River House Diary

We ordered two ceiling lights for Bath 2 from Home Depot. They were from the Home Decorators Collection, a company that makes designer knock-off home goods. The quality of their products was always hit or miss but I assumed that would improve after Home Depot bought the company. I was wrong. Bath 2 ceiling lights; courtesy of Home Depot When the electricians unboxed the 13" 4-Light Semi-Flush Mount with Crystal Ball Shade  lights, they discovered about half of the crystal ball mounting hooks had fallen off the balls. As they were assembling the fixture, several more hooks fell off and some were missing. Crystal ball with broken mounting hooks; personal collection Of course, since we'd purchased the lights in April of last year, returning them was no longer possible -- one of the dangers of purchasing items one's self instead of through the contractor.

I'm not sure how a manufacturer ships a mirror without all the necessary hardware, but that's what Pottery Barn did when they shipped the smaller Vintage Pivot Mirror for the Bonus Bath. I ordered it in mid-December to correct the first bathroom mirror mistak e I made. Mirror issue; courtesy of Austin Bayliss Pottery Barn has a 30-day return policy so we own the larger mirror we can’t use. We’ve cannibalized it by taking the hardware and hoping it works on the smaller mirror. Hopefully it will work and I don’t have to by a third mirror!

Yesterday I had a plan to use the capiz shell mirrors we already owned in the Master Bath because they were more narrow than the too-wide mirrors that had to be hung off-center from the faucets in order to fit. When the mirrors were propped up in the shower, they looked like the colors matched the tile. On the wall ... not so much. I thought they looked too yellow in relationship with the bronze translucent tile in the glass tile mosaic backsplash. And the mirror on the left still looked jammed into the corner. So on to Plan C. Capiz shell mirrors in the Master Bath; personal collection

Apparently the answer depends on how many bathrooms there are in her house ... or my house. To date, I'm batting 750% -- three mistakes out of four bathrooms. And that's only because we haven't gotten to the last bathroom yet. My two previous mistakes were: Oops! The Mirror Is Too Big Bath 2 (Guest Bath) Screw Up My third mistake was in the Master Bath. Again, like Bath 2, the mirrors were too wide. 30"x40" Hamilton Hills mirrors in the master bath; personal collection If I would have taken this photograph from a straight-on position, one would note the left mirror isn't centered on the faucet because there wasn't room. It's about a half-inch off center. The mirrors that were too wide for Bath 2 are more narrow -- 28" wide by 40" high. Would they work in the Master Bath? Capiz shell mirror option; personal collection Yes, we decided they would work in our bathroom just fine. They will still be too wide in my opi...

You may remember I took advantage of the Cyber Monday sales to purchase an area rug for the Den and a mirror for the Foyer . The boxes arrived undamaged and we transferred them to our storage unit until our contractor needed to hang the mirror. And today was the day. They opened the box and discovered the mirror was broken. Broken mirror; courtesy Austin Bayliss I purchased the mirror from Wayfair . I read their return policy and learned it was 30 days but exceptions may be made in the case of damage or defective merchandise. I used the chat feature to send the above photo and within a few minutes, a replacement had been ordered with expedited shipping to arrive tomorrow. It’s hard to provide better customer service than that. Thank you Wayfair!

As a cost savings measure we chose to go with a stucco foundation instead of one faced with brick or stone. I very much wanted to use tabby concrete , but apparently it is a lost art as our builder couldn’t Locate any cement contractors that knew how to make and apply it. We chose the Driftwood color for the final finish coat of stucco and it was applied last week while the hardwood floors were being stained. Foundation stucco applied Saturday; personal collection

We've been locked out of the house this week as the floor guys sand and stain our hardwood floors. As a result I've spent too much time on the Internet shopping. A new discovery is the Seashell Company , which has a lot of coastal decorative items. My latest acquisition -- a "treasure" box. Seashell box; courtesy of the Seashell Co.

