A QUICK REFRESH

 Good Morning TLB friends,

I hope that my post finds you well and enjoying the Summer weather. 

NEW HOME SNEAK PEEK

So glad to see you again TLB friends!

Sorry for the absence. I've been working hard behind the scenes trying to get the new house settled. I am so fortunate to have the greatest sister and daughters who helped me with endless laundry and the unpacking of 600 boxes!

Please join me Friday, August 12th as TLB returns! Until then...here is a sneak peek of our
new open concept living room/kitchen/dining room/foyer. See you next week!

Kathleen

          

IT'S GETTING REAL----HOME SWEET TEXAS HOME#1

Welcome to Tuesday TLB friends!

It's getting real here in Texas..... 

COUNTER DEPTH REFRIGERATOR OR STANDARD DEPTH

Welcome TLB friends,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and those of you that are in the East have recovered from the storm. We enjoyed a lovely weekend in Texas, with temps in the 70's....sure hope it stays this way for a bit!

For the past few weekends hubby and I have been taking advantage of sales on furniture, TV's and refrigerators. In the new house our family room furniture will be moved to the game room, hence the need for new family room furniture. And a refrigerator does not come in our kitchen package from the builder, so that was also a necessary purchase.

NEW HOME SELECTIONS

Welcome to Tuesday TLB friends!

I hope you all had a terrific weekend! I'm in full house selections mode and have redefined our new space to be lighter and brighter with the same classic style I've always maintained.

Three weeks ago I started with the design, electrical and lighting meetings that included every selection both inside and out. I finish tomorrow! Legal docs have been filed and we are awaiting the date for the foundation to be dug.


I started selections with our main flooring, because it sets the stage for the rest of the house It enables me to establish our whole house style and color palette much easier by making this big decision first.

I chose a nailed down and slightly scraped  Red Oak wood floor with a Medium Brown color stain. Texas is big on their site finished, hand scraped wood floors. I was told the floors that are hand scraped are much more forgiving when it comes to dents and other imperfections that life presents. There are different levels of hand scraped, some being deeper than others, but for our style a slight hand scraped was recommended.

This is our wood floor choice.......

Our builder has chosen Sherwin Williams paints to be used in their homes. On their list are some of the "Top 10 Colors for 2015" and some of the basic tried and true classics.

I love a classic white ceiling and white trim. The color I chose is SW #7006-Extra White. Then it was time for the walls. After 10 years of using the same Benjamin Moore color in our other homes I felt it was time to lighten and freshen. I wanted a nice transitional, timeless color so I chose Sherwin Williams #7015 Repose Gray for all of the interior walls.

Starting in the Laundry Room......

I chose a nice neutral Greige porcelain tile, and SW #7650 Ellie Gray painted cabinetry.
All faucets throughout the house will be Chrome finish.

The Powder Room will have a Polished Marble tile. It has great gray and neutrals
in it. I'm still mulling over what I will do with the walls.

Moving on to the kitchen-

The island is a Quartz countertop that resembles Carrera marble. Low maintenance and classic style. The island Cabinetry is Maple and the stain Bistro. It looks very black in this photo, however, it has a slight tinge of the flooring color which coordinates the two very well.

I'm using timeless white shiny subway tile in a brick pattern around the entire perimeter of the back cabinet area. The perimeter cabinets are maple wood painted White Cap. The perimeter counter top will be black granite, just like my NJ kitchen.

The master bathroom cabinets are a smooth Alder wood with a Chesterfield stain. The floor tile was a bit of a challenge. I love marble, but not when it is wet. I learned first hand in our NJ house just how lethal it can be, so that choice was out. 

While describing what I had in mind for the floor tile, my designer pulled out a beautiful porcelain tile that resembled marble, but without the polished finish. It's beautiful flowy design is different on each tile, giving it that true classic marble look. I decided to use it both on the floor, on the shower walls, and the tub surround. The shower will also have a band of marble rectangular mosaic pieces in various neutral complimentary colors. This will be installed around the perimeter of the shower also.

The tub is encased with the same smooth Alder with Chesterfield stain.

Bedroom #2 is downstairs and will be used as a guest room and also our youngest
daughter's room when she visits. Her cabinetry color is Ellie Gray and her granite is Polar Paciugo. 

Bedrooms #3 & #4 upstairs, (our two other daughters bedrooms when they visit), are painted White cap. Their countertops are a white on white cultured marble.

            
The gameroom and media rooms are located upstairs. In the wet bar the cabinetry is Maple painted Tricom Black SW 7650 with a subway tile backsplash to be applied in a herringbone design, and a granite countertop.

