leap of faith

i am finally getting around to posting about my front door....(FINALLY!)and despite all of the very enthusiastic votes for "stuart gold", i opted for "leap of faith."

i know, i know!
don't get mad at me! i absolutely love it when you all take time to give me your opinions, and i value them very much! i actually loved the way stuart gold looked, but i liked the depth or leap of faith just a bit more. it was a bit darker and moodier, and i am THRILLED with the way it looks.



the door was actually painted before we left on our trip, and i have been dying to show you, but i was waiting until we had the door hardware on. things kept coming up to delay the installation, (snow, we didn't have the right tools on hand, a piece of the door knob was missing in action, and (of course) football. i mean, who wants to install a door knob when there is an exciting football game to watch? answer? not my husband.)

i took these pictures with my phone the morning we left on our thanksgiving trip (more on that later!), and it is a good thing i did! there was a snow storm while we were gone, and we have been hit with another storm since we got home---there is now close to 18" of snow in our yard! i haven't wanted to brave standing in the snow in order to get some better pictures.

after 6 months of having a temporary knob on the front door, i am so happy to finally have the "real" front door handle set installed.

thanks again for your patience! i can't wait to show y'all some highlights of our trip, and i have a fun and easy christmas project to share as well. my posting has been a little sparse, i know--the whole computer situation is now partially resolved with my new laptop, but of course then we ran into another issue when we got home--our internet was ssss----l---oooo--w. like, REALLY slow!  because of the location of our house, our options for internet are limited. we decided to go with a company that requires a dish on the side of the house, which is great, UNTIL you have a snow storm...or snow gets in the dish---and then the speed of the  connection slows tremendously. UGH. i wanted to write a post the day we got home (last thursday), but it was taking a full minute or two to open a page. i think things are finally back to normal! lets just hope that we don't get another snow storm!

$16 urn makeover

i love a good urn, filled with plants and flowers spilling out over the edges...
in fact, i have a whole pinterest board dedicated to window boxes and containers, with lovely pictures like this:

my urns have been sitting empty for several months now. i usually fill them around mothers day, but things have been so hectic that i never got around to it. i finally decided that i needed a spot of color in the front of my house. the first order of business? sprucing up the urns a bit.



these urns are made of resin, which a LOT of planters and urns are made from these days. this is a great material because it is lightweight, and can mimic the look of cast iron and ceramic very well. my pots are supposed to look like cast iron, but over the last few years, they have started to wear down and the finish is coming off in some places. i found the perfect paint to make to help restore that cast iron look to my urns: a semi flat black spray paint. (i used the cheapest one i could find.) total cost per urn? $1. the semi flat paint has a very subtle sheen and does a great job of mimicking cast iron.

to fill the pots, i bought some potting soil ($5 per urn/$10 total), and went to lowes to see what they had. i will be honest....the selection was pretty slim. not at all like is is in late may or early june. however, i did manage to find some lavender ($5 per pot), and some mixed petunias (a bargain at $6 per  pot, considering how large they are). i usually like to mix at least 4 different kinds of flowers in my urns, and mix in some herbs as well, but i figured this year i would go a little more simple and affordable. i usually budget at least $50 just for flowers, and then the potting soil is another $10-15.

and here are my urns!

all spruced up an brimming with flowers! and all for $16 per urn, including the soil!

its small things like this that make my day happy. that, and a great song played really loud on my car radio can make me darn right cheerful!

oh, and in other happy news, our sod was delivered early this week!

 to save some money, we laid it ourselves. it was dirty and tiring work, but certainly doable as a DIY project. the money that we saved helped us pay for our irrigation system. if you are on a tight budget and you are considering laying your own sod, i would say go for it!

 it is amazing what a difference having grass makes! we are currently watering the fool out of it, and pampering it. new sod is kinda like having a puppy. it needs to be watched, fed, watered, and you can't turn your back on it or it might do something naughty. in this case, DIE.

its feeling less like a construction site and more like a home every week!

the punch list: (what is still getting done around here - june/july)

things are gettin' done!
maybe not as fast as i want them to, but they are definitely getting DONE.
here are a few things that have happened in the last few weeks:

first off---we finally got our range! yee-haw! i was without one for about 6 weeks, and so when we finally bought one, it was like christmas!


if you follow me on instagram, then you have already had a look at my range.


