Brickhouse Hipster

Well, we weren't expecting our countertops for another week or so, but the wonderful gang at Mountain Marble & Granite here in Asheville had an opening and they worked us in. And now.....

 Ta-Daaa! This is the first time I've ever had granite countertops before. I feel so fancy! Here's a closer look at the merchandise...
There are some yummy garnet flecks in there. Love it! Big thanks to the Mountain Marble & Granite folks who were SUPER nice and super speedy (yet thorough). *Sigh* We are so close to having a real kitchen again, I can almost taste it! Just some painting, wiring and backsplashing left. Oh, and our mystery hardware still needs to be installed...now where is that stuff???

While we await the new countertops and figure out when our electrician can come hook us back up, I thought I'd keep the old blog a-goin' with a little background (and maybe some advice for any future remodelers out there) on how we've lived...er...survived this, I'll just say it, intense remodel.

Let's be frank for a moment, I'm new to this whole design and decor game. Living in apartments and rented houses for the last decade, I never got the sense that my living space was actually mine. And who wants to sink a bunch of money into decorating a place you might not even be living in next year? So, I slogged along with bare white walls and left over college dorm decor (purple butterfly tapestries are still hot, right?) and never really got my feet wet with fabrics and color combination and style.

Now that we own a house I find myself wanting it to be as awesome as possible, which means I've been doing a lot of research on how to whip it into shape! During said research, I noticed that designers use these handy little things called mood boards to create a color scheme and an overall, well, mood for a room. (Yes, mood boards = new to me. As I said, I've been living in an undecorated cave for the last 10 years.) But how can I get my hands on the expensive design software to make mood boards of my own? Turns out, no need. MyDeco.com has a make-your-own-mood-board design tool. And that, my friends is what I've been playing with for the last several days. (When I'm not working and sanding kitchen walls, of course.) Here's a little color combo sampler for the kitchen.

Clockwise from left: Wall color Valspar Sag Harbor (as close a match as I could find); Back splash tile; Granite countertops (hopefully); Floor tile Canyon Slate Ceramic tile; Center: Natural Cherry cabinets

It's a pretty awesome and free tool. While I searched for and uploaded these on my own, the site also lets you choose from photos from their sponsor shops. I'm also playing around with these colors for the master bedroom.

Gotta love those never ending projects!

Well, I suppose we shall find out together, won't we? Since we're well into our first major remodeling project on our house, I thought a blog would be a great way to document the process and reveal what can only be the most glorious outcome of all time. Besides, I'm a sucker for some good Before and After photos!! (Who isn't?)

When we first looked at our little brick rancher I was, shall we say, somewhat hesitant to consider it as a real contender. The house itself has great bones, tons of windows, lots of closets and storage space, a very pretty finished basement and a decent sized yard (not too much to deter the hubby from ever mowing and not so little that we're living on a postage stamp). What I'm saying is, it's cute--a perfect first home! Here are some photos our amazing real estate agent, Lynn, took for us just to give you an idea.

Miss Lynn took these once our offer had been accepted back in October 2009. We've changed a few things in the front, including 86ing those random shrubs in favor of perennial flower beds and digging out a walkway from the driveway to the porch, to give it a little more curb appeal. A way-in-the-future project is a bigger front porch. (We LOVE front porches!!)

The bright living room with the yummy recessed lighting was certainly plus! And just look at those hardwood floors!!! Wait, what's that you say?? It's laminate? Yep, what looks like gorgeous wood flooring is actually some high-quality laminate. We love it because it looks like the real thing, but we can be a little rougher with it and not worry about those darn scratches!

The huge finished basement was pretty much what sold the house (especially for Kevin). The windows let in tons of daylight and we could just picture the perfect little wet bar right over there in the corner. Plus, at 2000 sq. ft (total up & down), well, there just wasn't that much house in our price range anywhere else. So, why would one hesitate when all systems seem go? Well...

Oh yeah, check out that kitchen, folks! Pink wall tile, pink and white curling linoleum floors, a tiny row of cabinets with drawers that don't fully open unless the stove door is open...I mean, what's not to love? So yes, as someone who loves to cook, this was far from the gourmet kitchen of my dreams. However, my woodworker father-in-law assured us that he had some friends in high places in the cabinet world and most of the destruction and assembly work could be done ourselves with his expert assistance. And so, with that condition firmly in place, we purchased our first home, cruddy kitchen and all. The remodel is under way, the folks at Lowes and Home Depot are becoming our BFFs, and we're adding skills to our home owners resume daily! Stay tuned...