Last of all the Master bedroom carpet. I have upgraded the pad to an 8lb. pad throughout the entire house. I wanted a bit of a pattern to the master carpet for a little more luxurious look. The color I chose is Mineralite.

I hope you have enjoyed today's blog. There's a lot of work ahead.
 Please join me as our journey continues.

Have a wonderful Tuesday....see you on Friday!

Kathleen

HOUSE UPDATE

Welcome to Monday friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Sorry that I missed you on Friday. Unfortunately, last week I was battling a cold. I haven't been sick literally in years...this took me down for a few days, but I'm back feeling much better.

Hubby and I enjoyed our first TCU game (Texas Christian University) in Fort Worth, went to Grapevine, Texas for their Grape Festival and sampled local wines.

The best part of our weekend was signing a contract to build our new home. 

We've been struggling to find a home here in the suburbs of Dallas. The Headlines in the Dallas News read....TEXAS HOUSING MARKET STILL FASTER THAN THE REST OF THE COUNTRY, DESPITE ENERGY SECTOR DECLINES

It means that North Texas housing is running 4% higher than in 2014, hitting a new record for both purchases and prices. 

***Source Dallas News June 2015

It's really not the best time for us to be buying a home here, but it's great for those that are selling. We bid on 2 homes with what we felt were very fair bids. Our realtor was shocked that we did not get either of them. We were outbid so much higher that our realtor actually questioned if they would appraise out.....but they both did! So after some defeat, but not to be defeated.....we switched gears and started looking at new builds.

We found a beautiful area with an island of 16 homes that extend out onto a golf course. Every home will enjoy a golf course view from their back yard. We were pretty excited! Below are a few photos..... 

With our contract signed we now proceed to the Design Center for several visits. That's my job......and I love it! I've been perusing magazines and Pinterest, and my old files from our previous home of things that we want to include in the new house. I can't wait to get started.

Here is an artist rendition of basically what our home will resemble. (it is actually a 3 car garage, sideload is not shown in the pic) This is not reflective of the color palette we will be using....but you can get an idea of what the final product will look like next May. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I'll be sharing our building milestones with you along the way, even my selections for each room. I'll also be continuing my DIY projects and Foodie Friday. 

                                                   Wishing you a wonderful day!

                                                        

                Kathleen

Remember to join us on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram!

NEW HOME/NEW COLOR PALETTE

It's been six weeks since we signed our lease on the apartment, and began our new journey. When I look back at the whirlwind events that have occurred, I'm exhausted! Hubby and I looked at each other, after recalling all of the steps it took us to get here, and both said, "no wonder we are tired!"

After accomplishing all of the unpacking, and settling we stepped into the house hunting world. We've looked and searched and gotten discouraged. We're in HOT market, which can be good and bad. After loosing one house in a bidding war, we regrouped and continue to search.

During this time, I thought I should use my time wisely before chaos ensues.I brought fabric samples from our furniture that is in storage with me, and decided it was time to change our color palette this move. 

I love the new grays and whites and the freshness that they bring to a home, but I also love the warm golds that I always seem to gravitate to. I used some of the grays in the Princeton bedrooms, but I wanted to add more to the new house.

So I started researching color combos....and chose a palette that incorporates our past golds and brings in some of the new grays also. It feels calm and serene.....
  

PINTEREST PHOTO-credits to design-seeds.com


I've been spending my days exploring looking for all of the basics, grocery store, church etc., but I also ventured into a model home in a subdivision near the apartment.

Here are a few photos that I took which confirmed my thoughts of incorporating the golds and grays into our home.

This photo does not reflect how I would personally use the choices....not fond of that tub tile, but confirms to me how lovely the two colors flow together. (I apologize for the clarity of my photos, I used my cell phone camera.) The cabinets were a shade of gray and the counter tops were a deep charcoal. The mirror was accented in gold and the mosaic tile was shades of gold, brown, and gray with a creamy grout color.

The photo below is much better lighting and reflects more accurately the true colors. I love the golden vanity stool....nice touch!

The Master shower was the same marble tile with the mosaic shower bottom. Again, not my favorite choice of colors in the pattern.

Venturing into their kitchen were white raised panel cabinets, dark wood, nail down, flooring (which we see a lot here in Texas). The dark wood against the white is lovely.

And in this case a Silestone Quartz counterop that resembles Carrera marble.  The bar stools have just the right amount of golden linen fabric to bring the color into the kitchen also.

Thanks for stopping by today. Let me know what you think of my new color palette. I'd love to hear your comments!

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Kathleen