The Fixer Upper House and Garden

Photos Of ...

The floors looked spectacular for the 15 minutes that I saw them last week. The next day, GC taped a sign on the front door that said "Remove Shoes: Floors Just Refinished." This prompted the painters to tape heavy craft paper over the floors, so they could keep wearing their boots. This is good for the feet, good for the floors and good for the olefactory system.

Here are several photos of the work that's been going on recently. Great thought, care and effort went into every one of these projects by all involved--and not a little bit of agonizing!

The kitchen is shrouded in plastic:

Painting the bricks lightened up the kitchen a lot--the wall was once the exterior of the house. After we built the addition, Miguel had the idea to place HVAC ducts on both sides of the stained-glass window, creating a little desk-niche.

Here's what the refinished floors look like...under cover:

White snow, blue sky, new addition:

 

Before the recent spring snow storm, Nawkaw came out to stain the new bricks. I think they look good but Husband says "there's not enough red." Oh well.

The mudroom is multi-functional, including cubbies, a coat closest, nooks for dog beds and lots of shelves for stuff (opposite the cubbies). The Dutch door will come in handy when muddy paws need to be contained. To maximize light in the kitchen, we decided to not use the top half of the door.

This next photo shows what happens when you trim Motawi tiles. I will post about this in detail later, but if you're considering using hand-glazed tiles, just know you can't trim the field tiles that have variations in shading. Instead of trimming them to fit, you can order custom-sizes from Motwawi for just $4 more per tile:

The "Shaker Beige" paint on these plaster walls frames the old door and windows:

No matter what's going on in life, you still need to walk the dogs ...

 

... And dance!

Hillary and Me

It's crunch time for Hillary and me. While she travels the country trying to get you to vote for her, I'm finalizing the details on my house. If she blows it this week, she'll probably never make it back to the White House. If I don't get the aesthetics right, I could blow the whole renovation project. Oh HIllary, I know just how you feel! To work so hard and come this far ...

I think I have a better chance of succeeding in my endeavor than she has in hers. A few days ago I visited the granite yard to lay out templates for my countertops. It took an hour to drive there, and while dodging potholes more treacherous than any news leak, I fretted about the slabs of Costa Esmerelda that I picked out for my kitchen 2 weeks ago. Would I hate them and be filled with regret? Fortunately, it was love at second site, and thank goodness for that! (Here's a goofy picture of me in front of one of my granite slabs.) The counters are getting installed this week, and I can hardly wait.

Later I met with a "paint consultant" at my house to go over options for the first floor. I'd been in an absolute frenzy about wall colors after receiving conflicting advice from my many trusted advisors; at one point I was testing 21 Benjamin Moore colors in one room (you try picking out the paint for every single centimeter of your house! It's overwhelming!). But I'm at peace now; I'm feeling fine! With help from Dee, a consultant at the J.C. Licht paint store where my painter Derrick gets his paint, I've settled on HC-114 for the kitchen, mudroom, butler's pantry and powder room; HC 35 for the family room; HC-45 for the living room and foyer, and 2080-10--a cheery paint called Raspberry Truffle--for the dining room. Expect lattes and a home-made dessert if you come for a visit...

Meanwhile, work progresses at the house. Leon the tile guy is back this week, finishing up bathrooms and such before embarking on the all-important fireplace surround. Painters Mike and Andy put the first coats on the 2nd floor and basement rooms last week and now are prepping and painting the first floor. The kitchen's beadboard ceiling has been painted (the photo at left shows the painter, Derrick, testing various ceiling colors.) Carpenters Sebastian and Matt have completed the fireplace mantel, mudroom cubbies and the cozy window nook---applause is welcomed and accepted! Also: Husband ordered all appliances. Miguel sketched the layout for the laundry room ...  And after juggling the opinions of a half-a-dozen tradesmen on the proper stain for the hardwood floors, I've finally decided to go with a light-brown color called Early American, per Miguel's suggestion.

So many trusted advisors...so many opposing opinions. Yes Hillary, I think I know how you feel.

Here are a few pictures of the stones I picked out for various counters. This first photo is Costa Esmerelda granite, for the kitchen. I love the greenish-blue colors and the subtle white veins that appear throughout. The computer doesn't do it justice:

The next photo is of the green soapstone that I'm using in the "butler's pantry"; I'm also using this for the raised hearth in the family room. It's not a very clear picture, unfortunately:

And below, behold a slab of quartz for the kids bathroom. It's more sparkly in real life:

Green With Uncertainty!

