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So dont start on move in. do it over time and make it worth it.
You can get a move in ready/new built but really what exactly is yours? Where is your hard work? sweat? blood? tears? Saying " i want brass in the bathroom " is not the same as ripping out a sink and installing a new one. Sometimes you find yourself doing skills you never thought youd need. Myself, Ive never done a floor but 3 layers of peel n stick, possible asbestos, stuck on like heck glue later....nice wood floors no one knew was there. A builder could have just started there of course if i had just built it but boy tearing up that floor felt good! Standing back saying " I did it!" felt A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!
You keep your new built, ill take my 1920 house with character, history and family ties.
First, I used to remodel houses for a living so I have those skills and do not need them any longer.
Second I don't need to put myself through a ton of manual labor and needless expense to feel "AMAZING", I can do that just by waking up and finding out that I am still breathing, finish reading a book, finish a counted cross stitch project or cook a delicious meal for ourselves or guests.
After that, I do not get emotionally attached to material possessions, it is stuff (even a house) and my new built exactly as I want it house can have character with our furniture, pillows, throws, etc. in the home.
Anyone's home can have character from those who live in the home currently.
We rent a home that is on property that has been in the same family for more than 100 years.
The home itself is the second to be built on this very spot because the first one burned down.
The home itself is about 100 years old and any "character or history" died when those who used to live here died and there are no more family ties in this home.
The only family tie is to those that collect the rent each month but the likes, dislikes and decor of those who lived here before is long gone.
First, I used to remodel houses for a living so I have those skills and do not need them any longer.
Second I don't need to put myself through a ton of manual labor and needless expense to feel "AMAZING", I can do that just by waking up and finding out that I am still breathing, finish reading a book, finish a counted cross stitch project or cook a delicious meal for ourselves or guests.
There are MANY things in life that people find fulfilling and everyone is different.
Personally, I find remodeling and decorating to be very fulfilling. I also find reading and cooking to be fulfilling. My husband loves working on outdoor projects - he finds fence building and that sort of thing to be fulfilling.
That being said, when it comes to the kitchen remodel, I find watching others bring it to life to be fulfilling - the skills required (as well as the tools) fall outside my areas of expertise. Still - it's fun to watch the progress.
I just wonder why you feel some sort of compulsion to be so negative about our choice to delve into this project? I get it - you wouldn't have done it. So what? We chose to do so and we're excited about our home. It's very fulfilling to watch it "come to life" and we know we're making a good investment. If you're not interested in the subject, why follow the thread at all?
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After that, I do not get emotionally attached to material possessions, it is stuff (even a house) and my new built exactly as I want it house can have character with our furniture, pillows, throws, etc. in the home.
Well, of course your home can have character - all homes are reflections of the people who live in them.
For me, the kitchen is the very heart of the home. I cook a lot, and I have a large family. We entertain a lot and we love to be good hosts. I love interior design and feel very strongly that my home is an expression of me - my values, my interests, my artistic expression, etc.
You don't feel that way. I get it. But I do.
And besides that, as I've outlined in detail in earlier posts, this decision makes financial sense as well as being emotionally fulfilling. IT MAKES SENSE in our situation. It really doesn't matter whether you'd choose to do this or not in your particular situation.
I wish we had homes that looked like yours in our area. Our architecture on LI is...well, blah (ranches, splits and high ranches mostly.) You have so many beautiful architectural elements: archways, dormers, front porch! I'm jealous!!!
And love the travertine flooring! I'm partial to it because we used it for our back patio (french pattern as well) and as well as in our master bath. What color did you use for the flooring?
I wish we had homes that looked like yours in our area. Our architecture on LI is...well, blah (ranches, splits and high ranches mostly.) You have so many beautiful architectural elements: archways, dormers, front porch! I'm jealous!!!
And love the travertine flooring! I'm partial to it because we used it for our back patio (french pattern as well) and as well as in our master bath. What color did you use for the flooring?
