affordable find: iron lantern

mykonos lantern

$840

altadore bronze chandelier
$365
(this fixture would look even more like the more expensive one if the 
glass shades were removed from around the bulb)

happy shopping!

just when things were going smoothly....

 (thought you all might like to see the entry to the house up close!)

my husband called me at 4pm yesterday...
to let me know that the exterior painters wanted to start painting the house TODAY.
*doh!
 to....day.
no big deal, right?
just 3 weeks ahead of schedule!

"uh.....i haven't even painted the sample colors ON the siding yet!" i protested.
(the siding was finished late in the afternoon on saturday for pete's sake!)
"well, we have a couple hours before it gets dark. lets get it done." my husband/contractor stated matter-of-factly.
(in case you missed the posts on narrowing down the paint colors for the outside of the house, click here and here.)

ack! stress!
we ran and bought some samples and put on the two colors that i had narrowed it down to:
ballet white and baby fawn.
(all colors are benjamin moore)
here is what they looked like on the siding:

the problem??
when i selected these colors, the aluminium soffit, crown molding and fascia were not installed yet. i guess i wasn't listening when my husband told me that these features were NOT going to be painted.
yikes! (not listening to my husband/contractor has become a specialty of mine lately...)

of course i whined a bit and asked if we could pleeeeeeeeease paint them, but the answer was a FIRM NO.
blast it! my visions for the house is to have the body and trim the same color...very classic and simple.both baby fawn and ballet white looked way too warm and creamy to blend in with the moldings and soffit.
ugh! back to square one...or is that square zero?

i picked out two more colors, and off we went to get more samples.
this time, i tried:
seapearl and swiss coffee 
(swiss coffee is my go-to white, and also the color of my kitchen cabinets and interior trim)

by the time we got done painting those samples, it was close to 9:30 and we could barely see them in the dark. the second set of colors was definitely more white than the first set, but maybe not white enough??
we painted them, and i drove by on the way to drop my kids off at school to take a look:




i gave my husband two more colors to test out later this morning:
white dove and vanilla milkshake...

here they all are:



i picked.....(drum roll, please...)

benjamin moore's white dove oc-17.
they are already done with the entire back of the house!
crazy.

oh, and i broke a LOT of my "how to pick an exterior color" rules:

1. paint large swatches. at least 18" x 18" (broke that one)
2. be sure to get 2-3 coats on the surface, so you can really "see" the color. (broke that one too)
2. paint the samples on at LEAST two sides of the house (oops.)
3. be sure and leave the colors up for at least 24 hours so you can see all of the colors at different time of day. (yep. broke.)


oh. i guess i broke all of them...
good thing i have done this a LOT before.
one more decision MADE.
still a few to go....but i am in the home stretch.
thanks for following along!

construction progress: week 19

my husband and i were out of town last week, and so nothing happened on the INSIDE of the house, but the OUTSIDE was totally transformed!
the stone mason continued the lay stone on the base of the house, and the siding crew was hard at work installing the siding, soffit and fascia.

we made a few changes from the original architects rendering...the original elevation had only one "column" (these flat columns are actually called pilasters) around the entry, but we felt that the scale of the pediment required two columns/pilasters on each side to balance it out.

i did a little mock-up of the changes before we finalized the measurements:

here is the progress!

starting with the soffit (the flat part in the eaves) and the fascia (the crown molding)

the siding starts to go up.

we chose a fiber cement siding, that mimics the look of wood. (hardiplank is one brand typically used)

it came pre-primed in this soft gray color, but we will be painting it white.

a cement cap will be placed between the stone and the siding.

 all done! it was so neat to come back from our trip and see the house all sided!
(thank you to our siding sub for sending us daily update pictures!)

a trip to the cabinet shop

here is what has been happening at the cabinet shop:
(we used millbrook cabinet design in north salt lake)

the kitchen doors are being sprayed with benjamin moore's swiss coffee.

the vanity and kitchen cabinet boxes are ready to be delivered.
this was soo exciting to see, by the way! i was so excited i almost started to dance. thank goodness the guys that the shop didn't have to see that!

a look at the custom hood...it's upside down, in case you couldn't already tell...

the master vanity drawer fronts.

master vanity drawer fronts, cabinet front, and legs...

and here are the color samples:

gentlemans gray for the girls vanity.
swiss coffee for the kitchen.
pecan stain over walnut in the master bathroom.

another view.

(isn't this getting exciting? it is for me!!)

gentleman's gray

i have been looking for the perfect shade of blue for my girls vanity.

here is what i want:

a deep, rich blue. 

but not navy.

not too dark, but not too light either.

i want the color to feel a bit "peacocky" blue, but without too much green.

here are some inspiration pictures that i came across:

 

i love this color (farrow and ball hague blue) but i wanted something this just a tad less green....

after testing a few colors, i settled on gentleman's gray by benjamin moore, 2062-20.

via

via

via

i think it will look great! 

do you like the look of a painted vanity, or do you prefer white? or wood tones? or neutrals like grays?

jamie shop

i would like to introduce you to my newest sponsor jamie herzlinger's  jamieshop. com.

you have probably seen jamie's work...she has been featured in dozens of design magazines, including lonny, romantic homes, interiors, trad home, and home. here is a sampling of her work:

have you ever been flipping through a magazine and come across a fabric or light fixture or piece of furniture that is only available to design professionals?

jamieshop allows YOU exclusive access to hundreds"to the trade only"manufacturers. there are no risks, no contracts, and no hourly fees, which can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars!

 all you need to do is go to shopjamie, make and account  and browse through the online catalogs. here is a sampling of what you will find:

be sure to visit the store and browse a bit!
click here to create your account!
happy shopping!

blue vanity

there will be two bathrooms upstairs, and one will be mainly for my two daughters. i imagine this bathroom to be crisp and simple, with a few details that make it just a little whimsical. i used this vanity to show my cabinet fabricator what i was interested in:

(this is the hutton vanity form restoration hardware)

he came back with these drawings, which i loved, because of the single door underneath the sink, and the fact that each girl gets her own set of drawers. (sorry the image is a little wonky)

i decided to go with shaker style cabinets in this bathroom because i like the simple lines and clean look. at first, i wanted to keep the color simple and go with a white or grey, but then i thought...why not have a little FUN? i have always loved deep, saturated blue tones and i thought that this would be the perfect place for a little color!

i am imagining a single, large pull in each of the cabinet doors...
maybe something like this:

(via)

here are some other vanites in various shades of blue:

 this is a nice, deep rich blue one. i love the details in this bathroom!

 the high gloss finish on this vanity makes it feel whimsical yet sophisticated.

 the metal tub, soft blue penny tile and casual hardware scream "beach house"!

 i really like the lines of this cabinet. the square undercount sink  and that touch of yellow in the storage niche are subtle and add a lot to this little bathroom.

 notice how the vanity and the wainscoting are painted the same color? love.

this one is so classic and timeless! my vanity will be a lot darker. i will share the colors i am considering soon....

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6)


oh, and speaking of blue....look at the skies that i woke up to today (and yesterday)....

i am in palm springs with my husband, who is attending a conference for work. it is a much needed break from the snow! its been so long since i have seen flowers and trees with leaves! hard to believe it is just a 90 minute plane ride from salt lake.