allen managed to get it installed the day before fathers day...coincidence? or did someone want to make sure he had some good stuff to eat on his special day? hmmm....
(i plan on writing a review of it soon, but i wanted to test it out and make sure it wasnt just pretty to look at!)


our door hardware arrived and we (and by "we" i mean my husband, allen) installed all of the interior knobs. we still need to install the exterior door hardware.
(by the way, how GREAT is it to have a handy husband? i love that my man can do just about anything around the house. he hasn't had to do much the last 5 years that we have been renting, but he has been doing a crazy amount of stuff in the last few months! thanks sweetie!)


i seriously cant tell you how "grown-up" and fancy i feel having REAL door knobs!
(the eye-holes were getting old. yes, they were.)


i am REALLY happy with the ones we chose.  you can read more about the knobs we selected here.

we installed our irrigation system.
yes, you DID just hear me *yawn.
i have a client who just built a home down the road from me, and when we get together, we always commiserate on how much it costs to put in a yard---and how much we would rather be spending that  money on some pretty window treatments or a table.


in the front yard, we put the pipes in first, and then had the topsoil brought in to cover them.  i guess most people bring the topsoil in and then have to dig trenches to lay the irrigation pipe. this doesn't seem very interesting to me, but my husband thinks it is a----mazing, and so does every male that he talks to about this. (*yawn)

 more exciting that irrigation, but also not a punch list item (more like a bucket list item)
i found myself a fiddle fig tree! it took about 7 phone calls and 2 months, but i GOT one.

 this one is a "column" variety...it is a little more bush-like than a typical tree. i love it!
i found it at the J + J garden center in layton in case any of you locals are interested. call first and make sure they have some because they go through them fast!

my new tree loves her new home and promises not to die. yep. she told me so...
(i cant wait to add some built-ins, trim and a fireplace to the living room. it will be a while....but i can wait.) 

our new (slightly controversial) front porch lights got installed:


and, we now have a door bell! which we can upgrade later...(this one is pretty boring, but it is better than having wires sticking out the wall!)

yes, the house is really dirty from the soil being brought in, but once the sod is in, we will pressure wash the house.

this weekend, we got the final grading done in the yard, and the mulch for the front beds is in.

 it makes such a difference in the way things look! we were supposed to get our sod delivered, but there was a problem, and we will have to wait. it will be nice to see some green around the house!

thanks for following along!

i like big lights and i cannot lie...

oh my! so sorry for that lame post title.
i just couldn't resist!
(i pretty much love all 80's music, as i suspect anyone growing up in the 70's and 80's can relate!)

if you remember from this post, i purchased the stockholm sconces from restoration hardware for the front of my house.


i ordered them in january, but they didn't arrive until a few weeks ago. in the meantime, i had these $5 beauties hanging as place holders: (what light wouldn't look huge next to these??)

when they (finally) arrived, they were in a HUGE box. of course, i had looked over the measurements when i originally ordered them, and so i knew they were "on the large side", but i still was NOT prepared for how large they really were!
we took them out of the box, and i had my husband hold them up against the front of the house while i walked across the street to get an idea of the scale.
we both started laughing.
...and joking that maybe we should have built a castle to house these behemoth light fixtures!

oh! but i really loved them anyway! i mean,  really, REALLY loved them---the unique shape, the weathered zinc finish, and the fact that they are a little large. i always like to say "go big or go home!" hanging these light fixtures would definitely be going BIG!
i went back and forth for the last several weeks, and i swear that i changed my mind every day about whether to keep them or sell them. i finally decided to keep them.

here is a picture of my two daughters, standing on the front porch with one of the lights.


here are some of the factors that helped me to ultimately decide to keep and install the lights:

1. yes. they are BIG. but because my house sits a good 6' above the elevation of the sidewalk, and since there is a large retaining wall in front, they don't look as large as they might on a house with a flat yard.

2. i had already purchased the semi flush mount RH light (also in weathered zinc), and i knew that if i bought another light fixture, the finishes would not match. not a huge deal, but i really like the soft black/uneven finish of the "weathered zinc".


3. we currently do not have any landscaping, so right now, the ONLY thing to look at is these lights. i figured that once some trees, bushes, and other architectural elements (like shutters and window boxes) were added, there would be a lot to "soften" the house.

