Remodel Update

So yeah, the month of May is about gone and I swear the remodel house hasn't seen much accomplished. One big pain in the butt problem was the hardwood floors in the old original part of the structure. We had three separate hardwoods in there, so we found a great replacement, had it delivered and stored it for installation. But when they took it out of the boxes at the beginning of the month to let it get acclimatized, we were unhappy to discover there were huge variations in the stain. To the point where it looked as if it was something completely different from what we ordered, or two different dye colors. In addition, the boxes were labeled as a different type of wood than what we ordered.

However, none of that seemed to matter to the flooring company where we purchased it. We then spent the next ten days wrangling with Carlson Flooring that refused to stand behind their product and make sure the customer (ME!) was satisfied. Long story short, the company basically stole a 25% restocking fee from us when we attempted to have them right the problem with their manufacturer. There was lots of excuses and backpedaling and lying and acting as if they had no other choice but to charge us the 2K. And I was dealing with the owner's son and then the owner the entire time, not some flunky.

It was all super frustrating, as you can imagine. And losing almost $2K was crazy. I can't help but wonder if we're the first folks they pulled this my hands are tied routine with. Needless to say, we took the money they returned to us (minus that restocking fee they never mentioned in any of their paperwork) and now we're waiting on delivery of a different product from another building materials company that's even prettier than what we originally though we were purchasing with that other poorly run flooring company. Our new hardwoods are coming from the same place where we purchased all of the tile for our bathrooms. 

Hopefully we'll get back on track for a late July move-in. I'm getting tired of living like squatters in our rental and ready to get settled. Meanwhile... the search for furnishings continues. Some of the house will be outfitted with our current items, but we will need some new pieces to complete the transitional look we're aiming for with this remodel. 

Thus far the new high school junior has a tufted headboard, nightstands, and makeup table ordered. We're reupholstering her swivel barrel chair and have selected a dresser we'll order a bit closer to the move date. I'm happy her room is falling into place thanks to our amazing decorator. This woman works wonders with the teen. I suggested a custom tufted headboard, but all I got was disdain and the icky, ugly face. However, when the decorator suggested the exact same thing, the junior was all peachy keen and sounds great. Same with the dresser. The round pulls on the one I suggested were weird and ugly. When the decorator told her it was a cool and contemporary look, then she was all in with ordering it. I have to admit, I'm digging the teen's color scheme of gray and blush with navy accents.

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Deciding on decor

I've just about finished with the selection and purchase of all materials for the remodel. So I've recently moved on to considering decor. We don't need a whole house full, thank heavens, but we do need some key pieces in the entertaining spaces so we aren't lounging on plastic chairs from Walmart. 

I ordered a four cushion sofa for the family room, with a matching tufted bench and two swivel chairs that the husband loves. He really got into lounging in the swivel chair we had in our England house. With that done, I've switched my mental power and search efforts to a coffee table. Something sculptural with a glass top is what I have in mind. I found the cool one below and fell in love, but of course it's not longer manufactured. Thanks, Pinterest, for teasing me with that one.

This one is my runner up at the moment. Not as fabulous, but still visually interesting. And very affordable. 

The wrong side of the tracks

This morning I wandered into the area just north of downtown for a meeting, an area I seldom frequent, and got stopped at a train crossing. A very slow moving choo-choo made its way past us. I can't even remember the last time this happened to me. Upside - I had the chance to send a text or two while waiting for it to clear the tracks.

Happy 22!

The soon-to-be graduate student turned 22 this week. We celebrated a bit early on Sunday after church at a local restaurant, but then I made a brisket meal and got some cupcakes from a local shop on the day of to mark it. She shares the same birthday with her daddy. It seems like eons ago since she was born in Boston. The husband skipped his law school classes that day. We played Trivial Pursuit while the Pitocin dripped and the contractions got progressively worse. No epidurals for me... not that I'm opposed. The caudal spaces in my spine are just really narrow and so all I got was a hit of pain meds in my IV to take the edge off. 

She got a bit of a rough start in life with some medical issues, but she has persevered. We'll move her 1300 miles from home in early July to get settled before grad school kicks in. I look forward to seeing where this path she's on takes her in the coming years. 

The Doors

They're not particularly sexy and hip, but oh so necessary. We have a couple different types of original doors in the remodel, so today I plunked down some cash to order Shaker style single panel replacements that will help pull the design together. Bedroom doors, closet doors, pantry doors. And these contemporary looking Schlage doorknobs I really like in satin nickel. The only door still swinging in the unordered breeze is the barn door. The one our fabricator designed was just plain boring and it's in a very visible spot leading off the open concept living area into the master bedroom suite. So I'm gonna think about it some more. Maybe consider something out of wood and glass. Maybe toss in some stainless steel accents, too.

Fireplace & Fan Friday

Yesterday I was rocking the alliteration on social media posts. Suicidal Squirrels. Fan Friday. I'm a former English teacher - what can I say. I've always loved to play with figurative language.

I've recently hit the remodel wall and am about ready to break out the little kid whine, "Are we there done yet?" The good news is that I'm about finished selecting and shelling out cash for the "hard" selects. All that remains are doors, knobs and the herringbone tile backsplash for the secondary bathrooms. We're waiting for the final estimates to wrap that up and move forward to furnishings/decor. Thankfully a lot of our current furniture will work in the new digs, and we'll only need a few key anchor pieces.

So back to yesterday... I paid for the last of the lights and fans. Then designed custom closets with the organization guru whereupon my inner OCD freak was thrilled beyond belief. Finally, I got to see the front room's new fireplace facade. The split face rock turned vertically is an interesting twist that makes it more contemporary and I'm really digging it.

The Pool Cabana, remastered

It's official... we're over budget on the remodel. Which I figure most fixer-uppers face. But we're WELL over what we initially wanted to allot to the updating. And then even more over what I thought would be the *real* price we'd pay to get everything done. Forget that early retirement at 55, honey. You're gonna be working well beyond that to pay for this 1950s to 1990s to 2017 spruce up on our property.

The cabana, AKA man cave, is just about finished. They still have some final things on the punch list to address, but it's nothing big. Here are some pics from the last couple weeks of how it's morphing into a more modern look to match the main house.

I'm just wondering how long it will take for the teen to step in and claim the cabana as her own personal entertaining space for friends. Sofas, a full kitchen, bathroom, TV and pool table. I figure she'll end up getting lots of friends in there for movie nights, sleepovers and tons of giggling over the next few years. And I'm happy about that, even if the husband has to fight her for cabana time... making memories in this house before she fledges the (now) overpriced house for college.