Our family photos

There are few things that I was really insistent on after having Benoît, but one thing that I really wanted was a professional photographer to come take pictures of the family together. I knew that if we didn't we would only have pictures with either Dave or I in them, but not with both of us. They would also probably all be taken with our phones, which is less than ideal.  We did some initial looking around and found that baby photographers were either really expensive (!)  or were taking pictures that just weren't our style (picture babies in costumes tucked into baskets).

We reached out to Lev Kuperman, our wedding photographer.  He knew exactly what we wanted and took beautiful photos at a really reasonable price.  I was super excited to see that he posted some of our pictures on his blog.  I can't say enough about Lev. He has now shared two very special moments with us, and it just felt right having him come into our home when Ben was so young.  

Recent purchases, rambling about the house

SHOPPING LIST

3 toilets

A bathtub

2 individual bathroom sinks, one for the powder room, one for the ¾ bath

A double vanity with two sinks for the main bathroom.

Faucets for each of the bathroom sinks

A shower base kit to put under the tiles in the ¾ bath

Two sets of shower heads / faucets

Tiles for everything

Door knobs

Kitchen cabinets

Cabinet hardware

Appliances

Kitchen counter – island

A kitchen sink

Kitchen faucets

A kitchen counter – alcove

Lighting for everything

Windows

Hardwood flooring

Hot water tank

Not on this list but we bought it anyway: the awesome 'eat' sign from Olde Good things. Total impulse purchase but so worth it. Don't look too closely at the price. We bargained for it.

TO DO LIST:

Figure out what to do about the facade.

Figure out what to do about the fence.

Check in on the renovation.

Take more pictures.

Get ready for out vacation next week!

Get the new hot water tank installed.

Remind electricians to put dimmers on the light switches.

Remind the contractor to do what I told him to do. Again.

We've had a pretty busy month - I must say there are way more details to think about that I had anticipated.  Also, some of my guesstimate budgets were way off - I had no idea what things like faucets, lighting and hardware cost -some of our faucets cost more than our sinks! And doorknobs! My parents were more serious about the doorknobs than they were about anything else in the house.  My mom was all "Oh honey, doorknobs are crazy. Their CRAZY." My dad told me, "You can't just get anything. There's NOTHING WORSE than entering a house with a flimsy doorknob. You have to go and try them all out before you chose." 

Who knew?

In the end we have decided to save on things like tiles, decor, and low traffic areas like the extra bathroom. For hardwood floors, despite our desire to get beautiful five inch planks, we are going with more classic, affordable 3 inch planks. We're splurging on appliances, faucets in high traffic areas like the kitchen and main bathroom.  As much as I would love crystal door knobs, I think we're going to have to settle for something more basic like oil rubbed bronze from a good quality name brand.

For lighting, Dave and I totally lucked out and found some great deals at the Design Within Reach outlet.  I was worried going there that the lights would be discounted from $3000 to $2800, as the sales on their website are really uninspiring. Instead, we got 5 lamps worth ~$2000 for $250! Sure they have some dings and scratches, but I am fairly certain that no one will ever notice them.  

We got 2 of these Titan 3 lights in black - originally $735 each for $75 each!! 3 of these FL/Y pendants in, originally $249 for $19!!! Finally, we got this barn light, originally $315 for $50! Pardon the exclamation points, but I am clearly pretty psyched.

More pictures will come soon, I promise. The truth is that they are just not that exciting. They are mainly of drywall old flooring, and the rooms are so dusty that they come out looking grainy.  But I am working on it.

In Praise of Paper Lanterns

So now that our electrician has begun working, we have to start thinking about lighting.  Our lighting plan includes a mix of: sconces in the bathroom, kitchen and in some halls; pot-lights in the kitchen and some halls; pendants in the kitchen and chandeliers in the living room, dining room and main entrance. More lighting options will follow, but today I want to talk paper lanterns.

As always, we are looking for interesting lighting that is easy on the wallet. Paper lanterns are some of my favorites and their value just can't be beat. These lights range from $2 - $40 -unless you go designer- but why would you do that?.

from Remodelista

from Remodelista

from A Happy Habitat

Julianne Moore's parlor floor. From Apartment Therapy

3/4 bath inspiration - fun white bathrooms, bargains and Ikea sinks

In line with my remarks yesterday about keeping our finishes simple, I thought I would show you some bathrooms of the style we are looking at, and the products that we would use for these looks.

This is possibly my favorite use of white tiles. Yellow Grout! This could be really fun in a powder room or family bathroom.  Also, this cute little Ikea Ann sink is a bargain at $79.99. Image from Ideas to Steal.

Subway tiles like this can be found at Home Depot for $2 a square foot! Image from Ideas to Steal.

Here's another one from the Design Files with a very similar style.  The glass shower door is also great.

This bathroom is from Mark and Raina's farmhouse makeover on Apartment Therapy. This is an Ikea Lillangen sink and cabinet.  Both for $349!

 Here an ikea double sink was put on a bright green table.  I am not sure which sink - maybe this one?  Or two of these Talleviken sinks could also do the trick. Of course we probably couldn't afford marble, but maybe we could fake the look with Corian or Quartz.

This is not an Ikea sink, and I am not sure we could fake it, but I love the mirror and the rim of black tiles around the top. Image from Ideas to Steal.

Finally, while this may not be the most exciting bathroom - it is very similar in layout to what we will be doing with our 3/4 bath. It also shows how far a dog and some plants can go towards punching up a room. From Rock and Rock Problems.

Budget Kitchens

We need a new kitchen.  Big time.  Here is what ours currently looks like:

The kitchen is the most important room in the house for us. It's also the most expensive to redo.  We need to find a way to make it a) functional, b) pretty, and c) cheap.  We are thinking that doing it almost entirely white or black and white might be the way forward: you can find nice, affordable shaker cabinets at Ikea, we probably won't get sick of the look too quickly, and we can add color with art and accessories. 

Here are some ideas.