and November sunsets.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Kitchen Preview
I love so many things about our new house but one of the things I love the most is our kitchen. Many hours have gone into designing and planning this part of the house so it's exciting to finally see it all start to come together. I barely slept a wink the night before our cabinets were installed that's how excited I was to finally see my kitchen. Dork, I know.
I might be able to bathe in our farmhouse sink. It's a monster!
Our kitchen countertops will be the grey one, on the right. Coming soon!
Our "industrial" pendants. Three smaller ones over the island. Big one above sink.
Appliances just waiting for their turn!
A little special note needs to be said about our island countertop. Simply put (and I understand I may be biased) it is to die for. The pictures don't really do it justice either, especially since I took them at night. First off, it is HUGE! We have more space than we know what to do with in this kitchen, mostly thanks to the giant island centerpiece. We had the top handmade for us in Michigan out of a sustainable type of wood called Lyptus. You may know Lyptus better by the name Eculyptus. As in the stuff that koala bears eat. Why is it sustainable? Because like bamboo, eculypus grows exceptionally fast. Additionally, is grown using sustainable practices on plantations rather than being harvested from wild spaces like old growth forests or rainforests. Lyptus is a dense, close grain wood making it ideal for millwork. The color you see is its natural tone so no additional stains or harsh chemicals were needed to finish it to achieve the look we were going for. We shopped around quite a bit for a wood countertop that met our needs and our budget (Lyptus is surprisingly affordable!) and this one definitely did both.
Every little detail of this kitchen was designed by us. From the layout to the giant island, the mantle shelf over the range hood to the coffee station and pantry nook. I searched high and low for the perfect sink, lights, facuets, hardware and appliances. It took a lot of time and planning to get it just right, but we're really happy with how it has turned out so far and can't wait to see all the finishing details come together! Stay tuned for more.
I might be able to bathe in our farmhouse sink. It's a monster!
Our kitchen countertops will be the grey one, on the right. Coming soon!
Our "industrial" pendants. Three smaller ones over the island. Big one above sink.
Appliances just waiting for their turn!
Every little detail of this kitchen was designed by us. From the layout to the giant island, the mantle shelf over the range hood to the coffee station and pantry nook. I searched high and low for the perfect sink, lights, facuets, hardware and appliances. It took a lot of time and planning to get it just right, but we're really happy with how it has turned out so far and can't wait to see all the finishing details come together! Stay tuned for more.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Our Modern-Industrial-Farmhouse
James and I have lived in a series of one bedroom apartments since we moved in together five years ago. Needless to say, we don't have much furniture. Between all of our house projects I've been thinking a lot about how I'd like to furnish and decorate our new home, partly dreaming about how I'd do it if I had an unlimited budget and partly scheming up ideas of how to make it happen on our limited budget. I've discovered that filtering through all of my personal style and design preferences to determine how I want those influences to be represented in our furnishings and home style is a challenging process to say the least. Throw in James' design preference and it becomes even more complicated. After months of thought and many, many bookmarked inspiration pictures we are finally settling on a style "theme" if you will...or really, themes. Me- I trend toward mid century modern. James likes the industrial farm house appeal. Together I like to think of our design aesthetic as "old school goes modern comfort". Take a look at one of our Pinterest boards to get a better idea of our style inspirations.
Lovely mid-century Danish style credenza
Rustic industrial farmhouse vibe
The challenge will be to achieve this look throughout a much larger living space than we've ever had...on a budget. It's not too hard to find furniture these days, but quality and/or quirky furniture will cost you an arm and a leg and the cheap stuff is just...well cheap. Since our style trends toward "old school" we decided to start shopping at antique stores, something we have in abundance in New England. I spent last weekend with my mom, touring many shops looking for just the right pieces at just the right price. We had a fun day and saw a few interesting options, but the prices just weren't right. The last place we stopped was our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. If you haven't heard about these, they are awesome for so many reasons. We found two perfect mid-century dutch modern pieces for our dining room, a low dresser which will serve as a credenza and a little hutch for displaying some of our serving dishes. We believe they are authentic 1950's era and they are made of quality solid wood, something you don't find too often anymore. The two together cost $150, a real steal if you compare it to new furniture or antique store prices. It feels nice to give these pieces a new home too. Reuse and recycle! I'm planning on refinishing them both which should be a fun learning experience.
In order to achieve the more rustic yet modern farmhouse look, we are on the hunt for furniture pieces made from rough, raw or reclaimed wood. Several months ago I saw a bedroom set in a magazine that caught my eye. At the center of it was a reclaimed wood platform bed. It was gorgeous and eco-friendly. Read about the bedroom set here on Re-Nest. But at $2400 for the bed alone, I just bookmarked it in my "dream list" and forgot about it. Last week I was sorting through random furniture listings on Craigslist and guess what I came across? THE bed, never used, listed at a greatly reduced price and just 45 minutes from home! It was so unreal that I had to go see it. It must have been fate because after just a few minutes of discussion and negotiation, I was able to purchase the bed for $400 (remember, this bed was originally $2400!) and I was on my way home with my dream bed! It was still expensive but I consider that a pretty good deal, especially because almost all of the similar style beds we have been looking at would cost us at least that much or more and were of a much poorer quality. We haven't put it together yet, so I don't have any pictures but the Re-Nest picture of the bed is below. Now we're on the hunt for the perfect night stands to go with it.
