Backsplash

Here are some inspiration tiles that my mom found for the backsplash!

House Numbers

I was looking all over for craftsman style house numbers but all of the ones I found were way out of my price range. Then I found these at Restoration Hardware. At $10 a pop, they are in my budget and I love the look!

(photo courtesy of Restoration Hardware)

Seriously Final Kitchen Plans

For real this time. The main differences from the last plans are the placement of the sink, the upper cabinets which now have glass inserts (which I love), and there is no upper corner wall cabinet. No more changes will be made (whoohoo)! Seriously, we ordered these last weekend (so no suggestions, that means you mom =).

And here are the cabinets we ordered for the kitchen in the apartment.

And below, is the apartment kitchen with a breakfast bar.

The breakfast bar and the cabinets above it have not been ordered yet...

...so suggestions are welcome =).

The cabinets and appliances will be arriving next Saturday (Halloween), and judging by the progress our contractors have made so far, they will probably be installed sometime next year. Sigh.

20% off of a Backache

After months of toiling over different kitchen designs, today was the day that Masai and I decided to go to Ikea and place our order for the kitchen cabinets for both our kitchen and the apartment kitchen.  I already went once last Wednesday to get an invoice for the kitchen plan, then of course we had a plumbing debacle and had to change the plan.  So, we brought our newly designed plans and reluctantly left our warm apartment for the Sunday afternoon Ikea craze!  And Ikea did not disappoint; it was jam-packed with couples, singles, families, screaming babies.  It was a hot, stuffy, crazy mess.  After 3 hours of standing in front of the Kitchen Consultant desk, I had a backache, a headache, and was convinced that the poor air circulation was going to get me sick from someone else's germs.  Masai was none to pleased, to say the least.

Below is the breakdown of our day:

9:30 am   -  Rise and shine.
11:00 am - Swing by Tastee Diner for breakfast.
12:30 pm - Arrive at Ikea, College Park, put our name on the waiting list for the Kitchen Consultants.
12:50 pm -  Meet with John (the most wonderful Ikean ever!) to go over revisions.
1:30 pm   - Finished with revisions, John starts entering our order into the Ikea computers for processing.
(Masai and I take a tour of Ikea and check in on John intermittently to see how the progress is coming)
2:15 pm   - Masai has a meltdown and has to go to the Ikea cafeteria for coffee and deep breathing.
2:45 pm   - Cabinet order is complete!  Pay for cabinets.
2:50 pm   - Go to the delivery desk with completed order to arrange for pick up.
3:15 pm   - Delivery order is complete!
3:45 pm   - Back at home, time to recuperate and start Sunday afternoon homework.

The light at the end of the tunnel: Ikea is having it's bi-annual kitchen sale.  Since we bought three or more appliances, we got 20% off of our order.  So we saved a hunk of cash.  I guess that's worth a backache =).

Holes in the Wall

So the walls in both kitchens have been opened up!  It doesn't look like much yet, but it was really exciting for me when I went over there this afternoon.

Main Kitchen

Apartment Kitchen

Exterior Paint Color...

...is up! The color is "Franklin Lakes" from Benjamin Moore's Classic collection. We're really happy with the color we chose. Hope you like it too!

Primer

A couple of photos of the front of the house with the new coat of primer!

This small swatch is what the final color will be...kind of a bluish green.

You can see it here too.

So exciting! Already a big change from this.

Final Kitchen Design

Progress on the house has been painfully slow these last couple of weeks. The kitchens and bathroom have been gutted and the exterior paint went up this Friday (pictures of this after we swing by the house this afternoon). Now we are just waiting for the permits in order to start the plumbing and electrical work. I finalized our plan for the kitchen with our contractor last week in order to submit the permits. Here are some screen shots from the Ikea Home Planner (which has been an awesome tool). We decided to go with the White Ädel ("Shaker Style") cabinets because they are truer to the character and period of the house.

Here's what the Ädel cabinets look like in real life.

(photo courtesy of Ikea.com)

(photo courtesy of ikeafans.com)

Backyard Bush Whacking

We spent this Sunday whacking at bushes in the jungle that is now our backyard. We made a remarkable amount of progress and we couldn't have done it without the inspiration and support of our friends Mike, Katie, and Katie =) Here are some before and after pictures (click on the pictures for a larger view).

and after...

A couple of pics of the front yard, before...

and after....

Exterior Colors

Here are a few photoshopped photos of the exterior paint color we have chosen for the exterior of the house. Originally I was thinking of more of a slate blue, but after looking at samples, we decided to go with more of a gray-green-blue combination called "Franklin Lakes" from the Benjamin Moore Exterior Color line. I really like the way the green undertones make it kind of an earthier color than just the slate blue, as the earthier colors are more typical of craftsman style houses.

I also really like the idea of doing royal blue accents for the window sashes and porch columns.

We did it!

We closed on the house on Monday! Yay!!! Here I am with Masai in our (yay!) house after we closed.

(Note the peeling paint in the background.)

Our realtor gave us our first housewarming present, a smudge stick - a bundle of sage to burn to cleanse the energy in the house. Here is Masai with the sage stick.

And now the real fun begins, we have one team heading into the house on Monday (hopefully) to start gutting the kitchens and bathroom and foundation work schedule to start on the 11th. We'll keep you posted on the progress! In the meantime, I'll be doing more online window shopping. Bedroom Idea boards are coming up next!

Living Room Idea Boards

Here are my three different idea boards for the living room (complete with some ridiculous, Lucky-inspired titles). Again, I'm trying to maintain my excitement for the house by doing online window shopping (so fun and so cheap)! I'll be posting the descriptions and links to all products soon. In the meantime, I want to know which one you prefer!

#1 - Ethnic Modern

#2 - Urban Seaside

#3 - Downtown Eclectic

Garden Inspiration

Well, despite a few rainy days, summer is back in full bloom here in DC and since we're still bogged down in the contractor selection/closing process and I can't actually work in a garden that I don't have yet, I figured I'd post some inspirational photos, mostly to keep my spirits lifted! I love the winding gravel paths in these photos that snake their way through the gardens. It's almost like there's a little surprise around every bend!

This is the kind of path I'd like in our backyard, a combo of gravel and flagstone pavers....

I love this little bird bath on the brick pavers...

And maybe somewhere nestled in the garden, a little patio with lights!