Is it possible to pick a paint color from this photo? It's for the kids bathroom, in which the vanities are  white inset cabinets; countertops are white quartz imbedded with silver sparkles; and wall tiles are white 3x6 subways with a band of luminiscent green-glass mosaics, as shown below. The first shipment of mosaic tiles was defective, so the tile installation is on hold...but the painters are at the house and standing at the ready! (By the way...no, this is not a vintage bathroom! The kids practically cried when I told them I was going to do their bathroom in all whites, so I changed direction. They've been through enough with their mother's mid-life crisis house's renovation!)

Ready Or Not!

Given how long it took me to choose a counter, is it any wonder I'm losing sleep over paint colors?

I'm presently surrounded by dozens of Benjamin Moore color wheels and brochures; it's like pulling an all-nighter during finals! Last week, my decorator Jean and I picked out several B-M-Affinity paints, but the cabinets were covered in cardboard; we had no fireplace tiles; and I had yet to chose a counter. Tonight, these colors seem too dark; too thick, even. Also, my painter says you can get the same colors for less $$ in Benjamin Moore's regular lineup. ... What to do?

Ready or not, tomorrow the painters are going to test some colors. I've picked out a few safe bets: "white dove" for all the trim; "maritime white" for the hallways; and "pomegranite" for the dining room (I like red). For much of the rest of house, I'm leaning toward "soft-whites," such as B-M's "dreamy cloud" for the master bedroom and "swiss coffee" for the kitchen and family room. But I'm really shooting in the dark on these whites, and I wonder if the snowy weather has affected my color palette?

Here's a photo M shot today of a stream near our house ... as we were slowly bumping down an icy road beside it:

Set In Stone

I bought my tile today: several hundred ceramic, porcelain and marble polygons from four retailers. Some people buy everything from one store. I'm not one of these people. This is partly because I needed different materials and designs for several rooms. It's also because not one store had everything I wanted for the price I needed. For example, I priced my job at several "stone and tile" stores that could have accomodated my entire job---from the hand-made fireplace tiles (pictured here) to the kitchen counters to the cheapo-porcelain 12x12s for the mudroom. But there was always a problem: at one store, the sales staff was snooty. At another, quality was great but prices were high. Another dealer offered reasonable prices but boring material.

I never said I was easy to please. And for what this stuff costs, you shouldn't be either.

So I shopped around a lot. Husband and budget necessitated that I seek the best prices, but I also shopped for quality material and interesting designs. And for the record I will say that when I was on the fence, I leaned in favor of sales people who were helpful and interested in my job.

I liked Beeta, who runs the desk at Stone Habitat in Mundelein. Her store has a great selection of marble and granite; she was helpful; she negotiated; and the price was right. I bought my kitchen counters (Santa Cecelia granite and Soapstone), fireplace hearth (Soapstone), and master bathroom counter and tiles (Italian carerra marble) from Stone Habitat. The installer, Joe, came to the house to measure before I made my decision. In fact, Stone Habitat and Expo were the only ones who sent installers to take accurate field measurements for the quote (Expo wanted to charge $200 for this service, but I wouldn't pay it). Stone Habitat sells stone and only stone...so I bought my marble and granite there and for ceramic I went elsewhere...

For ideas and selection of ceramic tiles, you can't beat Expo. Its tile department is expansive, brightly lit, and with moderate to higher prices. (I was surprised how bad the lighting was in many tile stores.) Getting someone to help you is a challenge--some of sales reps at my local Expo seem like they've been working the prison night shift for too many years. But a young rep named Katherine was a great help to me. I did the kids' bathroom at Expo: white ceramic subways with glass mosaic accent tiles the color of a Fresca bottle that's been in the ocean for 30 years; 2x2 octagonal white ceramic floor tiles, and Corian "whitecap" counter tops. Worth noting about Expo: its installation quote was outrageous; Donald Trump must buy his tile there. I bought the material, but not the labor. Also worth noting: they're having a tile sale--20% off. This helped a lot. Worth worrying about: I suspect delays.

I got my mud-room flooring at a heavily advertised chain called Century Tile. Originally, I planned on using brick-colored Marmoleum, but I went with 12x12 porcelain tiles that look like natural slate, per my decorator Jean's suggestion. These "NK-17" tiles are very durable (comes in handy with 2 dogs) and cost less than $4 a square foot. They'll be ready for pick-up tomorrow.

Because I shopped around and negotiated everything, I was able to splurge on the fireplace surround in the family room. I'm going with the handmade tiles pictured above from Motawi (www.motawi.com), which I bought at The Fine Line Tile Gallery in Chicago. They're expensive, and the installation is, too. But it's worth it.

