River House Diary

The countertop for the upstairs bathroom was installed the day before yesterday. It's plain white cultured marble with an integrated sink so pretty hard to screw up. You can tell this was the most inexpensive bath to outfit -- no special backsplash, no separate undermount sink and a 4-inch spread faucet. Cultured marble countertop with integrated sink; personal collection

The countertop in the guest bath was installed yesterday. After the laundry room countertop fiasco, this was the one I was so worried about, we visited the manufacturer to double check . Cultured marble countertop from CreeKraft; personal collection

The master shower was designed as a wainscot with large field tile installed from the floor to 6 feet up the wall and glass tile mosaic sheets installed above to the ceiling. The glass tile was a bit of a splurge and had very specific installation instructions. A bright white thinset was required so the translucent nature of some of the tiles was not distorted. Based on some of the dark spots that are showing through the tile before it is grouted, we question whether the installation instructions were followed. Glass tile mosaic sheets before grouting; personal collection Glass tile mosaic before grouting; personal collection How this issue gets fixed, I have no idea.

I've been using the Christmas sales to purchase the soft furnishings that will bring blue into our existing Master Bedroom interior design. Christmas sale purchases for Master Bedroom; personal collection Lili Alessandra Chloe Single Reversible Coverlet in Blue Seafoam Magnolia Eastern Accents Geometric Euro Pillow Textured Solid Square Throw Pillow with Jute Border Solid Cashmere Throw, Seafoam Jamie Young Medium Clear Plum Jar Table Lamp

I’ve always wanted a traditional fireplace and fought hard to have one in River House. It was going to look something like this but the marble would be tile. However, the dimensions of the space prevented that idea. Instead, the fireplace surround would be all tile. We got to see the tile being laid yesterday. Once grouted, we think it will look fantastic. Fireplace tile; personal collection

There is something so decadent about having a closet designed specifically for your clothes, shoes and accessories. The California Closets option Zuniga Interiors designed was practically perfect but very expensive. Instead, the trim carpenters used that layout to custom build our closet. Our closet is between the garage and master bath and is accessible from that bathroom and the laundry room. Looking towards the garage; personal collection Looking towards the master bath; personal collection Looking towards the laundry room; personal collection Closet island provided by cabinetmaker; personal collection

The trim carpenters started installing the tongue-and-groove ceiling in the kitchen. It will be stained. We are also using tongue-and-groove on the foyer ceiling. This was a splurge Pete allowed me to include in the budget but when he saw it on the ceiling, he was most excited and thinks it will look great. Tongue-and-groove ceiling in kitchen; personal collection