I should know this but I don't! It is a bit on the darker side as opposed to the very light that was in the showroom floor. It's not dark but has a lot of variation in the tiles, which I do like. I am excited about seeing the depth of the colors after the sealing is done.
You should post a picture of your patio and master bath so we can compare colors! I LOVE the Versailles pattern by the way. Fell absolutely in love with it when I saw it a couple of years ago, so it's exciting to me to finally have an opportunity to put it in my own home.
Oh, thanks by the way for the compliments on the architectural details of our home. It's "Low Country" style and since I am a Deep South girl at heart, I gravitate toward this style. It's actually not all that common in our area, so I was thrilled to find it. Here, we have lots of homes that are a mixture of stone and brick and with a lot of Tex Mex influence, if that makes sense - lots of wrought iron, cedar, etc. So I was very pleased to find this quintessentially Deep South home.
OK, update from yesterday - the floor is sealed and grouted. Another coat of sealing will be applied at the end of the whole project, after the floor is cleaned well.
The stone people came and measured for the counter tops and island top, to be delivered and installed Friday. Woohoo! Caulking and trim will be done tomorrow to get ready for the painting. Today the drawers and pull outs will be installed in the cabinets.
No cool pictures because the floor looks great in person but you really can't tell much of a difference in photos.
Moving toward the finish line - should be one more week.
No pictures from yesterday. The guys just finished laying the complicated floor, and raising the existing cabinets by three inches, and doing some wiring for under the counter lights.
Today they are sealing and then grouting the floor, and after all that dries overnight I think the plan is to seal it again tomorrow. The sealant takes four hours to dry. Also today, the counter tops are being measured because (drumroll please!) THE SOAPSTONE AND QUARTZITE is being cut for the counter tops, to be delivered hopefully on Friday! WOOHOOO!
1. Drawers and pullouts installed in the new cabinets.
2. Shelf above the sink built.
3. Cabinet trim installed.
Today things are going to be prepped for the paint to begin - caulking and trim work around the new flooring. Also, I think they are going to put another coat of sealant on the floors. We won't be here and when we get back this evening there won't be a lot to take pictures of.
TOMORROW is the big day - the day the counter tops are delivered! I am really excited about that!
We ended up catching a break on the cost of the quartzite for the island counter top. This stuff is natural stone (not engineered quartz - two totally different things), and is very expensive. We had originally bought half a slab - which would have meant some waste but not enough to do anything with but what do you do? The price on that was nearly $3000 but we had fallen in love with this stuff.
Anyway, yesterday the company we were buying it from contacted our contractor and told her that they had a remnant from another job - a piece that is almost exactly the size we need! Very little waste - I mean like inches, not feet. The "pattern" runs vertically rather than horizontally, but when they showed us a picture of the piece, we really like it - instead of a striped pattern running the length of the piece, it's "striped" vertically - with one end of it significantly lighter than the other, which looks really, really cool. It's definitely not what you'd "expect" in a piece, but it looks intentional, not like a remnant - and it saves us about $1400! So we said, "Book it!"
Another cool thing that I had no idea we'd have to do was to choose the finish on the edges of the soapstone and quartzite. This took more thought than you'd think! We decided on a flat edge (not curved or beveled) on the countertops, but a curved edge with two inch rounded corners on the island counter top. My main consideration is that it sits in the middle of the kitchen and I didn't want the many little kids in my life to go running into the kitchen and braining themselves on a corner! But also, the curved, rounded edges will pick up the archways in the kitchen doors and the arches in the cabinet doors.
It's hard to believe just how much thought had to go into all the tiny details. My brain finally blew a gasket when it came to choosing grout color on the floor. I mean, I just was suddenly overwhelmed by the myriad of choices and I looked at my contractor and said, "You decide! I just can't do it!" Sensory overload!
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You have so many beautiful architectural elements: archways, dormers, front porch! I'm jealous!!!