4. i figured that if i sold these lights, i would be able to get about what i paid for them ($159 plus shipping), but i also knew that every other exterior light that i really liked was double or triple the price of these. that would mean more money than i wanted to spend. a lot more. plus, there are about 457 other projects in the house that need some attention!

here they are, getting installed:

 and here they are, in all their large glory!

 quite honestly, when they first went up, i was thinking they were too big, and that i was going to take them down. but after a minute, i got used to them,  and now i love them!

**my husband and i are still "debating" about whether they are too big. he thinks they are, and i say they are FINE.
what do you think? i promise i wont get upset if a majority of you think they are too big, and i need to get some smaller lights...i am just curious to know your opinions!
please leave a comment!
too big?
or just fine?
(thanks in advance!)

construction progress: week 21 + 22

here's what's been happening over the last 2 weeks at my new house:

i finalized the order for the shower tile in the girls bathroom. i was considering using a smaller tile, like a 3 x 6 or the one i decided to use in my sons bathroom, which is a mosaic 1 x 2 subway tile, but i thought that the smaller tile on the floor needed the contrast of a larger tile on the shower walls.

 the tile i chose is 4 x 16 white tile from florida tile, available through modern tile.

we installed all the backer board for the tile on the bathroom floors...

 (the girls bath)

(the master bath) 

 (my sons bathroom)

i also narrowed down the tile for the laundry room. 

 since i was using the black slate for my sons bathroom, i decided to order some extra and STRIPE the laundry room floors! (don't worry...i am not going stripe-crazy in the house! just the island and these floors will be striped. OK, i will probably sneak in a few more stripes somewhere, but probably in subtle touches like pillows or paint.)

 i knew i wanted high contrast, which i thought i could get with the same grecian white tile that i am using in the master bathroom...but i wasn't crazy about how it looked with the black.

i stopped by the dal tile showroom, and in their clearance area, i came across some 12 x 12 "chiffon creme" honed marble tiles for $3.25 a SF. how could i pass THAT up? i bought a sample and brought it home....

 and immediately made a call to purchase it! i like the high contrast, and i also love that both materials

are honed, and have a very simple, utilitarian look---but together, they are going to be fantastic!

 the tile started getting installed in the girls bathroom.

the elongated hex tile is totally worth the splurge! the soft whites, greys and neutral tones in the tile are so pretty.

 we installed the base trim and door casings in the rest of the main floor.

 AND, the master bathroom shower tile started.

i wanted a larger tile on the bottom half of the shower in an offset pattern, and the herringbone on the top half. we used the pencil molding to separate the two patterns. both patterns are outlined on the sides with a 6 x 12 band. can you imagine what the herringbone would have looked like if the pattern met in the corners? it would have been pretty BUSY looking. the banding frames the pattern beautifully.

we opted for a 6 x 6 tile on an angle for the ceiling.

we were initially planning on laying the tile ourselves, but decided to hire it out! a VERY wise choice, i must say. the "green stuff" is a waterproofing compound called "aqua defense" by mapei. our tile installed swears it is amazing stuff.

a detail of the tile.

on the outside....

 the front steps and side walls were formed, and the stone was put on.


the steps will be formed this coming week. we originally wanted to lay flagstone on the steps, but
it was too pricey...plus, when it snows, plain concrete is MUCH easier to shovel than anything else!



and the front retaining wall was started. it will also be covered with the same stone as the rest of the house.


another view of the front retaining wall.


here are the finished side walls at the front entry....they flare out slightly, which makes the entry feel wider and really welcoming.

i decided i wanted another touch of pattern in the master shower, and so i ordered some herringbone
mosaic tile for the back of the niche in the shower...

and here it is installed!
i love the extra little pop of texture!


the slate tile for my sons bathroom was installed, as well as the shower tile...

we laid the 12 x 24 tiles in an offset pattern. the smaller shower tiles were purchased at home depot and are made by dal tile. i am super happy with the mix of scale and color here! the floors will get a lighter grout, and the shower grout will be dark grey.

speaking of grout....

we are using all mapei grout colors.

a look at the almost finished master shower. (i am having that really white tile in the corner replaced. i love the variation in natural stone, but that tile felt out of place to me.)

and----ta-da!!

if you follow me on instagram, you have already seen a peek at these floors.
the 12" wide tiles were ripped in half, so that the stripes are 6" wide.
i am in love! i think i am going to be happier doing laundry while standing on these floors!

and, as always, there was cleaning to do.

LOTS of cleaning.
but i don't mind a bit.
(anything to get in to the house as soon as possible!)