We said we wouldn't buy anything for the Great Room until we were in the house, but Ballard Designs Presidents' Day sale lasting through midnight yesterday tempted us. We purchased two Shiloh Spool Chairs with a walnut finish and Sunbrella Dimple Sand fabric. Shiloh Spool Chair in Walnut with Sunbrella Dimple Sand fabric; courtesy of Ballard Designs Every chair needs a pillow, right? Of course they do. We purchased two 20" W x 12" H lumbar pillow covers in Suzanne Kasler Signature Linen Cote Stripe Sky. Suzanne Kasler Signature Linen Cote Stripe in Sky pillow covers; courtesy of Ballard Designs

Bath 2 has double sinks and we designed the vanity wall to include three single-light sconces and two mirrors. We already owned the mirrors, which had capiz shell frames -- perfect for a coastal look. Capiz frame mirrors hanging behind the bar of our Oakton house; personal collection When the electricians were at River House last week to install the sconces in Bath 2, we discovered a big problem and one I had made before in the Bonus Bath upstairs  -- the mirrors at 28" wide by 40" high were too big for the space. Here's the issue: The vanity from wall to wall is 70-3/4" wide. There is 5-1/2" of counter before the outside edge of the sink and each sink is 17" wide. That means the center of the sink is 8-1/2" from the outside edge. 5-1/2" + 8-1/2" = 14". Oops! The edge of a 28" mirror would be jammed in the corner; never mind there being no room for two sconces (one on the outside of each mirror). Again, like the Bonus B...

Our builder has selected our home as one of their entries for the New Bern Parade of Homes 2020 sponsored by the New Bern Home Builders Association. The judging takes place on April 15. Our house will be open to the public on two weekends -- April 25 and 26 and May 2 and 3. We hope to see you there! Courtesy of New Bern Home Builders Association

We contracted with landscape designer Maryanne White to develop a preliminary plan for River House. We could not afford to implement the entire plan right away and decided to install, a cobblestone driveway border, front walkway, foundation plantings, a retaining wall at the back of the house and sod to stabilize the slope to the river as quickly as possible. We're working with Kevin Faulkner of Eastern Carolina Lawn Care , who came highly recommended by our builder. Everything was pretty clear in the quote, except which plants were considered "foundation" plants. An exercise in coloring cleared that right up with one email exchange. Foundation plants for River House; courtesy of Kevin Faulkner

Pete and I agreed to concentrate on furnishing the Den (or man cave), Master Bedroom and Kitchen before we moved in so we'd have those rooms in which we could live comfortably while working on the rest of the house. We purchased a kitchen table and chairs from Williams Sonoma Home in August, taking advantage of last year's Labor Day sales. We used current President's Day sales to finish the kitchen. Kitchen furniture and furnishings; personal collection Lexington Furniture Monterey Sands Sideboard Kimpton Upholstered Button Tufted Wingback Chair by iNSPIRE Q Artisan in Beige Bentley Weathered Brown Wood Buffet Lamps, Set of 2

Selecting counter stools for River House has turned into quite the ordeal. My first choice, the St. Martin from Williams Sonoma Home, was no longer available when I tried ordering it in December. after some dithering, I selected the Ibiza stool from the same source. Williams Sonoma Home was even offering 30% off for President’s Day. I got all the way through the ordering process before the electronic commerce app informed me the stools were no longer available. A customer service rep told me they would not be restocked. Ibiza Counter Stool; courtesy of Williams Sonoma Home What is our third choice? Zuniga Interiors sent several possibilities and Pete settled on the only one that swivels — the Avalon from Serena & Lily. I’m not wild about the color but at least they were also on sale and in stock. One more item checked off the shopping list! Avalon Swivel Counter Stool; courtesy Serena & Lily

Our kitchen appliances were installed earlier this week. It’s starting to look like a kitchen now. The Thermador columns without their skins look like something my brother’s custom refrigeration company would make. Refrigerator, freezer and wine chiller; personal collection I very much wanted the microwave above the double ovens but the cabinet designer was having none of it. I imagine for safety reasons. Wall ovens; personal collection Microwave and dishwasher in the island; personal collection

Yesterday installers from SCREENEZE positioned the screening for our rear porch. It’s amazing to me the screens require no other support than shown here. We’d have an unobstructed view of the river if we didn’t need railing as required by code for safety. Screening for the rear porch; personal collection

