River House Diary

I can honestly say I never thought I'd be shopping at Pottery Barn Kids for the home to which we will retire. Never say never, I guess, because this fixture is perfect for our Half Bath. Dahlia Flushmount ; courtesy of Pottery Barn Kids

For the ceiling-mounted light fixture in the Laundry Room, we went for an industrial vibe. Verndale 11-3/4" Brushed Nickel Industrial Ceiling Light ; courtesy of LampsPlus.com

We are fortunate to have a large walk-in closet in the Master Bedroom that includes an island, or built-in dresser. This is the light fixture we chose for over the island. Parker Point 3-Light Convertible Chandelier in Chrome ; courtesy of Kichler Lighting

The staircase is L shaped with a landing where it turns. The electrical layout specified a ceiling-mounted light for the landing and two wall sconces -- one for each section of the staircase. Larkin 3-Light Pendant in Brushed Nickel ; courtesy of Kichler Lighting Circolo 1-Light Wall Sconce in Brushed Nickel ; courtesy of Kichler Lighting

I chose Savoy House's Morland 1-Light Adjustable Sconce for the built-in cabinets on either side of the fireplace in the Great Room. I know mixing metal finishes is a thing, but I'm not there yet and wanted the finish to match the kitchen as the rooms are very open to each other. Morland 1-Light Adjustable Wall Sconce in Satin Nickel ; courtesy of Savoy House

We chose Ellerbeck 1-Light Wall Sconce in Natural Brass from Kichler Lighting to be installed on the built-in cabinets in the Den. Unfortunately, these lights didn't come in a satin nickel so I need to find another manufacturer for the Great Room sconces. Ellerbeck 1-Light Wall Sconce in Natural Brass; courtesy of Kichler Lighting

Since my first choice for a vanity for the Bonus Bath was out of stock, I went looking for another one. I ended up choosing a vanity base with doors instead of drawers to eliminate any issue there may have been with the door casing trim. Glenn Single Vanity Base Cabinet Only, Weathered Natural, 30" ; courtesy of Houzz.com The burning question now is do I change the floor tile color? Lagoon or Beige ?

The eating area chandelier will complement the chandelier in the Foyer and in the Half Bath ceiling fixture as they are all of the empire style. At 32" high and 22" in diameter, this baby has presence. Dumas 5-Light Wood Bead Chandelier in brushed steel; courtesy of Kenroy Home Three large pendants will hang over the kitchen island. Lambert Pendant in Satin Nickel; courtesy of Hudson Valley Lighting They are a splurge but are visible from almost everywhere in the house so I wanted them to be pretty.

I initially selected Y Decor's 1-Light Galvanized Finish Outdoor Wall Sconce from Home Depot as our exterior lights. At $36 each, the price was right. I ordered one as a sample and am so glad I did. Y Decor's 1-Light Galvanized Finish Outdoor Wall Sconce ; courtesy Home Depot It wasn't really galvanized; it was a fake finish and cheap looking as well. The lighting selected by our builder when pricing the contract was from Kichler Lighting. They went for a modern farmhouse look and used black or oil-rubbed bronze fixtures. We're going for a more coastal vibe and want to use shiny, reflective fixtures. But I thought it would be a good idea to stay with Kichler if at all possible. And it was. I chose their Northland sconces in brushed aluminum. Northland 1-Light Wall Light in Brushed Aluminum ; courtesy of Kichler Lighting

Darn it, Home Depot! Why is my vanity out of stock? Home Decorators Collection 30" Teasian Vanity in Flagstone ; courtesy Home Depot When I spoke to customer service, the representative did not believe this color would be restocked. I thought it looked great with the floor tile color. 360 3/4" x 3/4" floor and wall tile in Lagoon ; courtesy Bedrosians Perhaps this vanity wasn't the best choice as the drawers hitting the door casing trim may have been an issue. The price was certainly right, though.

We knew when we signed the contract to build our house that a structural engineer would need to review the plans to see if they met local building codes. Our brother-in-law, who is an architect, warned us he would add more foundation piers. And so it happened. The original plan from House Plan Zone  included 17 foundation piers. Foundation drawing from House Plan Zone; personal collection The structural engineer added 24 more foundation piers for a total of 41 and he beefed up the construction of the piers. We have to pay extra for each of those additional piers. Cha-ching! Revised foundation drawing from structural engineer with 41 foundation piers; personal collection

We need two ceiling fans in the screen porch. While we were selecting lights at Kitchen & Lighting Designs in Jacksonville, North Carolina, Jan Banks found the perfect fans for the porch. Rainman Ceiling Fan in Galvanized with silver blades ; courtesy of Minka-Aire

