PROJECT UPDATE

Whew....these are crazy times.  Every morning I think I am going to turn on the news and see that this virus has disappeared.....I can be naive like that.  With the Spanish flu....it just ended after 2 years.....so what........we have 20 months to go???

Ugh.

I don't have much for you today....but I will say this.  When people ask a question in the comments on a blog post from 2 years ago how am I supposed to answer that?  Perplexed!

I do try to keep up with questions....but I am not sure how to get in touch with "anonymous"....haha.

Ahhhhh.....just venting.  #pleaserquilt

A couple of post ago I showed you some pictures of the project that is finishing up right now.

I have a few pictures of the vanities and tile from the bathrooms.

Below is the design board I did.  We went with a painted vanity instead of wood for budget reasons.

And I stayed with the sconces but changed them to oil rubbed bronze just for interest!

Below with bath #2 I did marble as it is the main level guest room. I selected a lighter paint color for the vanity.   

Here was the plan for bath #6

No changes to this one!

I did change the lights for this one but I love the gray hex tile.

Bath #5 is pretty much all white with a vanity painted Hale Navy.

The only thing in the basement bath right now is the tile....but I love it:)

In the powder room we had a custom vanity made and we are using the Galbraith & Paul wallpaper....

Since she has 3 boys....I thought of something fun for the laundry room!

She will have 2 sets of washer and dryers stacked where that one cabinet is sitting on the floor.  That on is actually a wall cabinet above the sink on the RHS.

The faux soapstone will be the countertops.

I spent all weekend picking out the hardware....and let me tell you that was a job!

Daunting.....

We took the original entry doors and had them refinished!  I can't believe how good they look!

They were solid mahogany so there was no reason to ditch them!

Most of the light fixtures have been installed!

All Circa Lighting.

Friday the countertops are installed so I will have more pictures next week!

I am actually getting my hair cut and colored today and I am pretty excited about it.  Precautions will be taken :)

OK.... I gotta go walk the princess.....I tell ya she is definitely getting more demanding in her old age:)  She will be 7 in August.....ugh.  I hate when they get older because all I can think about is "the end".  I can be morbid like that.

Shayoverthinker

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DESIGN PLAN

I hope y'all had a great weekend....mine was low key.  Doing a little work and hanging with my bestie.....Cami:)

I have spent so much time with her lately that she is indigent when I leave the house....haha.

Monday came at me like a tsunami....and I am not gonna lie....I had a few "how much more can I take" moments. I'm tired of "life lessons".....at my age can we just do away that part?

So I promised I would give you a glimpse of my design thoughts for this renovation that I posted about on Friday.....

First of all with 3 boys....everything has to be performance fabric.....

The Lee Industries iron chairs with be in the light color below....with pillows from the Schumacher
texture.  I am in love with this fabric right now....

The sofa and chair fabric will be very durable....and also 2 leather stools.  I want her to be able to get through their younger years without having to worry too much.  That being said....performance does not mean it won't have to be maintained.  Always get any stains out as soon as possible!

All of the walls in the house are painted BM China White....lately my fav white!

I am loving that it is still safe to use neutrals in a family room....which normally I would have done darker colors and save the lighter ones for a living room.....

The kitchen fabrics are below....leather barstools [it's actually more gray] with the Mark Alexander plaid on the back of them.  The kitchen cabinets are painted SW Mindful Gray.

I am still researching a few pieces.....so if you don't think we put thought into these plans....think again.  I can overthink like it's my job.....oh wait haha....it is!

Today I am helping my friend Rose with an install....stay tune for some instastories....

I almost forgot....I started watching Queer Eye on Netflix this weekend and spent a little time with a kleenex wiping my eyes.....some of the stories are so touching.  There is no doubt that it is life changing for these people.  And the "fab 5" are very entertaining!

Thanks for reading.....listening and hanging with me.  I never want this blog to be a big complain festival but I do want to be vulnerable and share that occasionally my life is a s#*t show.

Shaylookingahead

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THE STEPS OF DOING A RENOVATION

Hola my little chickadees.....we made it to Friday.  

Hallelujah right?

I thought I would talk a little bit about the beginning stages of a renovation or new build.  If you follow me on Instagram then you might see that I post a lot of shots of tile....half done kitchens and exterior shots.  It's a long process usually 6 months to a year to finish them up and requires a lot of thought process and attention to detail.  

Guiding a client through the process can be very overwhelming.  Usually they have moved out of their home and are residing in a rental which can be stressful.  There are a lot of situations that can delay projects also.....like throw in a pandemic right?

There are budget restraints.  Many things will come up that you realize you want to do while the house is tore up!

It's all about priorities.  I am of the school that if it's a choice between a cool architectural element or a new sofa.....I would always chose the architectural detail.  Those are harder to do at a later time:)

That being said.....normally the first thing that will come up is plumbing.  They need the valves for rough in.  What that means is that if you haven't picked out your plumbing fixtures then you need to at least decide which brand you are using.

After that is electrical....deciding not only the basics like overhead cans etc but decorative  as well....where they go and what you might need like picture lights etc.

Both of those need to be picked out before the drywall happens....

Then tile....and countertops.

That being said....most people are visual and need to see how it is all going to come together.

So after we pick out the plumbing, tile and lighting....I pull it all together for them on paper so that they can visualize it.  It's a good time to change and that happens often.

I also figure out the vanity sizes and start with the colors and styles.  

While I will throw in a mirror or some wallpaper to pull it together [the designer in me!]....it is usually just to show how it could work in their space.

Installation

There are always changes along the way with a light fixture being backordered or a budget restraint.

It can be pretty daunting pulling together 6-7 bathrooms so that they all co-ordinate with the clients desires.....I will definitely use the same light fixture in a couple of secondary bathrooms just to be consistent.

We started out with blue shower walls in the bathroom below but switched it to all white with a blue vanity instead.

The vanity will be painted BM Hale Navy.

This client has 3 boys so we kept the bathrooms pretty neutral.

I will give choices like below in the laundry room....checkered tile or a graphic wallpaper...

We chose the tile and I love it!

I usually spec marble in the master and maybe one guest room.  It's much more expensive than ceramic but will give you a little "pretty".  Also if it isn't in the budget then there are plenty of ceramics on the market that have a marble look!

Because of Covid 19 restrictions I went and gathered a bunch of countertops so we could decide what to use....

Since they were doing the tile I was able to gather samples to put it all together.  

For the kitchen....I gave them examples of shaker style doors....

The kitchen plan below shows the cabinets painted BM Revere Pewter and the walls BM China White.  The island will be a wood tone and the floors will possibly be stained Jacobean

I picked Caesarstone Calacatta Nuvo for the countertops.  The reason we decided against marble is that she has 3 boys and does not want to be stressed out about them....[the countertops not the boys!]

I believe that design is always functional....how.....you use a space.  

How you live as a family.

One of the additions to this home is a huge screened in porch.  It's right off the family room so I know they will use it a lot!

And there you have it.  So much work in the beginning....and also details to remember.   I hope that I can calm them down and ease them through the process with no stress.

I hope you guys have a great weekend!  I got my hair done yesterday and it was heaven....

  

And my sisters came over like old times.  We ordered from Buckhead Diner...drank wine and it all seemed so normal!

I forgot for just a brief moment all of the things going on......

Shayboo

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