River House Diary

The cabinets in the Laundry Room will be painted off-white and I wanted a subtle pattern for the countertops in white, off-white, cream or beige. We selected laminate counters as a cost-savings measure and chose this WilsonArt pattern. The name of the pattern is Drama Marble, which has me a little concerned but the sample looks perfect. Laminate countertop for Laundry Room; personal collection

The countertop in the Bonus Bath, or upstairs bathroom, is plain white cultured marble with a molded rectangular sink. Hard to go wrong with white! Countertop for Bonus Bath; personal collection The vanity will have weathered wood finish instead of painted as in the photo.

Our lot is only 97 feet wide with 7.5-foot drainage setbacks on each side so the buildable area is 82 feet wide. And we are using almost every foot. A long, narrow house plan would fit the lot better; but then not as many rooms in the house could have river views. House location survey; personal collection

I originally wanted quartz countertops throughout the house, but the cost was prohibitive. So we chose cultured marble countertops for Bath 2 -- the guest bath -- and the Bonus Bath, which is upstairs. Today, we went back to JAK Moulding & Supply to discuss the cabinets over our Thermador refrigeration units. While we were there, I photographed our countertop selections. We chose Classic FHS in a honed finish, whatever that is, for Bath 2. My objective throughout the house was to choose subtle patterns with little detail for countertops since they were not the star of the room designs. Countertop selection for Bath 2; personal collection

Another gray area in the contract in terms of price was the cost of site preparation. Because of the recovery efforts during the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, the site preparation subcontractor was too busy to prepare a quote for the job. So our builder added an estimated amount to the contract we signed, and Pete and I added 50 percent of that estimate to our budget as a cushion in case we needed it. And, boy, did we. Who knew there was such a thing as bad dirt? Well, there is. Our old, bad dirt didn't drain. There is also a spring on the lot that may require a French drain. After 86 dump truck loads of new, good dirt, we can start on the foundation. Instead of a 50 percent cushion, it should have been 150 percent. Big cha-ching! Site preparation; courtesy of Ted Jennings

I did not want to move the microwave, but for safety reasons -- and I am a klutz -- I understand. The original plans called for the microwave to be above the double ovens. Cooktop kitchen wall with double ovens and the microwave above; courtesy of House Plan Zone And we even saw this configuration when we started appliance shopping in New York, though the ovens were not the same size. Double ovens and microwave configuration at Earl B. Feiden, Inc.; personal collection But our cabinet designer was having none of it. So I caved after puling just a bit, and we moved the microwave to the island. New location of the microwave; courtesy of JAK Moulding & Supply

When we drove by the lot this morning, we saw a mystery box. What could it be? Mystery box; personal collection The porta-potty is not the mystery! The wooden thing is. When we met with TAB later in the week, we learned is for building debris recycling. TAB's workers put all the debris in the box and the refuse company picks it up, sorts it, and takes it to various places that will buy it or recycle it. Every little bit helps our environment.

My brother has graciously agreed to be our receiving department for items we are ordering ourselves, but I was trying to keep his hassle factor to a minimum. Restoration Hardware's website said the vanity and sink for the Half Bath typically ships in three to ten days. So I ordered it ten days before we arrived in New Bern. But our vanity didn't arrive until several days after we had returned to New York. Sorry Ted! Restoration Weather Oak Single Console Washstand ; courtesy Restoration Hardware

Our Kitchen was the first room Zuniga Interiors designed for us and I am still swooning over the backsplash tile. Maiolica 3" x 12" ceramic tile in Aqua Crackled; courtesy Roca Tile USA The original design called for a second tile above the cooktop as a decorative element using a cement encaustic tile. Pacific Classic Collection Mahlia II; courtesy of Cement Tile Shop I've never been wild about different tile designs over the range. So we planned to use the cement tile as the backsplash in the pantry. Then we read about how high maintenance encaustic cement tile is and changed our minds about using it. We're repeating the Maiolica tile in the Pantry since it will be visible from the kitchen.

