Gutters, Front Porch, Lighting, Hearth, and More Lighting

March 04, 2016

Gutters, Front Porch, Lighting, Hearth, and More Lighting

Today was a big day for the new house. First, I went with Bert to pick out a GIANT rock for my hearth. They will cut it to size. At first I was nervous because all the brown pieces of stone had a weird rust color all over it. I didn't like how orange it looked. And the rust made it look dirty. Then, we walked around a bit and found this piece:

There are tons of other stone pieces on
top of it, but this is the other side of it.

I needed a piece that is EIGHT FEET long. There weren't a whole lot, but this one really spoke to me. So pretty.

Then we came back and I picked out the color for the "wood" for the front porch. I put wood in quotes because we are using Trex composite wood, which is code for fake wood. I don't want splinters, I don't want to sand/power wash and stain it, I just want it installed and done. Of course my favorite one was crazy expensive, so I said to put it back on the shelf and show me the cheaper stuff. We're talking outdoor flooring here - it doesn't matter. They're all pretty. So I picked a medium brown color that has a wood imprint on it to help it look even more like wood.

The lighting is really funky in this picture,
but the sample shows what it looks like
when first installed, and how it fades -
this was installed 5 years ago.

Then I ran a bunch of cinnamon rolls up to the house to say thank you for all their work, and was given a list of lights I still needed to buy and made a few more decisions. That's when I saw this:

Next to the master bedroom door

They built me shelves above the ugly air intake thing! Yay! These guys have learned the way to my heart is through shelving. This organizational freak has a soft spot for shelving. And they framed it out beautifully.

More pictures of the house in a minute. First I took myself to get gas, lunch, and Lowes so I could get those lights.

Chicken truck!

Then Sweet Home Alabama came on the radio and I saw at least 12 chicken trucks and I thought about how much I love life here in Alabama. This is such a good life. I am having a blast.

While in Lowes, I got ceiling fans, an outdoor chandelier, a front porch light, and I picked up Kara's chandelier and my bathroom sconces that I ordered online. Oh! And I got the fourth pendant light that goes over my island.

I have to order this. Don't forget.

I'll show you those lights as they get installed. Hopefully next week.

Then I turned to go check out, but I realized I was in Lowes all by myself. And I wasn't in a rush to get home. So, I browsed a bit. And it was fun. I want to work there. You know what I really want to do? What I've wanted to do for a long, long time? Flip houses. BUT, my full time job is homeschooling Kara and the flipping market is wonderful in Huntsville, not here. Maybe one day when she moves out if the flipping market is still good, I'll do it then. I'll pray about it.

First I checked out the rugs. I know, I know. I got hardwood floors for a reason, but I think area rugs here and there will help group furniture and separate the rooms, since it's one big open space. I want a huge rug for the dining room, but the way you do a rug for a dining room is to not fall off the rug when the chair is pushed out. I need to measure, but I wanted to see how much really big rugs cost at Lowes. I was pleasantly surprised to find this neutral one that is 8 x 12 for only $80. That's amazing.

Then I checked out kitchen sinks. I want one big rectangular stainless steel sink, but I was hoping to find a shallow one. This is as close as I can find, but it's standard 9 inch depth.

I checked out faucets next, but I just can't find one I like. Oil rubbed bronze is the color of everything in the house, but I really just like chrome faucets. *sigh* I need to think on it.

After running to ALDI, which is right next door to Lowes, I dropped the lights off at the house. I heard this on the radio and thought of my dad. I was raised on rock music - and Boston was his favorite band from high school so I know every song of theirs. :-)

Hi Dad!

After I dropped off the lights, I had to get pictures of all that was done this week. I'm sure you'd like to see them too.

Door handles are in.

Pocket door handles are in - ones that
are next to bathrooms get locks.

The little chandelier in my closet has
a bulb now. It looks way better than
this in person. I only had my cell phone
with me. Hmmm, I haven't used my
big camera in a while.....

Laundry room light. No flourescents in
my laundry room, baby!

Another view of the laundry room.

The little chandelier over my tub has bulbs
now too. So pretty. It looks like a
snowball. Made of crystal.

My shower has a light.

More handles. Not black, but oil rubbed
bronze. Boy that's a mouthful.

There's pink paper, held together by blue
tape, with old boxes taped down for a
path on top of my hardwood. No scratching
it before I even get to live there, please!

The floor of Michael's shower, with a new
drain.

Michael's shower, grout and all.
Isn't that stripe pretty?
He didn't notice it. :-)

They changed those ugly drawer pulls
in the closet for me.
These are Michael's drawers.

My drawers.

So pretty and so comfy on the hands. It may sound silly,
but you open and close drawers all day long - the handles
should be comfortable. I really like a handle that I can
fit all four of my fingers in. And I have chubby fingers.
I'll probably use these in the kitchen, but oil rubbed
bronze instead.

Powder room - with a light above where
the toilet will go and hardwood floors.

Looking down the main hall. Follow the
yellow brick road, er, the cardboard road.

My dining room chandelier.

They're mason jars! I though this would be a nice touch
for my southern house.

They have started the front porch columns. Classic
craftsman style. Tapered and everything.

Looking from the dining room into the kitchen.

My three sets of french doors. Hi, pretty.

And they FINALLY have handles.

The pendants above my future island in the kitchen.
I bought the fourth one today.

Close up of the pendants. Don't they have a lovely,
feminine shape?

Eat in kitchen, which will have a couch and coffee
table.

Close up of the light.

Looking into the pantry. I splurged and
continued the hardwood floors in here.
I don't regret that for a second.
Meanwhile, now that the floors are done,
they need to put their junk somewhere
else! My pantry shelves work wonderfully.

Looking from the pantry door toward
the kitchen, living room, and dining room.

Peek a boo! I see you in there, pretty floors.

The guest bedroom's closet has a light.

And the shelves have been primed.

More handles. So nice. They are comfy
to use too. When your hands are full, you
can use your elbows to open the door,
which happens a lot to a mom! No more
full-handed shuffling to try and twist a
doorknob.

My homeschool room has always had a
view, but now it has a light. (Look
familiar? I thought it was so pretty here
that I put it in the laundry room too.)

Kara's closet has a light.

And it's been primed too.

They hung those three lights back up. Now we have 6 again.

Back yard - That's a lot of rock. They're bringing in more.
See the hay? Its around the house.

Here's more hay around the house. It's to prevent the rain
from splashing the dirt up onto the pretty stone.
Isn't that hilarious and genius at the same time?
Eventually we'll have grass and it won't be an issue.