Tuesday we drove to the Ethan Allen store in Wilmington and ordered two recliners for Pete’s man cave, also known as the den. We’ve invested hours and several gallons of gas driving hither and yon for months in order to make sure Pete had the recliner he could live with comfort-wise and one I could tolerate the style. I believe we’ve done it with the Aiden recliner. Aiden recliner; courtesy of Ethan Allen Zuniga Interiors specified the Borini fabric in Straw, which is a small herringbone pattern. Borini Straw fabric; courtesy of Ethan Allen

The painters finished up Monday and all the protective plastic is gone so we had a chance to see how the master bathroom was coming together. We love how all the tile works together to evoke sand and shells of the coast in a calm, tranquil spa retreat. Master bath shower; personal collection Master bath vanity; personal collection

Zuniga Interiors recommended the tongue-and-groove ceilings in the kitchen and foyer and the great room ceiling beams be stained a light wood like Hallmark Floors Balboa Oak . And it is beautiful. But the yellow pine wood our builder used on the ceilings didn't look anything like that when stained with several different Minwax colors. So on to Plan B -- evoking the feel of an old southern porch with white trim and haint blue ceilings. Great room ceiling; personal collection The tongue-and-groove ceilings are stained with one coat of Minwax Simply White. We planned to stain the beams the same, but the wood absorbed the stain very unevenly. So we ended up painting them a custom Sherwin Williams blend to match Magnolia Home True White, which is what we used on all the trim in the house. The ceiling is Sherwin Williams 9054 Little Boy Blu but just 30 percent of the color.

The concrete crew worked Saturday afternoon to prepare the driveway for its concrete pour. Driveway before concrete pour; personal collection

I wanted a traditional mantel but it wasn’t to be and I am so glad I didn’t get one. I love the tile surround and the espresso stained chunky mantel. Finished fireplace; personal collection

I could not find a Minwax stain that looked like Hallmark Floors Balboa Oak on yellow pine wood for the tongue-and-groove ceilings in the foyer and kitchen and beams in the great room. We decided to whitewash the wood instead, using one coat of Minwax’s Simply White. The ceiling in the great room will be painted 50 percent of Sherwin Williams 9054, Little Boy Blu, hopefully evoking old southern porch ceilings. Kitchen ceiling; personal collection

The paint color for the Den built-ins exceeded our expectations. Simply goregous. Den built-in cabinets; personal collection

Billowy Breeze — don’t you just love the names of paint colors. It’s Sherwin Williams 9055. Zuniga Interiors wanted us to paint only one wall two paint chips darker than this color as a feature wall, but we decided to paint the entire bedroom instead. Billowy Breeze; courtesy of Sherwin Williams This is how one coat looks on the walls of our master bedroom. Master bedroom wall color; personal collection

We changed our minds about the stain for the hardwood floors and went from Minwax Copper Brown to Minwax Sawyer. We’re looking for a medium brown with enough contrast from Espresso — the dark stain of the kitchen island, great room shelves and fireplace mantel — and no red, gold or orange undertone. They put one coat of stain on the floor before the appliances and plumbing fixtures are installed. One coat of Minwax Sawyer stain in half bath; personal collection

Pete and I have both been uncomfortable with the thought of ordering our window treatments online as we would be responsible for measuring and installing. We asked our builder's interior designer if she had recommendations for a workroom we could use, and she directed us to McQueen's Interiors in Morehead City. We are working with Beth Cantrell. She must have loved us. We walk in off the street extremely windblown, carrying a 3-ring binder and two plastic bags filled with carpet and tile samples and fabric. But after selecting treatments for 21 windows, crafting a cushion for our closet bench and reupholstering a bench and a chair, I think she really loves us now! The woven shades Zuniga selected for the kitchen were now longer available, but this looks like a great replacement -- just perfect. Window treatments selected for four kitchen windows; personal collection A bonus for us -- the sideboard Zuniga Interiors specified for the eat-in area of the kitchen is on sale...