons of magazines and some samples, and she'll help us shop for lighting, pick out the exterior siding color, validate our kitchen choices (see below) and talk to us about countertops and just about every other thing we can think of. We might even try for a jump start on stuff like paint color and window treatments and the like, even though those decisions don't have to be made for a LONG time. (If ever. HA!)
I suppose there can't be huge amounts of progress every day, especially with high temps in the low 30s. Just the same, we are moving forward with the
gas and electric hookups (dealing with the companies, that is - it takes weeks to get those things actually hooked up). I bought a ceiling fan for the master bedroom tonight. I liked it the first time I saw it, and it's inexpensive. But I don't know how much I love it now, and it has somewhat mixed consumer reviews online. (Well, it has mostly positive reviews, with a few exceptions, notably that it's not a very bright light and the reverse-direction switch is difficult to reach.) It's the "Mediterranean" from Hampton Bay. I'll keep the receipt.Oh - an update on those beautiful basement windows pictured below... Those are the only windows in the whole basement! How could I not know that?! (<-- interrobang) It was right there in the contract, which I truly did read carefully.
I'm laughing about it, mostly because I don't really care whether there are windows in the basement. We will have the 2 large windows and a door for the walkout, plus these 2 small windows in the workshop. That's plenty, especially since the basement will be just for storage for several years.
But still. What else don't I know about that has been right in front of my face the whole time?
In still other news, our interior designer, Alison, is coming to town tomorrow! Thank goodness I have at least a few friends in the right places, because we could not afford an interior designer without a friendship discount. Then we'd be screwed!
She is going to bring us tons of magazines and some samples, and she'll help us shop for lighting, pick out the exterior siding color, validate our kitchen choices (see below) and talk to us about countertops and just about every other thing we can think of. We might even try for a jump start on stuff like paint color and window treatments and the like, even though those decisions don't have to be made for a LONG time. (If ever. HA!)
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Basement Walls!!
We have basement walls!!! I think they are absolutely gorgeous!
This picture shows the south-facing wall in the southeast corner, taken from the outside. Those windows will be in Dennis's basement workshop.
This picture shows the south-facing wall in the southeast corner, taken from the outside. Those windows will be in Dennis's basement workshop.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
We are crazy/progress updates
It's only the middle of January, yet it seems that will be a common subject line for these blog posts. I hope not!
After learning that the (prefinished, installed) hardwood floors alone will cost anywhere from $7k - $13k, we are considering getting unfinished wood and doing it ourselves. It does seem insane, until you consider that it would save us, oh, about $10k.
So financially it's a no-brainer. And we are more than willing to do the work, especially since we won't be removing 70-year-old varnish as part of the process.
It will, however, add at least two weeks (possibly 4, more if things don't go well) to the construction schedule. A bummer on many levels.
I don't know if I'll be able to sit there, look at my 98% completed house, and not be able to go inside it, never mind move into it, for WEEKS! Maybe I'll just have to keep repeating to myself, "These weeks are saving you ten thousand dollars. These weeks are saving you ten thousand dollars. These weeks are saving you ten thousand dollars." Heck, I'd do almost anything for 3 weeks to *make* $10,000, so shouldn't I be able to just *not move* to save that much money?
The other concern, of course, is that any remaining construction activity would seriously damage the floors, even with a protective layer of cardboard covering them.
More things to discuss with Terry, I suppose.
------------------
In other news, there is some construction progress!
The concrete footings have been poured, and the concrete forms for pouring the basement walls are on-site and ready to set up!
In this photo, Dennis is standing on the front porch(ish). The elevated chunk of dirt behind him is the garage, and that back corner by the truck is where the 2nd bathroom will be.
The house looks a lot smaller with the footings poured and the rebar in. But then we pace it off and yes, the bathroom is still over 14 feet wide. It'll be fine once the roof is on, I guess, and we're not evaluating 15 or 20 feet in the context of the great outdoors.
Although we're far from done, we also made some big progress this weekend in material selections. We chose Merillat's Sedona finish for the kitchen (and probably master and 2nd bathroom) cabinets, and the Michelangelo tiles from Mediterranea's Vatican Gallery Collection of porcelain tile for the kitchen floor. It has lots of gray and beige with touches of burgundy. The DaVinci version has more burgundy in it, and it's gorgeous, but I think the Michelangelo will be more versatile over time. (At the moment, I don't even want to think about ever replacing tile.)
