Remodel Pictures Slide Show

Rest of the lights installed

We love the dining room light, but have no idea why we did not realize the can lights were not removed. This will have to wait for another day since we are so ready to get this remodel done. For now, we have removed the light bulbs -- too much light!

From 2008 Remodel 01

From 2008 Remodel 01

Our Backsplash is done! Stardust Glass Tiles.

We are super thrilled with the way the backsplash ended up. Initially, we thought the IceStone countertops would be the bling in the kitchen, but now we realize it is the beautiful backsplash that will get all the attention. The colors we chose compliment the IceStone Sage Pearl perfectly. We used an antique white grout.

 
 
 
 

Finally! more pix of the kitchen remodel...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jJagKtlgF2HTDH527MaSKA
here is where we left off...

From 2008 Remodel 01

From 2008 Remodel 01

From 2008 Remodel 01

From 2008 Remodel 01

From 2008 Remodel 01

Our backsplash -- Stardust Glass Tile

So cool - Stardust sent us pix of the process used to get our backsplash tiles ready to go. They arrive tomorrow! The company has been super to work with and delivered ahead of schedule!

Painting is in progress... what a mess!

 

I have attached a few pictures of my partner Jason netting your tiles in the 2 X 2 grid, just so you can see part of the process, etc..

 

We absolutely loved the way they turned out and can't wait to see a picture of your backsplash once installed.  We would like to add it to our website and marketing materials.

 

Thank you very much~

Megan Coleman

Stardust Glass

503-928-3076

Backsplash tile chosen

After much research and many hours pouring over samples at Ecohaus, Ambiente, and a commercial distributor, we decided to go with Stardust Glass Tile. The backsplash has been the hardest thing to decide on. The prices for recycled glass are sooo much more than the regular porcelain tiles. For a brief moment we decided to forget about recycled glass... but it felt like we were quitting a yard from the finish line. That is when I randomly searched for recycled glass tile backsplash Dallas  My plan here was to get my sister to go hunting for us. That search resulted in Stardust Glass Tile which has a dealer in Dallas; the dealer was closed when my sister went by. So, our contractor got in touch directly with the company and we had samples in a matter of days. They have been a pleasure to deal with; the tiles are wonderful and just what we were looking for. Our order is placed and we cannot wait to finish off the last little piece of the kitchen detail! An added bonus - they are pretty local (Portland OR) so minimal shipping.
http://www.stardustglasstile.com/purchase.html

We will be doing a random mix --

30% spitzer

30% ocean mist

20% sage

10% rum

10% moss

http://www.stardustglasstile.com/colorpalette.html#

Been a while - green remodel still in progress

I was out sick and off traveling so it has been a while since i updated the blog... so here it goes.

We now have handles in the kitchen - they were the cheapest, cool ones we could find at Lowes. And our glass arrived for our one cabinet with glass fronts. We chose the seedy style glass and will show off my vibrant collection of Fiestaware. Yeah! My mom bought me the newest color every year for my birthday. I did not get the ivory set this year as she passed away in May. But I will pick up the tradition next year.

Our cabinet maker installed the bookcases in the dining room - floor to ceiling, deep enough for books, sustainable maple wood.

Bob, the cabinet maker, also finished the built in for the living room. Our living room was a formal space in its previous life. It is small and it has a fireplace on one wall. The only blank wall is opposite the fireplace which poses some design challenges if you want to have a TV in the room while still maintaining the fireplace as a focal point. Being in the user experience field, I could NOT put the TV above the fireplace like so many people suggested we do. So the built in will have a place for the TV, some display shelves, and lots of storage for DVDs, games and such.

The electrical strip is installed all the way around the island which is super cool. Other electrical outlets are in place - we were hoping to not  have them on the backsplash but this did not happen due to a ridiculous expense to get it that way. One of the new cabinets has an electrical strip up under the cabinet. For our under cabinet lighting, the contractors installed Xenon-based lights which were not what we wanted (8K hours/bulb versus the 50K hours/bulb offered by going with LED). Our gen contractor had them removed the LED lights went in. They are pretty bright but oh so green! The lights have been installed throughout - cans in the living room and kitchen, center lights in all 4 upstairs bedrooms, the office, and the kid's study area. We have ordered Besa Mia [granite color] pendants for the kitchen and a cool drum light for the center of the dining room. The drum is by Oggetti - Appliquations Mondrian Drum in green,gold, brown. These will take a few weeks to arrive.

           

The not-so-obvious downside to the light installation was that there are now a ton of patch holes in all of the rooms. We had just finished our bedroom and my office before the remodel and will now have to touch up several areas :(

The new window to match the french doors arrived and was installed last week. It looks sooo much better and so much more balanced. 

The bad news -- the floors have been a nightmare. We decided to use an ecofriendly finish, OSMO Polyx®-Oil. On the first attempt, not enough of the stain was used and it sort of looked like someone had colored on the floor. The second go resulted in too much stain being used. Because of this, the floors now have to cure for 3 weeks and then be sanded back down and refinished. Our attempts to be ecofriendly may have bit us on this one! Fingers crossed that the third time is indeed a charm.

Pictures will soon be posted! [Read I am having some technical issues with my picture-storing computer!]