8 Months Later - Projects Completed So Far

Nearly a year ago today we were celebrating the pouring of our slab. Its definitely been a journey and it still continues to be as we grow into the house. Its been about 8 months since we moved in and almost 6 months since our last update so we're overdue for another post. A lot has changed in that span of time. Most importantly Chris and I are now engaged. I popped the question on Valentines Day and he accepted. We are still figuring out wedding plans, so stay tuned for a date. 

This will probably be a long post but I gotta get my rant out about the shower floor tile. So Im going to start with a project we just completed 2 weeks ago. If you have been following our blog then you probably remember the shower tile situation. At the time I nearly freaked out because the tile looked nothing like what we saw at the showroom and didn't match the grey and white tiles in the rest of the bathroom. After the install the tile looked like a gross muddy brown color. After speaking to our Project Manager he explained that the grout was still wet and it was impacting the tiles appearance. We took his word and after several days the tile looked much better by appearing more grey. Guess what? After moving in, the tile looked absolutely awful! The tile retained that muddy brown color whenever it was wet. Since we use that shower everyday the tile looked like that all the time. We were especially disappointed because we spent so much money on upgrading the tile in the master bath. We tried to find a solution with NVHomes and Stonework and in other words they basically told us "too bad" and "you made that selection". We did choose the tile but its not our fault that the product was poorly represented in the showroom. As much as NVHomes has been good to us before and after moving into the house they really dropped the ball on this one which left a sour taste in my mouth and a $1000 hole in my pocket to get the tile replaced.  The only positive thing to come out of this ordeal is the shower floor now looks amazing. We did a marble tile in a herringbone pattern from the The Tile Shop and had our installer grout the tile with Fusion Pro (platinum color) because its non porous, won't stain, and doesn't require sealer. Its a huge relief to get the shower floor done, going forward I'd like to have a frameless glass shower door installed. It was a mistake on our part for not upgrading. The included door looks cheap and it takes away from the tile. I'd also like to have a marble countertop installed on the vanity. Lastly Id like to paint the walls grey and possibly doing a cool tile surround in the water closet. 

Shower Floor Tile Before

Installer laying out the design

Mortar applied and tile adhered

Completed tile installation 

Overall look of shower

As soon as Spring began I got on Youtube to pick up some tips on landscaping and headed out to our local Home Depot Garden center to spruce up our itty bitty lawn. 

Momo hanging out

I dug out the old landscaping and reshaped the lawns edge to add some flair. The clay soil was also amended so the plants could thrive.

I then created the layout before planting

After planting, I covered the soil with black mulch 

I also fertilized and seeded the lawn. It came back a deep green and lush.

Several weeks later my plants began to bloom

My other spring project was setting up our deck. We have been waiting for the weather to improve so we could spend the evenings enjoying the sunset. This was my first time furnishing an outdoor space and it became incredibly apparent that outdoor furniture can get expensive. To setup the space I got rugs to define 2 separate zones. We wanted a seating area along with a dining space. We found some reasonably priced sets on Target.com which reminded me of a far more expensive set available at Crate &Barrel that I really loved. The throw pillows are customs made with outdoor fabric. The lanterns are Crate & Barrel and the flower boxes are from IKEA. One of the things I love most about this house are the 2 doors that open up to the deck. I always envisioned an indoor/outdoor living space. My goal for the deck was to create a space that guest would naturally gravitate too, not that the view wasn't enough. I also wanted to point out that we had our deck extended 10 ft, We really wouldn't have been able to accomplish so much with anything less. In fact I probably should have done 11ft for the extra space. 

View of deck space from inside

Seating Area

Dining Area

So the biggest project to date has to be the install of the hardwood flooring. We definitely wanted the hard wood to flow through out the main level connecting the Great Room and Dining Room. We also wanted wood on the 3rd floor hallway. If you've been following then you know we intentionally did not upgrade our hardwood floors with the builder because the upcharge was so high. The upgrade for these 3 areas would have cost $11470 with the builder and we spent a little over 6k to complete the entire project after moving in.

Nearly a 1000 Sq Ft of Hardwood Flooring

Some of the planks were removed so the wood would flow like it was always there

Our pets miss the carpet, So we put out rugs

Seamless Install

Handwoven rug from Crate and Barrel

Great Room Hardwood Install

3rd Flr Hallway

Before we completed the hardwood, we added a runner to our wood stairs. Even though i hate carpet a runner became necessary for two reasons. The first, our dog Momo started to slip going up and down the stairs. At one point we actually watched him do a belly slide down the stairs. Second, I also noticed the wood was becoming a strain on my ankles. which started to get painful. We got our runner at Home Depot, we choose their LifeProof line of carpets because they are great for stains and homes with pets. The carpet is patterned and with a low pile which helps with stability. The runner also has a 8lbs pad which are good for my joints. 

Installed Runner

Aerial View

Ok so this is the last thing and the project I feel most proud of because I did it myself. If you didn't know yet, I really like marble :P Its my first tile job and I basically studied a number of youtube video  to learn how to install it properly. It took me over a week to finish mostly due to my inexperience and and all the cuts I had to make with a wet saw. We also saved quite of bit doing this project on our own. 

Thanks for reading the blog, were always excited to read all the emails and messages. Feel free to reach out anytime with questions. We look forward to updating everyone as the house evolves.