Our Master Bath doesn't have a bathtub but it does have a large shower. Zuniga Interiors designed a coastal inspired spa for us with a wainscot look in the shower. Master Bath tile; personal collection The large tile is Bedrosians Tile & Stone Winter 8" x 24" wall tile in Beige . It will be installed from the shower floor to 6 feet high. At the 6-foot mark, the Jeffrey Court 3/4" x 12" Royal Cream Gloss liner tile will be installed. From the liner tile to the ceiling will be Oceanside Glass & Tile Tessera Meridian Mosaic glass tile in a custom blend. We'll use the Tessera 1" x 1" Mosaic in the shower niches and for the vanity backsplash. Whether we can actually pull the trigger on this design depends on the state of our budget. We might have to tweak the design and omit the 3-foot band of glass tile on the shower wall. If we do, it will be a sad day for me.

I just love how this tile shimmers! We're using it in the Half Bath on the toilet-sink wall from floor to ceiling. Daltile Premier Accents Pearl Herringbone stone mosaic wall tile; courtesy of Home Depot The rest of the walls will be papered in Kenneth James Juan Chan grasscloth in Taupe. Kenneth James Juan Chan wallpaper in Taupe; courtesy of Amazon.com

We are using tile on the floors, above the tub/shower, and as a backsplash behind the faucets (instead of the standard 4" backsplash made of the countertop material). We're going with a trendy wood-look mosaic for the floor -- Daltile Emerson Wood  3D Cube Mosaic in Hickory Pecan. Emerson wood 3D Cube Mosaic in Ash White; courtesy of Daltile Hickory Pecan is a dark wood look. The tub/shower tile surround and backsplash is Bedrosian Tile & Stone Costa Allegro floor and wall 1" x 2" mini brick mosaic in Tide. Costa Allegro 1" x 2" mini brick floor and wall tile mosaic in Tide; courtesy of Bedrosians Tile & Stone It is perfect with the wallpaper we are using one the wall above the backsplash.

When I worked with Zuniga Interiors on flooring selections, I asked them to use tile from a company that distributes nationally. And they did, but TAB's tile supplier doesn't carry Bedrosians Tile & Stone. We're still working through that issue. Since the Master Bath, Master Closet and Laundry Room are all accessible to each other, we chose Bedrosians 12" x 24" Purestone floor and wall tile in Beige for all three rooms. The shower floor will be the same tile but in 1" x 2" mosaic. Purestone floor and wall tile in Beige (not a good color representation); courtesy of Bedrosians Tile & Stone

Wall-to-wall carpeting is less expensive than hardwood and doesn't require area rugs. It does trap dust and dirt, though, so can be difficult to live with if you have allergies as I do. We decided to use wall-to-wall carpeting sparingly -- only in the guest bedrooms and the Bonus Room. This is the carpet for Bedroom 2 and Bedroom 3. Urban Escape (9595) in Contented (229) courtesy of Masland Carpets Since the color theme upstairs will be a little more vibrant than on the main level, we chose the same carpet in a different color for the Bonus room. Urban Escape (9595) in Rushing (226); courtesy of Masland Carpets I'm hoping there is enough in our budget to have a stair runner made in the Rushing carpet.

Pete was determined to have wide plank hardwood floors. Because of the high humidity in the south, our builder recommended engineered hardwood for planks over 4 inches wide. Zuniga Interiors recommended the Alta Vista Collection from Hallmark Floors. We appreciated the generous widths and lengths, the color variation, the low sheen finish, and the 4mm-thick wear bar. Hallmark Floors Alta Vista Collection in Ojai Oak ; courtesy of Hallmark Floors The flooring will be installed in the foyer, den, great room, kitchen, pantry, half bath and master bedroom -- most of the main level of the house.

When I said I wanted a dark and moody Den, Zuniga Interiors took me at my word and suggested Sherwin Williams 9059 Silken Peacock. Sherwin Williams 9059 Silken Peacock; courtesy of SherwinWilliams.com I wasn't prepared to go that dark! What a whimp. I chose 9057 Aquitaine instead. Sherwin Williams 9057 Aquitaine; courtesy of SherwinWilliams.com