Stay tuned for more furnishing decisions to come. And next week we'll be talking kitchen design. Things are coming together. We're finally closing in on the FUN stuff!!
Update: Since this page has turned out to be a popular one among those Googling "Industrial Farmhouse" I figured I'd direct anyone who is interested to our ongoing House Tour posts. I originally wrote this post well before we moved into our new home, before much of the furniture was bought or the house was decorated. It's still a work in progress, but it is, well progress. And if you're interested in learning how we built our "green" home from scratch, check out our Building Green posts. Thanks for stopping by, even if it was by accident!
Lovely mid-century Danish style credenza
Rustic industrial farmhouse vibe
In order to achieve the more rustic yet modern farmhouse look, we are on the hunt for furniture pieces made from rough, raw or reclaimed wood. Several months ago I saw a bedroom set in a magazine that caught my eye. At the center of it was a reclaimed wood platform bed. It was gorgeous and eco-friendly. Read about the bedroom set here on Re-Nest. But at $2400 for the bed alone, I just bookmarked it in my "dream list" and forgot about it. Last week I was sorting through random furniture listings on Craigslist and guess what I came across? THE bed, never used, listed at a greatly reduced price and just 45 minutes from home! It was so unreal that I had to go see it. It must have been fate because after just a few minutes of discussion and negotiation, I was able to purchase the bed for $400 (remember, this bed was originally $2400!) and I was on my way home with my dream bed! It was still expensive but I consider that a pretty good deal, especially because almost all of the similar style beds we have been looking at would cost us at least that much or more and were of a much poorer quality. We haven't put it together yet, so I don't have any pictures but the Re-Nest picture of the bed is below. Now we're on the hunt for the perfect night stands to go with it.
Stay tuned for more furnishing decisions to come. And next week we'll be talking kitchen design. Things are coming together. We're finally closing in on the FUN stuff!!
Update: Since this page has turned out to be a popular one among those Googling "Industrial Farmhouse" I figured I'd direct anyone who is interested to our ongoing House Tour posts. I originally wrote this post well before we moved into our new home, before much of the furniture was bought or the house was decorated. It's still a work in progress, but it is, well progress. And if you're interested in learning how we built our "green" home from scratch, check out our Building Green posts. Thanks for stopping by, even if it was by accident!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Tile Trials
James and I tackled our first tile projects this weekend. We started and finished the tile work in the upstairs laundry room and the half bath. It was the first time either of us had tiled anything before so we were learning as we went. It turns out tiling isn't all that hard, it just takes a bit of time and patience. This little weekend project was a bit of a test for us. We wanted to try tiling these two smaller rooms before we decided if we were up for tiling the game room and full bathroom downstairs which is a much larger project. After our successful go this weekend, I'd say we're ready for it!
We started by screwing down cement board over the plywood floor
Then we laid out a few rows of tile to be sure the spacing was correct.
Some tiles had to be cut to size.
Next we glued each tile down using thin set concrete and let it dry overnight.
The next morning we spread grout evenly between the tiles.
And before we knew it, we were done!
Just waiting for it to dry!
We started by screwing down cement board over the plywood floor
Then we laid out a few rows of tile to be sure the spacing was correct.
Some tiles had to be cut to size.
Next we glued each tile down using thin set concrete and let it dry overnight.
The next morning we spread grout evenly between the tiles.
And before we knew it, we were done!
Just waiting for it to dry!
Monday, November 7, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Staircase Update
Last week our staircase install was completed. Here are a few pictures of the finished, yet un-finished (still to be stained and painted) stairs. Our staircase is pretty funky, with several twists and turns and two landings. I had some reservations about how this would look but now that we see it completed, I'm in love. It's a little like climbing a mountain, especially with your hands full, but hey, we climb mountains.
As for the finish, here are a few pictures of the look we're roughly going for.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Fall Photography
I'm sad to say I haven't spent much quality time with my camera in the past few months. With every free minute consumed by house stuff, there just hasn't been time. I really, really miss spending a quiet Saturday morning with my camera. Luckily, I had a good reason to pick it up recently, and just in time too because the beauty of autumn in New England is quickly passing us by! My sister-in-law's family was in town and asked me to take a few family pictures. Every time I spend time with my camera I learn something new. This time, I learned that it's not easy to take pictures of kiddos - their feet and their moods move fast!
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