After learning that the (prefinished, installed) hardwood floors alone will cost anywhere from $7k - $13k, we are considering getting unfinished wood and doing it ourselves. It does seem insane, until you consider that it would save us, oh, about $10k.
So financially it's a no-brainer. And we are more than willing to do the work, especially since we won't be removing 70-year-old varnish as part of the process.
It will, however, add at least two weeks (possibly 4, more if things don't go well) to the construction schedule. A bummer on many levels.
I don't know if I'll be able to sit there, look at my 98% completed house, and not be able to go inside it, never mind move into it, for WEEKS! Maybe I'll just have to keep repeating to myself, "These weeks are saving you ten thousand dollars. These weeks are saving you ten thousand dollars. These weeks are saving you ten thousand dollars." Heck, I'd do almost anything for 3 weeks to *make* $10,000, so shouldn't I be able to just *not move* to save that much money?
The other concern, of course, is that any remaining construction activity would seriously damage the floors, even with a protective layer of cardboard covering them.
More things to discuss with Terry, I suppose.
------------------
In other news, there is some construction progress!
The concrete footings have been poured, and the concrete forms for pouring the basement walls are on-site and ready to set up!
In this photo, Dennis is standing on the front porch(ish). The elevated chunk of dirt behind him is the garage, and that back corner by the truck is where the 2nd bathroom will be.
The house looks a lot smaller with the footings poured and the rebar in. But then we pace it off and yes, the bathroom is still over 14 feet wide. It'll be fine once the roof is on, I guess, and we're not evaluating 15 or 20 feet in the context of the great outdoors.
Although we're far from done, we also made some big progress this weekend in material selections. We chose Merillat's Sedona finish for the kitchen (and probably master and 2nd bathroom) cabinets, and the Michelangelo tiles from Mediterranea's Vatican Gallery Collection of porcelain tile for the kitchen floor. It has lots of gray and beige with touches of burgundy. The DaVinci version has more burgundy in it, and it's gorgeous, but I think the Michelangelo will be more versatile over time. (At the moment, I don't even want to think about ever replacing tile.)
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
We have a basement! And a driveway!!
Officially, as of January 7, we have a basement (ok, a big hole) and a driveway (well, gravel, but that's what we'll end up with anyway).
It was dark by the time I got out there to take pictures, but you can still sortof see stuff...
The driveway and the (oak? elm?) tree that was saved:
A view from inside the basement (sortof standing at the door for the walkout):
It was pretty exciting to go stand in the basement. And, thankfully, the house looks big again! It seemed so small when it was just spray-painted on the ground; it's much better to stand at one end of the basement and look at (effectively) a wall on the other end to appreciate how big it will be. Phew!
It was dark by the time I got out there to take pictures, but you can still sortof see stuff...
The driveway and the (oak? elm?) tree that was saved:
A view from inside the basement (sortof standing at the door for the walkout):
It was pretty exciting to go stand in the basement. And, thankfully, the house looks big again! It seemed so small when it was just spray-painted on the ground; it's much better to stand at one end of the basement and look at (effectively) a wall on the other end to appreciate how big it will be. Phew!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Our first purchase!
We are officially the proud owners of a 60" Hampton Bay "Brookedale" ceiling fan with brushed nickel finish. I mean, obviously, the first thing you buy for a new house is the ceiling fan, right?
(OK, we've loved this ceiling fan for months, and Home Depot had just a few. We were afraid we wouldn't be able to find another one.) The one in the picture is an oil-rubbed bronze finish, so just try to imagine brushed nickel where the bronze is, ok? I'm not 100% sure I will love all of this brushed nickel in a few years. We do still have the receipt if we want to go back to the bronze. I'll have to learn not to second-guess every decision we make, or it will be a looooooong construction process.
We also sortof picked one out for the master bedroom - a 52" that mimics the Brookedale but isn't exactly like it, either.
In other news, I bought some cheap boots to wear around the lot. No more scraping mud off of my nice work shoes!
We should be signing Terry's contract tonight. Test digs to commence tomorrow or Saturday, and the track hoe (the big thing that digs the basement) is reserved for next week.
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