River House Diary

I believe I’ve found the fabric for our Pantry sink skirt. P. Kaufman Buffalo Check fabric in Seabreeze ; courtesy of Online Fabric Store The pantry will have open shelves because we didn’t want to pay for cabinets in this room. But it also has an under-mount sink where I will hand wash things that can’t go in the dishwasher. This means the the front of the sink and the associated plumbing would be visible when you enter the pantry. A sink skirt will cover up all that not pretty stuff. Pantry sink skirt fabric sample and backsplash tile; personal collection I got the idea from the For the Love of a House blog post about her kitchen  (last photo).

Our paint selections were due to our builder yesterday. So I asked Zuniga Interiors if they thought we would be using any more paint and wallpaper then I already knew about. And they sent this beauty as a wallpaper option for Bedroom 2. I had no idea dandelions could be so pretty! Carolyn Light Blue Dandelion Wallpaper by Advantage; courtesy of Home Depot

The bank loan inspector says the foundation is complete and the house is 20.25 percent finished. Pete says he's ready to move in. I'm holding out for hot water, electricity, and a roof at the very least. And I wonder if the 0.25 percent isn’t a bit of false precision. Standing in front of the garage looking towards the river; courtesy of Trinity Inspection Services, LLC

Today our builder sent a new photo. They are prepping the garage for the concrete pour. Framing materials will be delivered next week, and the framers are supposed to begin work before the 4th of July holiday. Standing in what will be the back entry hall looking towards the garage; courtesy of Austin Bayliss

Because you can never have too many table linens. Of course I got placemats and napkins, too. Pottery Barn's Le Mer 16" x 90" Table Runner in Blue/Aqua ; courtesy of Pottery Barn

We have five exterior double doors in the house -- the front entry doors, doors to the workshop area of the garage, two pairs of French doors in the Great Room and a slider in Bedroom 3.  When you have double doors, you have to decide which door of the pair will be active, or movable, by default. We are following the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) theory of decision making for this one. We're following what our builder and Pella representative recommend. Red stars indicate which door will be active; courtesy of Austin Bayliss

Our house plan specifies twelve 2870 windows and three 3070 windows. This is secret code to the average homeowner, but can be cracked using this decryption device . 2870 = 32" x 84" 3070 = 40" x 84" Seven-foot tall windows! That's big. And it turns out Pella doesn't make them. Well they do, but the horizontal thingie, or sash, would not be centered top to bottom. Who would want that? Not us. Single hung 2-over-2 window with even sash; courtesy of the London Sash Company So we are going with shorter windows, which will be 6-feet tall. We don't think it will affect the view of the river at all.

Our builder sent some photographs of the work on our house and our foundation is almost complete. Four rows of cinder block were included in the contract. Because of the slope of the lot, our house has seven rows. We have to pay for those extra three rows. Another cha-ching! And we're really starting to cut into my "pretty" budget. On the good news front, this should be the last of the "known unknown" price adjustments. Our house as of 21 June 2019; courtesy Austin Bayliss

I sent the completed questionnaire to Zuniga Interiors for our upstairs Bonus Room. It will be a multi-functional room serving as an office for Pete, a hobby room for me, and space for overnight overflow guests. We need many linear feet for filing cabinets (Pete's paperwork). Here are some inspiration photos I collected. The Murphy bed pulls down from the wall and the nightstands are "drawers" that pull out when needed. So clever! Murphy bed in a family room; courtesy of Laura Stein Interiors The built-ins cabinets could work with the sloped ceilings for file cabinets. Bedroom with built-in dresser; courtesy of Whitten Architects Perhaps a sitting area in the alcove? The wallpaper on the ceiling is a nice touch. Sitting area; courtesy of Anthony Catalfano Interiors Double desks since we're sharing the office. Double desks; courtesy of Odyssey Wordworks But perhaps a T shaped desk for two works better? T-shaped desk; courtesy of Niche ...

I sent the completed questionnaire to Zuniga Interiors today for our Great Room Interiors To-Go design. Here are some of the inspiration photos I included. I like the furniture placement. Margaret Donaldson designed living room; courtesy of Margaret Donaldson Interiors I like everything about this room Phoebe Howard designed for Southern Living's 2013 Idea House. Phoebe Howard designed living room; courtesy of Phoebe Howard These colors...beautiful! An Alexandra Rae designed living room; courtesy of Alexandra Rae Interior Design

I have these cane glasses in a darker color so these will be nice to mix and match. We love the woven "sleeves" as they act as coasters. Pottery Barn's Cane Drinkware Collection; courtesy of Pottery Barn

We had a mishap with our shower curtain. Don't ask! The replacement is this UGG Napa Collection shower curtain in Agave. It will live in the Bonus Bath in our new home. UGG Napa Yarn-dyed Stripe Shower Curtain in Agave ; courtesy of Bed Bath & Beyond Of course, the change required new towels. UGG Napa Jacquard Bath Towels ; courtesy of Bed Bath & Beyond

When I ask Zuniga Interiors a question, I always get a beautiful answer. Here's the solution to my cabinet conundrum. Cabinets over refrigeration columns; courtesy of Zuniga Interiors (source unknown) What was the problem? Those short, squatty upper cabinets above the refrigeration columns that don't align with the appliance widths. Elevation drawing of refrigerator/freezer wall; courtesy of JAK Moulding & Supply Those cabinets really bothered me. When we visited the cabinet supplier in May to complete the outstanding items related to our order, we talked about the squatty cabinets. Working under the premise the cabinets would be operable, there just wasn't a good CabCraft solution. So we didn't change anything. But they continued to bother me, and I finally did what I should have done in the beginning. I emailed Zuniga Interiors. They pointed out the appliances were 7 feet tall and those cabinets would be difficult to access. They suggested using ...

And just like that I'm over "dark and moody" and back to coastal. That's what I love about good interior designers; they keep you on track.  The walls will be painted Magnolia Home Pearly Cotton (MAG041), the built-in cabinets will be Sherwin Williams Aquitaine (SW9057), and the door and window casing will be Magnolia Home True White (MAG008) Den design concept; courtesy of Zuniga Interiors The Den is 11'6" deep by 14'0" wide with 1'6" deep built-in cabinets along one wall. It has double pocket doors with glass panels that adjoin the foyer. Den furniture placement; courtesy of Zuniga Interiors Ethan Allen's Borini and Marcus distressed plaid fabric; personal collection For those who like details: Ethan Allen Graham Recliner in Borini Straw Ethan Allen Bentley Chair in Borini Straw Ethan Allen Bentley Ottoman in Marcus Seaglass distressed plaid Century Funiture Matilda Bay round commode (no longer available) Ba...

The paint and stain colors for most our river house will be from Sherwin Williams. Sherwin Williams custom blend to match Magnolia Home Pearly Cotton (MAG041) for most of the main level of the house; courtesy of ACE Hardware Sherwin Williams custom blend to match Magnolia Home Carter Creme for the upper level of our house; courtesy of ACE Hardware Sherwin Williams custom blend to match Magnolia Home True White (MAG008) for casing and trim; courtesy of ACE Hardware