The Fixer Upper House and Garden

Hooks or Hookers?

"It's better to be married to someone who's obsessed with hooks than to have a spouse who's into hookers," I said to Husband.

"Huh? What?" said he, looking up from the laptop.

I was dangling a sack of white, two-pronged coat-hooks in front of the screen. "What do you think about these for the mud-room cubbies?  Do you think it'll look crowded if I use 3 hooks in each cubby? They were kind of cheap. Do they look cheap?"

Cheap got his attention. "What? Oh. They're fine," he said.

I jingled the plastic bag again.

"They're awesome hooks!," he added, sensing my need for more feedback. "Great job!"

But I wasn't going to let him off the hook in regards to the hooks. "OK, so I'm obsessed!," I admitted. "Be thankful it's only hooks! Do you know how many stores I went to this week in search of hooks, door stoppers and a fireplace key with a black flange?

"No," he said. "No I don't know, but I think you're going to tell me."

"I went to six stores, seven if you count two separate Home Depots! And not one store had decent-looking door stoppers! And they're all either phasing out coat hooks or selling them at such a clip that they can't keep them in stock! You try it! You go to two Home Depots, Expo, Lowes, Renovation Hardware, Ace and Craftwood and we'll see how sane you are at the end of the week!"

"Do you want me to get you a beer?" he said, eyeing the computer again. "We have Blue Moon."

I love Blue Moon with a slice of orange, but I didn't need a beer right then. I needed the lap-top so I could search online for decorative hardware. In addition to 20 door stoppers, I need a dozen cool-looking-but-not-too-expensive coat hooks, 15 glass door knobs, one fireplace key with matching black flange and a hand-held shower nozzle that doesn't look like something Dr Frankenstein used to charge his monster. Not to forget 15 or so light fixtures, bathroom mirrors, carpet for the master suite and a retro-looking Formica counter for the laundry room.

"Yes," I said. "A beer would be great."

And while Husband was slicing the orange, I signed him off the laptop and got to work.

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:

While We Were Away ...

While we were away, GC and the subs were very busy. What fun it was to come back to a house with walls! Here's the 2nd floor "window nook:"

Behold, the fireplace wall:

A view down a hallway (please forgive the vertical nature of this photo!):

Happy Holidays

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE FIXER UPPER HOUSE!

To the readers of this blog at this holy time of year: Thank you for sharing the highs and lows of renovation with me. Thank you for reading and listening and sharing your opinions. Thank you for praying for my loved ones who have been ill or unfortunate. Thank you for sending positive vibes my way. A year ago, I didn't know  beans about blogging. Now, I don't know how I would have survived this year with out it! Whatever your beliefs or rituals this time of year...I wish you all the very best.

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!

Laundry Management Tips

My friend Therese has a laundry-management system that makes a lot of sense: She will only fold laundry in front of the TV. She also sets her sport watch to go off at the same time the dryer's timer is going to go off, because she always ignores the dryer's buzzer. I do too. The dryer buzzer gets less attention than a car alarm in my house. If I really wanted to force myself to hop to it when the dryer is finished, I should jerry-rig it to the smoke detector. Or if I was really into foricng myself to stay on top of the laundry, I could train Milo to start barking when the dryer buzzer goes off. That would get me down the stairs. ... Or out the door, more likely.

Here is the latest drawing of the basement laundry room and bathroom. Please note the all-important laundry chute (not shoot!) at the bottom of the drawing. Also noteworthy: The hall (toward the top of the drawing) opens into a play room, which will (eventually) have a big TV for those long laundry-folding sessions. Now all I need is a sports watch...or a scullery maid!
 

The Laundry Room

Some women get jewelry when they have a baby. My gifts have been more practical. When M was born, Husband gave me a video camera. When C was born, we were renovating the kitchen in our first house and so my gift was that we were renovating the kitchen in our first house. When T was born in 2000, I got a front-loading washing machine.

The front loader is great fun for toddlers and little kids; they love to watch soapy clothes spin around while listening to the soothing swoooshy sound. The front-loader is gentle on clothes because it doesn't have an agitator. And it's eco-friendly, too: it uses less water, requires a smidgen of detergent and has an extra-large capacity. Yes the front-loading washing machine is a wondrous thing...except for one teensy problem: I practically broke my back bending into it every day. Other people must have had the same problem, because manufacturers have redesigned front-loaders to postion the door higher up.

But even with the more ergonomic designs, I don't want a front-loading washing machine. I'm perfectly happy with the no-frills top-loading Maytag that came with this house, because it requires no bending over. In fact I wish I could find a top-loading dryer. Will someone please invent this?

The reason I'm writing about washing machines is that I nearly threw a flashlight at Husband yesterday when we were standing in our new laundry room. All along, we've wanted lots of counter space for folding/sorting laundry. But the way the room is currently framed, there's hardly any. We complained about this to GC, who said alarmingly that we'd have to "move the header" to add counter space. Telling a GC to "move the header" half-way through a project is like telling a bride her dress is a little bit snug a few days before the wedding. To avoid "moving the header", Husband innocently suggested that we get front-loaders and build a counter over them.

This is when I would have thrown a flashlight at him, had I been a less merciful person.

Fortunately, GC reported the next day that "moving the header" won't be as arduous as he initially predicted. This frees up a wall for a counter with shelves below and cabinets above. I'll have no excuses for poor laundry management once this room is in place!

If you have a laundry-management system that works, I'd love to hear about it!