River House Diary

Zuniga Interiors sent bead samples today for the foyer chandelier. I've chosen the lighter color -- Aqua. Bead samples for the Cynthia chandelier from Au Courant Interiors; personal collection

We're both big proponents of an organized closet, but we achieve it differently. I reorganize my closets a few times a year and do a purge each time. If I haven't worn or used it since the last reorganization, it goes in the trash or to charity. Pete, on the other hand, never organizes, but rather keeps his closets tidy all the time. I like my way better (of course) because Pete never purges unless I nag him. I've (single)/we've (married) installed closet organizers after each move. An organized closet; courtesy of California Closets Our Master Closet can be accessed from the Master Bath and Laundry Room; therefore, the flooring for all three rooms will be the same. There is a small window in the closet and part of the ceiling is sloped to accommodate the staircase to the Bonus Room. I asked Zuniga Interiors for help. They sent a special questionnaire for closets that had me measuring our hanging clothes, folded clothes, shoes, boots, Pete's ties, our bel...

Our house plan specified locker-type cabinets by the back door to the garage. I envisioned something like this: Mud room lockers; courtesy of PB Kitchen Design But, boy, those lovely suckers are expensive. So we are building a closet in that space instead.

We have a large pantry adjoining the kitchen. I added a sink so that we could store dirty dishes there until I hand wash them after coffee the next morning. We didn't give our builder much direction beyond  that. So they priced cabinets for the sink wall. Original cabinet design for the pantry; courtesy of JAK Moulding & Supply Instead, we will have all open shelves on three walls with a U-shaped counter for the sink. My very bad rendering of how we want the pantry. Alternative for pantry storage; personal collection Twelve-inch deep shelves on the walls perpendicular to the window wall. Twelve-inch deep upper shelves on window wall Twenty-four-inch deep lower shelves (only on window wall) Sink faucet Countertop

Paper seems to trail Pete where ever he goes. There's stacks of mail on our kitchen counter and a pile of paper on the floor beside his recliner in the living room. It's hard on a person (me) who doesn't like clutter. When I read Sarah Susanka's No So Big House several years ago, I noted what she said about the importance of having a place close to the door homeowners use most frequently to sort mail, store directories, and recharge phones. I found this photo of my idea of a message center. Message center in a contemporary San Francisco home; courtesy of Andre Rothblatt Architecture Our message center will be near the door to the house from the garage and close to the stairs to the Bonus Room -- Pete's office. Instead of drawers below, we will have a door where the trash can will go. The upper cabinet will have inboxes for sorting mail. A counter will be used to recharge our portable electronic devices. Hopefully, this will work! Our message center; per...

Our lot is served by Duke Energy Progress for electricity and Craven County for water. Setting up new accounts and getting service established at the property for construction was pretty simple. Sewer service, however, was an exercise in frustration. When we closed our land, we got a packet of information about the private company that provides sewer service to our community. We filled out the forms, had them notarized (can you believe it), and sent the forms to the contact email address provided. A week went by and I heard nothing about next steps. I took to the Internet to find a phone number to call and discovered North Carolina was no longer a state covered by the company. After a little more investigation, I realized there had been some sort of sale or spin-off and our sewer service was now provided by Carolina Water Service of North Carolina. Their tagline is: Superior Quality. Efficient Operations. Exceptional Customer Service. Carolina Water Service of North Carolina we...

Pete and I have always had a TV in our bedroom. We don't watch it often, but it does come in handy for late-night or ultra early-morning sporting events. (I'm talking to you Super Bowl, Stanley Cup playoffs, and F1 racing.) Knowing we would have a TV in the bedroom, I saved this image as the inspiration for how to achieve installing the TV. What's not to love? There's even room for my favorite things -- books. Martha O'Hare Interiors designed master bedroom; courtesy of Martha O'Hare Interiors Then we changed the location of the door to the Master Bath and needed another wall for our dresser. So we lost this built-in cabinet. It was a sad day for me. Pete, on the other hand, was happy to save money.

At the front of the house off the foyer is a room that on the original plans was a formal dining room which was open to the great room. A formal dining area doesn't suit our style of entertaining so we walled the room off, separating it from the great room. We plan to use it as a small den for watching television in the evenings. Along one wall will be built-in cabinets because you can never have enough bookcases and storage space. It will also house Pete's big TV. The cabinet supplier and I went back and forth on the design more than a few times, but this is the end result. Den built-in elevation drawing. The drawers will hold our DVD library; personal collection I'm glad I'm not required to make a living as a draftsman!

Included in the contract to build our home was a selections presentation. It included everything used to price our house from the front door to the number of paint colors that would be used. We were given a Selections Workbook that included a schedule for the ten signed selection sheets we would be required to submit. Our schedule is: 05/29/2019 -- Exterior (roofing, siding, windows, exterior doors) 06/05/2019 -- Plumbing 06/05/2019 -- Appliances 06/12/2019 -- Cabinets and Closets 06/12/2019 -- Interior  (interior doors, casing and trim, fireplace and staircase) 06/21/2019 -- Electrical 06/21/2019 -- Flooring 06/28/2019 -- Paint 06/28/2019 -- Bath and Door Hardware 06/28/2019 -- Miscellaneous Late fees may apply, charged daily until the selections are submitted. Divorce could be in my future if we miss a date. Pete hates late fees. He believes there's simply no excuse for incurring them. We had begun making selections late last year after re-engaging with TAB so I f...

On either side of the fireplace in the great room will be built-in cabinets. Between the fireplace and the rear of the house will be the larger section of cabinets, which will hold a TV. One section of the great room built-ins; courtesy of JAK Moulding & Supply On the wall between the fireplace and the foyer will be a smaller unit. Smaller section of great room built-ins; courtesy of JAK Moulding & Supply The units will be painted an offwhite -- CabCraft's Canvas and the shelves will be stained CabCraft's Smoke , a dark wood that matches our hardwood floors. The back of the upper shelves will be wallpapered with Phillip Jeffries Manila Hemp in Creme. Phillip Jeffries 3431 Manila Hemp in Creme ; courtesy of Decorators Best

We signed the contract to build our house with TAB today. Pete and I celebrating being in debt again; personal collection The contract is a firm-fixed price contract with three areas of unknown costs, which was unusual for TAB. We were unable to get a price quote for site preparation due to the Hurricane Florence recovery efforts. Our contract included only an estimate. Also, our plans would have to be reviewed by a structural engineer to ensure they met or exceeded local building codes. Because we are on a river in hurricane country, there could likely be additional costs. Finally, depending on where we located the house on the lot, the foundation may exceed the four rows of cinderblock included in the contract. Next, the hurry-up-and-wait period while permits are pulled and the structural engineer weighs in on changes to meet codes. I have been busy setting up electrical, water, and sewer service to the lot.

In the original version or our house plan, Pete and I each had our own vanity with a tower cabinet. I envisioned shallow towers that were not as deep as the base cabinets. Tower cabinets for bathroom; courtesy of The Woodshop of Avon Of course they were more expensive than a tall cabinet that is the same depth as the base cabinet, which was specified in our house plan. One of the two vanities with tower cabinet in the original house plan; courtesy of JAK Moulding & Supply But it became a moot point when we moved the bathroom door. Now we will have a 7-foot long vanity with double sinks and a linen closet. A less expensive solution because fewer cabinets are required. Pete is happy!