Faucet Pricing Exercises

I like the idea of supporting local businesses, but it's getting hard to do since I also like the idea of supporting my children's college education funds. Case in point: we bid our plumbing supplies to four places: Studio 41; EXPO; buying direct from Bob our Plumber, and online retailers. We've been surprised by the results.

Studio 41 is a local higher-end retailer with several stores. It's a bit like a car dealership. Nothing is priced on the floor. You have to go in there either knowing what brand you want, or having at least 3 hours to wander around exploring the hundreds of faucets, sinks and showerheads. After you narrow your choices (having no idea if you can afford them), you then have to find a sales person to "run some numbers." This involves sitting at a desk while heorshe looks up pricing on the computer or in manufacturer books. You could go to lunch during this, which we did, but you have no idea if heorshe is really working on your numbers when you're gone. When we returned from Wendy's, our sales lady was chatting with her friend. She looked up and said "Well that was fast!"

If I'd have known more about plumbing fixtures before I went to Studio 41, this would have gone more smoothly as I could have just headed for the display I liked best and asked for pricing. Fortunately I did think to mention we're on a budget, which was a good thing because the sales lady then offered us 35% off list prices. I asked if she gives this to everyone, and she said "Not eveyone asks for it."

We picked out Grohe faucets for the bathrooms and Rohl faucets for the kitchen and butler's pantry. Studio 41's pricing beat EXPO, BobThePlumber and even the online retailers for these brands. But the pricing was still too high for us, so we decided to look at Kohler faucets. Naturally, Studio 41 doesn't carry Kohler because it isn't "high-end enough." So back to EXPO I went.

I picked out Kohler's Bancroft line for the bathrooms for 2 reasons: the price was right and it's somewhat old-fashioned looking. I picked out Newport Brass faucets for the kitchen and butler's pantry because my new friend Linda recommended them, and because they're lower in price than the Rohl faucets I saw at Studio 41. I also priced all of this stuff online and with my plumber, who gets a discount that he passes on to clients. I'd prefer to buy from my plumber because a. I like the guy and b. there are so many components to every faucet and sink---we need 41 items--that it's somewhat mind-boggling (and eliminates the online buying option as far as I'm concerned). But my plumber's pricing came in more than $1,500 higher than EXPO's.

Like I said, I'd like to support the little guy ... but I am the little guy too!

Rose-Colored Fiberglasses

Fiberglass had not been invented as a solid material when my house was built in 1928. Brick, stucco, stained glass, ceramic tile, porcelain, wood: My modest 1928 Dutch colonial has these holistic materials in abundance, and I'm incorporating them all into the renovation. It's feels noble to say I'm doing a "period renovation."

Then why did Home Depot deliver a four-foot fiberglass shower to my yard on Saturday morning?  According to "Small Houses of the Twenties," which is a terrific reference book, houses like mine didn't even have showers let alone a one-piece unit made from the material used in Jet Skis. People bathed in footed, porcelain tubs ... on Sundays ... in shared, luke-warm bathwater. Most mail-order kit houses had only one bathroom; mine has a full bath upstairs and a 5x3-foot "half-bath" on the first floor (which strangely is the only room not being expanded, shrunk or otherwise tweaked by our renovation).

We're adding a master bathroom to the 2nd floor and expanding the kids' bathroom to include two vanities and a linen closet. As with the kitchen, I'm going for a 1920s look, with inset painted cabinets, glass knobs and hexagon tiles surrounding porcelain tubs. Real 1920s kit-house bathrooms didn't have vanities or linen closets or even laundry chutes--they had pedestal sinks and hooks on the wall. So you could say I'm veering off the "period" trajectory with the vanities and closets. But at least I'm sticking with materials from that era---marble counters in the master bathroom and (if we can afford it) Enviroglas for the girls' counters (more on this material later).

So about that fiberglass shower: Since we have a lot of friends 800 miles away in New Jersey and Pennsylvania but no guest room in which to house said friends when they (must) visit, we decided to put a third full bath in the finished basement. And no offense to our wonderful future guests, but the fiberglass shower cost $2,500 less than a tiled shower. And it's really big! All our kids and dogs can fit in it at one time. Imagine what we can save on the water bill...

Besides, fiberglass isn't too far afield. When renovating an older home that many people would've torn down, you get to fudge a little on the historic-preservation thing. My house is many things--charming, old, small, functional, oozing with potential. But above all else, it's practical. If fiberglass had been a shower option in 1928, I bet the original builders would've used it!