A lot of interior designers don't like ceiling fans, but they are necessary in the south. They are particularly useful in guest bedrooms, which can get stuffy when the door is closed impeding air flow. Also, when women reach a certain age, they experience hot flashes. Those nasty things are real...and awful. So our house will have eight ceilings fans -- six inside and two in the screen porch. These are the interior ceiling fans. Trevor II LED 60" Fan in Brushed Stainless Steel  for the Great Room; courtesy Kichler Lighting Starkk LED 52" Fan in Natural Brass for the Den; courtesy Kichler Lighting We will use the Starkk 52" fan in white in Bedroom 3 and in polished nickel with walnut blades in Bedroom 2. Carlson 52" LED Fan in Antique Pewter but with light cherry blades for Bonus Room; courtesy Kichler Lighting Fanimation Studio Collection Victoria Harbor 52" Ceiling Fan with dark walnut blades for the Master Bedroom; courtesy Lowe&

Electrical and lighting were items I hadn't thought much about before we signed the contract. With no direction from us, TAB chose lighting for a modern farmhouse look. However, we wanted a coastal look, which typically uses shiny, reflective surfaces instead of black or oil-rubbed bronze. TAB lighting selections; courtesy of TAB Premium Built Homes We also knew that we would be adding more lighting so there was appropriate ambient, task, and accent lighting in every room. A room needs layered lighting. We also knew from our remodeling experience, we'd add more outlets and switches. Our builder used Kichler Lighting when pricing our home. I wanted to stick with that brand as much as possible. Zuniga Interiors helped us select all the lighting and some of we purchased ourselves.

As a way to add architectural interest to our house, Zuniga Interiors recommended adding ceiling beams in the Great Room and Master Bedroom. Of course, there is an extra cost for those beams; so we opted to use them only in the Great Room. The ceiling is flat (because Pete doesn't like vaulted ceilings) but is 11'6" high. So I've been thinking about dropping the ceiling beams to 10'0" so they float. Phoebe Howard designed Great Room for the 2013 Southern Living Idea House; courtesy of Phoebe Howard My only worry is that we won't have those terrific windows above the beams and the distance between the ceiling and the beams would be smaller in our house. With that in mind, would the idea really work?

In order to give the interior some architectural interest, Zuniga Interiors recommended using wood tongue-and-groove on the foyer and kitchen ceilings. Tongue-and-groove ceiling; courtesy of Zuniga Interiors; source unknown To complement the dark hardwood floors, the ceilings would be stained much lighter. The desired look is below. I couldn't find an exact match but Minwax's Classic Gray (MW271) came close. Hallmark Floors Alta Vista Collection in Balboa Oak ; courtesy of Hallmark Floors

It's time to think about the Den, a room that will be used mostly in the evenings after dinner. The primary purpose of the room is watching television -- and Pete falling asleep in his recliner! I have been drawn to the idea of dark and moody for this room. These were the inspiration photos I sent to Zuniga Interiors. Phoebe Howard designed Nashville Farmhouse; courtesy of PhoebeHoward.net Phoebe Howard designed Nashville Farmhouse; courtesy of PhoebeHoward.net Southern Living 2018 Idea House; courtesy of SouthernLiving.com Blue Bungalow designed by Lauren Liess; courtesy of LaurenLiess.com What will Zuniga Interiors do with these I wonder...

I have a thing for Portuguese pottery and our everyday dishes are Juliska's Berry & Thread pattern in whitewash. So these should be a great addition to my kitchen. Juliska Berry & Thread Delft Ombre Crackle Sea Urchin Dessert Plate (no longer available); courtesy of Juliska Juliska Berry & Thread Delft Ombre Crackle Lobster Serving Bowl ; courtesy of Juliska

I'm dithering over doors. Two-panel raised panel (left), three-panel flat panel (middle), two-panel flat panel (right); courtesy of Mountaintop Enterprises The two-panel raised panel door (left) is what our builder used when pricing our house. Other doors are called Shaker style panels or slab panel doors. Which do you prefer two panels or three? And, oh yes, they are more expensive than the standard door.

I wanted a simple, yet traditional fireplace. This is almost it. Almost perfect fireplace; courtesy of Southern Living We'll be using a vent-free gas fireplace instead of wood burning. The mantel will be stained to match the kitchen island. Instead of a marble surround, we'll use tile from Walker Zanger. Duquesa Catarina decorative ceramic tile in Aqua ; courtesy of Walker Zanger

Let the lot clearing commence! The man-sized "toys" have arrived. Equipment used to clear our lot; personal collection

Surprisingly, I didn't have strong feelings about the staircase to the Bonus Room. TAB included this staircase in the contract. So it's the one we'll use. Staircase; courtesy TAB Premium Built Homes

TAB used their standard casing and trim package when they priced our house. When we were in North Carolina in April, we visited their supplier, JAK Moulding & Supply in Walstonburg, and got samples. Door and window casing (left), crown molding (top) and baseboard (bottom); personal collection We like the crown molding and baseboard trim but are looking for something more simple with less grooves for the door and window casing. We're not willing to pay extra, however, for plainer trim. So we will see what TAB can find.